Last full day at the Lake, 2007

Jacob and Astrid enjoying time on the bow of the boat. It was pretty bumpy today, but they held strong and had a great time getting bumped around.

We boated over to Indian Creek campground today because they have a great beach. The campground got hit very hard by the storm last night. They had over 40 trees that fell down on some trailers and tents. Some people went to the hospital, but no one was seriously hurt. We were very lucky to have been in the condo. There were enormous trees splintered in two like this one near a play area. Locals say this was one of the worst summer storms in years with all of the trees down and how fast it came upon everyone.

Jacob and Astrid having some talk time with their stuffed animals. They sat out on the grass for an hour just talking and having some good cousin time. By the way, all the other cousins were already down at the beach, so they weren't interrupted.

All I can say is that a picture is worth a thousands words. A normal picture of a three year old sitting in a box eating an oreo that he may have taken without asking. I thought this was great. We drove to Spokane tonight, and are leaving in the morning to come back home. The kids are exhausted and so am I. Good night everyone.

Robb

"The Storm"

Scott and Lara left on Friday and the day was pretty good with the weather. There were scattered clouds and they said some afternoon thunder storms on the way, but nothing big. We boated around and the kids played at Elkins beach. At around 4, we started ferrying people back to the condo. The clouds were getting darker, so we hurried. Mike got a call from his administrative assistant that Spokane had seen 50 m.p.h. winds and lightening, knocking power out. She said it was heading out way and that it was going to be bad. Well, we ran around pulling the water trampoline out of the water, and tied up the boat. We had to collect all of our outside toys up and we went inside as the storm swept across the lake. We all gathered int he upstairs condo to watch. First the power went out even before the storm arrived. Then it arrived with a vengeance. Wow, the winds were pretty bad and the lightening was amazing. Tom got creative on the barbecue with out dinner and the kids didn't know what to do with themselves with the power out. Within an hour, it had passed and the sun was starting to come out. What we didn't know was that trees were down everywhere and they are now saying power could be out for a week or so. Thank goodness we are at the end of the vacation. We did have a great meal, thanks to Tom, and then Rebecca and Andrea were heading off for Spokane. Rebecca is going to her Sensaria convention in Seattle, so Andrea was driving her back to Spokane and she is flying back to Seattle tomorrow morning. She didn't want to leave, but it overlapped at the end of the vacation. We have been taking a lot of good pictures for her. The night was dark and long. All of the kids went to sleep quickly, but they each up throughout the night saying that it was too dark. What a day we have had. It never seems to lack chaos, but there are a lot of good memories. Jacob was very interested/scared of the lightening and thunder during the storm and was worried that the condo was going to be hit. Thank goodness no one got hurt.

Fun picture of all the kids sitting on the couch watching the storm.

Robb

S'mores and skeleton's

For those of you who know Jacob well, seeing him eating a s'more, or anything for that matter, is a big deal. We had the camp fire and children running around with lit marsh mallows. Graham crackers flying and never enough chocolate. Eli, 5, was searching for a stick to roast his marsh mallow and he yelled, "I found a skeleton." This is never a good thing to hear. And, yes, he did find a skeleton. Look in the picture below in the left hand corner and there it is all propped up. Well you can just imagine what all of the kids did. We decided that it was a deer. It never seems to be boring at family events. Jacob ended up eating 7 s'mores, which we didn't find out until later. He was a happy camper that night.

This was Scott and Lara's last night and everyone had a great time. Sorry to see them leave, but so grateful they made the great trek across the country. They got up early the next morning and headed home to get Nate to camp in time in North Carolina.

More fun in the sun and family pictures!

We had one of Andrea's goof friend's, who is a photographer, come and take on the task of family pictures for he whole group of 22. It really worked out well considering that it was at the end of the day, before dinner. They all turned out great. These are our version with our own camera. Afterwards we had a big barbecue and before you knew it, the boat was going out on runs again at 8:00 at night. The kids have been running themselves into the ground. They have had so much fun this week. We hardly see Jonah and Jacob as they are running with the older kids, on the water trampoline, or in and out of the boat. Noah fits right in and in fact is the least fearful of the boat and water sports. He has been jumping at the chance to being pulled by the boat and wants it full throttle. Dana and Hannah have been going with him and been getting a kick out of his excitement.

We ended up bribing all of the kids with peanut m and m's to get them through all of the pictures, but they did great. It is a montley crew. Jonah has been involved in every kind of game this week from football to baseball. He has been very serious about the "playoff" games wanting to sell tickets to his cousins on the sidelines to come and cheer for his team. Jonah has run himself into the ground most evenings where he goes from outside to bed and is asleep within minutes. It has been fun for Reba and I this year because the kids are so much more self-sufficient and are off doing their own thing. All the adults camp out around the compound from the lake to the pool and the kids run in between. The jacuzzi has been a big pull for all the kids this year once they get out of the lake. We had to shut it down though due to the amount of sand and dirt deposited.

Today, Scott/Lara and their family left this morning to get back to Charleston. We will miss them and had a great time with all of them. Tonight, Reba goes to Spokane and fies out for Seattle tomorrow morning for her Sensaria convention. The kids and I stay until Sunday when we make the long drive back in one day. We have two more days of fun. Until the next group of pictures.

Robb

There is so much to do, so little time

There is nothing like a great picture that says "vacation". We had a great time today at the beach, on the boat, and playing in the sand. The kids are now still in the pool at 6 p.m. because dinner is still being made and it is precious time that can't be wasted. They are all having a great time and Priest Lake in the sun is like no other. The biggest decision of the day is what we are eating and how long can we go without re-applying sun screen on the children. Two weeks would be nice to stay next year.

It seems like the kids have been going non-stop since they arrived. All the kids are at such a great age and seem to have more than enough on their plates each day. This morning, while we waited to jump in the lake, we had a family game of baseball. We had a great time, and Noah seemed to be the slugger of the group, along with grandma Karen. We played for an hour and had a great time.

At any chance they can get, the kids are pealing off the jacuzzi cover and jumping in to "relax". they think they are at camp. We haven't had to have too many "planned activities" because they are pretty self-sustained these days. We don't know how they are all making it to the end of the day, but when they hit the pillow, they are gone. That is usually when we all drop and pull out the beer and wine.

The other morning, when it was cloudy and we needed a diversion from the water, Andrea pulled out the BINGO game and they played until everyone got prizes. Thank God for games that accomodate 12 kids at a time.

The end of another day. Tired, happy, and content. Tomorrow, the focus will be a big family picture, more boating, and a lot more ice cream. The great memory of the day is Dana and Noah on the back of the floatation device with Noah saying, "go faster, go faster." He had a great time and keeps on going without naps this week. He can sure keep up with the big fishes.

Robb

Arriving at Priest Lake

We spent a quick day and night in Spokane. We did grocery shopping for the group dinners, etc. And, we took Astrid (9), and Hannah (12) with our kids to see Evan Almighty, which was fun and a great diversion from the have-to's to get ready.

When we arrived, then began the task of separating the food for each meal into all of the refrigerators. Do you think the kids helped? Noooo. They just hopped out of the car and started playing with their cousins. They love it!

Hannah rode with us to Priest Lake, which was fun for the kids. She brought (and shared) her Ipod.

Pictures of Moses Lake

Here are some pictures of our stop in Moses Lake. The first one is at dinner...what a lovely environment. Our waiters kept the kids occupied with Chinese translation as neither of them spoke English very well. Then are the pictures of the water park. Very fun!

This is Jonah peeing off the side of the van into a McDonald's cup. I know I did not sign up for this, and the only reason I got stuck with the duty is because Robb was driving and claimed that he could not open the car door on the freeway side of the car. I think it would have been worth the risk...

This is Jonah and Noah in the car on the way to Moses Lake--"Are we there yet?"

First Day of Vacation-eventful!

Sometimes getting out of the house for the start of a vacation can be an easy task. Not for us. We had planned on leaving the house around 9:30, picking Jacob up from school, and driving to Moses Lake to end the day at a water park. Sounds easy enough, huh? Well, Jacob got off to school which left us time to pack the car. Things were going well. We thought we would even leave early to go by the bank etc prior to picking Jacob up. We went out to the car, got in, and when we tried to start the car, it wouldn't turn over. We both looked at each other, shoulders sunk low, exhausted already. Long story short, I ran off to get a new battery after 20 minutes of trying to jump start the car. Rebecca decided to make cookies and boil a couple eggs so that we could bring them with us. I got back, put the battery in, and we were ready to go. Rebecca thought she had turned off the stove, as we had one more errand to run before picking up Jacob from school 2 hours later than we had thought. When we got in the car the second time and we tried to turn on the radio, it wouldn't work because we had unhooked the battery. This may not be a crisis, but in order for the kids to watch a DVD later in the car, the radio has to work. We had to have a code, which we didn't know.
We ran one more errand and when we came home, Rebecca's Grandma was in our driveway looking at our newly painted house. Rebecca was talking to her while I ran up into the house to look the code for the stereo in the "file". When I opened up the door, smoke pured out. I thought, "the eggs on the stove". I ran in and grabbed the burning eggs off the stove and opened up all the windows. One egg had exploded, the rest were burned beyond all recognition. Thank God that the house didn't burn down. Rebecca was down at the bottom of the driveway talking to GG (great grandma) and she saw smoke pouring out of the front door and knew she had left the stove on. She walked in and said, "Do you think we just aren't supposed to leave today?" We cleaned up the egg and opened up all the windows, and now we really had to leave in order to pick up Jacob from school on time.
We did pick up Jacob, and made our way to Moses Lake and we had a great time at the water-park. It was 85 degrees and the kids just ran from one slide and diving board to another soaking up summer. We let the kids pick where we went for dinner so we all dined at the China Buffett. Not my first choice, but it at least wasn't McDonald's either. The kids said it was the best restaurant they had ever been to. They had a great time. We all were asleep in the hotel by 9:30 we were so tired. But we had a great first day of vacation, once we got started. Tomorrow we are off to Spokane to see my brother's family and shop for Priest Lake. The kids can't wait to see their cousins. I think we may all go to the movie, Evan Almighty. Until tomorrow.

Robb ( I will try and post pictures later)

May 12th, 2007 Sarah and Josh

Sarah and Josh got married on May 12th, 2007. Our whole family got to come which the children were very excited about. Sarah and Josh sent each one of the boys an invitation, so they each got to send back their response. They all felt very grown up that day and their behavior was incredible. They all three sat in the front row with GG (Great-Grandma) and that's it. Now if you are a parent of three boys under the age of seven, you know that this combination can be a recipe for disaster, especially at a wedding. Sibling fighting doesn't recognize the rules of a wedding, funeral, or otherwise. Well, all three kids sat quietly in the front row watching intently the entire time. Rebecca and I sat in the row behind them and not once did we have to "give the look" or flick an ear. We were quite amazed. Of course, this was a day in history that we owned up to have three small boys with such great behavior. Everyone was saying, " who are the parents connected to those three angles?" From across the room, we made our presence known and owned up to those three miracles. They were all so excited to see Sarah in her dress and Josh wearing a suit. They thought Josh would have been more comfortable in shorts and a tee shirt, but wouldn't we all. Right after the wedding, I took the kids over to my sister's house so they could play with their cousins during the reception. They felt like they had a great day with a short wedding and playing with cousins.

The reception was very nice and the food was wonderful. Rebecca and I were thrilled to sit and talk with other adults and eat delicious food. It was a smaller wedding, about 50 people, which made it so easy for them to talk with everyone and actually enjoy their meal. They left later on that afternoon via limo and headed to the airport to find themselves in Fiji some 24 hours later. They had a great time relaxing. We really Like josh and it seems like he has been part of the family a long time. Our kids think he is the best thing ever, exactly what an uncle should be.

R n R

Oh that's right, Easter!

I had forgotten that in the midst of our April, we did celebrate Jesus's birthday! Kind of an important Holiday. We ended up having both sides of the family over to our house and it was fun to pack it full. Everyone brought food, but as you can see, Rebecca made sure everything tasted good. We did the traditional Easter egg hunt after lunch right before there was a down pour which lasted the rest of the evening. Good timing. It is great to have a home where we can fit our family and have gatherings like this. Even though our kids know the reason why we celebrate Easter, it seems like the candy is a little more tangible at this age. In our house, the kids talk it up big that they are going to eat all of their candy on the same day, but months later, most of the candy is up in the cupboard, forgotten......well maybe not by their parents or the occasional grandparent that comes over and grabs from the stash.

Happy Easter everyone (even though it is June....no matter)

Robb

Rebecca would kill me, and probably will once she sees this, but I think it speaks to her hard work ethic, and my great camera skills. If you know Rebecca well, you know she doesn't wait around her husband to get home to start a project. She figures it out on her own and has accomplished quite a bit around the house. We pulled out all of the bushes in front of the house and had to rototill the front. She jumped in and started. I think it gave her a sense of power. Last summer, we remodeled the inside of the house, so this year, alot of our time has been spent planting, tearing out, painting the house, putting up shingles, etc. I will get some pictures later once I get more organized. All to say, spring time has been spent taking a lot of advil and talking about our aches and pains. It is all worth it. The picture of the kids in the hot tub is from when we went up to Leavenworth for the weekend to celebrate my birthday. We had a great time. both sets of parents and three dogs came up and we had a great time. By the way, March was the month I welcomed in the age of 35--no big deal!! So for my birthday, Reba allowed me to buy a forest green jeep Wrangler, which I love. It is fun to drive, and hey, i needed a different car anyway. So driving to work now is spent giving the two finger wave to all those other Jeep Wrangler owners out there. Didn't know there was a separate underground society of Jeep owners. I have really enjoyed the car. Until next time.

Robb

Two months since last post! It's Reba's fault

No excuses, I know, but for crying out loud, blogging can take a long time with life happening around all of us. Well, so i guess we will start back in the end of April. No judgement, just be happy that there is some sort of activity on this site. the major event for April was Reba working her tail off for her Sensaria incentive trip to Maui. She put a lot of time in that month, but it did pay off. She earned the trip, not just for one, but for two people. Now I know that some of you are thinking that I pushed Reba to the brink of exhaustion with a trip for two to Hawaii looming, but it was all her. I, of course, told her that if she only made the trip for one, I was proud of her and that would be the end of it. As it turned out though, she pushed through and now we both get to enjoy the Hawaiian water at the Marriott in Maui for 6 days in October. Because she worked so hard that month, the kids and I gave her a surprise Luau party at the house where we decorated and made an attempt at Hawaiian cuisine. We had a great time, the kids dressed up in their bathing suits and flip flops (not thongs, but flip-flops), and we played Hawaiian music. We had a great time. The kids thought they were going on the trip too at first, but were re-directed soon after. Once May hit, the kids thought we would be leaving for Hawaii and wondered why it was taking so long. We explained the concept of delayed gratification. So, we will be boarding the plane October 4th for six days of relaxation--Reba really deserves this. Even though April was a busy month, the kids still were in swimming lessons twice a week, and Jacob and Jonah were playing baseball. Noah was the typical third child who played in the dirt at the games and ran around with a pack of other children. It has been really fun watching them learn the ins and outs of baseball. They have their playoff game this next Monday and Tuesday, June 18th and 19th. They have played for two months now so we are passed the point of telling them where 1st base is, not to hold and ball and run with it, and finally, when to stop doing cart wheels in the outfield. It has been a blast to watch, and they have had a lot of great support from their grandparents and aunts and uncles the past couple months. Until next time, over and out!

Robb

Easter at the LeRoy's

We all had a great time Easter this year at the LeRoy's. We had both sides of the family over which worked out really well. It is always more fun when there are more kids in the picture. We started out with great weather--sunny skies if you can believe it. We had everyone over for lunch and as soon as possible, the kids were able to go out and run around for Easter eggs. They had a great time and it was fun watching them run around. It always amazes me that they can find all the eggs within minutes and then the festivities are over. I guess the adults have to do a better job hiding them. We had a great lunch and good time with family. We ranged in age from a year old to 90.

It's been awhile

Where to begin? There have been a lot of things going on over the past three months. The winter has been more unusual than normal. We had more snow days and power outage days than we normally do. All that means now is making sure those days are made up for the kids. Seems like every time we turn around, the kids are out of school for this holiday or conferences. All the kids are really enjoying school. Jacob had his first grade spring program where he played a weed. He did this with such enthusiasm, it was great to watch. Jonah is loving kindergarten, wishing he was going full days. Noah loves his preschool and seems to keep busy running around after Jonah when he gets home from school. Kids are still in swimming two nights a week, which they love, but starting next week, they will be in baseball. They can't wait to be on a real team. Their lives are filled to the brim with fun and we are just going along for the ride.

Jacob and I were able to go to Spring training for the first time this March. We met my brothers and their sons, and my dad. We went down for three days and went to two Mariners games. We had a blast and the cousins couldn't get enough baseball and swimming. It was great to spend time with all the snorts. It is something I would highly recommend doing. The seats were cheap and were close to the field. The weather was also unseasonably warm at 100 degrees which made swimming even more needed. I will have to post some of the pictures when I get them on the computer.

Now some will say that I have gone through a mini-mid life crisis since turning 35, but there has been no crisis. I finally had the opportunity to buy a Jeep Wrangler, which is something I have wanted to do since age 16. It was actually Reba's idea, so I ran with it. It is a great car. I have had a good time driving to work. On top of getting a new car, I decided to cut my hair, which is a big deal since I have had the same haircut since age 13. Time to move a head a little bit. So, 35 isn't half bad so far.

We are looking forward to the summer, doing a little bit of travel, working in the yard a lot, and playing with he kids. I will give an update this week with some pictures. Take care and thanks for the patience.

Robb

SNOW.....friend or foe?

It seems like every time it snows, it is beautiful, but there are problems as well. Just five days ago, Rebecca went out in the car with all the kids and she got stuck in the snow. She ended up walking home with all the kids in 20 degree weather. Actually, she ended up carrying most of the kids at different times as they tire easily. Once the car had been freed from the snow, it slid down our driveway into the street while our family enjoyed a nice, quiet, dinner. O.K., the nice quiet part is stretching it, but it would have been nice if I hadn't found the car in the street half way through the meal. So, one may think that those two experiences would be enough for the year. But no.

This morning I woke at 5:30 like many other people looking out the window and watching the television to see what the commute will be like and how you may need to juggle your schedule. I decided once looking out the window, that I would "work from home" and leave around 10:00. The kids got up and were cheering for another day home in the snow while Rebecca moaned and began making her coffee. Around 7:00, a man came to our door. Over his shoulder, I saw his Honda Accord "parked" right behind our Honda. He said, "I was coming around the corner, lost control, slid over the rock wall and now the rock is lodged under my car. The same rock that was caught under our car five days earlier. I set my coffee down, put my coat on, and silently let out a sigh that seemed to last the entire walk down to the car. After using a jack, and multiple other objects from both his car and my garage, we got him free, put the rock back in the same spot, and exchanged information. With a "Have a great rest of y our day", he was on his way down the street. I came back inside, picked up my now cold coffee, and started my work from home. Because I thought that my odds of getting in an accident had decreased exponentially, I decided to make the drive to Gig Harbor to work the rest of the day. There were no other major car events that involved me, but I did pass the fifteen other cars who were hugging trees and bushes a long the way.

My hope now is that the snow is over for at least a week so that we can get back to the dull drums of a normal schedule. The kids laughed tonight when I told them that mommy was going to drop all of them of at school tomorrow even if school was canceled. They all thought this was funny, but when I glanced at Rebecca, she seemed to have a familiar smirk on her face that was concerning. All I can say is that this winter has given us all more stories that winters past. Hang on to them and tell whomever will listen.

Have a great day on the ice tomorrow and may your commute be safe.

Robb

Always use your E break!!

We all get used to coming home from the grocery store, grabbing the groceries, locking the car, and heading inside to get settled. Don't deceive yourself. I ran through these same steps tonight, trying to get the groceries home for dinner. The only difference tonight, compared to other nights, is that there is snow and ice in the driveway. During dinner, the dog was barking more than normal when he was supposed to be eating dinner. Frustrated and exhausted, I put my coat on and went out to check on the dog. He was barking at the street and I walked up and said, "What Lego?" I looked up and noticed that the car was in the street. After a couple seconds of processing, I realized that the car should have been in the driveway. After calmly staring at it for a couple seconds and patting the dog on the head, I walked back into the house, past the loud conversation going on at the dinner table, and picked up the keys to the car. I sighed, and said, "I am going to go and move the car from the middle of the street." Reba said, "O.K.......wait a minute, the street?" She was as shocked as I was. So our dinner quickly turned into the whole family watching me stare at the car from the comfort of the garage.

Once the crowd dispersed, I used many techniques to try and dislodge the large rock from our rock wall from underneath the middle of the car. Yes, the car slid down the hill, and over the corner of the rock wall. The car sat there teetering, if you will. I had old ramps to change the oil with and I put them behind the rear tires. I put boxes under the from tires for traction and let her rip. The boxes went under the tires and flew out the front, hitting the garbage cans and flying into the neighbors yard. That didn't work. I then got some sand from the kids sand box and put that under the front tires for traction. I slowly pushed on the gas and the back of the car lifted up. I got out of the car and pulled the large rock from underneath the car. It was free. All in a days work. Moral of the story is....I am not sure, but be sure to put a log under the tire of your car if it has snowed and is icy, and the date is January 11th, and the time is 5:35 p.m. That is all for today. Be safe in the snow.

Robb

Christmas

There is always a joke in our family. Rebecca putting up Christmas lights or doing yard work always looking dressed to the nine's. She doesn't plan this, it just happens. It usually starts by her getting out of the car, seeing the lights on the driveway, and then picking them up and starting the process. She has gotten a lot of crap from neighbors who look over and see Rebecca on a step ladder, putting lights up or mowing the lawn. I had to take a picture to make sure people actually believe me. If you are wondering where I was during this process, I was taking the picture and having a cup of coffee. For all of you who wonder if I did anything during the holidays, yes I did. I actually did put up the lights on the house this year, and Rebecca put the light around the bushes and trees. It looked great.

We were able to calm the kids down long enough to catch their picture in front of the tree.

We went to my Christmas party for work and Santa came and Jonah was able to get some one-on-one Santa time before he was bombarded.

Christmas Eve was spent with my parents and sister's family. The kids always have a good time as Christmas Eve approaches. We had a nice dinner and we all opened gifts that night. We came home around 9 p.m., got the kids in bed and started prep for Christmas morning.

The kids were so excited to have Santa come down the chimney and leave presents. They left out cookies and egg nog for Santa and were so surprised to see if half eaten when they woke up. We spent the morning with Rebecca's family and had a great time opening presents. Later on in the afternoon, we started a new tradition and had over more family for enchiladas and chips and dip. We had a great day and the kids had a great time opening gifts and playing with them.

Robb

Fun in the snow!

I I I had promise some pictures of the kids playing in the snow in December. Some are them at our house and a couple are when we went over to Spokane for New Years and went intertubing. We had a great time and asked ourselves why we haven't done that with the kids at Snoqualmie Pass. Jonah had a great time playing in this surprise snow one morning when we woke up. It is small, but Jonah loved putting on the carrot. The other picture is of my dad, my sister, and niece, Sophia. We all had a great time in the snow over December. Enjoy the pictures!

Robb

December is over already?

Like always, time seems to fly by and December is the worst. We had a great month of Christmas gatherings with friends and family. The kids had many snow/power outage days at home which made Christmas break that much longer. Christmas seems to get more fun each year as the kids grow up. I am still trying to download some pictures so that you can see first hand the fun and chaos. The weekend after Christmas, we went over to Spokane to visit my brother and sister in law, my sister and her family, and my parents. The kids went intertubing and sledding, bowling, and swimming. We brought in the new year doing a lot of playing. 2006 has been an interesting year. It has been filled with a lot of fun, stress, and hard work. We are looking forward to enjoying our spring and summer, doing lots of work in the yard. This weekend, I tagged along on a leadership conference that Rebecca had for work in Anaheim. We are staying at the Grand California Disney Hotel and it is great. My biggest decision of the day is whether to lay by the pool, work out, or do Disneyland. This morning, I went to Disneyland with my Uncle Ken and we went on all the big rides and had luch by noon. When the girls get off around 4, we are all going to go back and play the rest of the day. Rebecca is working hard and I am playing hard. It is amazing how three days can really take you away and give you some perspective. I will try and get some pictures of Christmas up once I return home. Have a great 2007 everyone and let us know how you are doing.

Resting in Disneyland (Robb)