These pictures are from a cheapy disposable camera, and you can tell! But at least we have something that recorded the trip

David has taken Tanner and Ashlyn on rafting trips in the past, and he decided this year was McKenzie’s turn. He talked me into going with them. I was scared crap-less… thanks to my dumb water fear. Everyone has that one fear, it seems. Spiders, Bridges, Heights, Fire, whatever… mine is WATER. And it sucks because my family is entirely made up of waterbugs. They love it. I gave in.. and decided I need to face my fear. I researched the rafting company we were using, Zoller’s (www.zooraft.com). I researched the river, The Klickitat. I spent lots of time on this LOL. From what I could tell, the chance of our raft flipping and me drowning were pretty slim. That was my main fear, falling out of the raft. About 5 minutes after we got started, I was 100% confident in our guide’s ability to keep us SAFE and IN THE BOAT, and I had a fantastic time. It was an all day adventure, included a yummy lunch about halfway through. We went with our friends, Mike & Angie and their daughter Lakyah.

My fear of water isn’t any different, but my fear of rafting has been faced and is quietly tucked away for now. McKenzie did great, she paddled like a champ and even though the water was COLD and we were constantly getting splashed, she didn’t complain at all.

I’m ready to go again, any time

David and I took McKenzie and 3 of her friends to Long Beach for the day. Those girls are a trip! We visited the lighthouse, ate at Chico’s Pizza, rented beach bikes, went on the GoKarts, got goodies at the bakery, played at the arcade and visited some shops. We stopped by Cool Scoops on our drive home for dinner and ice cream. Very memorable birthday for Kenzie-girl, and we had a good time too

Coming out of hiding for a few minutes to post a Happy Birthday wish to my nephew Lane Happy 7th Birthday Lane! It’s been almost a full year since I’ve made my last post. That is sad!! I got a new computer earlier this year and lost all of my website editing software, so that was part of the problem. Figuring out how to still make posts, through a different program. Hard to teach an old cat new tricks But, I think I’ve got it!

Update from here… everyone is a year older… a little wiser… and a little busier… KT (our oldest) is getting ready to have her first baby, making David and I grandparents. Yipes. That’s hard to type still, but we are going to be the coolest grandparents on the planet, so once I realized that, it’s getting easier to come to grips with being a Grammy at 35 years old! She is due on the 8th and we are all excited to meet the little man. Everyone has their guess as to when he’s going to make his appearance. KT is doing great, no problems with her pregnancy and is excited to be a mommy. It’s a boy!! I’ll post pictures and more info when he’s born. Woohoo! Another generation being started. So hard to believe!

Will post more soon. I need to be better about posting, I feel terrible that I’ve let it go this long. Sorry family!

We then went to Barnes & Noble to turn in the girls Summer Reading Passports.

They each earned a free book. McKenzie picked out "39 Clues" from the list of options they provided. Our second copy LOL. Bailey picked "Puppy Place: Goldie". McKenzie had a $25 gift card to spend from her birthday. So, she also got "Fang". $17.99 for that book -ouch! Coming from the used bookstore/library shoppin’ mom. Especially when I get home and see it on Amazon for $10.79!! Blah to B&N! LOL. She’s been waiting for that book for awhile though, so to her — it was worth every penny!

Then we headed over to Toys R Us for Bailey to spend a $50 gift card she got for her birthday back in February. Took us long enough to get her there to use it - we are slackers! Bailey picked out a bike that was on sale for $49.99.

We bought it in Portland, so no sales tax, and she was so happy to put her Dora The Explorer 12″ bike to rest!! She went from 12″ to 18″. Hah! She’s a petite little thing, but had outgrown her old bike a good year ago. I was happy with her choice, because her other thought was a Club Penguin membership. Glad she bought something she can play with outside! I didn’t even have to put a bug in her ear about it either. Woot!

We stopped and visted Katelyn for a bit and then headed up to Longview (we traveled the SW Washington map today -ha!) We had a quick snack of Nachos while we were checking into some things there:

And, we FINALLY headed home so Bailey could spend some daylight hours with her new toy. She was asking to ride it at every stop in between.

Around the World For Free is a fully interactive online reality show. Jeff Schroeder attempts to travel around the world in 100 days … without a penny in his pocket. Where he’ll go and how he’ll get there have yet to be determined, but at least he won’t be alone. Fans can follow along on CBS.com every step of the way, offering tips, travel photos and even a helping hand. Sign up now for Around the World For Free updates.

Here’s the recipe:

Easy Homemade Play Doh

1 c. Flour
1 c. Warm Water
2 tsp. Cream of Tartar
1 tsp. Vegetable Oil
1/8 c. Salt
Kool Aid Packet (for color)

Mix it all up, adding the kool aid last. Once it’s all mixed up together, throw it on the stovetop over medium heat. Keep stirring until it forms a glob in the bottom of the pan and is well blended. It becomes hard to stir at that point, takes about 3-5 minutes I’d say. It might look kind of clumpy at times, making you think you messed it up, but stick with it! It will be fine

Kenzie and I thought that the after product looked like a big piece of bubble gum

The girls decided to play “Chopped”
2 rounds of it. Easy for me.
I was the judge and could pick each of them as winners, making a tie.

Round 1:
Secret Ingredients:
Strawberries, Salmon, and Sour gummy bears.

Bailey’s first dish
(a salmon souffle with strawberry sauce and gummy bears)

McKenzie’s first dish:
(Salmon cakes in various shapes and a strawberry/sour gummies sauteed sauce)

Round 2: Desserts
Secret Ingredients: Watermelon, Bread, Cotton Candy (their choices)

Bailey’s Dish:
A cupcake with cotton candy and watermelon sauce.

McKenzie’s Dish
A fruit salad with bread pasta, and cotton candy cookies that say I <3 U Awh.

Bored? Get a quick entertainment fix by smashin’ some screaming beans. It gave Bailey and I chuckle Happy Friday ya’ll!