Ape Cave

Thursday - we took the girls to Cougar and Ape Cave.  This was at Yale Lake, Harper is quite the rock skipper.  

Stopped at the interpretive center where there's a boardwalk through the forest and many tree wells.

They climbed down into one that you could crawl through.

Harper leading the way in the cave,

giving Ava extra light to climb down some rocks.

I turned back midway and the three of them went to the end.

A selfie when back to daylight.

My view when they came out.  

A very fun day, and later we got the great news that Ellie was born.

 

Wrennie

Sweet Wrennie, she was scared of us again, so we backed away and watched her play.

She can motor all around in the walker.

Loves playing with Gigi,

and Auntie Rielee.

And got up all fours a couple of times, she's ready to crawl!

She was very serious while waiting for her dinner.

 

Meeting Ellie

We went to the hospital Friday to meet Ellie Lou.  What a doll she is!

And so much hair!

Proud Gigi was there, too.

She looks like Parker a little but also Alissa.

Just a beautiful baby girl.

 

Josie and Hattie

A fun visit with Josie and Hattie sometime in July.

Josie wanted to create a wedding venue for the Barbie's to get married in.  

I have such fun with these two, especially being their secret "postman" when they get mail at the play fort. They get so excited to get mail.

 

16!

How can they be 16 already?  But here they are, soon to be driving...I don't even want to think about that!

We celebrated with a fun little party at Papa Pete's in Ridgefield.

 

Alissa & Parker's shower, July hospital patients

I am so far behind, it's been an eventful couple of weeks.  Alissa and Parker's shower was June 28th. It was so nice. 

Craig playing with Wrennie

 After opening their gifts the next day, so many nice, useful things.

Then Papa rocked our world by having heart attack the morning of July 2nd, he was life flighted from St. John to SW in Vancouver.  He got two stents in his right artery and was back home the next day.  His only symptoms were left shoulder blade pain and cold sweats.  Fortunately, he was treated in time and had no damage to his heart.

When I got home from the hospital, Craig gave me a ride back to Longview to get the truck (Rielee drove me to SW).  I got a much-needed soothing baby fix from Wrennie.  

Ava and Harper came up Saturday night and got to meet Ben.

They were impressed with his cuteness.  

Harper had a bad stomach ache that night.

Sunday, we visited the newly redone Mt. St. Helens Interpretive Center,

but didn't do much else because of Harper's stomach ache.  Nothing we tried helped her pain.

Later, we found out what the problem was when she ended up at Sunnyside with appendicitis.

She was moved to OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital and they operated

Monday afternoon.  

Kelly said she was on pain meds at this time.

She spent the night to get IV antibiotics and was home early Tuesday.

The hospital staff said she was the nicest teenage patient they've ever had.

Such a sweet, but tough cookie!

 

Josie's birthday, summer league volleyball

Josie is five years old!  She got lots of nice gifts, lots of craft stuff since that's what she's into now.

She had blueberry cobbler as her cake (and ate every bite)!  That's little Brentley in the high chair.

Hattie came to play yesterday and for the first time asked to play with the Barbies.

Rielee serving at Kelso summer league, she's on the Alumni team.  On the other team - in the red shirt- is Bridget playing for RA Long, fun to see them competing together each other!  Jillian wasn't at this game.