Lake Chelan

We spent a fabulous week in Lake Chelan, WA with my family. We stayed at Watson's resort which we thoroughly enjoyed - shade, trees, grass, sand, quiet beaches, shallow water, fishing, warm swimming pool -- just great. Other than the crowded sleeping conditions, it was perfect -- and we managed to do just fine even sleeping on top of each other. In spite of being there was all our kids and Paxton being up most nights, it still managed to feel relaxing. A definite winner!

Our cabin.

View from our dock.

"I love this, Mom!"

We always try to get a nice picture of Katherine & Sarah together, but for some reason, with these 2 calm, quiet, shy little girls, it never seems to work out!

Her face is ALMOST clean!

Mark left in Lake Chelan for the weekend and drove to Lake Stevens to compete in an Olympic Triathlon (Half-Ironman). Incredibly long! He had competed in it once before, but this time he really trained. He shaved over an hour of his previous time so he was pleased. We missed him, but we were glad he had such a good time.

The kids loved the swimming pool because the water was warm enough to be bathwater. Especially great early in the day when they weren't hot enough to jump into the cold lake. Bennett practiced his swimming all week and turned into quite the fish. 

Mom & Dad brought some inflatable rafts that the boys had a great time paddling around in.

Bennett and Mark chilling by the lake.

We celebrated Bennett's birthday again with my family -- lucky kid! He enjoyed it just as much the second time around.

Uncle Hoobie carved him this cool sword with a "B" on it. He LOVED it!

The cake wasn't as fancy but it was still a big hit!

Paxton was up early every morning, along with one or two other kids. Mark and I took turns getting up. This particular early morning, Mark was out on the dock with Katherine and Paxton, watching the sunrise.

My parents rented a boat one day. Sarah wasn't so sure she liked going fast. Here she is hiding from the sun and wind on my mom's lap. (We've tried using the binkie only in bed, but at certain times when we want her to be brave or quiet, it comes out.)

Jackson, on the other hand, had no fear! He wanted to stay out on the inner tube all day. Mark tried hard to buck him off, but to no avail. He loved every minute!

Mark and Aaron tried some water skiing.

The girls didn't care if they were swimsuits before they played in the water. Anything to get their fingers in the sand!

Another day we rented wave runners. Again, Jackson was a surprising dare devil. I wish we had a video of his crazy driving. He loved doing figure eights and jumping over the wake, making a hug splash. He even threw me off the back with his crazy driving! Bennett was not so sure he liked it, but he slowly got braver as the day went on. Sarah did not even want a turn.

Jonah and Paxton had a great time playing on shore.

Lucas introduced the boys to "Angry Birds" and they were soon addicted.

Sarah & Katherine loved cuddling with their papa. The kids fed the ducks almost every morning.

It is always funny to try and get a group family picture. Just reflects the chaos of life these days!

Thanks, Mom and Dad and everyone, for a fabulous week. We can't wait to do it again!

Bennett's 5th Birthday

I had forgotten how much fun it is to throw a little kid birthday party!

Bennett wanted a dinosaur party - which was great because I had already thrown 2 dinosaur parties for Jackson so we had lots of ideas for him to choose from. It turned out to be a fantastic party. Everyone had a great time.

We made a t-rex birthday cake. Not quite up to "Emily Standards" (hers would've been 3-D) but Bennett kept telling me it was the best birthday cake ever, so it definitely did the job! The kids all had a fun time helping me make it.

When the kids arrived they could dig for dinosaur bones in the gravel, play with plastic dinosaurs, or make a dinosaur hat. 

Then they gathered for a dinosaur egg hunt. (We put tiny plastic dinosaurs, along with those foam "grow capsules" that turn into dinosaurs in water, and a little candy, into Easter eggs and hid them around the yard.)

Jackson gave the instructions.

Searching through the garden.

Showing off their loot.

Then we played a version of Sharks and Minnows called "Dinosaurs and Volcanoes." I think Jackson lost most of the kids with his intricate instructions, but they had a great time chasing each other through the yard.

Bennett was "IT."

Waiting to run.

Mayhem.

And loving it.

Then we played "Pin the Tail on the Velociraptor," with an excellent dinosaur drawn by Jackson.

Lastly we played "Feed the Hungry T-Rex." Mark was the T-Rex and the kids through water balloons at him to try and "feed" him. He was such a good sport and the kids loved it!

Throwing a water balloon.

Crowding to get more balloons.

A little cake and ice cream and it was time to go home. A good time had by all, especially Bennett.

After the party, the Friess family members that hadn't made it to the party came up for pizza and more cake. Does Bennett look like he enjoyed his birthday??

Bennett and Canyon.

Opening presents.

Family photo of John Friess family -- possibly a Christmas card.

Playing Catch Up - Gunson Reunion

Great-Grandpa John, Grandma Sharon, and Ryan playing cards.

Back in July, we made our annual trip to Gunson Family Reunion. As always it was a fabulous family event. We all had a great time, playing games, making crafts and eating lots of bacon. Lucas came with  us, even though his parents weren't able to make it. Even though he and Jackson both got sick, we still managed to have a good time.

My  niece, Haven, striking a pose.

As usual, Uncle Brent was the favorite for wrestling and rough-housing.

Uncle Dan helped many of the kids build things this year. 

Lucas carved a boat out of a log.

The kids made crafts with Aunt Kathy and other relatives.

Playing games with Grandma.

Sarah went for a ride on the OttaScoot with Jackson. Unfortunately, when they headed over the bridge, she crashed and hit her head. Luckily Grandpa & Mark were able to patch her up just fine.

More crafts.

Bailey's fancy hairdo to keep away the tangles.

Sarah LOVED Nick & Emily's dog, Gizmo.

Mark & Pax staying hydrated.

Canyon and Paxton are only two months apart, but seem to be polar opposites. Pax will not sit still, always on the go, eating everything he can find. He really only wants his mom to hold him. He'll settle for someone else only if he can't see or hear or smell me. Canyon loves to sit and cuddle. He is tiny can be, and is not even slightly interested in food. He'll let anyone hold him as long as they love to snuggle too. Fortunately, they are both totally darling and are fascinated with each other.

Bennett made a pipe cleaner bird feeder.

Friday night Bingo was a big hit as usual.

Lucas.

Robert & Bailey.

Jackson.

Mark's cousin, Ben, came with his girlfriend.

Dan scared everyone with his nasty moustache (that is now thankfully gone!) but the singing of the Gunson Family Song was a huge winner.

Mark put together a wonderful family history slideshow outlining some of the information that we found in England. It was extremely well done. Before the reunion, he helped Jackson & Lucas make this short stop-motion animation as part of the introduction. (An error occurred while trying to upload it. I'm trying to get another version from Mark to upload. In the meantime you can see it as part of the slideshow on Mark's posterous account.)

I don't seem to have photos of some of the best parts -- the fabulous talent show, the Gunson Fun Run, the mounds of bacon that were consumed, etc. You'll have to check out the rest of the family's blogs for these, I guess. Good job, Dan & Danielle, for organizing a great year. We're already looking forward to next year!

Sarah Speak

Sarah has her own special way of talking these days.
Many words have an "s" on the end: "waters," "butters."
Many more words have taken on an "-ia" at then end: "daddia," "Paxia," "Mommia," ... So many words that you have to translate from this strange pig latin in order to understand her.
Katherine started to notice at during our family reunion last week, and started using the same intonations. Much to her mother's chagrine.

But her words also have a way of melting your heart. How can one resist when she looks at you with big brown eyes and says "Grandpa, I need you." She has a special soft spot in her heart for both her grandpas, and really for men in general. A few weeks ago she was having a rough time during church (as usual) so we were in the hall (as usual). She was very upset because her father had gone back into the chapel without her. Our former bishop, Dean Cluff, was sitting on the couch with his daughter, who is about the same age (with darling curly blond hair, btw.) He said, "Sarah, come here and sit with us" and held his arms open. Now, my boys would have turned and run the other way, even if it has been one of those favored grandpas. But not Sarah. She looked briefly at me and then ran into his open arms, jumped into his lap, and stayed there for the rest of the meeting. Last Sunday, she was just as eager to cuddle up with him (although she didn't stay still quite so long.)

She loves to stretch and exercise. She is frequently next to Mark when he comes home from a run, doing a little "down dog" and trying her best to imitate a push up. She dances and twirls in circles while singing little made-up songs about princesses. She loves to try and put on "make-ups" and look at herself in the mirror.

Although Sarah is a girly-girl, she is the FILTHIEST girly-girl you have ever seen. She LOVES to be dirty. As soon as she is outside, she is digging the dirt and gravel, running her hands through it, swirling it around. At the Gunson Reunion this summer, I even caught her sticking down her pants! When she eats, she loves to use her hands. She wants to dip her fingers in her yogurt or ketchup or whatever and feel it all over her hands and face. When she draws or paints, it invariably ends up all over her body. She is extremely tactile. I think she will probably be a sculptor or a gardener -- where she can sink her hands into something every day.

To add to the filth, she has had a runny nose for most of 2010, due to colds and/or seasonal allergies. Just something more for the dirt to stick it. So every picture you see of her will have a beautiful little girl with gorgeous curly hair and big, dark brown eyes, and a FILTHY face. Gotta love her!

Thoughts on Black

I have been trying to upload photos to my blog but apparently I have used up all my free space with big pictures. So I have been working on making a book of old blog posts and downloading it onto my computer so I can delete really old posts instead of worrying about resizing my pictures. (There is probably some other way to solve this problem, but I'm not savvy enough to know it. Plus, it was extremely easy to print my blog and I'm excited about having a hard copy to keep as my family journal.)

In the meantime while I sort out storage issues, there are still thoughts to share.

This morning Mark and I went to the funeral of a friend who had lived in our ward for many years. She died of cancer at age 66, much too young. I debated about what to wear to the funeral. She was the kind of woman that would expect you to wear pink or red to her "Celebration of Life" rather than black. But the dress that was clean and pressed was black so I wore it with a colorful camisole and bracelet so it didn't appear so mournful.

It made me contemplate the reason a person traditionally wore black when mourning the loss of a loved one. It let the whole world know that you were sad. It told them to treat you with special care, to be careful what they asked, and how they asked it. My sweet sister and brother-in-law are mourning the loss of his brother. Some people have inadvertently brushed off this news as if it were no big deal and they should somehow be "over it" already. Others have no idea that anything has happened. They did not know Jake, and they have no way of knowing that he is gone or how much he is missed, unless Amanda and Geoff make a point of sharing this information -- not something they would be inclined to do with most people. It seems like a wonderful tradition to have a "sign" that said "please treat me with care" for a period of time after someone has died. There was no need to explain or tell the whole story, unless you wanted to. People just knew.

I found that thought comforting somehow. That a tradition from the past, that may have seemed confining or restrictive when looked at from a modern perspective, may really have been about kindness and love and gentleness -- Just what is needed at such a time.

Catching Up

I am extremely behind in posting about our summer. I want to give a special thanks to Eric Anderson for diagnosing and fixing the problem with my SLOW computer. It is no longer painful to open iPhoto. I greatly appreciate it. It's now worth the time and effort to me to put some photos online for your viewing pleasure.

This is Bennett in our new garden. Isn't it lovely? We are thoroughly enjoying eating snap peas and cherry tomatoes from our backyard. Almost every night we have a salad with lettuce we grew ourselves. Best of all, Sarah & Bennett love it too!