Canning Party at the Ranch... Everyone's invited!

Laurie came down to the ranch for the day and invited all of us to come and can plums with her. She's the expert so we were happy to learn! (Her plum jam is the BEST THERE IS!) Rachel, Maryann Berryhill, and myself all gathered in the kitchen with Laurie to can fruit. Together we chopped, cooked, canned, and processed over 30 jars! It was a fun day! While we worked in the kitchen our kids played outside. Uncle Jared set up the "super" water-slide, so needless to say; the kids were entertained. A day at the ranch is never boring! Thanks Laurie for offering to teach us, we had fun! And by the way... the jam is AWESOME!

Pinecrest Campout!

So... what is summer without at least one trip to Pinecrest?! So... Mike and I ventured up the mountain and invited Rachel and Jared to tag along. It was AWESOME! On our first night we watched a "Movie Underneath the Stars" (Journey to the Center of the Earth) and then returned to our campsite for some yummy s'mores. On Saturday morning we had one of Mike's delicious campout breakfasts then packed up and moved on over to the lake. The weather was perfect. It wasn't too hot. (Which was good because there were so many people that the only spot we could find was out in the sun in the middle of the sand) The kids swam, built sandcastles, and just had fun! At the end of the day we BBQ'd some hot dogs for chili cheese dogs, made some more s'mores... then watched one more "Movie Underneath the Stars." This time it was "Wall-e." It was a really fun weekend. It was going to be fun anyway, but having good company to share it with made the weekend all that much more enjoyable. Thanks Rachel and Jared for joining us. We love hanging with you! Like I've said before... our family ROCKS!

This is for you Rachel!

Rachel wanted a few sepia "beach" pictures for Morgan's room, so here are a few that I cooked up. Personally... I LOVE them! (And there's more were these came from too! :)

More Summer Fun!

Rachel had her and Jared's nieces Hannah, Autumn, and Abby visiting, so we all spent the day at the Ripon water park. Morgan is a WATER BABY! The kids splashed around and played together for hours. We stopped just long enough to have a picnic. By the way... the picture of Brenden pouting was just too cute that I had to post it along with all of the other pictures. He was having a "whining" kind of day! Don't we all have those days now and then?

Pretty Paris...

I suppose that maybe I'm bragging, though I don't mean it in that way; but I was overwhelmed when I took these pictures with just how beautiful Paris is becoming. I can see the young woman inside of her coming to the surface. It is a bittersweet feeling watching her these days. I love seeing all of her acheivements and discoveries, I love watching her change and grow and flourish. I also miss that beautiful baby that I held in my arms just moments ago, and that sweet toddler that would wake me in the middle of the night with the famous words: "ppsst! Mommy, it's me, Paris!" She's a wonderful girl with a loving heart and a quick mind. She has many talents, and now on top of all of that... she is just simply beautiful!

Happy Birthday Grandpa, Papa, and Rachel!

To celebrate our July birthdays, we gathered at the river park in Knights Ferry and had an AWESOME dinner that Dad and Meredith prepared. We visited, splashed in the water a bit, took a walk, and finished off the evening with some delicious homemade peach cobbler. It was a great way to spend a Sunday evening! I love our family!

Good Times at the Lake!

Since Laurie was in town we decided to take advantage of the weekend weather and head out to Lake Don Pedro. Meredith, Laurie, Brooke, Rachel, Jared, Amber, and all of our children spent the day soaking up the sun. Maryann Berryhill joined us too! We BBQ'd hot dogs and simply spent time together. The kids had tons of fun swimming and playing with the sand toys.

Uncle Jared the hero... Royce was VERY afraid of the water and wouldn't venture anywhere near it. Uncle Jared took his time and talked Royce into simply sitting next to him and putting his feet in. Jared played games with him and helped him to feel more comfortable around the water. Finally Royce was in the water splashing and laughing right along with the rest of the kids. Good job Uncle Jared!

Happy 5th Birthday Billy!

July 10th, 2008... Billy Wetenkamp turns 5 years old! Brooke and Jared gave him every little boy's dream... a Mario Brothers themed party! There were Mario games like hot potato but instead done with a Wii controller, pin the tie on Donkey Kong, and some fun relays too! As always, Brooke outdid herself with another AMAZING cake. When it came time for presents Billy scored! He got a "Hummer" bicycle! There was also a BBQ and lots of swimming. All in all it was another fun day spent with the Wetenkamps. Could you expect anything less?!

Some Simple Fun!

Maryn, Camille, and Dominick came over to play with Paris, Brenden, and Sophia while the adults attended Frank's funeral. They played dress up, polly pockets, superheroes, and really just had fun simply being together. After lunch I laid out some paper and fingerpaints and together they all worked on a birthday poster for Billy! Camille said that her hands felt "juicy."

With this bunch, you don't need a lot to have fun. Here they all jumped into the dry bathtub to pretend that they were mermaids and mermen. They certainly are a cute bunch of kids... don't you think?!

A Cousin's Day to Play!

Auntie Meredith and Auntie Amber decided that 110 degree weather was too hot to spend a day at just any old park... so instead we visited a local "water" park in Ripon. Water fountains shoot out of the ground and run all day long. The kids played for hours! We had a picnic and at the end of the day finished off with an ice cream cone from Thrifty's!

Paris, Maryn, Sophia, and Camille take a little break from the water...

Sophia, Aunite Meredith, Dominick, Camille, and Maryn relax on a nearby bench...

Sophia, Maryn, Paris, Brenden, Aunite Meredith, Camille, and Dominick enjoy their ice creams!

A Fun 4th of July Weekend!

Mike, myself, Paris, Sophia, and Brenden all went to the Wetenkamps to celebrate the 4th! We swam, BBQ'd, had face painting, sang karaoke, and ended the night with a few simple fireworks of our own. It was a cozy gathering and as you can see... lots of fun!

Paris, Brenden and Sophia had a sleep-over with Billy and Layla on the 4th, so the next day I came back and we partied some more! This time Papa, Auntie Meredith, Camille, and Maryn joined the party! We swam some more and BBQ'd some more! It was a simple, relaxing, fun weekend!