Tory's 8th Birthday!

"So, Tory, what theme do you want for your birthday THIS year?"

"UM....I want.... horses.... and birds!"

"Horse.....and......birds, hu?"

"Yes! We can decorate half the party with horses, and the other half with birds!"

A couple days later.....thanks to my brilliant mom: Tory had decided to combine the two themes and go for a Pegasus party instead. Phew!

A couple days LATER, she decided, because we went to see Walking with Dinosaurs during the summer free movies at Fairchild, that NOW she wanted to have a dinosaur party! Well, at least I had not done anything to prepare for it yet.  When we went to pick out a piñata, however, Tory did not like the dinosaur choices available, but LOVED the Rainbow Dash My Little Pony piñata. So, we ended up have a dinosaur/pony party. :)

One of the presents Tory got on a different day, was a turtle she named Sammy. She actually paid for most of it herself with her allowance.

Just for fun, a few days later, when Kiera and Uncle Paul were leaving, the three girls wanted to decorate a cake.  So, I got an old Cabbage Patch Kid mold which my mom actually used for us when we were kids, and we baked a box cake together. Then, the girls went for it! They LOVE dropping the food coloring into the frosting and watching it turn the white to whatever color they picked. And since it was Tory's actual birthday, we sang to her again, just for the fun of it. :)

SOOO fuzzy, but I just loved the smiles of the moment....

Uncle Paul and Kiera!

It was such a treat to have my brother, Paul, and beautiful Keira visit again this summer! We hung out at my parent's house a lot, where the girls swam, played in the river, and had fun with all the chickens, goats, and dogs.

One day, however, we decided to check out Walla Walla just for fun.

First, we swung by the Marcus Whitman Museum.  The covered wagon was a hit. The girls also remembered all the Junior Ranger badges they got during our summer trip last year, so they filled out the little booklet as they explored the museum to earn another badge.

Sometimes my girls will ask to go to Walla Walla simply because they want to go the the ice cream shop they have downtown; so, we had to stop by there for some delicious (so I've heard from the small fans, anyway) cotton candy ice cream!

I love this candid shot I got of everybody, as they watched the girls play in a hidden park downtown.

Here they are finger painting, too! 

Edwin's PhotoShoot

I really admire Edwin's eye for a good shot! :) I don't think we'll need to worry about finding a photographer for their senior pictures, which thankfully are still a long way off!