4th of July Parading

We just had Jenavieve on the 4th and Travis had the day off work, so it was a good opportunity for some father-daughter fun :). First order of business for the day was to head over to the parade. We watched it with our friends, the Bingham's. Jenavieve had a great time! Travis and I were less than thrilled by all the advertising in the parade, as well as all the oil field trucks (I mean, really??) that didn't seem to serve a purpose. But, Jenavieve enjoyed it and that was the most important thing :)

Daddy & Daughter at the parade

Jenavieve waving at the parade participants



Jenavieve with one of her prizes from the parade. Her first catch was hand sanitizer. Kind of an odd choice as a parade toss-out, I thought!




Jenavieve with our good family friend, Debbie - a.k.a. Mama Deb :)




Scott & Travis visit while they kind of watch the parade




The Lord's Prayer

We did an activity with the older 3 kids (Brennan, Jenavieve & Kaia) where we had them re-write the Lord's prayer in their own words. All of the kids have worked on learning the original. Brennan and Kaia have passed it off and Jenavieve is really close and Elise is pretty close. But, Elise was visiting her dad and we thought that this would be a good opportunity to work with the other 3. I wanted to record their answers as a journaling blog...

The prayer that Jesus gave to his disciples as an example of the way we should be praying (although, we recognize that he did not speak in "old english" :) :

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, Forever. Amen.

Now, the kiddos versions (with their spelling and grammar)

Brennan:

'Jesus's Prayer'
Dear God, that lives in heaven, your name is awsome. Heaven and earth come, your will be carried out on earth, as well as in heaven. Give today our memory verses. And forgive us our sins as we forgive other sinners. And don't take us to temptation. but take us from Satan. Because yours is the Kingdom, power and the glory forever. Amen.

Jenavieve:

Our Father in heaven
Let your name be kept holy Let heaven come! Let your will be done as it is in heaven Give us the Bible our dayly bread. Fogive us as we forgive others. Don't allow us to be temted. Instead rescue us from the bad guy! For heaven the palace It is the power, the glory that is persuvering Forever!!! by Jenavieve Amen

Kaia:

Dear Peacemaker,
who lives in heavin. may your name be known to all, your mighty and gloryus. let heaven come, all you say shall be done, on earth, as the way in heaven. Please fill me with the holy spirit today, and please forgive my sin, when I forgive others. Please don't lead me to the tempeder, but send me from the devil. for you have the kingdom, power and glory forevermore. Amen.

I love that they are learning to think about who God is and about how to talk to Him and how to be respectful, but also view Him as accessible and available.

3 D Baby-ing

 On July 2, Jenavieve and I went and saw the baby in a 3D ultrasound. I've always been on the fence about whether I like these or whether I think they are just weird...
However, when I found out I could get one for free and with the knowledge that this is likely to be my last pregnancy, I figured "Why not?"
When I was seeing our little guy, I really enjoyed it more than I thought. It is a little crazy and it's still difficult to really wrap my brain around. But, I'm glad I did it.
I am especially glad that I was able to take Jenavieve so that she could start to feel some connection to the baby. By the end of it, she was really excited :)



This is Jenavieve's favorite :)



Picking Up Jenavieve

On Tuesday, June 19, we left with Brennan for a quick, quick trip to Washington to pick Jenavieve up for her summer visit. We drove all night...did I mention ALL night?...and, then arrived in Battle Ground, Wa, which is where Travis' parents just moved to. After seeing their new property and visiting for a little bit, we left Brennan with Grandma Geri and we started driving the last 2 hours to Shelton.
Upon our arrival, we were able to visit with Trevor (Travis' twin brother) and his wife, Marie, their daughter, Makenzie and Marie's mom, Cheryl (who is awesome, btw). So, we had a nice time. Later that night, while I attended Makenzie's soccer practice with Marie, Travis was able to go pick up Jenavieve! YAY! He was almost beside himself with excitement :)...even with the fatigue of the drive! 
We spent Wednesday visiting with the family some more and were able to visit some good family friends, the Himlie's, as well. Thursday morning, we began trekking it back. We stayed in Battle Ground for dinner and I took a little nap, before we loaded up Brennan & Jenavieve and were on our way at about 11 p.m. The drive back was ridiculously long, but we made it home safe and the journey was worth it, because we got Jenavieve :).
The pictures are of some of the playing that Jenavieve and Makenzie did before we had to leave...

Jenavieve & her cousin, Makenzie, show off their lizards



Travis helps the girls look for more lizards



Setting their captives (I mean, lizards ;) free!