Sailing Away

One of my kids favorite traditions each summer is to have a cucumber boat competition. My sister, Leah, introduced us to this idea a few years ago. In the past we have always had a plethora of cucumbers from our garden so it makes a great August or September activity. Sadly this year our garden is pretty pitiful. But we could let the kids down so I purchased a bunch of cucumbers from a local fruit and veggie stand.

Coop was very proud of his boat.
Nate preparing to catch his boat.
In addition to Alex and Tyler's cucumber boat they also worked on making a mini motor for Tyler's cub scout sailing regatta boat. They were even more excited to find out their their invention worked!
The favorite part of the competition is trying to catch your boat before it crosses our draw bridge from our house.
The kids are already coming up with new ideas for making a faster boat for next year.

Climbing High on Labor Day

We had a great Labor Day this year. Our friends that Birch and I went rock climbing with several months ago invited us to spend the day with them doing some family climbing at the Feathers near Vantage, WA. All the kids had been very jealous that Birch and I had gone and so they were all eager to go. Emily, Ryan, and their girls joined us for the day too.

Here's Birch doing a lead climb to get the route all set up for the rest of us. The day really ended up being for the kids--I only went up once. This was a really tough climb for me. I have to admit that twice I had to have Ryan, my belayer, give me a cheater boost. It was very invigorating!
Alex could not be stopped! He has decided that he could climb every day of his life. Okay, this girl was amazing. I had to admit that I thought she would peter out and not really enjoy climbing--boy, did she prove me wrong. Alysee was amazing! By the end of the day Alex was belaying the kids. Tyler was a natural too! Look at Tyler go! Alex and Tyler went climbing two years ago and really enjoyed it then. On this climb Alex even lead climbed a route. Here he is clipping into the top of the route. Way to go Alex! Coop...this kid is a nut! He really wasn't very interested in even trying. Coop is actually pretty cautious in trying new things. With a little encouragement from Daddy Coop gave it a try. ...and didn't really enjoy it. He was much happier climbing around in this cave the kids found. Nate was INCREDIBLE!! At first he was a little nervous and apprehensive about trying, again very much in following his personality but then...WHAM...he was off. So serious and determined in perfection! Nate literally sprinted up this route. Nate was a natural too! What did the girls do all day? Stuff their little cheeks with Doritos, roasted hot dogs, animal crackers, dirt, and a little more dirt and rocks. We stayed from 11 am until 4 pm and Chloe hardly made a squawk. She fell asleep almost immediately when we put her in the car to head home.
Looks like we might just have found a family activity that we all enjoy. It really is a wonderful sport that demands team work, positive reinforcement, and time together. I might even be buying into myself.

First Day of School Bliss

Really, I wasn't the only one feeling the exciting jitters of going to the first day of school. It was a great summer but we were all ready for school to start again.

First out the door...

Alex started JUNIOR HIGH this year; I can't believe it! There was a little rearranging at all the schools this year so all the seventh graders were bumped up to Junior High. Alex was excited and a tad nervous. So far he has loved all his teachers and hanging out with his friends. Alex was already nominated "Panther of the Month" for being such a courteous classmate.

Next out the door...

Tyler, Alysee, and Nate Tyler was off to fourth grade this year. He is on the cross walk patrol and feeling mighty honored about that. It's going to be a tough year with almost daily homework but he as been doing awesome so far. Alysee entered third grade this year. She has an awesome teacher that is full of bubbly joy, just like Alysee. Alysee's favorite thing about going back to school is definitely her gigantic social life. Nate has the best first grade teacher ever! We love her and are so glad to get her one more time before she retires next year. We already got a letter from Nate's teacher sharing that, "Your Nate is a delight! He is so serious! He is eager to learn and always listening…and thinking! Thank you for sharing him with me."

Finally out the door...Coop started Pre-school the week after the kids started school. Coop asked me at least 3 million times this summer if it was almost time for him to go to school. He is going to a friends small in-home preschool and relishing every moment.

Then the door slammed shut...

Chloe would have loved to have gone to any of the kids schools. She cried each time I would pack her back up and head home for nap time.
I'm not really grouchy in this picture...just pondering.

Mommy is relishing the 3 times a week 2 hours of "free" time. Honestly my life has been just about as busy as ever. My mouth is currently full of cankers which means I am juggling too much and need to cross a few major things off so I can breathe a bit more. One of these days when Coopy goes to preschool and Chloe is napping I am going to sit in my new comfy chair in my room and read a book. Until then...I'm going to love having two hours that I don't feel guilty that I am working on a project and not ignoring a hollering child.

Bonding with the Sherrys

Although over the past several years we have spent many weekends with my family, each occasion has always been focused on a wedding or mission farewell or homecoming. As you can imagine is a bit on the stressful and very busy side. Last year we all determined to make the summer of 2010 the first Sherry Family Reunion. Between long distance traveling, new babies, and cross-country moves it took a great amount of determination to actually make this reunion happen.

We started our trek to Utah by staying the night and day with Birch's sister, Tavia and Vaughn's family near Boise. They were so sweet to take in our large family with just having a newborn join their family only a few weeks earlier.

Tavia had arranged for a super fun day for all of us. We started out at a great craft fair and then ended the afternoon at a fun little community pool.

Alysee and cousin Olivia loved going down the blowup slide.
We all enjoyed a tasty picnic lunch while being entertained with local musicians.
Off to the community pool--Chloe loved the zero depth pool.
Chloe bonding with cousin Macy.
Sweet Savannah's feet with her daddy's wedding ring.
Savannah was such a peaceful happy baby. Honestly, Tavia and Vaughn have five amazing kids. We had such a nice time with their family.

Next we all loaded in the mini-van and traveled to Bear Lake in Utah.

Here's the wild bunch of us! There were 29 8/9 of us all together (Aunti Laura was due to have her baby two weeks later). We were lucky to have my cousin Dean join us from Seattle.

Uncle Jared's family was so kind to offer their two four-wheelers for us to use. Boy, did we use them!! I even had a great time taking the kids for rides on the beach.
Coop is always in his element when there is shallow water and a skim board at hand.
Ami, Mommy, and Chloe going for a tube ride on the rocket.
Alysee and Isaac flying high on the four wheelers. Behind them is the amazing cabin we stayed in while at Bear Lake.
I think these two boys actually loved the four wheelers the most. They were in heaven having the freedom to just buzz wherever they wanted to go. They were very good about giving rides to the other littler cousins as well.
Have you seen a sexier nine month prego momma??!!!

A peach in the nude...what more could a girl want?
Alysee and Isaac ended up being two peas in a pod.
Tyler giving Isaac a ride.
My brother-in-law Jared introduced us to shore boarding. Birch is pulling Alex on the skim board.
Apparently it was pretty tough.
All the grandkids together - front row: Sage, Lucy, Chloe, Alysee, Coop, Tommy, Sofi; back row: Mila, Tyler, Lizzie, Alex, and Nate
Who needs a boat when Poppi is around?
Each night each family was in charge of an activity. Leah and Geoff put on a night of "Minute to Win It" games. We all had a blast!!! Here Alex is trying to get an oreo from his forehead to his mouth without using his hands. So funny!!
This one was called Junk In The Trunk and it was hilarious. I was sure that I would win with all my Tahitian dance moves that I learned while attending BYU-Hawaii. My mom killed us!!

Nate is very serious about everything he does...tubing is not exception. Check out his face.
Chloe spent HOURS digging in the sand.
And more hours doing this.

Tyler got up on the knee board for the first time.
This is what I did most of the time. I tried to stay out of the direct sun so my lips didn't blow up again. I was in love with being the Aunti and getting my fill of baby duty.
Poppi, Coop, and Nate had a little zerbert competition. The kids all have so much fun with Ami and Poppi.
Best of friends or worst enemies...Coop and Nate had just finished a big argument that ended in hugs.
Nothing like sitting in a warm pool of old water in a nasty poopy diaper...a slice of heaven.
Nate wasn't so sure that he wanted to try knee boarding at first.
He did it!!
There goes Alex!

The kids all loved all the boat time.

After four days of baking ourselves in the sun we headed to SLC and Mapleton:

We had a super fun night at Matt and Jessica's new house in SLC. I love this picture of Sofi because you can just tell that she thinks Alysee is so cool.
The next morning Alysee woke up to a beautifully decorated birthday table. Jessica had gone all out and had a rose for Alysee and Matt cooked up Alysee's favorite breakfast.
The beautiful 8 year old!
We spent the morning going around temple square. As always standing under the Christus statue is a favorite spot.

Here the kids are in front of the Salt Lake City temple.
What a surprise this was...Sofi and Tyler became fast buddies. For some reason Sofi decided that Tyler was one cool guy and latched on to him the whole week. Tyler was so kind and patient with her. I think he kind of liked being the #1 cousin.

We got caught in the this crazy rain storm while at the visitor center.
Then we were off to Mapleton, UT to spend a glorious couple of days at my sister Leah and Geoff's house. Alysee was treated to a fun birthday party.

Aunti Leah whipped up her famous cupcakes to celebrate.

Friday morning all the adults woke up early and did sealings at the Provo Temple. It was such a special experience to be with almost all the adults. I can't wait for next time when we don't have little babies and little brothers that sleep in so we can ALL be together. We were so grateful to my Grandma and Rudy for caring for all the kids so we could go.

Friday most of us all spent the day at Seven Peaks Water Park. We had a blast!! Chloe had the best time but was pretty worn out by the end of the day.
Look at Daddy go!
Ami did a fun competition with the kids to see who could eat their jello with the fastest without their hands. Nate loved every slurp.
Have you ever heard of an Eskimo Blanket? It's like a hand-held trampoline. Leah got some crazy pictures of the kids being flung into the air. I was a little nervous about all the skinny necks but the game ended with cheers of happiness.
The last night my mom and dad got all the grandkids together and had a little evening devotional. My dad talked with the kids about how Christ should be the light in their lives. They gave all the kids flashlights we remember to follow Christ's light. I sure love my parents!
Ahh...the last picture of the post...some of my very favorite women I know.

What a treat it was to spend a whole week with my family! I loved getting to know many of my in-laws and nieces and nephews better. It was so wonderful to be surrounded by such talented and special people. Here's to the next Sherry Reunion!!