Kayaking on the Yough

Today we went kayaking on the flat-water portion of the Yough between Hoyes and Sang Run. We went with my friend Jenn and her son Jaline and his buddy Justin. We got caught in some rain and heard some thunder in the distance...but luckily we made it off the river without getting into anything major. The kids had a good time and Cole actually fell asleep laying on me for the last 400 yards or so...with the wind blowing water on him and everything! Overall it was a very fun day!


Jenn and Rylie (can you tell that Rylie didn't want to have her picture taken)

Justin and Jaline fishing away!

Rylie and Jenn

We hit the end of the release and the water was pretty shallow in some portions of the river. Jenn and I got out several times and pulled the kids along.

Cole's scrunchy face!

Rylie took this photo of Jenn!

Kids "fishing"

The kids wanted to take along their butterfly nets and use them to try to catch fish! They tried very hard but didn't catch anything.

Pretty girl Luna!

Fun w/the Slip-N-Slide!

We decided to get out the Slip-N-Slide today for some fun in the heat. The kids had a great time!

You would think that Rylie was hurt or something by this photo...but I guess she just makes some crazy faces!

Run and Slide!

Sliding fun!

Little Yough Music Festival!

This Friday night kicked off the Little Yough Music Festival series. Every Friday night they have free music at the Farm Fresh Pavilion in Oakland. This Friday the music was provided by the Hillbilly Gypsies and the kids LOVED it. We went with our friend Jenn and her son Jaline and Grandpa and Grandma were there too with their friend Nadine. We all had a great time. The kids didn't really get up and dance until the last few songs, but they finally made their way to the dance floor and really danced hard!

I'm not sure who the lady dancing is...but the kids really enjoyed dancing with her!

Dress up fun at school

Rylie really wanted to take her new Cinderella wedding dress and other "princess" dresses to school on Friday. We took along some hats for the boys since we didn't really have any royal attire for them. The kids really like dressing up and having a good time! Cole...as ususal enjoys watching more than being involved...Rylie on the other hand enjoys being the center of attention!

Cole, Maggie, Grace, Rylie, Ellie, Babe, and Reed in the back!

The peace table and the duck

We started doing this "peace table" thing at home (the idea came from Ms. Carolyne's) where the kids have to sit and work out their problems when they're fighting rather than mommy playing referee all the time. Well, we don't have an actual table for them to go to at home...so I usually send them to the rug to sit and talk...but when I was cleaning up the other day I came across the tray table and the kids pulled up their chairs and sat down. When I asked what they were doing, Rylie said that she and Cole were talking about a little fight they had earlier and they were at the peace table...pretty cute!

Cole taking his big duck for a nighttime ride through the house.

A girl and a dog, a boy and a tractor

Luna has been sleeping with Rylie...which has been a big help in getting her to fall asleep fast!

Cole went outside to pee and took off to play with his tractor!

He thought it would be fun to fill his wagon with water.

Camping in the Savage River State Forest!

We finally had our first family camping trip!

We went down to the Savage River State Forest and camped along Big Run on Monday night. It was a lot to pack and prepare for a one night trip! The trip overall was very good...but...I didn't expect the rain and didn't have enough extra changes of clothes for the kids! I always over-prepare and the one time I didn't go crazy packing extra stuff...luckily all worked out fine and I'll never under-pack again!

If I could only combine these two photos for one really good one!

Grandma and Grandpa came down to help us set up and again in the morning to help transport gear back home. Rylie slept pretty well, but Cole wanted to sleep with his entire body on top of me and mainly on my neck for some reason. I finally got the bright idea to use Rylie's booster seat to lay down as a 'bed' for him and that worked for a little while...enough to get him comfortable again to sleep next to me rather than on top of me! They were both pretty exhausted tonight and fell asleep pretty fast! The kids are looking forward to doing it again!

Heading out camping

Who knew both dogs would fit in the front seat?!

The "crew" packed up and ready to go!

Rylie and one of her goofy faces!

Finally at camp...Rylie put on her bathing suit and headed right to Big Run which ran adjacent to our camp site.