Batman...Pt 1

OK, so I know I'm jumping ahead in the summer here since I haven't even finished posting about all the other stuff we've been up to but this just has to get done. Besides I told Jared and some other people I would get it up tonight.

Yesterday I come home from work and Em tells me to check out the random mouse poop in the living room...over by the big front window, on our little magazine table, some by the fireplace. I'm like, ah crap, we have a mouse in the house, what's the deal with that. I decide to put a trap down stairs. Later that evening, Em tells me there is a whole bunch more upstairs in our bedroom, especially in the dormer. I'm totally bummed, decide to go put a trap upstairs. I also decide that I'm going to start looking around because usually mice get active in the evening and I want to find this sucker. I get a flashlight and start snooping around upstairs...I find a nice little grouping of poop behind our bedroom door and then when I look up...oh crap, a BAT!

This dude is just chillin hanging on the door hinge so I tell Em and she starts freakin and quite frankly my heart starts racing. Bats are the number one carrier of rabies and they also carry a host of other diseases. This thing has got to GO! I run out to my truck and grab the biggest pair of gloves I've got, then snag a pillowcase and head back to get rid of this guy. Fortunately I am able to just one-shot grab him in the pillowcase, he starts squeakin and I talk Em in to taking my victory photo.

I toss the bat outside and he flies off. Em convinces me to call our local Wildlife Control guy, Traci. He's incredibly smart and deserves his own show on the Discovery Channel or something. The only bummer is that it's 9:30 at night but Em wants to know what we should do. I call Tracy and fill him in on what went down, he's like...
"Cool, leave the poop."
"What!? Leave the poop, it's all over?"
"Yeah, leave the poop, I'll come by in the morning and tell you what the bat is up to, if there are more, and how long he has been there."
"You can tell all that from poop?"
"Yeah, leave the poop."
So we leave the poop and decide to go to bed...

CAMP...but this time in a Cabin!

Now it's late June and time for our annual trip to Family Camp at Redwood Christian Park up by Santa Cruz (Boulder Creek to be exact). This year was as good as ever as the kids just enjoy it so much, we enjoy it so much, and it's just so enjoyable.

One night each year they show a movie out on the lawn. This year to go with the theme of Route 66 the movie was Cars. I love Cars and so do the boys so we stayed up late and watched it with our friends the Barnts.
Every morning Dennis & Carol, or Nani & Papa, come by and grab the kids for breakfast. Em and I get a little more time to wake up before we head down and the kids love the time they get with Nani & Papa by themselves.
Josh was able to play in the annual volleyball tournament and actually ended up on the winning team this year. Dennis and Josh are also the reigning Double's Horseshoes champs 3 years running.
Almost every day we were able to spend some time at the swimming pool. This year Joel & Seth thought they were the stuff and decided they were ready for the diving board. Joel, who can keep himself from drowning, and Seth, who would drown without the life vest, both gave it a good go with dad, and sometimes papa, right there to make sure they survived.
Each year during camp there is Beach Day in the middle of the week...and this year was the best one ever. Typically beach day is cool and overcast but this year it was sunny and warm and awesome. Here are the kids before they got all wet and sandy.
Here is our family with our sand castle that we built for the competition. Unfortunately we didn't win the free ice cream but we gave it a good go sticking with the theme and building the Route 66 Cafe.
This is what happens after beach day...too bad mom and dad couldn't do the same.
Here we have supermodel Abbey!
Last but not least, a classic shot of grumpy Abbey. This is one of those photos where you can't wait to stick it in her slide show when she gets married.

Even more CAMPING!!!

So 2 days after our first camping trip of the season (see post below), we decide to head out again to Hurkey Creek, but this time with our High School small group. We enjoyed good times around the fire, eating s'mores, playing games, and leading the kids through some team building activities. Overall it was a blast and below are some of the highlights.

This is John Leih jumping off a rock in to some really cool water after we hiked a couple miles to find it. It was a great hike, our kids loved it, the water was very chilly but oh so refreshing.
Here are the high schoolers, all blind-folded, with the exception of John, being lead through an obstacle course. They only had to start over once and the best was at the end when John lead them in to the sprinklers out on the lawn.
So apparently I thought we had taken more photos but they are on Mariah's camera, so we'll have to get those up later.

Starting the summer with CAMPING!

So a few families from church decided to do a camping trip together and travel all of 20 minutes to Hurkey Creek. It was a blast...we spent 2 nights, the kids got extremely, we did all the classic camping stuff like S'mores, instant coffee, and just sitting around the camp fire entertaining each other and enjoying some awesome fellowship.
The families that went were the Bayers, Campbells, Tates, and Whites.

A week off

The kids had a week off of school so we spent a day at the zoo with my parents. Seth got a little tuckered out.
But the Lorikeets liked my parents.

Sorry I don't know why this one is sideways.
So cute! and look Abbey's hair is long enough for pony tails. = ) My brother David came for a few days as well and Josh went sledding with everyone - but I think all those pictures must be on my brothers camera because I don't have any. Well back to real life again....kids in school and mom and dad went home.

First Snow

So It snowed.....so fun! It was the friday and saturday after thanksgiving and it made all of our guests at the Inn very happy! (happy guests = happy innkeepers) The boys spent the morning playing in the snow in their snow suits and Josh had to go plow. I think it must be some sort of man thing but apparently plowing is super fun and people like to just stand and watch Josh plow.....fun times had by all. Anyway I guess we are expecting more snow tonight! I think Joel would be so excited to have a "snow day" from school.

U2

As a very generous Birthday gift to Josh, Jared bought 4 tickets to the U2 concert at the Rose bowl. I didn't go but I heard it was awesome and Josh was beyond thrilled! 4 siblings at a U2 concert is that some sort of "ahhh how cute" moment.
Pretty awesome stage! Apparently U2 knows how to put on a good show.