Sean and Candace's House

We spent a good 10 days this summer living with my brother in his house. They have a HUGE backyard. (I want to say 1.5 acres?) As a result we all spent most of our time out there! Nothing beats a Portland summer!

There was lots of this...

followed by lots of crashing! Dallin mastered the art of pushing the gas, but was not the best at steering. He would drive until he ran into some bushes and then scream for someone to come turn him around... and off he would go again! :)

There was also lots of this...

and lots of this...

and lots of this... (eating outside). We ate outside for lunch and dinner almost every single day!

They have a sweet fire pit in their backyard ... so Nana and Poppy brought over the stuff to make Smores one night! Mmmmm!

and after all that there never seemed to be quite enough of this...

But the fun was not all for the kiddos, because after the gremlins went to bed at night there was ALOT of this...

I would say we averaged staying up until 1AM every night playing! I was so wasted come morning... but it was worth it! :)

WE LOVE OUR FAMILY!

4th of July

This year our Fourth of July had a bit of a weak start. We had plans to see the Kingwood firework show with some friends who last minute totally bouged out on us. For their safety we will let them remain nameless, but you know who you are! :) (Disappointment #1)

Regardless, we headed up to Kingwood to watch fireworks as a family. We set up our blankets and chairs as we sat around with treats and enjoyed family time for a couple hours as we anticipated the show. We had heard great things about this particular neighborhood display. The firework show began... and then 12 minutes later (+/- a minute) it ended. No finale (that I could tell), nothin. It was just done. People all around us started folding up camp, but not the Washburns! We were positive it was not over. Maybe there was an intermission?!? :) Nope. Even our kids were let down. It certainly was no Oak Hills firework show! (Disappointment #2).

With three kids in tow and lugging enough crap for 50 others we see a couple of families from church. We realize we were sitting within feet of each other the whole time and did not know it! (disappointment #3) We chatted awhile and then said our goodbyes as we parted our separate ways to our cars.

As we drive home the kids were complaining (okay mostly just Connor) that the show was lame, and he never got to light off any fireworks of his own. The whining/crying got persistently worse as we had to drive past four different firework stands on our route home. Finally, we stopped off at the very last stand before our neighborhood (and break the Sabbath) to buy some firecrackers for the kid.

Before Seth and Connor even made it back to the car I received a text message on my phone from one of those church friends we saw saying (jokingly) something along the lines of, "Did I just see the Washburns walking away from a firework stand with about $100 worth of firecrackers in their hands?" Yes, yes you did. We had been caught red handed! I would like to say disappointment #4 right here, but the probability of them driving by at just the right time to see us with all the other thousand+ people who were a the show that night, in the dark and with all the traffic... it was just SO our luck! I found it quite comical and it was probably the highlight of my night?

We drove back into our neighborhood, where fireworks are not allowed, and worried that we were going to get slapped with a several hundred dollar fine every time we saw a car drive down the street. Lucky for us, both times it happened to be our neighbors who came out and joined us. The adults all sat around and chatted as the kids ran around unsupervised and lit illegal firecrackers until midnight. It turned out to be a great night after all!

God bless America!

Wake Up Call

So usually before Seth leaves in the morning for work he will come into the bedroom to give me a kiss, say goodbye, and wake me up all at the same time.

Early this morning two little boys climbed into my bed (Eli and Dallin) which is not too different from any other day. However, I looked at the clock and it was 7am. Seth normally is heading out the door by that time and I could not hear any stirring so I asked Eli, "Where is Daddy?"

"He's at work."

"No he's not", I said. "He never came and said goodbye to me. Are you sure he is not in the office?"

Eli then climbs out of our bed runs to the front door in nothing but his undies, unlocks it, and screams from the top of his lungs (at 7am no less) to nothing but the air, "DADDY YOU FORGOT TO GIVE MOMMY KISSES! MY MOMMY WANTS KISSES!!!!!"

I can only imagine what all the neighbors think of us! :)

Got Bluberries?

Cuz we do! 10 whole pounds of them!

Eli's 4th Birthday!

For Eli's birthday this year we were originally going to celebrate at the pool. But last minute I realized that there was a Summerwood swim meet scheduled that day and I had to rethink my plans. Eli decided he wanted to have a Mickey Mouse party at the house. We invited 13 kids this year because it is summer time and usually we invite that many and end up with maybe 4. This year we had 12 show up! So fun for Eli and the other kids... total pandemonium for me!! I do not wish twelve 3 & 4 year old's on my worst enemy! ;)

Once again my friend Hyde pulls through with an amazing cake! So cute... and yummy too!

The big FOUR year old!

The kids feasting!

Opening presents was a nightmare. Every kid wanted to open up their own present they brought... and of course Eli wanted to open some too! :) Lots of tears on every one's part!

I had many different party games planned. But after hot potato and pin the nose on Mickey... I decided to stop trying to fight the chaos and started to embrace it! I called off all games and we let the kids run wild taking turns playing inside and out!

The majority of my pre-party prep time (probably a good 4 hours) was spent making these cute Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears for each of kids. Then I forgot to hand them out until the very end... and never got any of the kids pictured in them! :( The Minnie Mouse ones were darling (if I do say so myself)! Here is Eli wearing his ears after the party was over. All in all... I am thinking it is a safe bet to say that Eli probably won't have another party for 10 years! :)

At age four Eli is a stinker! :) He loves to sneak food, make messes and tease both his brothers. However, he always is willing to share the blame with Dallin once he is caught! :) Eli has a classic case of being the "middle child". He can not decide if he wants to be big like Connor, or a baby like Dallin.

Eli is our affectionate child and he loves to randomly come up to you and tell you he "wubs you" and plant a wet slobbery kiss on your lips (but only for his Mom! Somehow he has decided he won't kiss Daddy or the brothers on the lips... but is still more than happy to share kisses with them on the cheek). When Eli gets in trouble he will ask through tears, "You wub me still?". No one can stay mad at him when he does it... and I am quite certain he knows it! :) Eli loves to snuggle together under blankets.

Elijah has a very contagious little laugh that I love dearly. At four years old he is a very handsome little boy, tall and thin. Eli is fun loving and seems to make friends easily. Eli seems to have caught the McKeehan gene (and like Connor) is very competitive by nature.

Eli is still the "quirky" one of the bunch and we love him because of it! You are never sure what he is going to do or how he will react to things. Eli still loves anything pink and princess and we still don't know quite what to think of it! :) Monsters play a huge role in Eli's life right now and he refuses to walk into any room that does not already have a light on in it.

Thanks for being our miracle baby, Eli. We love you! Happy Four! XOXO.

Connor's 8th Birthday!

For Connor's 8th birthday he wanted to have a baseball party and celebrate it at the batting cages. Since that means pretty much someone other than me is doing all the work... we invited 20 kids! :) Seventeen of those kids showed up! I think every single kid had a blast.

This party was extra special for Connor because Uncle Sean had a work trip in Austin, TX that week. So after flying all day to get to Austin, he and Aunt Candace hopped in a car and drove 3+ hours just to be there for it! Is that a great Aunt and Uncle, or what!?!

I wish I could take credit for this awesome cake, but it was made with love by my more talented and gifted friend, Hyde.

Eli and Connor all geared up and ready to get this baseball party started!

The batting line up! They divided the boys up into two teams and played a mini baseball game with a Nerf bat and ball for about an hour. The boys loved it and even the kids who I didn't think would enjoy it seemed to have a great time!

Clearly they were VERY into it! :)

Then it was time to go upstairs to the party room for pizza, cake and presents.

With almost twenty 7,8, and 9 year-old boys we saw a lot of this...

and this...

and some more of this!

Connor is the only child I know that does not care for cake. So we put his candle in some chocolate ice cream!

Present Time!

Connor made out like a bandit this year when it came to presents. Every single person spoiled him rotten, if you ask me! He came home with Legos galore, Bionicles, a Super Soaker, clothes, gift cards, cash, action figures, etc. I could not believe it! Sean made a comment about how it was probably because Connor is such a good kid and so well liked by everyone. It made me feel good to think that. :)

But I am quite certain Connor's favorite present of the year was this Astros jersey given to him by Sean and Candace. He wore it the rest of the day... and has worn it pretty much every day since! :) He told me a couple days ago he was going to pass the jersey on to his first born son! HA!

After presents we passed out party bags and gave each kid a token to go hit some balls in the batting cages.

Berkman (er I mean Connor!) hitting some balls...

But Ju-Ju was the cutest batter of them all!

And since Candace was the photographer at the party... I never got a picture of her until later. Thanks for coming Sean and Candace... you made Connor's birthday SO special!

Happy Birthday Bear! At 8 years old we love everything about you... for good and bad! :) We love your sense of humor and desire to make those around you happy. We love how helpful you are to your little brothers and the great example you set for them. We love your competitive spirit and don't hold you accountable for it one bit (since we know where you get it)! We love your big, sensitive heart. We even love your dramatic side and the nonstop chatter that seems to come out of you. At 8 years old... you are a pleasure and a blessing to have in our family! XO!

THANK YOU NANA AND POPPY!!

For the grand-children's birthdays in our family Nana and Poppy normally send the kids the amount of dollars as years old they are in their birthday card. However, turning 8 is a special birthday in our family because it is the year we get baptised. So for Connor turning 8... Nana and Poppy sent Connor $50! $5 for tithing, $8 to spend as he pleased, and $37 to go in the bank to start his mission fund. What a great idea, thanks Nana and Poppy!