Two Things Sawyer Believes....

I came downstairs from having my shower and found Sawyer like this on the couch. This was lunch. Sawyer believes that planting oneself beside 3 tubs of cookies is all the variety you need.

This is Hayley unpacking her car from the camping trip. Their camping trips are a yearly tradition so they have packing down to a science and know exactly what to take, fake legs included. It played a wonderful part in a late-night dirt-road spooky story. Here at the house it is just laying in the kitchen, waiting to be put away. Sawyer was sitting at the kitchen counter having breakfast when a loud train went by the window. He looked up at Aunt Cecee with big eyes and said, "When I hear that loud noise it makes me think that leg is going to come alive".

Tennis in Jammies

Five people, 3 tennis rackets, 2 smashball paddles, and an open tennis court.
Make your own rules.


Sawyer learned to get it over the net.


Greyson was our most aggressive player.


Hunter was our most tender.


Kiki was our most bored.


Sawyer was our most enthusiastic.


And Tristan was crazy.


You can play tennis is your jammies when you own the court.

Biking Valley Style

Hunter got all the bikes ready for his cousins. Because he loves them. He planned a bike route that avoided all the heavy traffic and had them coasting through tree lined streets of California sublimity.



Tristan wanted to go along. Barefoot.


Little blackfoot came running home instead. He was in his jammies, afterall.

Piano Man

Hunter serenades us with impromptu piano pieces every night. It's most relaxing. And amazing.

Tonight he had a little help.

Hot Day at the Park and ShakeFace...

In lieu of the beach, we went to the park. The hot park. So hot that I dropped into a chair in the shade and gave the camera to Greyson to snap shots of the kids feeding the ducks. So...... here's the ducks anyway. (I think it's a guy thing. )



And back at the park, the kids played soccer and monkey-in-the-middle with Hunter....

Tristan did some fancy twisty moves unrelated to anything.


And found the usual stick to double as a sword.


Sawyer went running around with a hot face and didn't care.


Then after church today the kids got a reward for sharing. Shakes and fries. The manager offered to take a shot of us. Shakeface Tristan.

What Do You Do With Towels After Swimming?

In impromptu old lady skit.


With old kids...



Okay, now everyone put their towels in this pile...


So we can take them to the washing machine. Where's Sawyer?


Sawyer? Sawwwwyer!


There he is!

Ninja Swimming

After Styrofoam Karate and Velcro Ball Night, what else was there left to do but Ninja Swimming?

It was 9:00pm, the pool was open for another hour, and it was necessary to use all stealth to get to our destination.





But once there we could carry the fun beyond a whisper.




The sweetest and most perfect wife for Harrison in the world, spent all of her time teaching Sawyer how to swim.


Hunter was the "gonna-get'cha" guy.


And he and Harrison did a lot of "getting".


And bombing.


Quiet Game Challenge: Who will break into laughter first?


Lot's of splashing.


And sneaking quietly back through the complex so as not to disturb the neighbors.


Or the native wildlife.

The Game He Brought....

What is Greyson throwing balls at?


At Harrison!


Harrison made this game for a fesitval at his church. And bequeathed it to us. What can you do with four homemade target vests and an ample supply of homemade velcro balls?


Oh, the possibilities.

Better than Candy

Harrison was coming! And with his new bride Vichka! Having Harrison come over is like having an icecream truck, a stand-up comedy show, and the Guiness Book of World Records all rolled into one.

And they came bearing gifts: He and Vichka had lots of styrofoam planks from opening wedding gifts, which were perfect for the first night with the cousins.....

Everyone had a turn as Kung Fu master.

Which made for a big mess....

But the cleaning up was almost as fun....

"MY turn, my turn!"