Guess which baby is which!

For those of you wondering who Oliver looks like, here's a little hint - all of our kids look pretty similar as newborns. All of the pictures were taken around 5 or 6 days after birth. Can you guess which baby is which?

The Baby Is Here!

Oliver Lorenzo Horne was born on Saturday, October 10th. He was born at home into his father's hands. It was an amazing, wonderful, thrilling experience! He is almost a week old now and so very cute. He does look just like all the other children did as newborns.

Mill B Interpretive Hike - Big Cottonwood Canyon

Lyman is still recovering from a backpacking trip he took last week. Nasty blisters on both heels. So, this week we had a nice, easy hike in Big Cottonwood Canyon. The Mill B Interpretive Hike is all paved with lots of shade this time of year. It is gradually up for about 1/3 of a mile. Then you reach the waterfalls and the turn-off for the hike to Lake Blanche (someday!). We enjoyed our watermelon and throwing things in the stream on one side of the bridge to watch them come out on the other. Then I really enjoyed the downhill back to the parking lot.

Cub Scout Camp

DJ went to his first summer day camp at Camp Tracy this year. He has faithfully recounted all the skits and songs for us. He has already earned his Wolf Badge and almost 9 arrow points. Good thing he turns 9 next month and can start on the Bear book!
DJ's favorite parts about camp was the Go Karts, and that his Dad got to go with him one of the days. (I sure love this part-time schedule of Lyman's!)

The Daines Itch

Ever get the intense need to just go on a road trip? That's the Daines Itch. I got the Itch Thursday morning, a week ago, and by that night we were off! (I am so grateful to have a husband that puts up with my spontaneity, and hopefully enjoys it!)
We drove to Spokane and partook of the 4th of July festivities there and at my uncle and aunt's Hayden Lake homes. It was so fun to spend time with my parents, my grandma, and my sister and her family.
Sunday, my brother in Seattle called and asked if we could come see him, since we were so close (300 miles). Three hours later we were on the road again! Dinner at the beach was such a delight! I loved the sand in my toes.
Monday, after some sightseeing in Seattle, we were off to Vancouver, WA, to visit my other sister and her children. I am grateful for the opportunity for our children to spend time with their cousins!
Our drive home on Tuesday was long, but worth it. Driving along the Columbia River will always be a favorite memory of mine.
Our children are great car travelers. Good thing, with a mother like me! We listened to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on the way north. They read books, colored, played cards, listened to music and more stories, and Amanda made up her own songs and played with her socks and shoes. I was happy to find I could read in the car without getting sick and read the entire July Reader's Digest on the way home.
Lyman did most of the driving, but he did let me drive about 300 of the 2100 miles. We visited lots of rest stops, thanks to the pregnant woman who drank lots of water.
As always it's good to be home. But before we even got here, we started planning our next adventure...

Lampton Days!

Our neighborhood has the biggest neighborhood party I've ever heard of! The 29th Annual Lampton Days started on Friday night with a softball game. Lyman played and the rest of us watched, until the thunderstorm drove us away. We missed the outdoor movie due to sleepiness. Saturday morning was the 5k bike/run/walk. Lyman and DJ biked the course, while Amanda (in the stroller) and I did a 1 mile version of the walk.
Then there was a flag raising ceremony in which DJ participated with fellow Cub Scouts.

Breakfast is served immediately after the flag raising.
This year's parade theme was "Go Hawaiian". There are lots of bicycles and ATVs and a police car and grand marshall and sometimes a firetruck.Then there are games for different age groups - usually involving lots of water. Sno cones are lots of visiting happen in the afternoon.Dinner includes a dessert contest. The dinner is served on our street, so we had about 40 people on our lawn enjoying the shade.An outdoor dance takes up a whole cul-de-sac. And finally the event ends with fireworks. Whew!
P.S.(We have two houses for sale in our neighborhood if you are looking for a great place to live!)

Playing in the Shower

Today was the hottest day we've had this year. I'm holding out on not turning on the air conditioning (I have this desire to acclimate to my natural environment) until absolutely necessary (I am 6 months pregnant).

Anyway, the kids came in from playing outside and looked half-baked. I told them to get their swimming suits on and they got all excited. Then I put them all in the large shower we have and they played rain shower.

There was singing and dancing and bonding that they don't normally all get while getting clean, being of two genders and different ages. It was as fun as running through the sprinklers, without the risk of mosquitos!