D-Rel and MadBum Visit, Little League Games

Baby D-Rel came to surprise Grandpa Dale for his birthday. He stuck around for a little and enjoyed running away from his cousins.

 Gpa and Gma's house was definitely more crazy with those two kids thrown into the mix.

 For some reason they all wanted to get and receive horsey rides.

 Even Whit got in on the fun.

 Ryker forgot his hat, jersey and shoes for his baseball game. At least he new he could steal his Dad's shades.

 At least he looked dapper at church that Sunday.

 To avoid further issues with his uniform he followed Rock's advice and laid it all out like he was wearing it.

 Rock's team was in between leagues and didn't have any scheduled games. We were able to set up scrimmages with the older Manson team and two games against Entiat. Rock looked good catching, but he hated playing the position.

 The game probably should have been cancelled, but with the limited opportunities to play we suffered through. Notice his lack of shoes...

  Max was mad that he wasn't allowed to play with Rock on the field and ended up crying "Gock" for an hour.

Here is Rock pitching in a later game with better weather.

Camping with the Boys

The boys and I took off on a Friday afternoon to camp at Antilon. They were most excited to fish.

 They only caught some milfoil and sticks, but I think they had fun.

 Rock loved climbing on the rocks and exploring the trails. 

 They spent any downtime chopping firewood with their hatchets.

 It is surprising that we had so little firewood after all the chopping that they did.

  

 Dinner and breakfast were both roasted hot dogs. Quite the gourmet camp cooking.

 Oh, and we had s'mores. Lots and lots of s'mores.

  Ryker was dressed for the occasion.  

  The next morning started early with hot dogs and more chopping.

 As the sun came out, Ryker's guns came out, too.

 We finished the day by fishing at Dave and Penny's house. We only caught each other's fishing lines, but at least they had fun.

Spring and a Pair of Birthdays

This spring was especially wet, which kept things green later than normal. It was perfect for visiting the knoll and seeing the sunflowers.

 It's almost like they love each other.

 I let the kids use the new .22 that joined our family the day before. Rock was excited.

  Ryker and Jens decided that they were going to pick flowers for DeA. We had left her at home sleeping. About once a month she needs about a four-hour nap to recharge and catch up on her sleep.

 When we arrived back home, Jens decided to join in on the last leg of the sleeping.

 Tee-ball started for Ryker and he made sure to look the part.

  He was pretty excited about his first game.

 After his team won (at least he says they won but they didn't do outs or runs) we celebrated with Jens' birthday party. She loved the attention.

  She got a sleeping bag thing with a mermaid tail. She took that everywhere she went.

 The next day was Grandpa Dales birthday. Uncle Doug made these bright orange shirts, modeled after one he saw in Mexico at his hacienda.

 It was a pretty exciting birthday.

Easter Bunny, Giant Pancakes and Spring

We took the kids to Rio Vista for an Easter Egg hunt.Max was excited to see all the kids there just to see him.

After the hunt he took the kids to Wild Huckleberry in Wenatchee. Ryker had heard about their legendary giant pancakes and was excited.

The size of the pancakes did not disappoint.

The pancake was much too big for him to handle and he wisely tapped out.

He found no shame in defeat, only joy in the delicious pancake that he enjoyed on the journey.

The kids enjoyed their annual egg die. It was especially special, and messy, with Max helping.

DeA started crying as she realized that Ryker wasn't going to be little and adorable forever.

Neither will Jens.

They are such delicate sleepers.

Jens came to spend the morning with me and made herself right at home.