Random summer fun...

Jeff and Jessy Mashoff and their family stopped by on their way out of town back to CALIFORNIA where the cool people live. They were just stopping by, but we managed to detain them a solid hour or so and I'd say we were laughing HARD the entire time. We miss them! Jess, just beginning an all night, 14 hour roadtrip at like 8pm, was decked out in full makeup, curled hair, accessories and platforms. The girl never turns it off, I adore that about her! Where does she come from? 

Chris took Betsey on her first very short, very slow ride around the block on his motorcycle. He also traded his bike in September for a nice, roomy tent trailer that is a better recreation "vehicle" for the whole family...and we use it so much more!

On my mom's birthday in July, we met at IKEA for lunch. It was a quick "hello" and a little shopping too. I think Ru was at camp, and Jordan joine in the fun too. Happy 59, mom!

Alice was quite pleased with this hairdo. I love her. Not so much the hairdo though!

Chris is the pancake maker and he is also sometimes pretty good at flattering me. I'm lucky.

John and Ellie and Jense came through town this summer and it was fun to see them. Operation stall them as long as possible began as soon as they drove in the driveway. I tried to keep Jense and Ells, but didn't know Mimi was in favor of said plan until they were already on the road and JB didn't turn around for us. We love them and miss them so much!

Betsey stuck a raisin up her nose in the middle of church...sacrament meeting! It was eventful and disruptive to have my kids exclaiming "Betsey has a raisin up her nose!" while I sat there crippled by the humor cataplexies that come on when something strikes me as funny. I couldn't do anything as she used her finger to push it farther up, Ruby and Alice were between Bets and I, and with all the people laughing around us, it just kept the cataplexies coming and coming and I couldn't really do anything. Eventually I managed to get over to her and then I was able to walk down the aisle out to the foyer once I was sure I had regained control. Our friend Dave Wilcox, a dentist, went home for his fancy lit magnifying glasses and tweezers and he had the raising rescued in no time. Since then, I learned that you can actually get most anything out of a kids' nose by putting your mouth around their mouth and blowing hard into the mouth. I tried it on my neice Molly a few weeks later to get a broken crayon out of her nose, and it worked like a charm. Who knew mouth to mouth was good for so many things?

Pretty toes. We got a trampoline too this summer, my friend Linda was getting rid of hers and the kids sure use the heck out of it.

While at Oma and Opa's house, we took a little trip to our favorite, Country Village. The kids love the ducks and wild chickens and the old metal sculptures and play on toys.

My neice Sarah was with us for the fun...

Alice is snazzy. She broke out the mismatched leg warmers for a good time!

Daddy and his girl. I can tell this is post mowing the lawn because of the earbuds in the shot.

Ella, Camden, Ruby and Alice in an awkward family photo pose...good friends! Summer fun on the trampoiline in their yard...and they have an above the ground pool too!

My girls love kitties, and they will never have another one of their own under our roof! Our cat ran away in April and we will never get another one. Too many people have allergies and it is awful when you like to pretend you are a hotel and frequently coerce people into staying here overnight...and then they can't breathe at your house. Not okay. So anyway, the girls had fun on several occassions borrowing these kittens to play with for an hour or so at a time. They really are super cute!

My kids became versed in Ernest movies this summer. Here, we were out to lunch just me and the kids and Ruby was reinacting some of our favorite parts of Ernest Goes to Camp. It was cracking us all up. She's funny, and good!

I went up north to Renton area to see my cousin, Jamie Farmer play on her college soccer team. She's super tough and for being from Idaho, she had like an entire bleacher section full of her fans. I love family!

Horse Camp 2012

Ruby went to her third summer at horse camp and LOVED it!! She is such a horse lover. I feel bad for her because she is tired of riding Blackie, who is small, but she always gets put on Blackie because there are kids bigger than her that need the bigger horses. She handles it super well and enjoys what she is handed, but I know she'd rather be riding one of the larger horses.

We went to support her and see the show on the final day of camp. Betsey loves animals and wandered around the ponies for a few minutes.

Ruby was one of the more expeienced riders at her session and she was excited all week about the finale of the horse show where they played a nice song and had a routine choreographed to the music. It was fun to watch! This picture below shows where they would ride from all four corners of the arena to meet in the middle. It was coordinated and I was excited for her.

At Freestyle Farm they have a bunny, some cats, a St. Bernard, ponies and horses. Betsey loves it there, here is Ruby trying to give Bets a shot at petting a cat. 

 Ruby and Blackie

 

 The camp counselors are always so enthusiastic about the girls and really contribute to the fun of camp. Lori is on the far left and Wendi is on the far right...they are the owners of the camp.

 Bets got to sit on Blackie

 Ruby with her horse riding coach, Lori Reale.

 

McCall, Farmer Family Reunion 2012

Before we get to the good part...the driving part of the McCall trip could not have been worse. 3 hours from home one of my tires went flat. It was Sunday around 5pm and we drove on my spare only 50mph out of our way to Moses Lake where we found a Walmart Tire Center that was open until 6pm. Jordan was my co-pilot, though he drove the rest of the way after Moses Lake. Thank goodness the kids were happy and Jordan and I enjoyed talking about life, politics, career, family, etc. while we drove and drove and drove...why say "drove" three times? Because an hour after we pulled away from Moses Lake, a completely different tire blew...yes. Another one. Only now, we were just past Pullman and it was 7pm on a Sunday and there was NOTHING to do other than hope that my spare tire would take us all the way to McCall...going 50 miles per hour. The 8 hour drive that can often take 9 hours with kids in tow, turned into a FOURTEEN HOUR DRIVE! Jordan and I didn't run out of things to talk about, and the kids watched movies that I bought at Walmart (I had actually left all three charged ipod/touch/phones at home on accident) happily...who can't love some Ernest Goes to Camp or Holes or 20 hours of classic cartoons like Tom and Jerry, Betty Boop, etc. Good times. The kids were wonderful, truly. I'd say it was a nice trip, and how rare to have that kind of time one on one with a sibling.

I love McCall. I know that is obvious and redundant, but it is my place. Last summer we were there for a week and a half. The weather was perfect. I missed being there at the same time as Trina's family, but we got to be there for the reunion, which was really nice. I got to see a lot of family I haven't seen in years. We were also there at the same time as the Biddles. Though they live closeish to us, we don't see them often and they aren't all always there together. Especailly Courtney and her daughter Paige, who I/we adore! I have to say that I rarely encounter my children face to face when we are in McCall, so the pictures I took are primarily of Betsey. Having grown up going to McCall and immersing myself in my cousins, I get joy from offering that same thing to my kiddos.

This first pic is of the Anderson cabin. Sometimes friends can't picture McCall, so here is the "Anderson Cabin." This is where my mom's aunt and uncle who raised her after her parents died bought a cabin for their children. YOu can see the red roof to the right of this cabin...that is the "Farmer Cabin" which is co-owned by my mom and her six siblings, originally owned by my mom's grandmother, Ruby Farmer.

The Farmer Cabin

This is the path from our cabin to the lake...so this is just in front of our cabin...see the lake? That is our walk to our beach, Davis Beach. There are steps going down to the lake and I know them with my eyes closed. 

I was inspired by some silhouette photography my sister in law, Pam did so I wanted to experiment with it myself. This is Trina's family...they were still in McCall for the reunion, so it isnt' as if we didn't get to see them at all...

 Here is the whole reunion pic I took of the mammoth group of us. We have our big gathering at the Tuft cabin, which is huge and they rent it out if anyone wants to party with 50 friends. :) What is significant about this shot other than Chris' flourescent shirt, is my Uncle Kirk, who passed away two days after this was taken. He is in the seated row of old people...three from the left, in the aqua shirt.

Okay, so the fact that my mom has cousins who are like her siblings (due to being raised together after my Farmer grandparents passed away), makes this picture fun...the relationship description is as follows:
My mom's cousin's grandchildren are pictured here with Alice. Alice calls them cousins. Actually, I think they caught onto the fact that they were more distantly related and called themselves fourth cousins or something. I guess my aunt Carol, my mom's cousin is my second cousin...so her kids I don't even know what they are to me. Second cousin once removed or third cousins?

Betsey in the car...

Betsey hanging out with Jords...

Betsey eating her ice cream at Ice Cream Alley...

Just for fun...the tacky, but classic sign on the bathroom door...

This is my grandpa Farmer skiing...holding the rope with his foot. It is a large print above the fireplace in the cabin. Same lake...

Oh look...three kids together! No cousins!

Seth, Syveah and Amaya tubing on the reunion beach day...all kids of my "cousins".

I hadn't been in McCall for the reunion for a few years. It was so fun. I didn't participate in this madness, but there is always an annual keep away game, boys against girls. It was non-stop fun, and possibly a little obnoxious for other beach goers.

Alice and Emma...first cousins in their big swimming pool they made. Hard work paid off!

I have SO MANY young, college age cousins and they are all such good friends, it's fun to both watch them from a distance and also to join them occassionally to catch up on the fun of their lives and pretend I am young and cool for a minute.

So I am not lying...every person, every umbrella, every swimsuit in this picture is family. People who have cabins on our street know the first weekend of August in McCall is the Farmer reunion weekend and they either stay away or they join in the fun. Most stay away...we take over the entire beach!

Betsey and Carson...out and about indecent!

Betsey sound asleep...

Bets with one of my first cousins, Lauren. They were actually buddies that evening, a rarity with Bets.

We were there a week, and so were Braden and Robb and their families. We had a few campfires behind the cabin before bed.

Van...dirty as can be!

Alice roasting...

Betsey...dirtier as can be. Seriously. Wow.

Dirty hands...all the better to eat with!

Let's clean those stinkers before they head to bed!

A bunch of cousins hanging out on the boat trailer.

Betsey took some late naps and sometimes I'd go back down to the water with her after dinner to let her play. It was so peaceful...no one is there by 6pm or so, so at 7, I'd relax and love the sunset and cooler weather and Bets would play.

 

We got to sleep in the bunkhouse part of the time...soooooo nice! I haven't ever jockeyed for the bunkhouse before, but we took advantage of a few nights there before Robb and Heather and their bigger brood showed up. The bunkhouse is behind the cabin and has two full side bunks and a bathroom with floor space and a folding twin bed.

She's pretty and pretty darn fun.