Julie's Graduation

 She did it!!!  Julie Graduated from her Dental Hygiene Program!  We were able to be there and celebrate with her on her big day!  It was fun to watch her walk across the grand stage, yell for her, and then go eat her yummy graduation cupcakes that she made for us!  Julie and Isaac just moved to McMinnville, OR - so we were also able to go and see their new home.  While home, Julie was able to put her newly acquired skills to good use - she cleaned Laura's teeth!  Yipee...they are white and sparkly now!  Congratuations Julie!

Kristen and Kendall's Wedding

Laura had the opportunity to be at her cousin, Kristen's, wedding while in Washington. What a beautiful day - and so neat to see a lot of extended family!  As we were at the temple, the kids occupied themselves with the reflection pool. They were fascinated with the leaves and flowers as they got sucked down the drain...whatever works right? Well, Laura was keeping an eye on the kids, but apparently, not close enough, because at one point, Laura looked over and little Aparri had her shoes off and dipping her feet into the water. Laura knew if she didn't act fast, Aparri would be all the way in "swimming" in the water! As soon as Aparri saw her Mom look at her, she knew she was being naughty! KIDS...goodness!

Washington Exploration

August was a great month to go to Washington State!  It was warm, beautiful, and the BERRIES were on!  One of the kids favorite things at Nana and Papa's house is to go and pick the wild black berries behind the house, however, we aren't always there at the right time..but this year, we hit it just right!  The kids are occupied for hours searching for the perfect berries!  Now, the only thing about black berries is the scary thorns that accompany the bush!  CJ, found the perfect solution....wear leather gloves..oh boy!  Another favorite is the woods...the kids love to go explore - and you never know what you will find back there - sticks, plants, mud, bugs, galore! 

The Fair, Motorcross, and Monster Trucks

The Clark County Fair happened to be going on while we were in Washington...and lucky us - there was also a motorcross and monster truck exhibition that we got to watch.  It was a first for all of us and boy were they impressive...and if you know the boys in our family...motorcycles are on the top of the list, but they were so good, even the girls had a great time watching the show!  Of course a fair isn't a fair without stopping to say hello to all the animals and having the kids poke their heads through a fun picture hole farm scene!  Nana, Julie, Amy, and Grayson came with us as we ventured around and had a lot of fun! 

Ward Family Reunion 2012- Fishing

The boys have been asking for months if they could go fishing...so they were really excited when Papa mentioned that he was bringing his fishing gear camping!  As parents hoped and prayed that the boys would have a good experience fishing...because as anyone knows, fishing is only fun if you catch something - and honestly, how often does that really happen?  It is usually a whole lot of waiting around and waiting around some more...so that being said - the girls decided that the "fishing experience" was a man thing!  And they all sent their husbands off with the little boys to do their thing, while the lady folk headed off to the beach!  Well, the fishing trip started out a little frustrating...not a whole lot of anything.. and the boys started to get bored...and then a beautiful thing happened!  Fish came from heaven, well - ok, it was not exactly heaven, it was a fish and game man who dumped literally a truck load of fish right into the river, right where our men were fishing...and wouldn't you know it- EVERY KID got to catch a fish!  Success at its finest!  Fishing trips don't get much better than that - that is better than a stock pond!  Needless to say, the boys had a fantastic fishing experience and were very proud of those little fish! 

Ward Reunion 2012- Covered in Dirt

By the end of our 4 days of camping, we all FELT like we were covered in dirt from head to toe...but  Preston was the only one literally covered in dirt from head to toe!  Poor kid tripped and fell and went splat right into the dirt...to keep from crying - we decided to take pictures and try to make light of the situation!  What a good sport!

 

Ward Family Reunion 2012- Beach & Boating

 We were lucky enough to be able to go boating while camping at Redfish, Janie, Clay's sister, brought her boat - and as you can see we packed everyone in like sardines!  Preston was the "figurehead" or our mermaid on the front of the boat!  That kid has no fear!  We had to keep one hand on his life jacket at all times or that kid would have gotten swept right into the water!  We took a nice boat ride to the other side of the lake where we hiked to lily pond lake.  Then those who were not pregnant, or just daring enough to do it while pregnant, went skiing, wake boarding, and tubing.  The beach area was a favorite spot for most of us during the hot afternoons..it felt sooo good to cool off in the water!