Eli is 11!

Eli turned 11 earlier this month.  He got to go camping with scouts the day after his birthday and loved it!  He is so social and loves spending time with friends and doing new things.  Those are great qualities to have.  He gets to go again a couple more times this year. 

The weekend after his birthday we took him and some friends swimming.  They all came over and they played video games for a little bit, sang happy birthday, and ate rice Krispie treats.  Then we drove over to Carla Madison Rec Center on Colfax and swam.  Cesar and I actually were just able to sit and watch- it's so nice to have older kids!  Ruby does pretty well in the pool, not a total swimmer yet, but getting there. 

Then we ate dinner (sandwiches and chips) outside because I found out they don't allow food inside.  It was a bit chilly, but the kids didn't seem to mind.  They had fun climbing the big boulder too.

Ruby gave Eli a water bottle for his birthday and Diego gave him a Rubik Cube- such nice siblings!  Cesar gave him a bag of Takis (his favorite spicy chips) and we also bought him several new pants that he really needed.

Happy Birthday Eli!  I love you and am so proud of the young man you are becoming!  It's a strange thing watching your kids grow up.  I can't believe this is his last year in elementary school!  It's bittersweet for sure.

Seattle in September

Cesar and I got to take our annual trip together.  This year to Seattle.  It was our first time there and we really enjoyed the city and trip!  It's always so great to get away from normal life and the kids for a few days.  We are so lucky my parents took care of the kids- thank you mom and dad!

We took our second segway tour (first one was in Washington DC).  As you can see the weather was perfect.  The first two days there we had blue sunny skies.  The second two days were cloudy and there was a little rain, but overall good weather the whole trip!

We were very impressed with the Chihuily Glass Museum.  So beautiful and colorful!

We enjoyed a Japanese Garden

Our hotel was very fancy!  The fanciest place I've stayed for sure.

First Day of School 2018

The kids started school at the end of August.  They are all attending Swigert again this year.  It is a good school and only a 1/2 mile away from home.

Diego- 3rd Grade

Ms. Snyder and Mr. 

Ruby- Kindergarten

Ms. Marijke and Mr. Jim

Eli- 5th Grade

Ms. Whitfild and Ms. Mills

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

We took a family vacation this summer to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.  It's a state park in South West Colorado.  We camped a couple of nights and also got to stay in a hotel.  It's nice to be in nature.  We had car troubles (or so we thought), so that is why we stayed in a hotel right by the car shop.  We thought it was something majorly wrong with the car, but it turns out the oil cap was just missing (or something like that).

a cool park that we stopped at on our drive

The canyon is very deep and narrow.  The river was very loud; I love the sound of water.

Diego working on his Jr. Ranger activities.  We saw a little bear right before this picture was taken.  It was a black bear cub.  We wanted to see a bear in Yellowstone a couple of years ago, but never did so we were happy to see one here.

eating at our campsite.  There was no running water; not my favorite kind of site, but we made it work.

eating at the hotel.  We used the grill they had there and ate our camp food that I had prepared at home.  We went swimming and had a good time.

Cousins and Cousins Camp

My parents hosted Cousins Camp again this summer!  My kids look forward to it every year and so do I!  Cesar and I get a night and day without kids!  I'm grateful for my parents and all their hard work.  This year the theme was Strength in Numbers.  Saturday they went to Devil's Head for a hike.

My kids have been working with Ivaras and Greta for a while now on SpiderDudes- a series of short films.  They make scripts and then record it.  They also created Cervantes Daugele Studios and took these pictures for the website. 

Babysitting

I have been babysitting a lot lately and enjoy getting to know new neighbors and kids.  My kids like it too.  Here are a few pictures:

Cameron and Colton

Cameron and I went to school to eat lunch with Ruby

Tallen

Ruby and Cameron at storytime

Ruby and Perrin playing in her room

Snack time

Jillian, Perrin, and Cameron

Morrison

and Eli and Diego with "little sisters" at the library