Category: Uncategorized

Story told by: Henry

We had a great last camping trip of the summer this past weekend! We went to the KOA in Leavenworth.

After a few years of use, our old tent needed replacement, so this was our first time using the new tent we bought this past week. It’s a little smaller, but worked perfectly!

After getting set up, we went to the campground pool.

Then back to the campsite to wait for dinner to be ready.

Tacos!

Brody prefers just the tortilla with nothing in it.

While we were waiting for the Campbells to arrive (they got stuck in traffic), we went down for a walk on the river.

Mommy told us we weren’t going to swim in the river, but we could go in to our ankles.

But we couldn’t resist….and soon we were in, clothes and all!

After some impromptu swimming, we rode bikes. Lainey found a creative way to take her American Girl along for a ride.

Once the Campbells arrived and set up their tent, we got a fire going for s’mores!

On Saturday morning, Daddy snuck out of the tent and had coffee waiting for Mommy when we all woke up. He’s the best!

Exploring the woods and eating gummy bears by 8:45 a.m. The best.

Baylen and I were good buddies this weekend.

We were expecting afternoon thunder and lightning, so we made sure to get our pool time in the morning.

After lunch we headed into Leavenworth to explore the shops.

First stop was the Christmas store!

We each got to pick out our ornament for the year.

Brody loves baking, so this was perfect for him.

I can’t wait for wrestling season to start!

Ice cream was a must stop!

Sixteen years of friendship for these two!

We went into some cool toy shops and used our allowance to buy a toy.

We had some afternoon rain and lightning, so we watched a show in the tent while the storm passed.

Karl made delicious ribs for dinner.

Campground chess.

Lainey created a fun game to entertain Baylen.

S’mores.

Tent monster.

Late night playing at the playground.

After the kids went to bed, the adults played their annual game of Mexican Train.

Karl made it interesting by making the last few rounds a speed version of Mexican Train. (Daddy aptly named it “Bullet Train.”) Each adult had 11 seconds to make their decision, and then they had to move on. It was intense, but did get the adults into bed before midnight! And Daddy was the winner!

We had more playground time on Sunday morning while the adults packed up the campsites.

We went to play some mini-golf before leaving town.

Our mini-golf rules are very flexible.

But it turns out if you go mini-golfing with overtired kids, there’s going to be lots of whining. And complaining. And meltdowns. Don’t the adults know better than this?!

Lunch together!

A pancake as big as Brody’s head!

It was a great weekend! Can’t wait to do this with the Campbells again next year!

Story told by: Henry

We went to Maryhill State Park this past weekend for the annual Robinson campout!

Halfway through our drive we came upon our favorite store, The Country Mercantile. We got to wander the aisles and pick out eight pieces of candy. Brody’s mouth was too full of candy to show his excitement for this picture.

Once we arrived, Lainey got right to entertaining our cousins, Vern and Matthew.

There were over 50 family members camping, so we had to get creative with where we put our tent. In order to avoid the middle-of-the-night sprinklers, we had to camp on the pad for the picnic table, which meant duct taping over a sharp table attachment so it didn’t poke through our tent.

Before and after dinner we went swimming in the Columbia River.

Dinner time!

Rice Krispie treats from Na Na!

We played many board games this weekend.

A surprise 60th birthday party for Aunt Tina.

Back for swimming way past our bedtime. That’s what camping is all about!

Lainey went with Molly’s family to check out the star presentation up the hill.

While they went to see the stars, I rode my bike and Ba Ba and Mommy played a game of ladder ball. After going back and forth for awhile, Ba Ba won.

Ending the night with s’mores!

Starting off Saturday with a yummy breakfast of cereal, pop-tarts, bacon, and whatever we could scrounge off of the other families.

Matthew had fun riding around with Lainey and Daddy.

Lots of baseball was played this weekend.

Mommy took us on a scavenger hunt for several things, including these pine cones.

Sleeping Queens was the most popular game of the weekend.

Brody practicing his kayak skills.

Time for more swimming!

A couple of hours into our swim time, we had a very sad incident occur…I lost my ice dragon floatie to the winds of the Columbia River. Daddy went through the green sludge in an attempt to get it, but the wind was too much.

I was crying a lot, Lainey was crying for me, and Brody crawled up to snuggle me and comfort me. We were able to purchase a new floatie on Mommy’s phone right there on the beach. It should arrive tomorrow and helped to reduce my sadness.

After swimming we went to get ice cream.

I insisted on the black licorice ice cream. Fortunately the ice cream store employees warned us that it stained, so I took my shirt off. It was delicious!

Aunt Kara got a double scoop, but she regretted that when she saw how big they were and how quickly it was melting in the heat!

After ice cream, we drove four minutes up the hill to the Stonehenge Memorial. Brody missed it because he fell asleep in those four minutes.

We took turns exploring with Mommy or Daddy while the other adult sat in the car with a sleeping Brody.

If you look closely at this picture, you can notice that I insisted on getting on Lainey’s back when Mommy asked for a nice picture. Normal pictures are just too boring for me.

Okay, I’ll agree to one normal picture.

I had fun doing all things rough boy with Stevie and Jackson.

My buddy, Vern.

We did group dinners, and everyone signed up for either dinner prep for one night or dinner cleanup. Our family was part of dinner prep on Saturday night. Daddy and Uncle Alex were great hamburger/hot dog grill masters!

On Saturday night we desperately tried to find the Jr. Ranger program, but it was canceled. So we tagged along for a bit on the glacier talk about how this area was formed, but since it was meant for adults, we didn’t last for too terribly long before heading back to camp.

There was a kids vs. adult Kubb tournament. These three gave it great effort, but they ended up losing to the adults.

Another night of s’mores!

On Sunday morning, Brody made sure to sit close to Olive who generously shared her Cocoa Puffs.

Sleeping Queens while Mommy and Daddy packed up the campsite. It was another successful Robinson campout!

On our way home we stopped in the Tri-Cities for lunch.

And found a playground close by to get our wiggles out for 20 minutes.

Story told by: Lainey

Last week was one of the highlights of our summer so far! It started off with Na Na and Ba Ba coming to our house for a weekend visit.

It won’t be much longer before my feet are bigger than Na Na’s feet.

We woke up to a new game from Na Na. We sure love games.

After breakfast we left for the farmers’ market.

We were committed to waiting in a long line for face/arm painting.

After a yummy lunch of Mexican food, we came home to try out the new bow and arrows that Henry and I bought with our allowance money.

The rest of the afternoon was spent playing in the pool, playing games, and BBQing.

The face paint didn’t fare well in the water.

Some people even took naps.

The winning team of Kubb (with Henry kissing the king).

After church on Sunday, our adventures started. Henry got to drive back to Tacoma with Na Na and Ba Ba to spend the week with them!

And Mommy and Daddy drove me up to Lutherhaven for my first-ever overnight camp.

I chose the top bunk right by my cabin sign, Lookout Peak.

My sweet counselor, Molly. Before Mommy and Daddy left, I was already giggling with another girl and couldn’t wait to start camp.

Brody got to be an only child for a couple of days. His request for those days…two ice cream dates! So for the first ice cream date, Mommy and Daddy took him to the Coeur d’Alene Resort for a giant Gooey. Brody got to pick the Gooey (the Gooey Monster), but they all shared it.

They walked around Lake Coeur d’Alene for a bit.

Played at a new playground for awhile.

And went to dinner before driving home. Brody was asleep before they even left Coeur d’Alene.

On Monday Brody picked Ferdinand’s for his second ice cream date.

He next got to pick whatever park he wanted.

Then a movie.

Baking banana bread.

And then a game followed by t-ball. A perfect Brody day!

On Tuesday Mommy and Brody came up to get me! I LOVED camp!!

I was excited to show Mommy and Brody some of my favorite parts of camp. My three favorite things about camp were: 1) Dancing to camp songs, 2) Being in a cabin, and 3) Shopping at the camp store.

My counselor told Mommy that with my love for singing, dancing, and people, that I would be a great camp counselor some day. My counselor didn’t know this, but that is EXACTLY what I previously told Mommy and Daddy I want to do in college!

My cabin!

Meanwhile Henry was having so much fun in Tacoma!

Henry’s main request for the week was to ride the bus. So Na Na and Henry took it to the children’s museum one day.

Daddy is coaching Brody’s t-ball team, and they had their first game on Wednesday night.

Mac is on Brody’s team!

On Thursday Mommy met Na Na halfway to get Henry. He had SUCH a great week! But we sure missed him and were so happy to have him home!

Henry even brought home his batch of strawberry jam that he made with Na Na. We’ve been enjoying it on English muffins every morning!

On Saturday morning we were out of the house bright and early for a yummy breakfast at the Co-Op.

Then we went to explore a new hiking area, Idler’s Rest.

Brody liked this hike much better than the last one because it is fairly flat.

We ended Saturday with sprinkler play and ribs. Nothing better!

And on Sunday we went to the Knight’s house to celebrate their new house! This group of boys chose to stay parked at the snack bowl until every last bit was gone.

We ended the night with ice cream cones. We love summer!

Story told by: Lainey

We had a great 4th of July yesterday!!

We started with the annual Johnson Parade! One of our favorite traditions!

Brody loves all mascots, so we had to get a picture with the RE/MAX balloon.

I was excited to wear my patriotic outfit!

We love getting to see so many friends at the parade!

The Evanoffs did not disappoint with their amazing outfit.

We got so much candy during the parade! Brody said, “This is the yummiest day ever!”

We had a relaxing afternoon at home. Daddy made beer can chicken and corn on the cob for dinner. Yum!

We had a delicious red, white and blue dessert!

Around 7:30 we went to the Griffin’s house for fireworks. We started with their plentiful supply of fireworks!

Watching fireworks for about two hours!

We got to do sparklers!

So much delicious food!

Almost time for the big Pullman fireworks show to start!

Fireworks started at 10:00. I loved them, Brody fell asleep within three minutes, and Henry ran around with Mac completely ignoring the show. It was a great night!

Story told by: Brody

We’ve been counting down the days until our first camping trip of the summer, and we weren’t disappointed by this weekend! We met Mommy’s WSU education buddies and their families at Wenatchee Confluence State Park.

I was very good at helping Daddy set up the tent.

Yummy tacos for dinner.

I requested only shredded cheese and a tortilla (of which I just ate the tortilla).

Henry said, “Here’s my chip face.”

There was great visibility for the parents, so us kids rode bikes all over the campground this weekend.

Henry is big into skipping bars on the monkey bars, so he was able to demonstrate that this weekend.

Garris and Lainey had fun playing together on Friday night. He just finished first grade as well.

This train track that Claire’s family brought was genius. We loved it!

And this is what I’ve been most looking forward to…a campfire for s’mores!

Garris was a good buddy to me this weekend.

And Henry was a good buddy to Owen.

After a horrible night of sleep (in fact, both nights were horribly bad due to strong winds keeping us awake) we dragged ourselves out of the tent bright and early for breakfast and allllllll the coffee for Mommy and Daddy.

Nothing beats camping breakfast – sugary cereal and a sugary pop-tart. We loved it! (Mommy and Daddy did make us eat some bacon and fruit later on.)

Mommy got in some great baby snuggles this weekend. This is baby Ava.

Lainey was a good buddy to Myla this weekend.

After breakfast I tried my first time on a pedal bike. I am so proud of myself because I’m starting to get it!

We went down to the swimming area for 4 1/2 hours on Saturday. It was awesome. We got to use our new floaties from Grandma and Grandpa!

And we spent lots of time building sand castles.

Mommy’s good friends from college – Jessica, Danielle, and Michelle.

And their eleven kids in order from oldest to youngest!

More baby snuggles! This is baby Hallie.

Claire and Lainey loved that unicorn.

Henry, Garris, and Daddy had some great water fights.

Henry spent a lot of time panning for seashells.

And then he wanted to be buried in the sand (but he needed Mommy’s sunglasses to keep the sun out of his eyes).

Claire Bear (as I quickly began calling her) was my special buddy this weekend.

She received many hugs from me.

After hours at the lake, the drinks came out at the campsite and the adults played a fun game of Kuub.

Daddy and Nick were the champions!

The hammock was one of my favorite activities.

Not everyone managed to stay in the hammock.

Our faces after Gatorade, Red Vines, Cheetos, and Oreos. Camping food is always the best.

Mommy and I played some games.

And finally time for s’mores again. This time I roasted my marshmallow all by myself!

I also enjoyed Myla this weekend. I asked her to marry me, but she said “no.” I see she’s playing hard to get. I’ll give her some time to change her mind.

These girls were three peas in a pod this weekend.

After we went to bed at 10 each night, Mommy and Daddy stayed up too late around the campfire because they love this part of camping!

On the second night, Lainey got so scared from the wind that Daddy slept in her bed (and her small sleeping bag that wouldn’t go over his hips) so Lainey could sleep in the big bed with Mommy.

Henry and I got to enjoy the babies as well this weekend.

Some time at the playground while Daddy loaded the car.

And how every camping trip ends…GIANT coffees for the ride home and crabby kids in the back!

Story told by: Henry

We’ve had a great first few weeks of summer! Here are some of the highlights.

We started swim with Dede! In order to make Mommy’s life easier, Dede asked if she wanted to see if Brody could move into Henry’s swim class. Mommy said, “Of course!” and Brody did great in my class.

Lainey had her class right after our class.

We had Harper in our class, and Brody decided he wanted to marry her, which he loudly and proudly declared to anyone who would listen.

Evan, Ivy, and Lainey have been in Dede’s class together since they were three.

Here goes Brody!

Here I go!

Both of us!

And Lainey!

Dede doesn’t care if it’s raining or not. Swim is on no matter what. Here’s how Mommy and Christy felt about that.

We get lollipops on our last day of swim with Dede. These two just completed their fifth and final summer with Dede!

We are now some pretty confident swimmers!

I’ve been loving holding Mommy’s hand on our walks.

Lainey did great at her first piano recital! (Lainey’s teacher doesn’t require students to do the recital during their first semester of piano, but Lainey really wanted to do it.)

Park dates are happening often!

Lainey’s good buddy, Stella, just moved back to Spokane from South Carolina. They came down to play at the park and have a picnic.

I was so proud to show off the hammer and nails that I found at the park. I didn’t quite understand why Mommy wouldn’t let me keep them.

We also had Evan and Kylee join us that day.

Thank goodness for a big car because we’ve been cramming it full of kids!

Water play!

And otter pops!

Lainey is on week two of summer. Before school finished, Colton had their traditional picnic down at Hells Gate State Park. They had a water gun fight after lunch!

Last day as a first grader!

She’s ready for second grade!

Our traditional last-night-of-school sleepover!

Lainey saved up her allowance to buy roller skates. She and Caleb had fun skating together.

I want a skateboard as well, so I’m helping with extra chores around the house to earn money. (When a seven-year-old takes the picture, you might get her finger in the corner of it.)

We’ve wrapped up our last few weeks of baseball. It was Lainey’s first season of coach pitch. She really enjoyed it!

My biggest accomplishment of the season is learning that the entire field isn’t mine. I need to share it with my teammates.

I requested that we make baseball Rice Krispie treats for my last night of t-ball. They were a hit!

We bought a season pass to the water park in Clarkston. And I am now officially tall enough to join Lainey on the water slides!!

On her first day of summer, Lainey decided to have a sale where she gives away toys for free. There was a lot of singing and dancing to promote the sale.

We had some customers!

After awhile, though, Lainey decided that the big toys cost money.

Lemon ice cream from Ferdinand’s with Desmond!

We celebrated our favorite dad on Father’s Day!

We went to Sella’s for lunch after church and Brody wasn’t having it.

So Lainey and I got a nice picture with Daddy.

And then once Brody was a little happier, he got his own special picture.

Pictures to hang on Sella’s wall.

We went to the library to sign up for the summer reading program and to get some books. I can’t decide whether bugs or dinosaurs are my favorite, so I got some of both.

Lainey spent an afternoon crafting her own clothes. This shirt says, “Go girl.”

Here’s to another amazing few weeks of summer!

Professional dance pictures by the amazing Ileia McCall!