SNOW Day!

What do you do when church is cancelled due to "inclement weather?"  Drive to Cedar Hill for a SNOW DAY!  All the kids and cousins slipped our way up the hill to park and stay at Mom and Dad's for the morning.  We were all outside having a blast and enjoying the big, wet flakes PILING up around us.  It's incredible how much snow they can get just being on the base of the hill.  The big excitement this year was the addition of the FOUR WHEELER.  Seriously fun times were had by all!!!

PS.  Please excuse the lack of Scheenstra boy pictures - they move so fast they are hard to photograph!

Celebrating 90 years and a pumpkin harvest

Uncle Clayt plants pumpkins every year that the great grand kids can harvest on Grandma's birthday.  What a sweet tradition!  The kiddos love strolling along to find the "perfect" one.  Leave it to the Silves kids...  they pick the ones with mud!  This year was a special year - it was Grandma Silves' 90th birthday.  90 years old!  I had no idea she was that old, really!  She is so spunky and feisty, sweet and kind.  She's slowed down just a bit over the past year but not enough to be 90!  Thank you for sharing your day with all of us Grandma, and we love you very much!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Nothing like an impromptu gathering for "Little Caeser's" to celebrate Dad's birthday, only to find out it was NORTH FORK for the adults!  MMMmmm..  And the kids were all so good, it was really fun.  That might sound odd to hear me say, but folks with 8 kids 7 and under, we have had some chaotic gatherings over the past few years.  Slowly but surely they are becoming LESS work, and more FUN!  :-)

And who couldn't have fun in this gorgeous place?  The kids run wild up and down the hill, and then to the sand box, back for food, and then back out again.

Even Uncle Todd is around now!  He is working full time out of Anacortes, and it's been really nice to have him around again.  Love him!

The Silves boys are all highly concerned with Kallen's hair (it's long) and the last time they were at Aunt Breanne's, once of them told her, "He needs it cut before he gets married."  So cute though - reminds me of Tyson as a little kid!

And here's Todd again!  With Amy!  She was up for the week, and fit right in with the family.

Okay, ignore my dorky look, but here's my Tay!  She adores her Aunt Nonya, and what's not to love?  :-)

Grandma might have been missing some blackberries by the time we left...

Tradition is delicious when it's Mom's Mocha Cake!

And a rare photo indeed... look at Grandpa and Grandma with all their grands!

The first fort was built...

Happy Birthday Dad!!!  We love you!

Happy Birthday Papa!

 It was a GORGEOUS Sunday, and we had a blast gathering at Cedar Hill to celebrate Papa's birthday.  I tell you...  our family is BIG!  5 kids, a more than 20 grandkids, and adding more and more great grandkids all the while... It's a good thing his birthday is in the summer, and we can all spread out.  It was so much fun to see all the kids gather around the enormous sandbox, and they were all very committed to digging for gold.  Teamwork!

 The "gamers" gathered for a round of croquet.  And they were competitive.  Hey, Uncle Jim was playing, so the rules were followed.  Look at all their smiles.  And no, I don't know what Ryne was doing.  I think he was trying to get out of the picture?

 The birthday boy....

 Cousin's visiting...

 Lane loved this rock area.  Mom, if you had to move your rocks the next day, sorry!  I didn't have the heart to tell him those rocks weren't meant for throwing, he was having so much fun!

Happy birthday Papa!  I love that you modeled a love and appreciation for the Word all of my life.  John 14 will always be special to me!