


We started off before our hike with some lunch. We had way too much food and none of the kids wanted to eat, they were too excited to be in the mountains. Austin found a butterfly injured on the ground. He picked it up and put it in a tree.
Shane, Greta, and Alina
Matthew, Shannon, Tessa, Kelly (Shane's Friend) and Shane. Cameron and Alina at a tree that burnt down. There was a big fire up at Cascade Springs a few years ago, there are a ton of trees like this, but you can also see all the new growth.
.Caden and Alina really wanted Carson to take the picture with them, but he wouldn't
The whole family minus Ryan.
I love this picture of our little family, thanks Shane.
Alina fell down face first in the water and hit her face on a rock. She cried pretty hard, but she soon started playing again.
Austin, Greta, and Alina had so much fun walking in the tall grass, playing in the water and collecting rocks.
After Cascade Springs we went back to my parents and had Shannon's last favorite meal, orange pancakes. Then we said goodbye before she left for the airport and the kids were sound asleep on the way home. It was a great weekend and we already miss you Shan.
Braedon, Austin, Greta, Alina, Braedon's cousin, Carter, Ethan, and Sammy.
Since Alina turned 3 today she has promised us that when she's 3 she'll stop sucking her thumb and go in the potty all the time, we'll see. But right now she's watching a movie and sucking on her thumb.
Yesterday we had her birthday party with my family at our home. We almost didn't have the party because Alina had been sick for a week and I had the flu the day before, but yesterday morning we were both cured.
We started off the day by having Austin and Greta go to friends so that we could take Alina shopping. She picked out a barbie doll and we went to Costco and she got to eat lots of treats since they were giving out samples, I think that was her favorite part. At one time she had two samples in her hand and looked at her dad and said, "ha ha, I have two treats."
That night everyone in my family (minus Ryan since he's in Peru) were there. It was so fun to have almost all of us together. We put up the Vortex for the kids to slide down. Alina had two of her friends Brooklyn and Sara come to the party. It started raining, but we kept the slide up anyways, we figured they were already wet.
Shan and Greta. Cam, Holly, and Alina.