Hauser Lake Day Take 2

Another day at the lake with even more cousins.

A lot more cousins.  It is so wonderful to think that this isn't even close to half of the family.

The four oldest grandsons.

The great cousin jump!

Everett the Sea Weed Man!

Abe with his sister Marjorie and her youngest daughter, Phoebe.

Nice form, Faith!

Abe with his closest two younger brothers.

Spokane Pictures Run Amock

These are all pictures of our time here in Spokane and I realize they probably aren't that interesting to anyone but us, and maybe Grandma Fox.  I do at times wonder if my whole blog is a really great way to preserve our family history, or if it is just a self-centered self-indulgence.  Should my time be spent more wisely?  I can say for certain that posting on here is therapeutic and relaxing to me.  Of course, so is going to a spa, but that could be taken to extremes.  Either way this is my blog, it's free to create and it makes me feel happy.   These times in Spokane with dear family are happy times we definitely want to remember.  So, here goes!

Abe and Elinor's traditional four-wheeler ride.

Peter's first four-wheeler ride-- it was very slow on the grass.

Clark and Alexis-- They are so grown up and enjoyable to be with.
(Abe comment: This is now one of my ALL-TIME Favorite PICS!!!)

Adorable.

Watching movies at Grandma's.

Abe and Faith playing checkers.

Elinor and Annie making caramels.

We treasure this time with Dad.  Summer is especially busy with his work schedule, so this is a real treat to have uninterrupted time.

Playing a little baseball with a nifty foam bat and ball we purchased at the local Wal-Mart.

Cute little Georgie learning to hit.

Cannon caught a pop-fly.

According to Grandma's fancy weight and height scale, Abe still has an inch on Clark.  This picture would suggest the scale was generous to Abe.

I kind of know (not very deep down inside) that I shouldn't post this picture.  I know that at least one of these boys will not be happy about this picture.  Is it so very wrong of me?  I can't help myself.
Grandma's big tub and huge rubber ducks are looked forward to every year.  Forgive me, children.

We went to church with Grandma and Grandpa Fox and Peter promptly fell asleep with his hands folded neatly in his lap.

Why another family picture?
Why not?

My Big Fat Greek Date

For many years now, a highlight of our trip to Spokane is a date with Jesse and Amy without children.  They wouldn't call themselves "foodies", but they definitely have better food tastes than we do.  For Abe and I our idea of going out to eat is to find a restaurant that we like and only frequent that restaurant for about six months.  We don't just go to the same place, but we order the exact same thing each time we go.  That way, on the rare occasions we go out, we're sure to like where we go.  Not very adventurous, but we both like it.
Jesse and Amy have more varied tastes and like searching out the best "hole-in-the-wall" eating establishments.  I think they are much more interesting people to be friends with than we are.
And we were the beneficiaries last night because we had a very enjoyable and tasty time at this little Greek restaurant in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho.

Peter Jesse Fox with his Uncle Jesse.

We have years and years of pictures of Bethany and Julia together.  They are one day apart and both as lovely as could be.

Bethany and Talitha and Julia talk about all being roommates at college together.  Talitha is a sweetheart and I'd love to take her home with me and claim her as our own!

Hauser Lake

The joy of beloved cousins reuniting!  Elinor and Annie rushed into each others arms.
The Fox Family Reunion does not officially begin until this coming Monday and then goes for five days.  We came up early because we'll be leaving after the third day.  Even still, there will be plenty of joyous cousin time!

Yesterday we gathered at Hauser Lake for swimming in the heat.  And they are having a heat wave!  It was only about 100 yesterday, but temperatures are predicted to be 106-107 the next couple of days. That's hotter than we get in Northern Utah.

In the shade it was quite pleasant. 

This was a great lake we had never gone to before.  Not too big, not too crowded and a great pier that went all the way around a not too deep swimming area.

George and best cousin Asher.  They are just a few months apart in age.

Building sand castles.

The finished products.

John is almost ten and Cannon just turned seven, but they are buds.  Cannon adores John and respects his soccer skills. 

John kept Cannon on the run during a little match in the heat.

 During our lunch break Abe entertained us all by recounting the story of the first time he went water skiing on this very lake as a young man.  

Peter enjoyed himself some oreos.

I enjoy myself some Peter.

Love.

Snapshots of Life

Here are pictures Abe or I have snapped with our phones over the last couple of weeks.  None of them are high quality, but they make me smile and I want to remember them.  Here George was getting into the spirit of Operation: Tidy-Up.  He decided to "organize" his pins from robotics competitions.  Now remember that George is rather a hoarder who truly treasures his treasures.  Out of 75+ buttons, he could only part with about 4 of them.  Baby steps.

 Pay no mind to the filthy sliding glass door.  The kids were outside playing a little game of softball when Peter saw them and crawled over to the window.  I loved the picture of them waving to the Peter like he was an exotic animal in a zoo exhibit.  Peter loved it.

Faith went to work with Abe one day and he traded a half-gallon of apple juice for Faith to have a turn on this fun contraption.

She felt right at home flipping through the air.

While Clark and Bethany were gone to EFY last week, I took the Team Little Kids and Elinor to the local public pool for swimming.  Faith and Cannon both braved the high dive for the first time and George is still an excellent swimmer, except that he doesn't come up and breathe.  Room for progress.

My goodness!  Look who is climbing the stairs!  As of the last few days he is pulling himself into a standing position on couches and chairs.  This seems very advanced for one of our children.

Abe helping George get dressed for church on Father's Day.

Abe with the two littlest boys on Father's Day.

More fun with the little boys while Clark and Bethany were at EFY.  This is a fun park at Daybreak.

Hanging with the Littles and our neighbor Ben at Elinor's volleball games on Saturday.

Adorable little ladies walking the halls before church a few weeks back.

Elinor drew a very flattering picture of me in her math book.  She desperately wants a dog, but until I can do a better job of keeping my children fed and groomed, we are not getting a dog.  That is a picture of me riding the husky dog that she will never get.  I love my angry eyes in the drawing.

This is a pretty cool map Clark has slaved over for many hours.  He drew it by hand and it is map to the world that he's created and written quite extensively about.  Think Lord of the Rings.  Perhaps Clark is the next J.R.R. Tolkien. 

Here were Clark and Bethany off to EFY.  They had a really wonderful week and Abe and I enjoyed them coming home each evening and telling us all about it.  They are good kids that way.  And I suppose for homeschoolers, it's a novelty to be gone all day and actually have something to tell about your day that your parents don't already know!