Thornley Family Reunion

Last week was the Thornley Family Reunion.  An event only held every 2-years.  It's never long enough, and I always end up with a ton of pictures, but here are a few of my favorites.

My brother Paul brought his rocket launcher (PVC pipe hooked up to an air compressor), and everyone made a paper rocket.  I started our rocket, Amelia colored it, Ken finished it, and Sophia squished it (after it had launched). 

The reunion was at the Whaleshead Resort, near Brookings, OR.  A beautiful spot; perfect for playing, relaxing, and spending time with family.

In spite of her oxygen tank, my Mom made it down a windy path, rocky staircase, and across the sand.  I loved seeing her there, able to enjoy watching her children and grandchildren play . . .

. . . and sleep.

Paul brought out his rocket launcher again - this time slightly adapted - as a "candy cannon".  Thanks to my brother, I now know what Amelia is like amped up on sugar ;)

We were super close to the CA border, so we did a quick drive through of some of the Redwoods; it was beautiful . . . but not as beautiful as seeing my parents surrounded by almost all of their grandchildren.

This wasn't one of the largest trees, but it was near the road, and was accessible all the way around - making it easy to get around it.

Not much to say about this shot, but I love it.  Just like I loved every minute of the family reunion.  Hopefully I'll have time/ momentum to publish a few more of my favorite pictures.

Family Photo Shoot

Some of my favorite pictures from our photo shoot.  Thanks Heather Mann for catching some great moments.

Realizations

• I realized that I have never given cold cereal to Amelia for breakfast when I saw her hand dipping each piece of cereal in her glass of milk rather than pouring her milk on her bowl of cereal.
• I talk tough, but I realized the other day that I am really a softy when it comes to my girls.  I would rather squish into Amelia's toddler bed with her rather than just letting her cry herself to sleep.
• I realized that we must go to Costco a lot when Amelia walked with the receipt in her hand, right up to the person at the door for them to check our receipt.
• Last night at our Relief Society event, I realized that being organized really is a talent, just like being crafty, or sewing, cooking, photography, etc.
• For good or bad, I realized that Amelia and I are both stubborn.

Random Ramblings

• A month after we got our family pictures taken, we FINALLY got the cd in the mail.   Now to pick out pictures for printing, posting, etc.
• We have a very ambitious squirrel at our house.  One day the squirrel woke me up from a nap by climbing up the screen door on our sliding glass door in order to get to the bird feeder.  Later, I had Ken take the screen door off, since we never used it anyway, and it was about to fall off.  A week or so later, I saw the squirrel climbing up the edge of our sliding glass door to get to the bird feeder.  I can't even imagine what he was hanging onto.
• The other day, Amelia told me that I wasn't being nice.  She was right - I wasn't being nice.  I giggled and then apologized.
• Our next door neighbors shot off very large and loud fireworks (like what you'd see at a city firework show) on July 4th, until almost midnight.  Amazingly, Sophia slept through most of it, but it woke up Amelia and then she wouldn't/ couldn't go to sleep for an hour after they stopped.  Since then Amelia's napping and bedtime have been a battle.  I'm not sure if she's afraid to go to sleep now or what, but I hope it gets better soon.
• Sophia is becoming mobile.  She has figured out how to crawl . . . backwards . . . but gets frustrated when she gets stuck backing into a wall.  She also loves to stand and has almost figured out how to pull herself from sitting to standing.

July 4th

It's been a great 4th of July so far.  The kids slept through the fireworks last night and got up early for a pancake breakfast at church.  Ken headed to work, and the girls and I headed home to enjoy a rare sunny day.  While Sophia napped, Amelia and I made flags. 

Me: Amelia, can I take your picture with the flags?

Amelia:  Yes

Me: Okay, now try waving the flags so I can see them and smile at Mommy.

 . . . . at least I got the smile.

And I got some marching action on video too.

After Sophia got up from her nap, we went for a walk.  This is the girls patiently waiting for mommy to get it together.

And then we enjoyed a little time outside in the lawn.  I got some cute video, but I can't figure out how to make them shorter so that I can post them on the blog.  So instead, you get a close up of Sophia trying to grab the camera.

 And Sophia trying to figure out what this new toy is that Amelia gave her.

We'll end the day with a BBQ when Ken gets home from work, followed by more of our "delicious" homemade strawberry ice cream!

Making Ice Cream

On one of the rare sunny days we've had lately, we decided to make homemade ice cream, using some of the strawberries we picked.  Amelia loves watching and helping her Daddy.

 The finished product.

 Amelia dived right in.  She usually likes to smile for the camera, but I couldn't convince her to break away from her bowl long enough to catch a smile . . . but there definitely was one.

3 peas in a pod

Both my girls and me in the same dress.  Can you guess who is who?