Life with the Conleys

Last Saturday we went down to the river to enjoy the nice weather and throw some rocks. Eli really likes throwing rocks into the river and Luna quite enjoyed herself as well. He could have stayed all day Luna seems to really like the water Sometimes throwing rocks is a little dirty Josh had Monday off for President's day. We decided to check out a local ghost town called Franklin. We didn't realize until we got there that you can't actually see the town. It is on private land and they have "No Trespassing" signs posted. What you can see is the old mine and the cemetery. It would have been nice to see the town but what we could see was pretty cool.   Coal cart marking the trail The mine shaft is over 1,300 feet deep My two fellas The views of Mt Rainier were pretty great The tombstones were scattered about the hillside. We thought this was an old mine cart rail but afterward Josh read that it actually held the pip...

Before we get to Christmas, we need to talk about December 21st. To most of the world it is only Christmas eve's, eve's, eve's, eve; but around here, it's Josh's birthday. We had some family over for a nice birthday dinner and some cake. Singing to the birthday boy Happy Birthday, Josh! After celebrating Josh's birthday, Eli got to have a little pre-Christmas. The Masons brought a present for Eli and he got to open it while they were here.  Superman book! Hannah reading the book to Eli. Thanks for the book, cousins!  Christmas morning was pretty exciting. Eli got a ball shoot (basketball hoop) of his very own. Josh and Eli hadn't even made it downstairs before Eli started shouting "ball shoot! ball shoot!". Getting him to open any presents after seeing the basketball hoop was nearly impossible. Luna got to open her present first because we couldn't get Eli to stop playing long enough to open a present. Notice th...

Not too many pictures have been taken around here lately. It's regrettable considering the lapse in picture taking came during Halloween and Thanksgiving. We took just a few pictures of Eli in his Halloween costume but it was at the end of the night and he was tired and not particularly cooperative by then. Halloween was a lot of fun though. Some friends invited us over for dinner and then the children went trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. This was our first Halloween in our house and it was really fun to see all the kids going around. Eli the Dragon or Dinosaur. You can pick.  Resting after pillaging the village. The week before Thanksgiving my family came to visit. It was great to have everyone together again. We didn't take any pictures though, we were too busy having fun, eating food, and playing volleyball. Also, my dad was able to fix our freezer, which has leaked since we moved in. Yay!  The following week was actual Thanksgiving. After the hu...

The winter rains have begun and with that come the back yard puddles that won't go away until next summer. Eli quite enjoys splashing but he does not enjoy his rain boots, which leads to many pairs of wet pants, socks, shoes, and occasionally pajamas. I let the dog out and he managed to escape too. Digging in puddles has never been so cute.  Stomping in puddles is also fun. We love this boy These two keep things exciting around here! Two weeks ago my SIL,  Angie, and I took the kids to a pumpkin patch. It was fun to see them all together and enjoying the day.  Getting a picture with all of them looking at the same time proved impossible.  The whole crew. Lilly Eli Rubber duck races Pumping the water Snack break. (L to R: Susan, Kimberly, Lilly, Andrew, Angie, Eli)