More Fun With the Other Ratchfords

On Saturday we took a walk down to the beach at low tide for some exploration...

Davy and Garreth found this huge crab and after about twenty minutes of psyching themselves up, finally picked it up for some pictures!

I love Garreth's face in this one.  "Just hurry up and take the picture!"

We also took the gang to Whatcom Falls Park in Bellingham.

Before Tom and Merrily left on Sunday, there were still a few more Ratchford Male Traditions that needed to be done, such as the 

"Strength and Endurance Test"....

... and eating a yummy curry.

On Labor Day we stayed close to home in Birch Bay and went down to the state park, where Garreth and Davy hung a swing in the branches of a really high tree for the kids to play on.  They had so much fun and all of them had a really hard time waiting their turn! 

Ronan and Declan especially loved it.  Declan threw a huge crying fit when we took him out.  I think he could have stayed in it all day.

Then we took the canoe out in the bay.  The sun was starting to go down and it was gorgeous.

White boys:

It was a fun, crazy week and I'm glad we had so much going on because it distracted me a little from missing this:

The annual Beckstead Reunion at Cherry Hills.  

Sisters and cousins: I'm hoping to see lots of pictures on your blogs!!

Butchart Gardens

While we were in Victoria, we also went to Butchart Gardens.  It was such a beautiful place and the weather turned out to be perfect.  (Thanks, Nana and Papa for the admission tickets!  One of our favorite Christmas presents ever!)

I love this picture of Declan.  The big tears are because (mean parents that we are) we tried to feed him his ice cream cone instead of letting him hold it himself.  How could we not give in to that cuteness?

And more ferry pictures.  It was a clear day and such a beautiful ride, even if we never saw a orca!  This picture is right before Sam lost his lunch in the ferry cafeteria.  We thought it was motion sickness but it turned out to be a stomach bug that most of us caught at some point during the week.  Not fun. Luckily we were on our way home so we could deal with the sicknesses at our house instead of a hotel.

Visitors and Victoria!!

We have had such a busy, fun, and chaotic week with this group:

Garreth's brother and his family and their dad and his wife all came up to see us this week and we had such a fun time!  The weather cooperated and we were able to do lots of fun stuff together as a family.  First big adventure - going to Vancouver Island and staying overnight in Victoria.  Here are a few ferry pictures.

Grace and Leah: Horse Girls.  We found these "I'd Rather Be Horseback Riding" shirts on our school shopping trip and had to get them for these two horse lovers.

To entertain the boys on the hour and a half ferry ride, we played a new game made up on the spot called "Having a Baby."  How to play: zip a kid's head into your hoody for nine months (or one minute) and when you're ready to give birth, simply unzip.  If only it were really that easy.

IT'S A BOY!

When we booked our hotel in Victoria a few weeks ago, they were all full, but the guy said, "Well, there is one room that I could offer..."  Turns out they had converted a conference room into a suite with two bedrooms, and it was such a secret room that when we checked in, the girl at the desk had never heard of it!  It was so perfect for us - each family got our own bedroom and there was a door that opened directly out to the outdoor pool.  And Tom and Merrily lucked out by getting their own room on an entirely different floor from us, which I'm sure provided a much needed break from the madness!  Here's the kids eating pizza on our own personal pool deck.

The next day we walked all around Victoria and saw lots of cool things, like the Victoria Parliament Buildings:

We took a beautiful seaside walk to the Fisherman's Wharf for fish and chips...

...where we saw a seal and her baby come right up to the dock!  

Isn't she cute?

First Day of School

In the midst of the chaos this week at our house, Grace and Liam started third and first grade.   We were all glad to get the first day over with - it was nerve-racking to start a brand-new school again (for the last time in a LONG time, I hope) but everything went well and they are doing great.  (And Liam no longer has this anxious look on his face!)