A cousins summer sleepover

Mya spent her first night in California at Uncle Brian & Aunt Angie's house along with Cousin Claire & Cousin Landon. Just for the readers, we had a total of 6 kids all under the age of 10! Brian and I made a great team along with our "Big" helpers, Cousin Hailey and Cousin Keagan. The next morning the kids still had smiles on their faces and joy in their hearts, we would call this a "successful mission" at the Warta house.

Hailey playing the violin for Mya...

Everyone slept good that night. I don't know what it is about our house, but kids sure do sleep well. Maybe it is the freedom to roam every square inch of 3 1/2 acres.

Doing a bead project...

Resting with a little bit of Tinkerbell...

Dinner time! Oh yes, Keagan's friend, Cameron joined us for dinner too; which gave us a grand total of 7 children. (Mom, I don't know how you did it!)

Playtime with Uncle Brian while the girls took a bath.

And then there is feeding the goats. Mya wanted to know if we were going to feed the goats a bottle of milk. I was amazed that she remembered doing this with Hailey 2 1/2 years ago at the age of 2. That girl has an amazing memory!

Bare feet never hurt anyone.

Playing in the playhouse...

"Spiders are crawling up your back... to bite you, bite you" This has been Bethany & Claire's favorite thing to do to one another.

Can't forget about dress-up!

(Keagan helping Mya with her wings.)

I just love this picture of the girls. You can tell that Mya is still a bit jet lagged.

The trampoline is always a hit!

The girls had fun playing ring-around-the-roses.

Hailey found a very cute & fuzzy baby killdeer. The kids had fun holding or should I say squishing it. Hailey rescued the baby just in time.

The tree fort...

No visit is complete without a few quad rides from Uncle Brian and maybe just a little bit of racing. (Shh! Don't tell mom and dad.)

Uncle Brian even took us to the blackberry bushes for a mid-morning snack. To make the trip a bit quicker, Landon rode his quad and Brian piled on Keagan's quad sandwiched between Claire, Mya and Bethany. (I missed that picture!)

Both days Hailey did the Easy Bake Oven with the kids. They made chocolate cookies and pretzels.

Landon just couldn't resist... he just HAD to smell it!

I did not know so many activities could be crammed into 24 hours. I think Brian and I had just as much fun as the kids. I will be honest...we were all completely exhausted AND our house seemed unusually quiet by afternoon.

Thanks everyone for sharing your kiddoes with us and letting us spoil them with our love!

There's nothing like...fishing with Uncle Joe!

Brian took Hailey, Keagan & Uncle Joe to Clear Lake for a day of fishing. Everyone was up at 4:30 a.m. to pick Uncle Joe up by 5:15. They had a great time despite almost getting stranded on the lake. Now that would have been interesting!

Hailey and Keagan took a quick dip in the very green lake to cool off.

Hailey bet Keagan $5.00 if he would jump in, too. Needless to say, Keagan did not hesitate.

Thanks daddy for a super fun day and for treating us to the best milkshake in Colusa County!

Freedom Fun!!!

I can't think of a better way to spend a Holiday than with friends and family. I am so very thankful to be surrounded with loved ones who take me & my children in when Brian can't be with us. Brian pulled a 72 hr. shift over the 4th of July weekend. Most 72 hr. shifts are taxing on the kids & I; not to mention on Brian. This time we were blessed beyond measures!

The morning started out with the Annual 4th of July Children's Parade put on by Yuba City's Parks & Recreation and the Fire Department. Brian was able to join us for the tail end of the parade before hooking an emergency call. This has always been a fun way to celebrate the 4th!

I was fortunate to run into my closest friend, Kristin, who was there with her husband and 4 children.

Kristin's 6 month old twin, Sophie.

Kristin's 6 month old twin Athena.

I was so excited to see my 92 year old Great-Grandma, Freida Brugmann, & my Great Aunt Karen enjoying the festivities.

My heart was melting as I watched the kids wave goodbye to daddy that I almost did not get this shot. Brian was returning T1 to Station 1 after the parade.

The evening was spent at Tim & Casey's with 7 families from church. The kids definitely out numbered the adults. Everyone enjoyed a jump house, a slip & slide, a water balloon fight, a water balloon volley game, food & fireworks. The evening was full of fun and fellowship.

The "Big" girls, not mentioning any names, got so carried away in the jump house that the whole thing gave way. The funniest thing of all was the many camera's that went running to capture the perfect shot.

What it would be like to be 10 again!

Summer Blackberries!

Nothing beats the heat on a hot summer day like blackberry picking. Keagan saved our legs by giving us a ride to the blackberry bushes on his quad. The girls enjoyed a very bumpy ride in Keag's new (gently used) quad trailer. On this day, we collected enough blackberries for 2 pies with a few extras for breakfast. Each summer our goal is to stock the freezer with enough blackberries to yield 8-10 pies (appr. 40 cups). The best part of all our hard work...is enjoying blackberry pie all year long!

Aunt Kate and Aunt Destiny have taught Bethany quite well how to correctly pose for a photo. She seems to do it every time!

Hailey and Keagan were so concerned about Bethany getting too hot or too bored, so they set her up with her own little oasis.

Hailey has been picking blackberries since she was old enough to walk. She has a love for it! She even recommended us all going to bed early one night this summer so that we could get up around 5:30 a.m. to beat the heat.

Keagan is getting Bethany all set up!

Keagan and Bethany went exploring, hand in hand, for the best blackberry bush.

"There just has to be a better spot down there" Keagan says.

If anyone wants to join us one evening for some family fun just give us a call. The best time for picking is after 7:00 p.m. or before 10:00 a.m. The blackberries will probably be ripe for the next 2-3 weeks.