Lake Chelan 2013

We had a blast in Lake Chelan this year!  Thankfully, the Doehne Vacation Curse, which has plagued almost all of our family trips over the past few years, stayed away and we all managed to stay healthy.  There is also a running joke in our family that bad weather follows us wherever we go. This was true for about half the trip. We did have a torrential downpour, thunder and lightning (which is crazy weather for the middle of August when the average temperature is generally around 90 degrees) but during the nice days we made the most of it and spent lots of time soaking up the sun and playing in the water.

Lucky for us, the Worsleys' were also vacationing in Chelan so we spent many of our days together.

 

Boys will be boys!

They had more fun hitting each other with the inner tubes than they did playing with them in the water.

This pesky family of ducks was very aggressive and kept trying to join our picnic.  Josh took it upon himself to remove them from the party, or at least he tried.  For his efforts, we nicknamed him the "Duck Wrangler".

Our  Day at Slidewaters

 

B's First Ride of the Day

Pool Time

Grandpa and Abi playing in the pool

Grandma bought the kids' snorkels and they had great fun practicing with them.

 

We took one of our days and did a mini winery tour (with 6 kids in tow).  I'm sure all the owners just cringed as our minivan caravan pulled up.

Josh also took the kids to a nearby ranch where the Worsley family owns a couple of horses for some four-wheelin' and horseback riding.

The kids found a Praying Mantis!

Josh enjoyed the trip because he got a chance to take some pictures around the ranch.

And of course, a post would not be complete without some cute pictures and videos of Nattie! :)

I love this video because it captures the interaction between Nattie and B perfectly right now.

Nattie is SO close to crawling and it is just so dang frustrating!

Mastering the Big Bike

Abi has been hard at work - practicing on her big bike without training wheels. Thankfully, the transition from small bike to big bike was not as tough (or dramatic) as I imagined. We are still working on getting started and stopping but once she gets going, there is no slowing her down!

Natalie's Baptism

This weekend we had Natalie baptized. She was baptized at St. Judes' Parish, which was special considering that was the church where Abi and Brady got baptized and Josh and I got married (almost) 12 years ago. Natalie did great during the mass and the ceremony - no random screams or crying - despite being extremely tired. Unfortunately, mass was scheduled right in the middle of nap time but luckily we remembered her lovie which was a lifesaver!

Josh and I, Natalie and her Godparents (Arizona Grandma and Grandpa)

I love this picture of Natalie. Captured the moment perfectly.

Natalie was surprisingly calm and didn't seem to mind the water being poured on her head.  After the blessing, the priest looked up at us and said it looks as though we may have a little swimmer on our hands since she enjoyed it so much.

After mass, we took a few family pictures to commemorate the event.

Drevniaks, Doehnes, Arizona Grandma and Grandpa and Ferryboat Grandma

Natalie with her Godparents

After church, we headed home for some lunch, cake and presents.

The tissue paper was so fun and irresistible!

Oh course she loved the cake...and the other kids got a kick out of watching her stuff her face!

Orange Crush

Over the summer, Brady played in T-Ball league through the YMCA with other 3 and 4 year olds boys and girls.  The name of their team was Orange Crush. As you can imagine, it was pretty adorable!  B was as competitive as ever and took his role quite seriously.

On the first day of practice, the kids started by running around the bases. This was a concept that was foreign to a lot of them...as the team stood near home plate, the coach told them to run to first base.  All of the kids literally took off in different directions across the field.  I think it was at that point that the coach realized just what he had gotten himself into!

 Brady's favorite part of the game was hitting and he did a great job every time he was up to bat (thanks to hours of backyard practice and many lost baseballs over the fence!)

One of the hardest parts was waiting until he was called up to bat. 

I so wish I could have heard this conversation.

As far as 4 year olds go, this is pretty good defense.  Brady is playing "pitcher" and was pretty excited about it because whoever gets called for this position is usually the only one that touches the ball when the other team is up to bat.  Throughout the year, there was never an "out" but some of the kids got the general concept.  I don't think there was one play that we didn't have at least one child crying in the field - usually because they didn't get the ball, or another kid took it away.  Let's just say it was a good learning experience for the kids and a lesson in patience for the parents!

Yay for good sportsmanship!

The highlight of the season - A trophy! He was so excited to have a trophy and be just like his sister (who has one from soccer). A close second was the snacks at the end of each game! 

Go Orange Crush!