Early Drivers

Last week while Brad was at his cross country camp I just had Ollie & Darby while Brody & Colt were with Grammy & Fafa.  We went to Aunt Jessi's house to spend the afternoon with them.  We also spent the night before we went out to his camp. 

It is so fun to watch Sayler & Ollie as they play together.

It's often monkey see, monkey do.

Tough buffs

Brad had his cross country camp so we went over to Fafa & Grammys the day before and spent the night. Brad then drove up to camp on Sunday.  We stayed a little long but then I left and Brody and Colt spent the next few days with Grammy & Fafa.  Before we left Grammy had to finish sewing tough buffs for the boys.  (All the kids at camp get one so they can be put on "teams") 

Ollie & Fafa just chatting at the breakfast nook.

Darby and her tough buff.

All of them with their tough buffs.  There are a lot of these pictures.

I caught her smiling.

Snuggling

We usually swaddle Darby when she sleeps. It has been warm at night which has made it harder to wrap her up. I used this as an excuse to rock her to sleep. I enjoyed this snuggle with my little munchkin.

Granddaughters

Grandma Shari was able to get her granddaughter fix.

Gunner's Birthday

We celebrated Gunner's 4th birthday party. It turned out to be a nice, somewhat warm day. There were a lot of kids but it was a ton of fun.

The boys.

Brody, Ollie, Alex, Colt (I don't think he is crying, he is just making a silly face), Mack, Gunner & Talen

Raspberry Picking

Picking raspberries (and blackberries) is one of my favorite things to do. I asked the Welke's if they wanted to join us at Remlinger Farms.  Thankfully they were able to meet us there.  It's always nice to have an extra set of eyes and arms to help with the kids.  It was a perfect afternoon for picking raspberries, not too hot but warm enough to be outside.  

We picked a LOT of raspberries!

Rolling Over

Darby first rolled over a few weeks ago, but we didn't really see it.  We just found her fussing and on her tummy.  She now has the hang of it and is rolling over pretty regularly.  She is starting to actually enjoy being on her tummy more. 

The best thing about this video is the background when Colt is trying to chase down Ollie. It's just a typical day at the Barquist house. 

Muddy Face

Ollie does everything his big brothers do....and then some. Not only does Ollie play in the mud, he wears the mud and it doesn't even phase him.

Ollie Singing

Ollie has been doing a lot of singing lately. I finally remembered to take a video of him.

Ollie & Darby

"Mom, I want to hold Dawbee."

"Mom, take a pitcher of me and Dawbee."

3rd time's a (summit) charm!

Brad is persistent.  Brad can become obsessed about something.

These are two of the reasons he married me.  :)

When it came to climbing Mt. Rainier he was no different.  He was constantly checking out the latest mountain updates and reading mountain books at bedtime.  When he didn't summit the first two attempts he was determined to get it done and definitely did not want to wait until next summer.

In his persistence he found many "sponsors" to help him get back up the mountain.  There was also an opening with RMI.  Brad checked the weather and talked to a guide to see what his chances were of actually making it to the summit.  (they have made it to the summit every day since the last day Brad tried).  The weather and guide endorsement looked good and Brad made his reservation. 

It seemed as if the second he commited to it, the forecast changed.  What was once a sunny day was now forecast as possible thunderstorms.  Brad left early Sunday morning and I was a nervous wreck all day,  not because of the safety factor but because I was pretty sure the weather wasn't going to cooperate.

The hike to Camp Muir was very foggy. Once they broke through the clouds it was bright blue skies.

Brad said it was so nice at Camp Muir that everyone was hanging out.

Brad took similar pictures from his other two summits and you can see the difference in snow level.

As Brad was trying to sleep before his summit attempt he listened to the wind whipping around the cabin.  He thought for sure he would not summit.  The guides got them going at 1:30 in the morning and they started their summit attempt.  The weather was ok when they started but they soon found themselves in the middle of a storm.  Brad said it was cold, windy, and wet.  He could hardly see more than 10 feet in front of him.  BUT they made it to the summit! 

A picture of his group back at Paradise.  See the storm at the top of the mountain.  Oh, wait there is no storm.  It was nice clear blue skies by the time they finished their climb.  Thankfully they did make it to the top, otherwise my persistent, obsessed husband would probably be driving me crazy this time.