M..I..C..K..E..Y...

Yesterday, for the first day of summer the sun decided to come out here in Olympia. We thought it would be a great time to be outside doing work around the house and washing the cars. Ryan and I had gotten done washing the van and were going to get the towels to dry it off when I saw something in the tote. Upon further inspection is was ...... a MOUSE. Then we noticed the the mouse was a female mouse and had delivered FOUR baby mice in the tote and made them a nice little bed in one of the towels. I was startled to say the least. The kids wanted to see what the comotion was all about. Ayden was just interessted but Meysa and Lauryn were fascinated by them. Meysa kept saying, "aww, aren't they cute?" and Lauryn kept trying to touch them.

Ryan then quickly showed them the way to rid ourselves of the problem. He got a bucket and filled it with water and put the babies in. The mother (being a good mother) jumped out and ran away (although we think we got her later...see more below). Lauryn was so enthralled with the execution process (sick little girl). It was all the kids could talk about the rest of the morning.

Ryan and the kids went to the store to get sticky traps to put in the garage and when we got up Saturday AM, 2 out of 4 had mice in them. Must be because our house sat empty for two years, they thought this was their palace. What is it with our homes and pests (and our kids LOVING to watch them be destroyed)???? First it was the beheading of the garder snakes in Iowa and now mice in Washington. What will we come upon next??? To be continued...

Turning 7 on the 7th!!!

The long awaited day has finally come for dear Ayden!! He wanted a rainbow chip frosting/double layer cake that was a baseball. Well I did the best I could!! His friend David has the same birthday so we thought a combined birthday party would be fun. With the wonderful Western Washington weather it feels more like the middle of fall instead of summer. We had an indoor party with lots of fun games and twelve kids. It was a little loud to say the least. All in all a successful party and Ayden had fun!!
Getting ready to blow out the candles. Happy Birthday Ayden!!!
The start of many Lego sets that he received. We may not see him for days now. He likes to hole up in his room and build late into the night.
We can't believe that he is already 7. Next year turning 8 and getting baptized. Boy it makes me feel old. We love having Ayden in our lives. Here are 7 things we love about Ayden:

1. He loves to be a gentleman (holding doors, helping out, etc)
2. He has such a love for learning and school
3. He loves baseball and all things sports
4. He is so tenderhearted
5. He is such a quick study/learner
6. He is so greatful to be a big brother and is so protective of his younger sisters
7. He will try to be friends with anyone

Graduation!!!

Ryan is no longer an intern...yeah. Yesterday he graduated from internship and the senior residents graduated from their repective residencies. There was a nice ceremony in the morning for them all. They all had to be in their Dress Blues. Everyone looks pretty sharp. That evening we went to the Senior Roast and had a great time. It was fun just to be on "a date" for the first time in a while. Hearing all the funny stories about the seior residents was an absolute riot. I'm suprised I didn't go into pre-term labor from laughing so hard. It will be interesting to see what they roast Ryan on in three more years.

Graduating interns. They are a great bunch and have a lot of fun together!! L-R...Ryan, Melissa, Kyle, Sarah, Zaal.
The interns with LTC. Chinn (Left side) and Col. Nielsen (on the right). LTC. Chinn is the program director and Col. Nielsen is the Department head and the consultant to the surgeon general for OB/GYN. They are both really nice guys and Ryan has enjoyed working with them.
Yup, I'm the poster child for the OB Department. Ryan was post call this morning so he looks like he could use a nap.

Sandlot baseball game...Watermelon eating contest

The kids had a great time at Uncle Andy and Aunt Sariah's house over Memorial Day weekend. They played until they were completely worn out and could hardly function anymore. Which is of course what you do when you are with all of your cousins, right?!! Lauryn getting her fill of watermelon. You would have thought the kids were having a watermelon eating contest with how fast they went through an entire watermelon.
I think this was probably Ayden's second or third piece, he loves watermelon!!
After all the good food, the kids picked up a backyard baseball game with Uncle Andy!! Ayden is all for safety first, and decides that a motorcycle helmet will work just as well as real catchers garb. It was pretty fun to watch these kids play with each other.
Nice form Ayden, I am not sure if anyone else got to use the helmet or not.
And this is where Meysa lived for the few days we were in Idaho, either on Uncle Andy's tramp or Grandma and Papa's. We have seriously considered getting one of our own because she loves it so much.
We sure had a good weekend with family and can't wait for the 4th of July when we get to play some more!!

Farewell Elder Finch

The reason we went home to Idaho over Memorial Day weekend was to send my youngest brother Austin off on his mission. I was ten when he was born and he was my little baby. I packed him around everywhere, and now he is old enough to go off to some foreign country!! I am so proud of his decision and the good young man he is. These are some of the picks of the fam after going through the temple with Austin for the first time. Mom and Dad with their Youngest!!
Brothers and Sisters- it was amazing to be in the temple together.
Comparing bellies!! My older sister Airica and I are due two weeks apart. She is having a girl and I am having a boy. All I heard the whole weekend was how much bigger I was than her. Oh, well, she is older than I am so there!!!

FINCH Family Pictures

Its been just short of 7 years since all the Finch Clan has been together for a family picture. We took the opportunity to get all the usual suspects caught on camera. Unfortunately, only Chips camera was used for the photo of the entire family. All the grandkids. 28 total. By the end of the year it will swell to 35 with all the babies being born or adopted.
Our nice family pic. Lauryn was not in a helpful mood.
All the Finch kids. Looks like a group primed for trouble.

Big Red.....Nose

On our drive home from Lewiston, Lauryn wanted a piece of "spicey gun" like Meysa (Big Red). Apparently it was too spicy for her mouth. All of a sudden she is saying.."oww, oww" and her eyes are watering and her nose is running. We couldn't figure out what was that matter until Meysa pipes up, "she stuck her gum in her nose." NICE. We stopped in Prosser for lunch and dad got to take a look up Lauryn's nose and sure enough in the right nostril was a nicely packed, Lauryn sized piece of Big Red. MAJOR surgery was then performed without the use of any anesthesia (actually Lauryn didn't even flinch). Going in for the gum.
Out it comes.
Here is the culprit. Lauryn asked for it back so she could chew it again. UMMM, don't think so.