Clackamas Oregon Newborn Photographer, Clackamas Oregon Maternity Photographer | Lacey Meyers Photography

We went up to Seattle this past weekend to get together with my college girlfriends and their guys  … we had a blast.   Dinners, and drinks, and conversation, and laughs, and walks through Downtown Seattle, more laughs and drinks, and a Sounders game.  Really good times.  But no photos.   And it was actually a relief to not have my camera with me for a change.  Sometimes it is a really good thing to just take a break.

And of course, a trip up to Seattle means time spent with family.  I cherish these weekends SO much.  I am so thankful that my parents open their home to us and my siblings and our families.  Every moment possible we are together and feeling so blessed because of it.

There are so many things I hope my boys learn from our family … they hold so many attributes that make them amazing:  their faith, generosity, selflessness, contentment, and unity.  One trait that I pray they take from my dad (Papa) is WORKING HARD.  I don’t remember a day in my life that he didn’t have a project going.  This would be one long blog post if I described to you just how hard working my dad is … so I’ll try to summarize.  There is no project that is to hard for my dad to tackle, no day that goes by that he doesn’t exert his body to its fullest capacity of working.  He works through injury, pain, cuts, and broken bones … he never ceases to amaze me. 

So you can imagine how my heart was filled to hear that my boys voluntarily helped Papa dismantle old pallets so he could have the wood (to use for some project) … they loved using the tools, pulling and prying and accomplishing the job.  Gage especially pushed himself to see it through to the end, by removing all of the nails from the boards.  This was seemingly a simple, insignificant project, but to them, and to me, it was a huge deal.

And their little cousin, Hank, had to be working hard with the big guys, too. 

I don’t think it was his intent for these boards,  but since one of the little guys mentioned a ‘fort’, Papa went to work building one. 

There always has to be someone in the supportive, cheering roll, right?  That was Kaden for this project.

No, Coop … we’re not hamming the nails into the wood … Uncle Bart to the rescue…

Unexpected payment for their work …

The finished ‘fort’ … a handy Papa + old 2x4s + a tarp = a good time for little boys!

I can’t help but photograph my nephew Hank when I’m around him … he’s such a fun little character!

While the bigger guys worked, Grammie worked just as hard keeping Gido entertained and out of the way of the nails, crowbars and hammers.

On that note … I’m going to go see if my boys will work this hard and be this dedicated to their schoolwork for today.  They definitely favor physical labor over reading, writing, and arithmetic. 

(As I typed that, I just noticed that Cooper took it upon himself to wash our patio door windows.  These kiddos never cease to surprise me … and crack me up.)

Thanks for visiting! 

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