Uncle Jon's Wedding

We attempted a family photo before Uncle Jon's wedding. But, it's not a family photo without John. We did our best in his absence.
My kiddos know I love hydrangeas. I'm not sure that they actually were, but it didn't really matter what the flowers were when they were handing them to me. They know their way to my heart!
Congratulations Uncle Jon and Auntie Amy! You had a beautiful wedding, and we loved being there to celebrate with you - bubbles and all!
We practiced our bubble-making abilities before Uncle Jon and Auntie Amy came out of the church.
My beautiful girl!

Memorial Day Weekend Camping

Our camping trip was filled with rain, of course, a nice walk around the lake, a bit of fishing and some s'mores. The kids had a great time. When I asked them what their favorite part was, they answered: A: everything JD: all of the food J: spending time with the family.

Random Pictures from May

One evening while I was making dinner, A "read" to JD - using his favorite book of late, a find the picture book of farm scenes. It's always a little surreal to hear her interpretations of my reading. They sat reading for 20 minutes. It was a wonderful moment!

In preparation for our upcoming camping trip, A and JD are proud new owners of their own fishing poles - Barbie and Spiderman. While they're fishing, it definitely seemed more real to wear their life vests, don't you think?

JD decided it was more authentic to drive around the family room with Daddy's helmet on - clearly!

I awoke one morning to find my little cowboy in bed next to me. This is a daily occurrence. What was not typical, however, was his new decision to put on his cowboy boots before crawling in with me. A cowboy never goes anywhere without his boots!

We attended the Hazel Dell parade again this year, and there was no shortage of ice cream, bread, necklaces, stickers and, of course, candy. JD really seemed to get into the hang of the candy grab. He became so confident, I had to reel him in a few times.

Meteorology, according to A

I just overheard:

J: It's going to rain soon. Look.

A: Oh, I see. I know where the rain comes from.

J: Where?

A: The waves get bigger and bigger, until they reach the sky. The clouds get filled up. And then it rains.

Me: Hmm.

Mother's Day

On this, my 5th Mother's Day, the weather was gorgeous, so we decided to take out the kiddie pool and enjoy some Vitamin D, which is much needed for us Vitamin D deficient Pacific NWers. Happy Mother's day!

My Jumper

A was watching me jump rope yesterday and wanted to give it a try. I loved seeing her do it. The rope was way too big for her, but she gave it her all. Nice job, A!

Will the April showers ever quit?

Tomorrow, we are supposed to get record winds, rain, and cold. J said they are even predicting that we'll lose power. I'm sick of this weather. I know it's not snow, but I've had it. Enough already. I'm ready for summer.

Tonight was A's first ever Awana awards night. She learned 25? Bible verses this year, and she had a great time as a Cubbie. Now she's moving on to Sparks, or, as she called it last week - Sparkles. Well done A. May you hide God's Word in your heart!

One of my favorite events in April was our second annual trip to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Woodburn, OR. The flowers were beginning to show their age, but I'm still glad we went. It is definitely one of the highlights of living in the northwest.

JD especially enjoyed seeing the "tractors" up close, especially with all of their smoke. Secretly, I enjoyed them too.

Aren't those colors phenominal?

JD is at the stage where posing for pictures is quite a feat. Most of the time they are very loving and affectionate toward one another. However, they couldn't seem to do that while the camera was on.
We ended our afternoon with a trip to "Old McDonald's" for an ice cream cone. Good times.

April was also full of lots of sickness at our house. First JD, then A. After JD's run of it, I learned about Pedialyte popsicles. Amazing, if you haven't tried them. Plain Pedialyte is disgusting, or so I heard, but both of the kids thought it was a treat to eat these popsicles. So, it was a win-win for all involved.

April began with A's first swimming lesson. She talked to me the whole way there about how she would get into the pool, listen to her instructor, wave to me as I watched, and then we would drive home. But I knew all of her chatter was because was nervous. And, as seen below, I was right. She spent the first 20 minutes like that, saying no the instructor every time he asked her to put a toe in the water. Thankfully, during the last 10 minutes, they had "free play." Somehow she was convinced to go in, and low and behold, she loved it. She left that day saying how much fun she had and "when do we come back?"

After her first swimming lesson, A was all smiles!

Easter Sunday

We went to Papa and Nana's church and house for Easter this year. The kids did two egg hunts, because we knew the weather was going to get wild. And, it did - crazy winds and rain. But, thankfully, they still got to do some hunting for eggs.

JD enjoyed walking with J when the weather was a little calmer.

We attempted the impossible - a family picture. Two year olds simply have a mind of their own. But I thought the kids looked great all dressed up.

Spring Break

There were really only two days during the last week that were rain free. We all had cabin fever, for sure. So, on Thursday, when it appeared to be safe, we ventured out to the park. A rode the truck and JD rode his rock and roll. It's strange for me to watch them ride their "bikes" to the park - they looked SO self-sufficient. Weird.

A and JD are looking very professional in our kitchen, now that they have their very own chef aprons and hats. On this particular day we made lemon scones. They love to help in the kitchen!

Enjoy the videos!

Preparing for Easter

A and JD enjoyed dying eggs. We attempted to color designs on the eggs, although that didn't seem to show up as well as I thought it would. They didn't mind, though, since this was our first egg dying attempt. I'm glad we put the newspaper down - a mess was made (of course).

Pictures 2 and 4 are from a few weeks ago, when they put stickers on the plastic eggs. They thoroughly enjoyed that, because they love stickers.

Picture 3 started off our Easter preparations. Mom sent an Easter tree in the mail, and the kids had a great time decorating the tree while I made dinner.

Lovin' February

February began with some fun pajamas. Don't let the strangely calm expressions fool you. They LOVE them!

JD and A enjoyed addressing Valentines to their school friends. JD chose Mickey Mouse - one of his favorites - and A chose Tinkerbell - also a favorite. A wrote her name on all of the Valentines. It was fun to see her take such ownership of the holiday tradition.

Where did the month go?

I just realized today that we've been home a month, and I haven't posted anything of late. I have taken a few pictures of the last few weeks, thankfully, because there is never a dull moment at our house. 1) JD successfully used the bathroom. This is no small matter, as many of you know, so we had much to celebrate. He hasn't done it since, but I blame our negligence for lack of persistence . . . and the fact that he's 21 months old. 2) A went to the dentist for the first time. She did great, followed all of the directions from the hygenist, took x-rays of her teeth, and unfortunately found four, yes four, cavities. We went back the following week, and, even more remarkable, she did well while they fixed two of the four cavaties. Again, I blame myself for that one. If a three year old has cavaties, it must be her mother's fault. 3 and 4) We took a quick trip to the beach with J's family, and the kids had a great time in the sand. I say kids, because if you know me, I hate sand. It gets everywhere in a short amount of time, and I continued to find it, weeks later, in crevices in my car, on the floor in the laundry room, in our suitcase -- annoying. But, the kids had a good time, and I had fun hanging out with the family. I would just prefer to do it in the mountains. 5) We bought A's birthday present early, so she could enjoy riding it. This was her first and last attempt (close to a month ago). She did great riding it on the sidewalk in front of our house, but she slightly felt it tip, and did not fall, mind you, but refuses to ride it. At first I thought she'd try it again in a few days. But no. Then I bought her a book about the little girl's daddy teaching her how to ride a bike. She loves the book, but still won't ride the bike. I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile the bike is getting dusty in the garage.

ND Vacation 2009