Mom's and Kids Weekend

While the men (Trever and Nathan) worked on our house ... and went for a hike, and went to watch the MMA fights, and watched a movie... don't feel bad for them like all they did was work ;), the kids and I spent the weekend with Beth and her boys. Yes, there was a fair amount of wine consumption by the end of each day.

In case anyone is wondering... 1 mom, 2 kids is not equal to 2 moms, 4 kids. All the kids have so much fun together, and they play well, but I don't remember a time when all 4 kids were sleeping (okay, I guess they were all sleeping between 11pm and 6am - if you don't count the amount of times Nathan gets up in the night). All those projects we were hoping to get done? One got started. :) Maybe next time. Nothing is better than a time with the kids, or at least that is what I hear. I'm thinking Beth and I are going to try a weekend without them sometime and see how it feels. Shopping, relaxing, drinking wine ... it'll be hard, but we'll give it a try.

"Baby NoNo" is on his way to being able to play with the big kids.

A little get away to the park. I took the three older children while Noah slept... Beth got a ton of cleaning done. Then we quickly trashed the house when we got back :)

Watch out boys, she's got the "glance over the top of your sunglasses" trick down already!

The bubbles were a hit (thanks Auntie Dena). We ran out of bubbles before Zach was tired out from chasing them. I love that look of total abandon.

Is there anything better than a beautiful day in the NW? Nattie was out playing in a diaper and boots.
Oh, how sweet!!! Yes, I staged this and asked the kids to hug... but they did it! And twice!

Spring Fever

Ahh, beautiful weather! It's tempting to let the kids skip naps on sunny days (tempting, but not realistic). When we get home from running around all we want to do is play outside. I can see lots of picnics in our future...


My darling boy who loves to bring me flowers


Is she really getting this big already???

I think Natalie is sending us a message... oh if that little lawn mower really worked!! I strongly doubt that you will see a picture from this house with the lawn mowed this year. We live in a daily routine of doing only the things that must get done, I can't imagine mowing a lawn is that important when it takes away from play time with the family. We'll look forward to mowing the lawn in the new house!!!

So fun to watch both kids on their bikes. Natalie's bike can haul dirt... so Nathan finds it convenient to "share" his bike with her. :)

Natalie is 2!!!

Natalie has definitely been learning and watching during the last few days. She was so excited that today was HER birthday. She woke up to balloons, some flowers from her Daddy and presents from Nathan and us. We didn't need to encourage her to rip into the presents, and she didn't seem to mind when Nathan was helping out. She just beamed with the knowledge that she was the special girl today.

I tried my best to get her into her Birthday dress (a wonderful present from our dear friends, Bud and Carol). Alas, I decided it was her birthday, if she wanted to stay in her PJ's then that's what she would get. Luckily we were able to get her into the dress for the evening celebration. The dress is the most beautiful, girlie and fun dress! What a special present.

Natalie has her own bike! Now she'll have some leverage to be on Nathan's bike (he was really enjoying riding her's tonight).
She's a girlie-girl. Loves to dress pretty, loves dress up shoes (and painted toe nails)... but she's not afraid to play hard while being pretty. Ahh, such a nice balance, I would love to see her keep that balance.

Natalie sat there in full glory while we sang Happy Birthday, she even joined in the singing. And she was actually able to blow out her candles! We cannot believe that she is 2 already!! Where has the time gone? And why does 2 seem so grown up???

Capital City Senators

What a wonderful night with the ladies, and our husbands!! I am so thankful it was Marissa's birthday and we "had to go" to a fundraiser for the Capital City Senators.

It's hard to know what to say about this picture. We are obviously having a great time. Those poor high school boys must have been so scared of us! I could not have asked for a better night (although I wish all the girls could have been there).

A visit from the Raccoon

I knew that I had invited most of my friends over for a relaxed evening... I don't remember sending an invitation to this little guy. (notice the raccoon in the window)


He stuck around for quite a long time. I think he enjoyed looking at the kids as much as they enjoyed checking him out.

My little sweetheart!

Natalie has suddenly become very particular about certain things (it's definitely fun for us to watch these changes!). She sleeps with her Baby and her Doll (before I realized that she knew the difference I made the mistake of calling them both a baby... she corrected me!). She likes them slightly tucked under each arm, with her "nigh nigh" quilt side up, and now she has a pillow also. She is such a darling, so much personality and so much fun!

Super Bowl Sunday

We enjoyed some much needed fun and relaxation at the Houks' house on Super Bowl Sunday. They host a great party, including activities for the kids. We loved watching the little ones go after the pinata.


I'm pretty sure that Luke should be grouped with the older kids... what an arm!!!

Nathan had a great time (Natalie definitely did not want to participate). However, it also showed me that we might want to get a t-ball set for this summer ;)


A lollipop and a ball!??? Who could want for more??

Mike and his beautiful/wonderful girlfriend, Amy. We've really appreciated all the effort they have made to come down to Olympia. Even more than that we have enjoyed getting to know Amy and seeing how incredibly happy she and Mike are together.

Who could resist a kiss from that sticky face?

Ending the night kicked back watching some kid tv.

Future model?

I could have added so many pictures to this post. Nathan has gone back to the stage of posing for pictures and then wanting to see the outcome. He is also quite the photographer when he gets a hold of the camera.

Alderbook

What can I even say about this photo? Trever and I went away to Alderbrook for my birthday (a bit late but we tried to pick a time that we could actually take our mind off the house). What a little piece of heaven (this was the view from our room), I want to go back for any and every reason. 24 hours with no responsibilities and a relaxing atmosphere... ahh wonderful!

I look forward to every memory made here, with and without the kids.

A Wonderful Weekend

I can't remember the last time we enjoyed a weekend packed with activities. I have to be honest, at first I was hesitant to be driving around, "dragging the kids through the mud" of social activities. Simply spending so much time in the car. I am so thankful my mind did not win out.

We started the weekend planning to visit Nana and Papa (Trever's parents) at Great Grammy Ella's house. Unfortunately that didn't work out due to some schedule changes and Friday night traffic. We're sad we missed out on that visit but look forward to enjoying it in the future.

Instead the kids and I headed straight over to the Spencer's house, our good friends up in Buckley. The kids all play together so well. And after a few hours of playing the house gets quiet and I get to enjoy some adult time. Ah, how sweet it is. The visit was short and sweet, then we were off for some more fun.

We went to the fire station to visit Daddy! A rare delight for the kids. The kids got to explore all the fire trucks and aid cars. Trever even took advantage of the opportunity to drive us around in the newest fire truck. Nathan got to sit up front with Trever, such a big boy, he was so excited to ring the bell.

(someone should remember to clean those faces before pictures!!)

After leaving the fire station we headed down to Puyallup where Nathan got to spend the night with Papo at the Sportsman show. They called hourly to tell me about the wonderful adventures they were having. That is one of my favorite things about my dad, he calls all the time to tell me what is happening and how much he loves the kids. I feel connected and fulfilled by his love for both Nathan and Natalie. Nathan got to see fish, bear, cougar, deer and elk.


Oh the stories. He saw an elk hanging up and asked what they were doing, tactfully my dad replied "they are taking the hide off".
Nathan looked over and saw some meat and said "what's that?"
my dad said, "it's pepperoni".
Nathan "is it from that elk?"
Dad: "yep"
Nathan "I think i'd like to try some of that Papo. Oh Papo, I like that elk"
I'm sure I didn't get the whole conversation correct, but that's pretty close.
Nathan also enjoyed getting into boats, and handing out candy to guests. He felt very proud as people praised his good manners and behavior... what a dream to hear those things when the kids are away from us!
Trever was able to spend a few hours at the show on Sunday morning. He definitely enjoyed the bonding time with his boy.


A highlight of the trip was catching some trout! I think Nathan came home with 7 trout! We praised him for providing for the family and enjoyed a wonderful trout dinner.

Natalie getting ready for some Trout with lemon.

While Nathan was away with Papo, Natalie and I got to enjoy a girls night. We had fun, cuddling and reading books. She is such a sweetheart, I really look forward to the days when we get to share more "girl time" together (ie painting nails, etc..)

As if we needed more excitement... the weekend ended with a wonderful family dinner. We enjoyed time with my parents and Mike and Amy. We're so thankful for the time that we get to spend getting to know Amy.