Some Recent Pictures

Fall leaves art project. This "required" way more glue than I anticipated and I have decided that although glue sticks are not very messy, they sure aren't very cost effective!!!


Sophie and her personal sized cucumber

Mammy

Sophie is trying sooo hard to talk these days. She is mostly done with her screaming phases. She used to scream all day. She'd scream and point if she wanted something. She'd scream if she didn't like something and she'd scream just for the fun if it too. Now she babbles nicely all day. She tries to say words but most of them come out as "DA" or "DAT". On Friday she started calling me "Mammy". She says it in such a cute little voice. The only problem is that when I put her down for a nap, and she doesn't want to sleep, instead of crying, she calls "Mammy, Mammy, Mammy". It almost breaks my heart to have to leave her there and to not go and get her.

Connor's Birthday

It is hard to believe that Connor is four! The time sure flies by quickly. Everyone told me it would when he was a baby but at that time it was hard to believe.
We had a BBQ for Connor an Saturday night. We had a bunch of family and friends over and had a nice evening. The secretary at Patrick's work loves making cakes and after she heard about the pirate ship cake I tried to for Connor's birthday,she had to try her hand at it too. I think it was the biggest birthday cake I have ever seen but it didn't quiet make the 60mi trip from her house to ours. Despite having the hull crack, the cake turned out phenomenally. Everything on it was edible, even the sails which were rice paper.

Our Little Builders

This morning we went to Lowe's, the local hardware store. Twice a month, they have free building projects for kids. Today they built a GMC truck. Connor and Laura each got their own apron, hammer and goggle that they got to bring home with them. I helped Laura read her blue prints and assemble her truck while Uncle Josh helped Connor. Sophie and Gramma watched. When the trucks were finished, each child received a certificate with their name on it saying that they had completed the project and a little badge with a truck on it to sew onto their aprons. They both had a great time and have been playing building ever since we got home!

Tea Party!

While I was making muffins for breakfast this morning, Connor and Laura decided to have a tea party in the bathroom! Sophie joined in and was soaked! I am very thankful that they chose the bathroom for the location of this tea party because there was water EVERYWHERE!!!

Summer

These pictures are in a really random order. There are pictures from the strawberry farm, the animal farm, making ice cream sandwiches, my table and chairs, the beach, the 4th of July and ice cream in Leavenworth! Oh, and cousins playing games one morning at Gramma's house.














It seems so hard to keep this updated during the summer! We have been spending a lot of time out side during the day. Patrick works 'till 7 and we usually wait to eat dinner 'till he gets home, so our evenings are rather short. The kids and I spent a week in eastern Washington with my mom and Diana. We went over for Auntie Colleen's wedding then stayed at Gramma's for the week. It was so nice to be in the sunshine. The heat took a while to adjust to (112 degrees F). It was nice to visit with family and to be able to just relax. We spent a lot of time at the pool and went to the beach one day and the water slides another. Connor was so brave at the water slides. I had him wear his life jacket and he did all the slides by himself! Even the advanced ones!!! I was a bit worried at first but he was fine and the lifeguards didn't seem to mind.
We have gone strawberry picking twice so far. The berries were delicious. I think we froze at least 35lbs of berries to eat through out the year. Sophie enjoyed sitting in the field, squishing berries and getting covered in dirt!
I have been working on cleaning out the house and the garage. With such a small house, there really isn't room for extra STUFF! It has been a lot of work, going through clothes the kids have outgrown and stuff that we "might use some day" but really don't need! I'm hoping to have a garage sale soon and then take anything that doesn't sell to the Goodwill.
A few days ago, I painted our table and chair set. It had been a hunter green colour and was getting a little chipped and beat up looking. Now it a periwinkle blue. I never really liked the green but I love the blue. I also switched the big table that went with the chairs, for a some what smaller one we had out in the laundry room. All painted the same colour they look like they were supposed to go together and it fits the kitchen much better.
We went to Jetty Island today. The weather was great and we all had a great time playing in the sand and the water. The tide was in while we were there but that made for nice warm water and there was still plenty of sand to play on.

Monday was a big day! Jason and Kelly wanted to take us to the Seattle Aquarium as Sophie's birthday present. All 7 of us (Patrick had to work) loaded into our van and Jason drove us down to Seattle. We had a GREAT time. there was so much to see and it was set up really well so there was lots for the kids to do. We were there around feeding time so we got to see lots of the tanks being fed. There was a great big tank right as you entered the aquarium that actually had a scuba diver in it. You could watch her feed the fish and ask her questions. She had a headset in her mask so she could talk to people. After the aquarium, we went to Ivar's Fish Bar for lunch. We sat outside and fed the seagulls some of our french fries. Connor and Laura thought that was a blast! We had seen a carousel as we were walking from the aquarium to lunch and Kelly wanted to take the kids on that so we headed back that way but got side tracked at the "Pirate Store". Jason and Kelly got Connor and Laura each there own pirate hooks and a temporary skull and cross bones tattoo. Connor had been wearing his pirate hat all day and was thrilled to look even more like a real pirate. We did finally make it to the carousel. It was really beautiful. I think Sophie enjoyed it the most. She was bouncing up and down ready to go before the ride even started! It was a great day and Connor and Laura can't wait 'till Auntie Kelly, Uncle Jason and Will can come visit again!