Double Digit Birthday Party

For Lauren's 10th birthday we let her invite a few friends over for an outdoor movie party. We borrowed the projector from the church and set up our own personal 'drive in' type theater in the back yard. We rented the movie BOLT (one of Lauren's favorites) and popped a TON of popcorn! After a quick dip in the hot tub, the girls all cozied up with blankets and we all watched the movie. It was a really fun way to usher Lauren into the Double Digit Years! Happy Birthday, Lauren. We love you and are very proud of who you are!

After the party was over I had the chance to go to the hospital in Kirkland to see Terra and Kyle's new baby boy... Caleb Kyle. He was born on Lauren's birthday!! I didn't quite make it in time to be in the room when he was born, but I did get to see him very soon afterwards and I got to hold him and bond with him within the first hour or two after his birth. What a special day it was! :)

Red Robin Birthday Celebration

Nana and Grandpa David arrived in town for a visit the day before Lauren's 10th birthday. We thought it would be fun to go to dinner at Red Robin. Lauren enjoyed having everybody sing Happy Birthday to her - and of course the free dessert is always a bonus!!

Sequim Bay Camping Trip

Memorial Day weekend was beautiful and a whole lotta fun! We took a camping trip to Sequim Bay. This was the first time we had been there. The weather was gorgeous and there was no lack of things to do. Had we known there was so much clamming going on we would've gotten licenses and dug for them. As it was Lauren was content to use a shell to dig and then give away her clams. Ashley just enjoyed looking for crabs.

We also did a lot of biking. We had no idea when we packed the bikes that the Olympic Discovery Trail was there. Apparently it goes all the way into Port Angeles. We took several really good rides and got lots of great exercise and fresh air!!

Another highlight of the trip was the day we drove out to the Dungeness Spit. We hiked about a half mile down to the beach and from there it would've been another 5 mile hike out to the Light House. We decided just to have our picnic lunch and enjoy the beach rather than do the hike. It was a beautiful day and the girls especially enjoyed the beach. Kurt and Lauren built a fort together and we found a REALLY long piece of sea kelp that we all took turns whipping. Kurt unfortunately whipped the back of his calf pretty good, after which he exclaimed, "I guess I don't know how to use a whip!" ;)

Of course no camping trip would be complete without a campfire and toasted marshmallows. Kurt built a great fire for us every night. We had to do a little coaxing to get Ashley and Lauren to come out of the camper and enjoy the outdoors. Of course we let them watch movies after the fire! :)


The whole weekend was a blast and we would love to go back some day!

Mother's Day

I'm a week late with this post, but I had to make sure to write about what Kurt and the girls did for me for Mother's Day this year. It was a beautiful day and so they took me out to lunch in Snohomish to my recent favorite burger joint... Blazing Onion. We got to sit outside in the sun!! That was a real treat with the weather we had been having.


Then after a little shopping (they had a great sale going on at Kohl's) we drove out to Mukiteo Beach - another favorite spot of mine. By then the sun had gone a little behind the clouds and the wind was blowing at the beach. It was still really pretty and just good to be together as a family. I didn't last long in the cold, but it was OK because the girls had been spinning on the playground toys and got a little nauseous. They slept the whole way home - that hasn't happened in a long time!

Back at home Kurt fired up the grill and we had a yummy Lemon Herbed Shrimp dish. Mmm, mmm good!

It was a really fun day and I felt blessed by my wonderful family. :)

What to do if you don't like your veggies...

I could NOT stop laughing when I found this video on my camera - made by my daughter, Lauren and her friend Elli. I guess they wanted to make a web show called "iGoCrazy.com" (someone's been watching a little too much iCarly!).

Anyway... it appears they don't like veggetables! What a good laugh!! :D

Rain, Rain, Go Away!!!!!!!!!

I've lived in the Northwest since 1991 and never have I disliked our weather as much as this year! It is cold and it is wet. I miss the sun and I miss the warmth of a 70+ degree day. I don't know if it is just me, but it seems like the weather just keeps getting worse and worse every year. I mean I hate to complain about something as trivial as the weather, but I dont' know how much more of this I can take!

So... as I wish for warmer, drier days I will add a few pictures from summertime as a reminder that one day the sun WILL shine again!! :)

Changes

Recently I've been feeling a little sad about how much the girls have grown up and changed. I find myself missing the early years when they were home with me and our days were spent watching videos of Bible songs and dancing in Daddy's t-shirts while folding the laundry. Days when the yellow Belle costume NEVER came off (not even for trips to the grocery store) and a major tantrum would occur at the mere SUGGESTION of wearing anything else. Days when we thought of their thumbsucking and fingersucking as a 'cute habbits' rather than 'the cause of a huge orthodontia bill.' A time when boobies and bras were something only Mommies had. A time when Hannah Montana and The Jonas Brothers did not hang on their bedroom walls but their backpacks still donned Disney Princesses.

Don't get me wrong, though - I LOVE what I see blossoming in front of me. I see gorgeous young women who are fearfully and wonderfully made by God - beautiful from the inside out. I see individual personalities unfolding right in front of me. I see gifts and talents being used and lifetime dreams beginning to form.

While I DO miss who they were, I SO look forward to who they are becoming. Praise God for trusting me to be the mother of these fine young ladies.