A perfect trip to the East Side

Lounging in the 80 degree sunshine on her birthday!

The week after Lexie's birthday party, Travis had a Safety conference in Spokane booked. The kids and I thought it would be a great idea to tag along. Disclosure here, I apparently have no pictures of Liam on this trip. I blame this on his new walking skill and not being able to sit still for one second. Nonetheless, I have some major mommy guilt about it and will make up for it in my next blog.

Travis told me that he had booked a room right in Riverside Park. Too bad I didn't look that up before hand, definitely would of brought the double stroller. The park was gorgeous and the kids and I were entertained for the whole day. There is walking trails, beautiful views, a carousal, park with a HUGE wagon for the kids, and a mall right across from the action. Our hotel featured both indoor and outdoor pools (with a slide.)

The slide on the famous wagon

At the gorgeous Riverside Park

With Keith Oord (our little ring bearer) who will be a big brother in April

The weather was 80 degrees on Lexie's actual birthday, that was September 29th. We spent her birthday laying by the pool, going down the water slide, and having a picnic in the park. When Travis was done with his conference we met up with our dear friends, The Oords, who live in Spokane. We dined at Red Robin and then played in the warm fall air until 9pm in the park. Liam started walking really well around this time and wore himself out during the day..worked out well for me at night.

One last ride before the drive back home...

The kids did well in the safety truck on the way home. Although, apparently not well enough for Travis to continue thinking we should drive all the way to Disneyland with them someday :) We stopped at our Alma Mater, CWU, for a trip down memory lane. Let the kids play at a park in Eburg and grabbed a Starbucks. It was funny that I graduated over 6 years ago and most everyone I went to school with has moved on, but when I pass through the town, it feels like I could still find my friends in the same places they once lived (dorms, apartments, houses, and places that we worked.) I wonder if it will always feel that way when we pass through? Fond memories for both of us of our time there.

Jump for Joy! Lexie Faith is 3!

All my good intentions of blogging more of our summer fun looks like it is going to fail. In an effort to not get more behind I will jump back in to the blogging world with a snapshot of our favorite little girl's birthday bash!


First of all, we were blessed by having an absolutely GORGEOUS day out here in the country. I woke up early that morning to get things ready for the party and I could not stop looking at the mountain and sunrise. Well my view got blocked when this thing got delivered for the party....

The big purple dollhouse bouncy has arrived! And the birthday girl wasted no time enjoying it before her guests showed up.

Some of the cutest tots that came to celebrate

Look who got behind the wheel while everyone was distracted with the birthday girl

Getting to open all her presents.

Jumping kiddos

Dora never looked so good! She was so ready for it to be her turn to blow out the candles.

It was a sweet party for a sweet girl. Thank you to all of our dear friends and the Brock family who came out for her celebration. As many of you know, she has been talking about her birthday party for a good 10 months! Something about being the special girl of the day I guess :)

9 months old

This little guy knows the meaning of the word BUSY. Let me tell you, I feel like I don't sit down for days on end sometimes. He started crawling around 7 months and pulling up at 8. Now, he cruises and takes a few steps in between furniture. He wants to play with everything his sister has. He would rather play with the 2-3 year olds at the playdates then the babies.

Still not a great sleeper at night, but much better since we moved and he got his own room. I can't say I miss my old baby roommate : ) He makes up for it during the day and is very consistent with taking 2 naps.

Like his sister, he is a whinny teether and already has 6.

For how big he is, it really doesn't seem like he eats that much. Pretty much already got bored with baby food. He loves cereal bars, crackers, bananas, fresh fruit, cheese, meat, breads, and yogurt. Still nursing well.

He is such a funny baby. I love watching how he figures things out and studies things. He loves anything with wheels and will spin them around and around. He is definitely a mommy's boy and has lots of separation anxiety lately. Not my favorite phase so requiring lots of patience.

Here are the 9 month stats:

23lbs 9oz (80th%)

30 inches (90%)s

We love him dearly! Each day is full of fun and smiles with Liam in our lives!

July is offically backyard fun month!

This was a typical day in The Brock's backyard in the month of July.

This guy loves to crawl all over the yard- he really seems to be approving of the new place.

Who needs wild waves?

Perfect bribe to be good on the morning run.

Tending the field with Daddy

Well it was for us anyways. We were blessed to move from our small sized home to a larger house with a much larger backyard. We spent most of July soaking up all kinds of fun at the new place. All this fun resulted in nice tans, big smiles, long afternoon naps, and a big water bill. Well worth every penny for the awesome memories we made.

Our little firecracker

Our little hunk looked so patriotic on his first 4th...had to take this pic fast because he was on the move! We ended up moving the weekend of the 4th so we spent it casually unpacking and then BBQing with friends from church. The kids played so hard that they slept through all the firecrackers at night.

Sound to Narrows- We did it!

Our little girl ran her first race back in June. It ironically was called, "the diaper dash." Ironic, only because she was potty trained the week prior. Regardless, she was so pumped up for this race. We really had her training hard. She smoked it! My Dad, came all the way from Olympia to capture these super sweet pictures that I know I will cherish forever.
I have ran the 5k 3 times in the past, but this year ran the 12K. With my dear mommy friends, Bree and Aimee also running it. I can't remember what my time was but I know I wasn't that thrilled with it. I blame this mostly on a 7 month old who will remain nameless, and likes to party at all hours of the night. Still, a beautiful run on a sunny day with my favorite people.

The "city"

Rides with Mommy

So brave

At some hippy fest near Seattle Center. Liam's expression explains it all.


Lots to see at his first game!

Lexie really enjoyed the actual game. For all of 5 minutes. Then she played pretend fair with the tickets to the entertain the people seated around us.

We took a family trip to the big city of Seattle at the end of May. Lexie was excited to see all the sights we had told her about and go to her first Mairner's game.

Liam became a big fan of riding around in the backpack.
We did the famous rides at Seattle Center which are scheduled to close in the Fall of 2010. There was some interesting hippy fest going on. Travis and I talked loudly about which conservatives we will rally for in the upcoming election.

The game was fun. We had a goal of being able to stay at least 2 innings with a 7 month old and a 2 year old. We exceeded that and went for 3- almost 4. The Mariner's stunk it up but that won't change the sweet memory it will be for the 4 of us.