Happy Birthday Boys!

Three years ago today we went from a family of three to a family of four. What an experience it has been since Grey came to our family.

This is me on my due date, July 4, 2008. My parents were visiting for the weekend and we really had hoped that a baby would come, but in true Grey form, he had a different way of doing things. We had a lovely visit with my parents regardless and planned for an induction the following week.
Friday July 11th was picked as D-Day and is also Justin's birthday and sharing his birthday with his first born son is pretty special. Since day one, they have been two very similar individuals.
Elliot was and still is a great big sister. She loved having a baby around and was a huge help.
A studly little man!


Grey was about 4 weeks old when he got to experience his first Mariners game.
A sweet little angel, however he did little sleeping...
This is my brother, David, and Grey's twin. When you compare baby pictures, they look SO much a like!

So these days, Grey is very much into Cars. We are planning to see the new movie soon and he is very excited about that. I think every present he got today was Cars related, even down to the big boy underwear he got (and hopefully will soon use!!!). I made him a Mater cake and he loved waking up to that surprise this morning.

Rock on, Mr. Grey! Rock on!
And of course, happy birthday to Justin too. We all love you and are glad that you and all your quirks are here with us!

Just over a week ago Justin talked with my mom right when she was having a rough day, as we all have from time to time. After he hung up with her he came to me and said we needed to figure out a way to give my mom a visit. So a week later Elliot and I were on an airplane bound for Las Vegas and then St George. I didn't tell Elliot until bedtime the night before and we left before 5 am Friday morning. We flew out of bellingham which I totally fell in love with. Between avoiding seatac and traveling with one child, it was a breeze!

One excited girl:


After a thorough surprise to my mom (she was utterly speechless), it was off to the pool:


It was only about 105 degrees;)

The next day we went to get pedicures- elliot's first:


And she even got a manicure as well:


Pretty toes:


One pooped girl:


Sunday we went to church in michaels singles ward and after not being in a singles ward for 10 years you forget how QUIET it is! And I sat through an entire sacrament meeting and didn't have to pick up any crumbs afterwards! It was glorious! That afternoon we visited the temple visitors center and watched a movie there:






Add in some shopping, some cafe rio, and lots of sunshine with good visiting and it was a fantastic trip.

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Location:Surprise visit!

Broadway Baby!

Elliot has been in dance since January but made it very clear from the beginning that she was in no way interested in performing in the recital. This was fine with me. I wasn't going to push it and with my experience with her in preschool or at primary public displays were not what she was all about. However, as the recital approached she decided that she really DID want to do it. We talked at length about it because I didn't want to pay for it all and have her not do it after all and she promised that she would. And since then she never backed down, never showed sign of nervousness.

This is her right before dress rehearsal:


This is the video I shot from my phone during dress rehearsal. The routine was so cute. She is second from the right.

She did just as well during the real performance the next day. I was so proud of her. Th first thing she said when we saw her after was "I want to do it again!" Oh boy! Broadway baby, in deed!


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Good ol' Rufus

This is what I found when I came home from work today:


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Tripp's burn

Elliot had her dance pictures on Saturday so we were husseling to get her primped and ready. I had the curling iron on (pulled it out and dusted it off) and was doing elliot's make up. Tripp was playing around and while I wasn't paying attention, he pulled the cord and grabbed the barrel of the hot curling iron. Oh the blood curdling screams! We got it in cold water immediately and some ibuprofen almost as quickly. It took a good 45 minutes for him to calm down but soon he did. We went outside and played in the water and ate yogurt with hands. Ibuprofen is a wonderful drug!!!

The blisters forming (and they only got bigger, sticking way out from his hand):





As soon as justin brought Elliot home from her pictures, I took Tripp into the doctor. I was glad I did because they dressed it with silvidine (a burn cream) and wrapped it all up. He is doing so well with it. We just keep up on the Tylenol and ibuprofen and change the dressing twice a day. The blisters are huge on his little hand but he will be fine... thankfully.

Leaving the doctor, bandage on hand:



This morning, happily having breakfast:



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Our week of SHOWS

I love a good show of any kind but this week I had more than my fair share. Don't get me wrong I loved them all but felt a little guilt seeing three amazing shows within 8 days.




Over a year ago we bought tickets to see Wicked in Spokane with our good friends Garth and Kacey. I knew nothing about the show other than it is about the wizard of oz and that it was suppose to be phenomenal. Both ended up to be true. Live theater is outstanding with the set changes that literally happen before your eyes without you even really noticing. Not to mention the talent of those actors and actresses and the voices! Simply breathtaking. Plus the company was good, we had fantastic seats and it was an great excuse to visit Justin's family a bit as well.



Thursday afternoon we had tickets to see Guys and Dolls at the 5th Avenue. Again I knew nothing about the show and was again not disappointed. Our seats were incredible (thank you Justin for the great mother's day present). Again, love theater just can't be beat. Nearly 3 hours and it easily tops a 90 minute movie. The talent is amazing and leaves me speechless. Being a matinee we were with all the retirees (there were no joke at least half a dozen walkers parked at each entrance to the theater) and kids (heard one crying during the second half) but it was a good time.



Cue last night when we went to the much anticipated U2 concert. I had prepped by doing an all U2 playlist for my cycling class that morning (although the sound system was jacked up so it did not do it justice). After a hellish experience trying to get parking in downtown Seattle on a beautiful Saturday with 65,000 concert goers AND 8-12,000 (maybe more?) mariners fans, we finally made it to qwest field. What a show! My heart skips a bit just thinking about it now!







(the giant screens that circled around above the stage suddenly separated and came all the way down to the stage...it was pretty awesome)





my favorite:)


Such a good night. We had a bit of a scare when we got back to our car. The garage we parked in closed at 11:00 but a valet driver said that we could still get out, just have to pay with a credit card. We didn't even leave the concert until 11:30 and we got to a locked garage. I was so upset! But, an answer to prayers, a couple was getting their car as well and he must work in the building because he was able to get in. We were so thankful!!! And parking was only $8...score!

Besides maybe a mariners game I think we have had our fill of events for awhile. At least our pocketbook has! So worth it though- great memories!

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The fence

We finally get a decent day and the first thing I think of is ugh, now I've got to get that fence cleaned. Those of you who are familiar with my parents property know the long white vinyl fence that goes around the whole property. Well after a year of damp weather, the fence always needs to be washed. And now I am wishing we had started sooner.





This picture really doesn't do it justice. This the pasture side which tends to be grosser. But why do the pasture side you ask... Because it is my father's fence and I am my father's daughter. If he were with me this afternoon he would say, "if it were me..." and then proceed to show me how he would do it and continue to do the entire job while I patiently watch. He originally told us not to use the pressure washer and so scrub it by hand so as to get the underside of each railing and all around the posts and not spray up dirt in the process. Last spring after about 15 minutes of that, I said "forget this!" and hauled out the pressure washer. We eventually got the whole thing washed and now the year has rolled around again and the fence is dirty as ever. I remember as a kid it was a wood fence and we got the lovely task if white washing it every year or so. Not sure which is worse. We had the kids out there and they "helped" a little and I hope they are learning a little about work just like dad taught me. So tomorrow after my spinning class I will be out with my trusty pressure washer spraying away the filth that lives on the fence. Hopefully the whole thing will be done by the 4th of July...

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Pre-Mother's Day

Justin was going to be gone all day today and I had no pressing tasks so I decided to have a "mom and kid day of fun." Part way through the day I realized I was kind of giving myself a mother's day present. I got to spend all day with my most prized possessions and enjoyed it immensely.

After my cycling class at the gym, we hustled to the library for their Bug Safari Show. It was pretty cool and the kids got to pet a hissing cockroach and see a tarantula up very close. We were going to go to Costco for lunch but Tripp desperately needed a nap so we decided to switch the plan and do Costco for dinner.

I told Elliot that before the next fun we need to do toy organization for 30 minutes. We set the timer and got it done. A mothers day gift, in deed, as I love it when the toy bins look like this.



So lunch was a picnic while we watched Tangled. I had never seen it and Elliot was anxious for me to experience it. She had to give commentary through the whole thing, but thats okay. It was a cute movie.


Next we played a few games and I cleaned up the kitchen, realizing the fridge was sure dirty. So the kids playing so well...









...let me accomplish this...



(and if you could only see how clean the shelves are! Another mother's day present to me!)

*a side note... Note the chicken pot pie from costco on the bottom shelf. I told Justin that I wanted him to plan and make dinner. Next thing I know he is asking me to get a pot pie from Costco. Now I do love those but wasn't exactly what I was looking for on mother's day. Oh well...

We headed to costco for granola bars and bread and hot dogs that the kids had been looking so forward to all day. Good by me.



So we will see what the real mother's day brings. I try not to have high hopes so that anything will be good. I am truly blessed with 3 beautiful children and a loving husband. However, the smallest beauty is crying in his crib despite it neighbor bedtime so I must go. Wish me luck!

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Elliot is SIX!!!

Happy birthday to the best little girl we could ever hope for!

We had three fun filled days of birthday celebrations. Thursday I went to her classroom to take mini cupcakes to the class. Each cupcake had a ring or an army man on them too.






Friday we went to the childrens museum with two of her friends, Cara and Shelby. We all had a lot of fun and I was glad to get to chat with my longtime friend, Jolene, who happens to be Shelby's mom. Sorry pictures are on the camera and will be got to later.

Today, we had a present celebration including a bike (which I fear is too big). Then we spent the afternoon at the Seattle Aquarium and dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Again, pictures are on the camera and will be attended to later. It was a good day but I am beat!



The barbie cake she asked for. Had to sacrifice poor barbies legs to make it work. Luckily she may have gotten a barbie or two for her birthday.



I am so grateful that Elliot is in our family. She is a ray of sunshine most of the time. She is creative and sweet and a huge helper. I love you!!!

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Reading game

I have really been trying to push elliot into reading, which has been just as frustrating for her as it has been for me. Thanks to my sister-in-law Lisa who sent me a link of an easy "game" to make and use to help kids put sounds together. You use paint sample cards from the hardware store. Today we went to Home Depot for their free kids' workshop and I grabbed handfuls of those paint cards.

Here are the kids with their eye protection ready to hammer away!



So here is the website with the idea: http://thesnailstrail.blogspot.com/2009/05/whats-in-workbox-handmade-word-family.html

Basically, it is taking smaller ones and cutting into individual sections and then I used a punch so that a letter or set of letters will show through as you practice blending the sounds together. As you can see, it makes for lots of word options- some real words, some not.


Elliot tried it tonight and was being very successful! Because you work on one type of word at a time (for instance "-at" words) the repetition is great. So far working better than flash cards!


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March 24th- Happy Birthday Tripp!

True to the third born, I am late getting a birthday post done for poor Trippster. This was him the morning of his birthday:









We had a normal non-work day, but with the added fun of getting ready to head to St. George the next morning. I did manage to get a cake made for him and in honor of march madness, we went for a basketball theme.


Today was his well child check up and as expected he is healthy as can be. A little small, especially compared to my others. He is almost 22 pounds (33%) and 30 inches (55%). His head is in the 85%!

He has been a little bit of a challenge this first year especially with the move but I can't imagine life without him. He has a grin that can light up the room and little squeal that is contagious. He is not quite walking yet but I am sure it is in the near future. He will eat ANYTHING you give him and has completely weaned himself about 2 months ago. He is a mama's boy through and through and I am trying to enjoy that now because it probably won't last.


We love you, Tripp!!!

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