"Glamping" 2010

If you have never gone camping* and would like to give yourself the best possible chance of success, make sure to go camping with the Zagar family. Our friends Bryan and Heather have it worked OUT! We packed clothes, toiletries, sleeping bags and pillows ... and just showed up at our Lake Easton camp site. The Zagars are like a well-oiled camping machine. A giant tent was even set up for us when we arrived! We enjoyed excellent meals and the company of dear friends.

So, this is neat: Bryan and Brice went to high school together in Keizer, OR. I think there was some mention of them dating the same girl in middle school, so they must have gone to the same middle school, too. Bryan and Heather met at PLU (where Brice and I met) and I'm sure they were my Campus Safety escorts from time to time. We weren't in touch with the Zagars after that ... until we noticed them sitting in the same church service as us on Christmas Eve 2009. They had been attending High Pointe Community Church for many years, and we had recently moved back to the area. Rekindling our friendship with the Zagars was certainly a blessing, and it helped confirm our desire to attend High Pointe and join a small group. Now we are co-leading that small group, since our leaders moved to California last summer. I love how God orchestrates friendships to guide, encourage, and bless us at certain times in life!

*Julie & Will had never been camping. Brice is an old pro.

About that last post ...

I am ecstatic over my last post: a photo book that I created on Shutterfly last month. I got hit with a terrible case of "blogger's block" last August and haven't blogged since! OK, maybe it was more a problem of being in the midst of the craziest and busiest year of teaching ever ... and, chronologically, I needed to blog about a vacation that produced hundreds of pictures and needed lots of commentary ... but let's just call it "blogger's block."

Anyway, imagine my delight when I receive an email from Shutterfly suggesting that I "share" the photo book I had already created! I was skeptical -- I mean, would you see the detail? Would you be able to read the captions? I'm happy to report that if you view the photo book in "full screen," you can see/read most things just fine! The solution to my "Dirty South 2010" blog post has arrived, and I hope you have time to take a look. I see that you have to join Shutterfly in order to look at the photo book, but I haven't had any problems being a member. Sometimes they send emails with awesome deals like a FREE photo book (you just pay shipping/handling -- around $8), so I don't mind the emails.

Now let's see if I can blog about rest of the 2010-2011 school year ...

Dirty South 2010

Click here to view this photo book larger

Party Time!

Some of the special people in Will's life joined us for birthday cake and treats on the day after his birthday. We are so grateful for all of our friends and family!

I'm FWEE!

Will was so excited when he woke up to birthday decorations on July 16th! "I'm fwee!" he declared with glee (many times that day). "Fwee" = "three," by the way. Will opened some great presents, went to the movie theater for the first time, and had a special dinner with Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Darren, and both sets of grandparents!

We're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo ...

We went to the Point Defiance Zoo for a PLU G.O.L.D. function on Sunday, July 11th after church. I can't believe we didn't visit the "Kid's Zone" the last time we went to the zoo -- it was amazing! We spent most of our time looking at animals (Will's highlights were the sharks, fish, monkeys, tiger, walrus, and polar bear), but Will did spend some time in the play areas. Here he is, in all of his cuteness:

More Summer Adventures

We celebrated the 4th of July at the Zagars' house along with some of their other family members and friends. Will had a blast, and got on this four-wheeler without us noticing! After he accidentally steered it into the food table, we decided that he shouldn't be driving.


Little Rachel Zagar (the older woman) gave Will a great ride around the yard!


After hitting some great garage sales one Saturday (stroller = $2, Buzz Lightyear = $2), we milled around the Sunrise Village car show. I believe Will called this one "Doc Hudson."

If Will is a good boy in Wal-Mart, he gets to sit in this truck with Snoopy. The hand-holding was completely unsolicited, but totally cute!

I believe this is what Brice did the same evening I went to the car show with Will and my parents: danced on stage with M.C. Hammer. True story, folks. Here is a photo of Hammer from Brice's camera phone. He's pretty close!

Family Meeting

We met Brice's parents and Grandpa for nice dinner at Cousin's restaurant in Chehalis, WA on June 16th. We had a lot to celebrate! Brice's mom, Donna, had a birthday the day before, and Father's Day was just around the corner. Here are some family photos to commemorate that evening together:

Will's favorite scene from the movie "Cars," is the one where Lightning McQueen and Mater go "tractor tippin.'" Well, Will did some tractor tippin' of his own in the retail area of Cousin's Restaurant! He tipped every last tractor, which we think is hilarious.

Summer Adventures in WA

Will enjoys running through our sprinkler on sunny days!

We enjoyed a day in Seattle when my cousin Jennifer and her friend Ashleigh were in town for a visit. Jennifer used her southern charm to get behind the fish counter at Pike's Place Market! We rode the monorail, walked the market and waterfront, had lunch at Pacific Place, ate yummy desserts (donuts, french pastries, and gelato), and spent time at the Seattle Center.

The next day, Will and I joined Mom, Dad, Jennifer, and Ashleigh on a visit to Mt. Rainier National Park. It was a gorgeous, clear day. Will was excited to go to the "top" (not really, just the visitor's center) of "Mountaineer." He was a trooper!

We enjoyed our time with Jennifer and Ashleigh! Come back again, y'all!

Potty Time

Will went pee-pee in the potty for the first time on July 5th, 2010! He is very motivated by the Toy Story 3 stickers that came in his first package of Pull-Ups! We hope to have many more success stories to follow. Way to go, buddy!

Celebrations!

So far, thirty four has been quite fun! I spent some time with my friends Cheryl and Stacy on the evening of Tuesday, June 29th before Cheryl and I went to the midnight showing of "Eclipse." That's the third movie in the "Twilight Saga," which technically opened on my birthday. It made us feel young, that's for sure! There's nothing quite like sitting in line for three hours to see a movie that doesn't start until 12:25 am! Cheryl's mom joined us right before the movie started, and we had an absolute blast.


Also, on my birthday, we had dinner with the Fryes and enjoyed lime ice cream pie made by my mom! Will was very upset that we sang "Happy Birthday" to me, so we sang it to him, too. He also blew out the candle on one of the pies. He doesn't quite understand birthdays, but he definitely wants everyday to be HIS birthday!


To top it all off, Brice and Alison rounded up some of my friends to celebrate by having dinner at the Iron Chef restaurant on Saturday night! Thanks to Stacy, Micah, Sean, Kim, Heather, Bryan, John, Heidi, Emery, Brice, Alison, Cheryl, Michael, our chefs, that hilarious waitress, a pair of bunny ears, a wayward flaming nunchuck, The Arrow and the Song, and Partini for a truly great night!

Will lately

It's time for some fun Will facts! Here goes:

• He weighs about 30 pounds.
• He is 37 inches tall.
• He wears size 3T long pants (for the length), but they have to have an adjustable waist band which we cinch to the smallest size!
• He wears size 2T shorts.
• He wont wear shirts with tags in them! Oh my.
• He only wants to wear his white shoes.
• His favorite book is "Just Going to the Dentist."
• He loves Buzz Lightyear, and he says "To infimity ... and beyond!" while stretching out his arms like he's flying. So cute!
• His favorite trains are Salty & Toby.
• His favorite song is "ABC" by the Jackson 5.
• His favorite snack is pretzel sticks.
• He REALLY wanted watermelon (after seeing it in one of his books), so we bought some. He was crying like his heart was broken, after all. After eating some of it, he said, "My watermelon is too sparkly!" The next day, when I gave him watermelon again, he told me, "My watermelon is too spicy."
• He falls down a LOT! After a painful fall, he says "I hurt myself!" and wants Mommy to hold him.
• He wants Lightning stickers and Hiro (the train) for his birthday.
• Brice tried to shave Will's head the other night and it was an ordeal! Will did NOT like it. Let's just put it this way: there are a lot of long hairs still on his head, although his hair looks short from far away. I try not to notice.
• Recently, when I jumped on the bed to join Will and Brice in a pillow fight/cuddle fest, Will exclaimed with glee: "All my friends!"
• He also recently said, "Get me out of this mess!" while being punished.
• A few weeks ago, while I was helping him put away his toys for the night, Will yelled "STOP!" to me. I turned around to scold him, only to see that he was holding up a toy stop sign at me.
• He loves to put toys in boxes or wrap them in his blanket, bring them to us, and say "I got you a prez-tent!" We then unwrap the items and squeal with delight.
• Yesterday he put his blanket over his head, walked up to me, and said "I got you a prez-tent, Mommy!" That was my favorite present of all.

Father's Day

We had a fun Father's Day this year! Our dear friends Bonnie & Aaron were visiting, Will & I made cards and breakfast for Brice, we went to the Mariners game, and we had the Fryes over for pizza on the grill! (Special thanks to M.V.P. "YaYa" for playing with Will for most of the day!) Here we are waiting for the light rail to Safeco.

This photo Brice took of "Just Me And My Dad" won a twitter photo contest at the game. They delivered a tote bag of fun Mariners memorabilia to us during the 3rd inning!

Roger and Justin joined us for the game -- what fun!

We are so grateful for our Dads who have provided for us and shown us unwavering love, protection, and affection for 33 long years! We are blessed to have you now as "Grandpa" and "Pops" to our little Will. You are his heroes!

Mothers Day

Happy Mother's Day, all! I am so thankful for my Mama and Mother-in-law. What great examples I have! Today was a wonderful day. We went to church, ate a delicious buffet lunch at King Oscars in Tacoma, and then I cashed in on a couple of Mother's Day gifts by shopping with my Mom! Brice, Will, and I even went to Sonic for dinner to avoid doing dishes and celebrate the gorgeous weather. Thank you God for Will -- it is an immeasurable blessing to be his Mommy!