Gingerbread Man

 Easton's class and another kindergarten class put on a small production of the Gingerbread Man. Easton got to play the part of the Gingerbread. He had a great costume and enjoyed running around the stage, crawling out of the oven and singing with his classmates. At the end each of the kindergarteners told us where they thought the Gingerbread Man went. Easton said the Gingerbread Man went to Applebee's.

Growing Up

My babies are growing up so fast! I feel so blessed that both Ellie and Easton attend the school where I teach. Easton finally gets to join Ellie and I after graduating from 2 years in preschool. The three of us commute together every day and the kids spend a few minutes in my classroom before heading out to before-school recess. Easton and I leave at noon because he attends half day kindergarten and I am fortunate enough to continue my job share status and teach part time only in the mornings. Easton and I go back later in the day to pick up Ellie.

I cannot express with words how wonderful it feels to have my kids at my workplace. I can sneak a peek in the classrooms during the day and I especially love when they stop by my class for a quick hug. Most of all, there are many wonderful teachers and staff who know and love my kids at my school.

Ellie the 3rd grader on the first day of school!

My tradition is to make the kids a sign for their door before the first day school. The sign has an encouraging note from both mom and dad. I then tuck this sign into their scrapbook later in the year.



3rd grade ROCKS!



Proudly sporting the beloved Paul Frank backpack.

Easton the big kindergartener. This was the only picture I could get of him. Surprisingly just after this picture he got teary from nerves for the first day of school. :(

She's Going To The Chapel and She's Gonna Get Married!

September 4th my mom got married! She married a great guy and he fits right in with our family. His name is Ray and we affectionately nicknamed him RayRay! The wedding weekend was busy, fun filled and plenty of family around made it a memorable event. My brother, his wife and their kids were in the wedding as well as our family. The kids did great and looked so cute! My mom was glowing and enjoyed every minute. We are so happy for the both of them! Congratulations!!

Summer Rewind - Seattle/Tacoma/Friddle Trip!

This post is picture heavy!! Can you tell it was a great weekend!?

In the spring, we made a long list of things we had to do over the summer. The top of our list included a Mariner game; a first for the kids, and a much needed visit to see the Friddles. The Friddles are my cousin, Emily, the sister I never had, her husband, Chad, the brother Aaron never had and their awesome kids; Alyssa and Owen, the cousins you'd love to have!

Alyssa and Ellie are one month apart and Easton and Owen are one year apart. Although we hadn't seen the Friddles in a while, the kids picked up really quickly and had a lot of fun together. We squeezed in LOTS of time together in a short weekend trip. We LOVE the Friddles and wish so much we lived closer. We have so much fun together. Although they are family, they make the best friends all the way around!


Ellie & Easton + Alyssa & Owen out to dinner the first night!

 


At the Pt. Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

 


A quick trip to see Emily's sister/my cousin, Kim and her family. Isn't Olivia the CUTEST!



Out again and at the Friddle's hotel swimming



The Mariner GAME!



Space Needle fun



Summer Rewind ~ Catching Up With Friends

A highlight of our summer was catching up with three sets of friends, two from college and one that recently moved. Our college friends live in different corners of Washington and all of our families have expanded since we all last got together.

I was excited to get a message from our friends, Curt and Rachelle who live in Spokane, explaining that their family was going to be in the area and they wanted to stop by for a few hours to visit. Aaron and Curt played football at PLU together, while Rachelle and I took many education classes together. We ended up student teaching at the same school so we commuted each day for a semester together.

Curt and Rachelle's oldest son, is only one day older than Ellie! The last time we saw Curt and Rachelle, Jordan and Ellie were just 2 months old. Since then, they have added twin boys to their family, Bradley and Benjamin and we have added Easton. During our visit the kids played in the backyard and we all ate dinner together, catching up on life and enjoying adult conversation. Rachelle teaches kindergarten so we had a lot to talk about. It was a fun visit and we were so happy the Mulders took time see us during their trip.

Another set of friends we were able to see over the summer were our friends Andrea and Taj, also from our PLU days. Aaron and I could credit our friend Andrea for introducing us. Although Andrea and I were friends from che,erleading together, Andrea (our friend) and Aaron lived in same dorm. At a social function Aaron hitched a ride with Andrea and some friends and I joined in. That's where we met!

Andrea and Taj were the first of our friends to get married. They were also the first of our friends, to have a baby; Caleb. We spent a lot of time in college playing cards and hanging out together.

The Giesbrechts also have Molly, Lily and Gavin. Lily and Ellie were born on the same day. Andrea and I were in the hospital at the same time, although miles apart.

Andrea, Taj and family were down for a soccer tournament for Caleb. They came for dinner, conversation and play time for the kids. Time flew and we had so much fun catching up. Thanks Giesbrechts for coming! We loved our time together.

 

A final set of friends we were able to see during summer were the Finnemans. Lonnye and Rachel have been our friends almost the whole time we have lived in Vancouver. We attended a young marrieds group together before having kids. Then kids came and we enjoyed a new chapter of friendship with our kids and famillies spending time together. Finnemans moved to Montana last year and we have missed their friendship and family time. They made the trip back to Vancouver and we were able to sneak some time with them.

Catching up with our friends was definately a highlight of our summer. We enjoyed hearing how children have grown and how our friends' families are changing. We are thankful that we are able to pick right up where we left off with our friends and enjoy spending time together.

Happy Birthday, Grandad!

Happy Birthday, Grandad! This one's for you! We love you!

Sunriver 2010

This free picture collage personalized with Smilebox

Summer Fun - The Oregon Coast

Another thing on our summer bucket list was a day trip to the Oregon Coast. We'd planned to go spur of the moment, when the weather looked good and just day trip it. We loaded the troops, including Toby! and made the most of a long afternoon just south of Seaside at a little beach called Hug Point. Aaron and I visited Hug Point on our honeymoon and it's great place to play for the day. When the tide goes out there inlets and caves to explore. Toby had the time of his life, splashing in the waves, running and chasing a ball. The kids dug in the sand all day and enjoyed seeing sea urchins and picking at barnacles. After the beach, we headed up to Geaheart to a new McMenamin's called the Sandtrap for dinner. The kids we tired and adults were, too. Regretably, I was a little lax on the sunscreen because most of the day was overcast so everyone got came home with sunburns.

Summer Fun Multnomah Falls

One of the things on our bucket list for the summer was a day trip down the gorge to hike Multnomah Falls. The kids did great and we made it to the top. We had packed a lunch and snacks so next we and drove along the scenic route, stopping at Vista View. It was a beautiful, clear day and we could see far down the river. Fun day, free activity, good times with the family! The only bummer was getting stuck on in the 205 road construction for 90 minutes.

Piano Recital

Ellie has been taking piano lessons since September. It's been fun to hear her grow and progress on the piano. The music genes run strong on Aaron's side of the family so I hope Ellie inherits a love of music and will continue to want to take lessons. This is from a recent recital. Unfortunately, my memory card was just about filled up as I took this video, but here is a small sampling. She chose a duet with her teacher for her recital song.

Pierced Ears - A Right of Passage

Not too long ago Ellie asked to get her ears pierced. Aaron shot me the look that silently said, "It's your call." My first reaction was, why not? I find myself putting date stamps on everything. You can't do this until you're 10 years old, you can't do this until you're in middle school. So the earring thing seemed a simple YES. I knew it would make her feel older; it's such a big girl thing to do; a right of passage. The only problem was that Ellie asked during spring soccer so we told her she had a few months to show us how responsible she was and that she was ready for the commitment of taking care of pierced ears.

To our delight, she spent about 2 months showing us lots of responsibility. It helped curb back talking, practicing piano, cleaning her room, picking up toys, finishing homework and even getting along with her brother. We loved it!

As Ellie's birthday rolled around Aaron and I decided we would take her on her actual birthday and surprise her. She had a minor responsibility set back a few days before and knew she would not be expecting it. When I explained we needed to make a quick stop by the mall before Ellie's birthday dinner (her birthday dining choice this year was the fine establishment Taco Bell) my plan almost backfired. Easton dreads the mall and whined the whole drive. Ellie kept telling us how hungry she was. We compromised by telling them we could visit the pet store when I was done with my "errand" to appease them.

We walked straight to Claire's and Ellie asked if we could just go in and look around real quick. I answered with, "Do you want to get your ears pierced today?" She was so excited you would have thought I was telling her we were getting a puppy! She told me that on the way to the mall she was wishing in her heart that we might do the ear piercing today, but she didn't want to keep asking and bugging us. Oh my goodness!

A little girl about 3 years old was getting her ears pierced as we walked in. I was thinking to myself this scenario could go one of two ways; the little girl could be very brave and ease Ellie's nervousness or the little could freak out and scare Ellie to death. Thankfully that little 3 year old did not even flinch! I couldn't believe it.

Ellie was next. She picked her birthstone. She listened to the nice lady tell her all the things she needed to do to keep from getting an infection. The nice lady put purple dots on her ears to mark the spots for the holes, then I made the mistake of mentioning how nervous I was that the earrings would be crooked as my ear holes are crooked so I don't wear earrings. Between Aaron and I the poor nice lady corrected the purple dots 3 or 4 times to make sure they were nice and straight and even, all the while Ellie clung to the teddy bear the store provides to ease nervousness but I'm sure all our talk gave her more and more butterflies.

Here are some pictures and video. Overall, she was very brave and will proudly show off her earrings! She can't wait for six weeks to pass so she can pick out new, fun earrings to wear!

Getting ready and hugging the Claire Bear

Mom signing the paperwork

Almost ready. Mom keeping a brave face.

The right ear!

And now the left!

All done!

Celebrating at Taco Bell (her choice, truly!)

Ellie just had to show her BFF!

8 years old

You're 8 years old!


7 years old


6 years old


5 years old

4 years old

3 years old

2 years old

1 year old

1 day old

Happy Birthday, Ellie! The years are truly flying by. You bring us incredible joy. We are so blessed to be your parents. You make us laugh with your funny jokes and belly laugh; even your silent opera makes us laugh. We have become so proud of your piano skills and your desire to practice and become better. You've learned so much this year in 2nd grade. Even though homework was sometimes tough, we enjoyed working with you on projects like the Walt Disney and sea lion projects. We are so proud of your big step in getting baptised. As your parents, one of favorite things is to hear sing songs from church or ask to pray at dinner. You ask great questions about the Bible and you keep Daddy and I on our toes.

Your love of all things animals and especially dogs continues to grow each year, but do you remember you have a guinea pig? We are excited to watch you continue to play soccer and improve your skills. One of the best things about you is you like so many different things! You love sports like basketball and Blazer games with dad while at the same time you love to play with and dress up your American Girl dolls. You love to play Rock Band and sing at the top of your lungs, but you also love draw quietly or read in your bed. You love painting your finger nails and toes, but you prefer jeans and tennis shoes. You enjoy building fairy forts and digging holes in the back yard but you also love to play with your toys by yourself in your room. You and your brother can be best of friends and great playmates playing Legos, riding bikes or having sleepovers but sometimes he can be a pest to you (or you can pester him).

You have more and more adorable freckles and you usually wear a giant flower headband. You are becoming increasingly more aware of your clothes and shoes and prefer to pick things out by yourself. You are becoming more independent. You love the Eiffel Tower and I imagine one day you will travel there. You are a picky eater! One of my favorite things this year was watching your love for reading and I just love talking about books with you like Ramona Quimby or American Girl books. You are a good friend and it pleases us to hear you are kind and most of all happy at school! We know each year brings lots of changes and we love you more and more!