Thursday, September 25, 2008

...hold your fire


Looking for fall table decor?  Good Housekeeping magazine has a great idea.  Just snap the stems off munchkin pumpkins and position a votive candle in its depression.  Cover with a clear glass hurricane shade and insert floral U pins to hold the shade in place.  Voila!  


Monday, September 15, 2008

Happy 1st Birthday!!


Jack, he's our...
- good sleeper, blue eyed, sweet talker, peekaboo, burrito baby, full of smiles, "paci"loving, easy going, snuggler, spoiled rotten, tantrum thrower, toilet paper unroller, willing to eat anything, almost walking, big front toothed, sweet gerber baby!!


                   1 mo                                                 2mo


                       3 mo                                                     4 mo


                 5 mo                                                  6 mo



                     7 mo                                                        8 mo

                                                                                                   
                9 mo                                                            10 mo


                     11 mo                                                   12 mo           
    
HaPPy BirThDAy!!

Jack we love you.  Thank you for making life sweet and fun.  

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Round Up - Pendleton, OR


In an earlier post I mentioned I loved small town rodeos.  I grew up in Preston, ID (until age 7) and my mom, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins have grown up there.  We enjoyed Preston Night Rodeo Weekend every year in august.  There were parades with lots of candy, good food which, for me, always consisted of a corn dog and onion rings at the Polar Bear, sidewalk sales, carnivals, and rodeos.  Such good memories.  Since we moved to WA however, I've only been back once.  So this year, we were lucky to Pendleton, OR and enjoy Round Up Weekend.  

 The kids enjoyed parades with lots of real life Cowboys and Indians, good food (my first ever "elephant ear" - it's just a hick way of saying fried bread with cinnamon sugar) and hotdog mummies, unlimited carnival rides, tennis (thanks Elena for watching the kids), music, bands, sidewalk sales, and great company.  


We owe a big thanks to the Albrechts and Jess's parents for the great weekend.  Thank you  for giving us all a place to crash.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Preschool

Today was Aidan's first day of preschool at the Liberty Lake Children's Academy.  I, of course, had mixed emotions about this experience.  First, it wasn't that I was excited about not having him with me while I ran errands or cleaned the house, (I'm not saying it doesn't make things easier) but to be honest it was sad to see his empty carseat today.  Most importantly, I was excited for him to meet new friends, learn new things... just grow.  So, of course, Mike and I talked to Aidan about those new friends, new environment, new teachers; and stressed the importance of sharing, kindness, listening, and being a good example.  So this is about the point where, to my surprise, Mike started struggling.  I mean... tears. 
 



So Aidan went to school with bravery, we said goodbye, he learned new things, met new friends, and listened to his teachers.  I was too excited to pick him up from school and thankful to hear his over-excited tone, as Aidan does for almost every experience, as he described his preschool day.  

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Labor Day Weekend

              

We celebrated this weekend with Mike's brother, Chris, and his family.  They recently moved to Vancouver, WA about 5 hours away, so the drive isn't too bad.  It was great to spend the weekend with them.  Bryan is 20 mo old and was a great playmate for Aidan.  The weather was fall-like and sunny. 

 

Mike and Chris spent Saturday morning fly fishing, Mike's favorite hobby.  It was the first time he'd been out all year, so if any of you enjoy fly fishing or know someone who does in this area have them call Mike.  Apparently it's most enjoyable with company.  We also did a little shopping, enjoyed good food, walked around Manito Park, watched movies, discovered tennis on Wii, and enjoyed each others company.  

                  

Thanks for the relaxing weekend, Chris and Katy.  We hope you can visit again soon.  Brian, Aidan misses you so much!

        
                 

Monday, September 1, 2008

Remember Nelson?

We happened to stumble across this music video on YouTube... you have to check it out! Nelson was a one hit wonder band of the 80's. The video is hillarious. You've got to love the blonde hair. Thanks Katy for remembering this love ballad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHaI4uZ4oeg