Summer is coming!!

2011-06-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

Thanks for coming up to visit us Grammy and Papa. We loved it. More coffee, more donuts and more projects. Maybe no long walks to Starbucks. :) We need scooters next time.

2011-06-06T09:35:00.000-07:00

Spring has had lots of activities like going to Wildlife Safari, sleeping over at the Newport Aquarium with all the sharks, flying kites and fun visits from family. Can't wait for even more special times this summer.

Tooth Extraction

2011-06-06T09:25:00.000-07:00

The funniest thing ever to walk in on from running errands is Mark tying floss to Kaitlyn's tooth and to Nikki's collar. You could totally hear the pop when the tooth was yanked by our oh so obedient dog. LOL.

May 26, 2011

2011-06-06T09:16:00.000-07:00

Fun feeding the ducks and geese by the river after Maddie's graduation.

Maddie's last day of preschool. Our girl is all grown up and heading off to Kindergarten in the Fall. She has the best heart and smile and such a goofy sense of humor.

2010-06-26T18:35:00.000-07:00

This first picture is from June of 2009 and the top pic is pretty recent. I will put more pics up soon that show more angles. But this gives you a peek at what we have been up to.

2010-06-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

Listen to one of the songs her class sang about a rooster. How fitting?!

2010-06-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn graduated from Kindergarten. What an awesome start to our summer. I can't believe she is growing up so fast. First grade seems so old and she will go to school all day. I have to soak up every bit of time I can this summer. She is very excited and loved her special day. The songs they sang were adorable. After school we had a party in a nearby park for the class and let them play and snack for a couple of hours. We had a good turn out for that and the kids had endless energy. We are very proud of our little girl.

2010-05-28T19:20:00.000-07:00

Maddie's last day of school for the year. She did lots of crafts, played on a bouncy slide and decorated cookies. In other words, had a blast. When I said now summer was starting, she said "yay, now we can play water balloons." We played with them a couple weeks ago and that is all she can think about. Now we just need some sunshine.

2010-05-28T19:14:00.000-07:00

The girls completed their first books of verses in Awanas! They both did an awesome job and learned so many verses and had a great time doing it. We had a fun time at awards night. I loved seeing the proud and excited smiles of the kids as they went on stage. We look forward to next year.

2010-05-07T20:19:00.000-07:00

What a perfect day to play rookie from school and go to the beach. Yesterday at the gym I thought about taking the kids to see the tide pools and so today we had a girls day out. We invited Nana to join us on our little adventure. We saw all sorts of sea creatures and Kaitlyn even caught these tiny little fish. I have to give her credit, that was pretty cool. And Maddie thought the little pools of water on the beach were her own private bath tubs. My mom and I just cringed when we watched her lower her whole body into one and try to float there. The girls tried their hardest to pull mommy into the water and I tried my hardest to escape. Kaitlyn asked me tonight if next time I could be a bit lighter and I told her no chance. God blessed us with amazing warmth and beauty today and my girls blessed me with laughter.

2010-05-05T17:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Dad! The girls were so excited to celebrate dad's birthday. Kaitlyn must have told the lady at Red Robin every five minutes that it was dad's birthday. It was so cute. She wanted him to be noticed and celebrated. It was a fun, relaxing day with the family. We are so blessed to have such a great husband and daddy.

2010-04-29T12:02:00.000-07:00

What a fun spur of the moment trip to Redmond. We did hiking, swimming, bike ridin, playing at the park and tennis. The kids loved it. They would swim all day if they could. Kaitlyn is really trying to learn to swim with Mark. She did great. Maddie and I spent our time in the smaller pool playing sharks and frogs. There is nothing better than some relaxing family time.

2010-04-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

The kids even gave us a puppet show on Friday night. Grace was the narrator and the other kids had their puppets act out the story. It was too funny to see the puppets stick their heads out of the tent.

2010-04-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

On Friday we went to Ruthie B's for a grown up tea party with all the girls. I loved our Easter treat and an early birthday song for Grace. I'm so glad we got to go and enjoy some yummy tea time.

2010-04-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

I can't help but smile when I think about all the amazingly beautiful things that God made for us to enjoy. Even though it was really chilly it was worth seeing.

2010-04-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

This past week has been filled with craft projects and playing with the cousins. We had tea parties, dress up, pillow decorating, egg coloring, puppet making, drawing and more. We even got to get to two new chickens with our cousins. I think the little black one loved Keri most. I see a chicken in their future. LOL.

2010-03-22T10:23:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn is off to her first day of Camp Harlow. Can you tell how excited she is?! She went with her friend Mya. The girl in the black sweater in the top picture is Uma, her counselor. Now Maddie and I are off to Splash to do some swimming.

2010-03-22T10:17:00.000-07:00

My trip to CA with Dawn. Loved playing on the Santa Monica Pier.

Now this is how you eat a funnel cake. Check out the white sugar all over my jacket. JK, the wind blew it on my coat while I walked to the table. But I did get a lot of double takes from people walking by thinking that I was one messy eater.

This is a pic of us when we were on the ferris wheel. Oh, the scary ferris wheel.

2010-03-20T09:07:00.000-07:00

I don't know how I haven't already put up pics of the girls with their chickens. We got the little chicks about 3 weeks ago. the girls can not get enough of them. The best things is that the chicks do not mind being held and that is exactly what the kiddos think a pet should let them do all day. And yes, I mean all day. They are getting bigger and going through their not so cute teenage years. I'll have to try to get a picture of that. One is still cute and the other is a wee akward looking. Oh the joys of growing up.

2010-02-19T11:48:00.000-08:00

We couldn't resist. Spring is coming. Yesterday we went to the park and fed the dark and then had adventures around the river. The girls have feet of steel. They played for so long in that snow run off called a river. Yowsers, it was cold water. We skipped rocks, even found some shells. Today is another beauty. But today the yard is calling for some serious help. Right now I am plugging my ears and drinking coffee.

2010-02-16T16:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had our first real tea party with a few friends from church. They made princess crowns, got dolled up and ate like royalty. :) They even got to have scones with real cream and make their own desert after lunch. We laughed and played hide and seek and had a fun morning. I loved seeing all the decorations come together. It was fun to throw a party just because you wanted one.

2009-12-26T13:15:00.000-08:00

2009-12-26T13:07:00.000-08:00

2009-12-26T10:45:00.000-08:00

We feel so lucky. This Christmas season has been full of blessings. We just spent a week in Cali seeing family and then came back to Christmas at home with more family. Sledding down the hill at Hume and snuggling with Logan was so much fun. I loved seeing the cousins exchange presents and sit so patiently watching each other open their gift. Thanks again for letting us come down and play for a few days. Mark is going to set up the smoker today. Yum, can't wait.

2009-12-16T21:27:00.000-08:00

Holiday memories are so sweet. We have had so much fun this winter season. What are the odds that the first Christmas tree we saw on the farm was the one we would pick. We didn't believe it so we ran around the rest of the trees chasing kids and checking out the trees. And then came back to the first tree we saw by our car. :) At least we didn't have to haul it far.

2009-12-16T21:02:00.000-08:00

Listen to Maddie sing you a song.

2009-12-16T20:54:00.000-08:00

Check out my little kitten. Maddie had her first school Christmas performance. It was so much fun and quite a packed church. Maddie melted our hearts. She sang along and did hand motions. She was so grown up. Slow down!! But I was so proud to see how delighted she was to be a part of the show. Nana and Papa joined us for a fun dinner out at Red Robin and then for the show. I taught the girls tick tack toe while we waited for dinner. They picked it up quick. We love our little family. Can't wait to see everybody on our trip. We leave in one day. The kids have been counting down.

2009-11-10T08:36:00.000-08:00

Kaitlyn is going on 8. Ever since she got her ears pierced she gets dressed and does her hair first thing in the morning all on her own. And I mean first thing in the morning. Usually just before 7 in the morning she comes in fully dressed. Today she asked "who wants food?" and so I asked are you cooking and she told me "today I am cooking dinner." Breakfast and dinner must still be confusing. But it is true that at both meals it is dark outside. Wasn't she just in diapers.

2009-10-25T19:01:00.000-07:00

Harvest Party at our church tonight!

Check out this miniature possum. I want one!! It was the nicest little guy. His name is Flower and he was friendly and curious. They are the size of a hamster but they don't bite and they eat fruit, veggies, bugs, etc. We bonded and I would have taken him home if they would have let me. But Zany Zoo pets said they would have babies for sale in about 3 months. Can I say Christmas for me. :) I'm not sure yet if I will share him. hee, hee. He even smelled good. How is that possible?

Haven't they learned yet that girls don't like snakes? What are they teaching my kids in school anyway?

2009-10-25T18:54:00.000-07:00

Today was the last soccer game. By looking at her smile today you would never know their were pouty eyes on the rainy games. She received an award, a bobble head soccer trophy and a goodie bag. Her coaches really did a great job with the season. Go Unicorns!

2009-10-13T13:08:00.000-07:00

So happy and content and tiny!

Two Happy Families!

Irresistible!

2009-10-13T13:04:00.000-07:00

My sunshines!

Same time next year for another fun picture.

2009-10-13T12:55:00.000-07:00

What a happy daddy.

Check out those eyes. She was such a sport to try to hold the ladybug in just the right spot for Mark's pic. It was so funny to watch her try to do what he was asking.

Off to find our free pumpkins for apple days.

Look at daddy's striped hat. We had a great time sampling apples and tossing apples at each other to start off the fall. We got to make a yummy apple cobbler to take to Nana and Papa's later with Ash, Matt and Logan.

2009-10-11T14:03:00.000-07:00

We tried soccer for the first time this fall. Tried is the key word. I don't see soccer players in the future at this house. Let's just say that they would rather pick daisies than chase the ball. I think they are indoor sport girls. The cold and my kids don't agree. :) It is fun to go out even if they only like it half the time.

2009-10-05T20:38:00.000-07:00

Happy 10th Anniversary!!! We spent the weekend in Redmond and Bend at a friend's cabin. The cabin overlooked the gorge at Smith Rock National Park. Absolutely gorgeous!! It was really rough waking up (late) to this and then sitting outside in the hottub to wake up. Loved it.

This was a waterfall that we hiked in Bend.

This is a picture from the yard at the cabin.

We went for a bike ride at Smith Rock. Mark even pushed both of our bikes back up out of the canyon. That was a hike.

2009-09-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

Check out Miss Maddie at her new preschool. She gets to learn letters, colors, numbers, Bible stories and songs, etc. She is so excited. Her first day will be this Monday. We went for an open house on Friday. She had no hesitation to go explore the room. Her teachers name is Mrs. Mary and Maddie kept wanting to call her Mrs. Martin. She even asked the teacher if she was sure that wasn't her name. Right now my little monkey is hanging on my arm trying to get on the computer. More updates later. She is too cute to resist right now. :)

2009-09-09T16:59:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn is officially a kindergartener. She had her first day today. She came in this morning all dressed and asked me if her outfit looked good for her first day. She wanted it to be extra special for the first day and then after that it didn't have to be as special. Then she asks me if we can still bring an apple for the teacher since we forgot to bring it yesterday at orientation. She wanted to bring one because she saw that on one of her cartoons. Then she asks me if the teacher would like it whole or cut up and did the teacher have allergies to apples. She had the most precious spirit. I loved it. She had a great day and already met two friends. Yay! Mark got to walk her in also today. He brought the medic unit over and we all walked in together. It was really special how God worked that out that he wasn't on a call. Love the little things.

2009-09-09T16:55:00.000-07:00

More pics of camping. Enjoy!

2009-09-09T16:41:00.000-07:00

What an end of summer blast! We spent the night at Belknap Hot Springs with my family and did my version of camping. hee, hee. We stayed in a cabin and brought Starbucks for the next morning. Compliments of Markie. :) That is why I love him so much. The weather couldn't have been better. We hiked and threw rocks in the water. This little place in the pictures by the river was just about 40 feet from our cabin. And I wish I had pictures of the hot springs with the girls swimming in it because Kaitlyn totally started swimming. She kept her head underwater and swam several feet at a time. It just clicked for her and she couldn't get enough of it. Maddie loved doing ballet dancing in the 3 foot end. This is the first year that the girls could touch the bottom in the shallow end. Kaitlyn & Maddie beat some bushes behind our cabin and tried to make a new path. My dad thought they looked a bit scary in the process since the girls were getting so into smashing the plants. :) I can't wait to go back. Did summer really just end?

2009-09-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn is officially 5 years old and she is all little girl. We had a great day opening presents and playing. The next day we celebrated by going to Wildlife Safari and seeing the animals. The girls were so excited. We got to go down with some friends which made it all the more fun. It is so neat to have the animals right outside your car window. When we were right next to the bison I got so nervous we had to pull away after watching them for a minute. They are just huge beasts and why they wouldn't ram my car is besides me. We did see two enormous elephants washing someone's car. And we saw two brown bears wrestling. I have never seen bears that active while we were that close. You could hear the thud when they would push each other over. Oh, and last night I asked Maddie what she was thankful for before prayer time and she said, "I thank God for giving me candy." So we prayed for candy. :) I like that prayer.

2009-09-01T13:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some more updated pictures of some of the rooms in our house. They are starting to come together and are lots of fun to do projects. Did I mention that 5 minutes after I took the pictures of Maddie's room she picked off the entire bottom half of the buttons on her butterfly artwork. I guess some projects are meant to be done more than once. :)

2009-08-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

Here are two videos from the gymnastic party.

2009-08-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

The girls had their friend birthday party on Saturday at the gymnastics place again this year. That is such a fun place to have a party and look, my house is still clean. (hee, hee) We all ran and played and talked. Maddie was so independent this year at the party. She is growing up too fast. The best part is the bungee jumps that the birthday kids got to do. The parents wanted to pay to get a chance to jump, but it is only for the birthday kiddos. Mark could launch them so high. It looked awesome!! Maddie's face was lit up each time. We were so blessed to have their great grandmother here to share in the party. After we went back to my house for a family dinner and presents. We are still enjoying the fun and chaos of summer. The kids don't start school until September 10. The other day the kids played in the slip and slide with the neighborhood kids while I planted the new shrubs in the front yard. I'll take some pictures.

2009-08-11T20:58:00.000-07:00

Maddie is 3!!! She had a great day that was started by her sister running in when she first woke up and wishing her a happy birthday. Maddie returned that greeting with a bear hug that toppled the two over. When I heard the giggling I knew life was good. Mark got to take the kids to swim lessons today and then out to lunch. What a dad. :) Tonight we celebrated at Chuck E Cheese's or as Maddie calls it "Cheese's." That place is the best for kids this age. Maddie kept playing the same game over and over until I would ask if she wanted to try more.

God has given us two great girls and the best part of the day was getting to spend it together. Thanks to everyone for calling and wishing her a happy birthday.

2009-08-10T14:58:00.000-07:00

The girls took their first swim lesson today. The best part is they get to be

in the same class. they blew bubbles and motored around with their teacher. I loved how they would look over after they did something and see if I was watching. I can't wait to see how they do after the two weeks of classes.

Yesterday we went blackberry picking and had a blast. We went to a ranch and got to explore and snack on sweet berries. Boy were the girls exhausted by the time we got back to the car. It was surprising we got back to the car with any berries though since they kept raiding my stash. Tonight I get to make a cobbler and a birthday cake for Maddie. Yay for treats!

2009-07-31T21:48:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple videos. Playing in the tide pools.

How the kids weren't freezing. I don't know. :)

2009-07-31T21:13:00.000-07:00

What an amazing day. The girls and I went to the coast and looked in tide pools and played in the very cold ocean. We had a blast!! The tide pools were loaded with cool creatures. On our way there Kaitlyn was telling me how she was going to put her head under the water but only if there weren't any sharks around. And both of them were going to use their buckets to catch the fish and then Kaitlyn wanted to fry the fish and eat them since she has never had fish before. Their comments and ideas were so funny on the drive there. Kaitlyn kept telling me that she was going to run right to the beach when we got there but not in the water since I wouldn't be there yet. She had to be safe. Maddie was such a trooper. Even though she ate it in the water many times and was red from head to toe from the cold she still wanted to play chase with us in the water and dig in the sand. It was a nice escape from our very hot weather in Eugene. We went to a carnival when we got home and only lasted an hour since we melted.

2009-07-28T21:39:00.000-07:00

I've been getting to play with hanging pics and decorate a bit in our house. I just finished the butterfly artwork in Maddie's room. I got the idea of the big butterfly from Pottery Barn and decided to make it myself. That was fun. This pic came from Mark's phone, tomorrow I'll have to take another shot from my camera to get a little more detail. The other pics are the girls' playroom. I just hung up the large posters and then on the opposite wall I framed some of the girls' artwork. I still need to put in one more poster in the last frame. But now we have curtains and a bigger table for the kids to do projects on. We use this room so much. Especially on days like today that are HHHOOOTTT!! Even though we melted when we stepped outside we did play in the sprinklers at a friend's house for awhile. By the way, today was the second week of the Bible study I am leading and I am loving it. God is always there when you look.

2009-07-21T20:04:00.000-07:00

How are we already half way through the summer?! We are having lots of fun. The weather has been awesome and we are enjoying water fights and eating ice cream in the sun. I love how Maddie says swimsuit. She says "wimwoot." Tomorrow we are going blueberry picking in the morning. I can't wait. Hopefully we will get some pics of our haul. Tonight the girls are having their first sleep over together in Maddie's bed. So far I hear talking. We will see how it goes. I gave them a goodie bag and juice cup to make it special.

2009-06-29T22:34:00.000-07:00

This was the very first time we took Kailtyn's training wheels off her bike. We wanted you all to share it with us. I am so happy it did not end in a crash. :) She actually had her first crash the next day which is today. She got a HUGE road rash on her thigh from a brick wall that stood about two feet tall and ran along someone's yard. Ouch, but she got right back on. That's our trooper. Maddie and I had fun chasing her around the block.

2009-06-29T22:30:00.000-07:00

My girls continue to amaze me. Kaitlyn asked to take off her training wheels the other day but I put it off. And then she asked again tonight so Mark did. And she did awesome. In no time she was zooming around the block. Mark was exhausted after chasing her five times around. :) hee, hee. He is such a good dad! Today I took Kaitlyn out twice and all I did was balance the bike when she first got on and then she did the rest. By the end of the day she didn't even need me. Yikes! That happened a little too fast. Maddie wants a big bike bad. She is definately getting one for her birthday or possible early birthday.

2009-06-23T07:33:00.000-07:00

Enjoy a little video of the girls. :)

2009-06-23T07:30:00.000-07:00

Check out our butterfly project. We picked up these foam art pictures when Grammy was up. They are really fun. Maddie was so cute that after she made hers she kept flying it around saying "flap, flap." We loved it. I'll add the video next.

2009-06-23T07:23:00.000-07:00

The yard and mostly the house are finished!! Yea! Mark is awesome! Now he just has to perfect the grass and I need to hang pictures. I may avoid the pictures for awhile. But we are finally able to relax a bit more. We have been in for about 3 weeks and it is definately feeling like home. :) The girls' favorite part is the little 4 year old across the street. Her name is Lauren and I am not kidding the kids come unglued when they see her outside. They love to all ride their bikes in a giant loop and then trade off for their scooters. It is great having lots of little kids in the neighborhood. Just the other day we were on our way home from Nana's and had an impromtu playdate with 3 other kids that live around the block. This is going to be really good for the girls.

2009-06-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

No laughing at the fact that I am taking these pictures at 8:30 at night while it is raining. But I have to show off the awesom job that Mark is doing to our backyard. He has fully weeded and edged the right side of the yard and tomorrow he is going to work on the left side. Can you guess by the pics which side is which? hee, hee. I love my little oasis. Wait till we put in the swing set and I don't think you will be able to bring me and the girls in the house. :)

2009-06-13T21:37:00.000-07:00

Tonight marks two weeks in our new house. So much has been accomplished and we are loving the results. Grammy spent a week with us and was a great support while we continued to plow away at the house. Next time we get to have even more walks. The girls miss grammy already. This morning Kaitlyn was asking me how to spell "I miss you grammy." We look forward to sharing our house with the rest of the family. Mark is doing amazing things with the backyard. It will be our little oasis. :) I will send pics soon.

2009-06-13T21:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Pre-School Graduation to my little girl!! I can't believe she is graduating to kindergarten. She is so excited to try out her new school. She still hopes to ride a school bus for the long two blocks to her school. It was fun to have Grammy, Nana and Papa all join us for the party. Kaitlyn was such a cutie. Tonight when we ate at Red Robin we had them sing happy graduation to her and bring her an ice cream. She had the largest smile. :)

2009-05-04T15:07:00.000-07:00

Couldn't help myself. The pictures are just too fun to go through. Here are a few more.

2009-05-04T14:54:00.000-07:00

More laughs from the week.

2009-05-04T14:32:00.000-07:00

What an awesome week in California. Time with the family is always amazing. Thanks Keri and kiddos for staying the week with us. My girls asked where the cousins are today? I don't think they know what to do without constant play buddies. :) Riding bikes in the back yard, splashing in freezing pools and lounging in the backyard. I am so glad that we all got to celebrate Mark and Matt together and go to Ashley's first baby shower. Here's to a few more days of vacation.

2009-04-22T20:08:00.000-07:00

Today we had an awesome day at the Tulip festival in Woodburn. I want all the tulips. :) The girls did awesome and loved the colors. As an extra treat they got to go on a pony ride. Maddie named her pony "Back" because you ride on its back not on its head. And Kaitlyn named hers "Rainbow Sparkles" because their is no other name other than that for anything right now. Mark did a great job getting the girls to smile and laugh for the pics. It was a perfect day out for the family. Can't wait for California in four days.

2009-04-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

So tonight after an awesome Easter Sunday I was cleaning and talking to Grammy on the phone. The girls were playing with their new toy dogs and dressing them up. I heard them in the bathroom and saw Maddie using some soap on her dog, so I took all the soap bottles away and let them play. I continued chatting away and then realized that the girls had been quiet for awhile. I go back in the bathoom and only could smile at the silly girls. They found another bottle of shampoo and were washing their dogs. Maddie's dog was saturated in soap. The girls just sat there brushing and washing their dogs like this was normal and they were in a pet salon. I still giggle as I think of how serious they were about cleaning the dogs. You would laugh at how much soap I washed off in the sink. They loved it though. :) Take a peek at the video to see their cleaning project.

2009-04-12T20:36:00.000-07:00

The girls sang "Shout To The Lord" this morning at church. They did a great job. Kaitlyn worked on trying out the hand motions and Maddie checked out the group. Kaitlyn had practiced the song with me several times this week and was really looking forward to singing on Easter. At one point Kaitlyn tried to move Maddie's hands for her, but then just settled on a hug. I love my kiddos.

2009-04-12T20:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!! The girls got to sing at Church this morning. And Nana and Papa visited our church for the first time and shared the Easter service with us. It was a great day to celebrate Jesus! We played all afternoon and cooked yummy sour cream chicken enchiladas. The only thing missing was Markie. He worked today and we missed him. We are looking forward to big hugs in the morning.

2009-04-09T13:11:00.000-07:00

Easter is almost here! Today Kaitlyn's class had their easter egg hunt and each child got to find 24 eggs. Let me tell you, the grass was filled. One egg even met its tragic end when I stepped on it. They were everywhere, it was hard not to. Both girls had so much fun running this way and that collecting the eggs. Lexi, Kaitlyn's school partner (and babysitter) helped track how many. We also had the blessing that it stopped raining just in time for the hunt. Yea! On Sunday Kaitlyn and Maddie will get to sing some songs with their classes for church. I can't wait. One of the songs Kaitlyn is working on is 'Shout to the Lord.' God has really blessed us with finding a new church so soon.

2009-04-08T14:42:00.000-07:00

Check out these adorable little shirts from Grammy. They are adorable and the girls' loved them. Thank you!!! They wanted to show you the picture of the easter basket with colorful eggs that we did today. I enjoy doing crafts so much with the kiddos. Kaitlyn has gotten so detail oriented and Maddie loves the glue stick. ;) While we were making dinner, I wondered where the girls were hiding since it had been quiet for awhile. I looked outside and saw their collection of ladybugs. Poor little critters. They were working as a team and finding a ton. Happily these did get let go. I can't say the same for some caterpillars that we caught yesterday. Sadly we left them in a bowl for a few hours and when we came back they were a bit crispy. Crazy since I didn't think it was that hot. I tried to spend as much time as we could outside the last couple days since the sunshine was out. Oregon hasn't gotten the memo that spring has sprung. But I did lay in the glorious sunshine one of the days. And now we are back to overcast and cool. I think the girls prefer the cooler weather too. I know Mark is allergic to the sun and I couldn't believe it when my girls wanted to go back inside since they were "hot". We haven't seen hot yet. Well, they are their daddy's girls. :) He loves it.

2009-03-19T18:36:00.000-07:00

Check out the cuties! Yesterday we had a great family day working in the backyard and playing at the park. God gave us a beautiful day and we took advantage of being outside. The girls were great helpers and picked up a million rocks in their outside playhouse and we weeded, washed the car and cleaned out the sandbox. It felt great! Before we went to the park the girls got to play with Mark's turnouts. They were so happy to be pretend fire fighters.

2009-03-13T16:59:00.000-07:00

Vacation was not just about the waterpark, the lodge also had tons of other activities and of course, a Starbucks. :) At night the girls watched an animated show in the main lobby. The animals sang and talked and the kids eyes were glued to it. You can pick out our kiddos among the many in the picture. We also went into the cub craft room and colored pictures and painted piggy banks. We also got to go on the magic quest. We bought the kids wands and then you follow clues all around the hotel. You wave your wand at treasure chests to open them and at pictures on the walls that will light up and talk. We barely finished one of the five quests. They are pretty tricky but really fun. The girls got so excited everytime they lit up one of the jewels with their wands. They had amazing decorations for the game. Vacation was really laid back and just amazing time spent with the kids. It was a huge blessing to go and spend the time together. It felt great to laugh so much.

2009-03-13T16:36:00.000-07:00

It does not get much better than vacation in the water with the family!! We just got back from Great Wolf Lodge in Washington (www.greatwolflodge.com/grandmound/lodge). We spent three days and two nights there. They even gave us a double upgrade on our room and the kids got to sleep in their own cabin in our room. The waterpark is amazing! Kaitlyn loved the wave pool and Maddie loved what I called the squirt pool. I call it that because it is perfect for their size and you can squirt water out of everything. Both girls did try one of the bigger slides a couple of times but since you can't go down with a parent they were a little scared. Although I did get Kaitlyn to go down one of the adult slides on an innertube with me. I'm laughing while I write this because I didn't know what it would be like and both of our eyes were the size of golfballs at the end because it was mega fast and pitch black. Yikes, I don't wonder why she wouldn't go on that one again. I felt so bad. But Mark and I got to go on their big innertube slide called the tornado a couple of times when we traded off watching little ones with some friends that went with us. Let me just say you could pee your pants in the blind drop off that it has if you weren't so scared at the moment. All I knew was that it was pitch black, I was jetting backwards fast and then there was nothing, just falling.... Then it sends you in a giant tube (tornado) where you cascade up and down the walls. Pretty cool ride once you are standing on solid ground. :) We played for hours in the waterpark a couple times a day. Loved it!!!

2009-02-27T16:00:00.000-08:00

Check out their awesome dad. A couple nights ago, Mark comes up with the idea of making pinatas with the kids. I didn't even know how to paper mache (spelling?). The kids had lots of fun getting all gooey. And Mark loved seeing the girls think he is the coolest. Today we are on day 2 of having a friend of Kaitlyn's stay over for a few days. Lots of girleys in this house. Mark is definately out numbered. The kids are having lots of fun playing with everything and of course emptying every toy bin in sight. Yikes! :) We just finished spelling words with cherrios and now everyone is taking a break. Including me. Yea! By the way, Maddie is trying to potty train herself despite my protests. We have already had poop by the dollhouse and pee on the bed and floor. Help!!!! She just takes her diaper off and gets on the toilet, but then again the floor is just as good as the toilet, isn't it?! Pray for patience and a good carpet cleaner. hee, hee.

2009-02-11T14:03:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to my mom!!! We had a great time celebrating her birthday. The kids helped put on the candles and then blow them out. The first candle Maddie put on the cake, I thought her whole hand was going to go through the cake since she pushed so hard. Nana loved opening all the pictures that the kids had made her. It was a great day!

2009-02-09T13:53:00.000-08:00

Yea! I was finally able to get through on the background website to change my background. Yippy! I have been trying for over a week.

pics from our fun night tonight

2009-01-26T20:03:00.001-08:00

A night playing with the kids can never be beat. Kaitlyn and I also got to play with the self timers on our cameras. She is growing up so fast. And Maddie is such a little girl now. Where did my babies go? I love my family so much. It is awesome to have God at the center of our life and try to enjoy these special days.

2009-01-17T19:08:00.000-08:00

Hi there! I haven't had a chance to take any new pics of the family, but I thought I'd say hello anyway. The kids and I had a great day. We went to the gym to work out, played at a huge play structure place so the kids could run free and then made little faces on graham crackers with peanut butter and chocolate chips. That is pretty yummy by the way! :) I think I can eat as many of those as I want after I rode the bicycle today at the gym. I am working back up to do another spin class. Wow, are those hard. I nearly passed out after 60 minutes of riding with a teacher that was just nuts. Now we are about to do story time and end the day. Mark is working all weekend. It is hard knowing he won't be home in the morning to go to church with us. He is an awesome hubby and provider. We have a great life that God has beyond blessed us with right now. I am excited to work on pursuing God even more this new year. I know he has amazing growth and things in store for our family. P.S. Kaitlyn's favorite things right now is to write down any word she sees and Maddie is obsessed with playing chase. :) Kids are the best.

2008-12-28T20:31:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve. It was great! The kids were absolutely amazing. The kids gave us our Christmas present by sleeping in until 8:00 am. Kaitlyn was the first up and she came in to tell us that it was Christmas. But she was so sweet that she crawled in bed to wait for Maddie. We finally had to go wake Maddie up at 8:30. I am not sure what we gave them to have them sleep so long. :) We all walked in to see our tree together. The girls were so excited and were so patient and sweet about opening the gifts. Later that day we went over to my parents place to open the presents with them. Poor Barry ended up having to go to the doctor that morning and was diagnosed with pneumonia. But he hung in there and was in good spirits. None of got sick. Yea! Thank you to everyone for sending such fun gifts. We all love playing with the new toys.

2008-12-15T10:23:00.000-08:00

What a fun Christmas treat! We had 3-4" of snow this morning. We made snow angels and went on a little sled ride. The girls laughed so hard when Mark would spin them around on the tarp and try to know them off. Maddie would just topple over and roll off not using her hands at all to help stop her. It was the cutest thing. The snow is too dry to make a snow man so we will have to wait until later to try. It is snowing again, so it looks like our winter fun is just beginning. Yea!

2008-12-15T10:14:00.000-08:00

Check out Mark's creative sled he used this morning for the girls. We had so much fun. And yes, Mark even pulled me with the girls around the block. I felt like we were getting a horse drawn carriage ride in the snow.

2008-12-03T09:25:00.000-08:00

Christmas is coming! We had a fun outing to find the perfect Begines Christmas tree. The kids loved running through the trees. We decorated our tree, or I should say the kids decorated our tree. The ornaments are a little clustered because the girls had favorite areas to put them and didn't want to spread them around the tree. :) Thanks Grammy for the advent calendar. We are opening a door everyday.

2008-11-06T14:47:00.000-08:00

We love you Grammy and Papa! And of course, our frogs. :)

2008-11-06T14:35:00.000-08:00

Kingsburg knows how to throw a Harvest Party. The kids rode horses and even got their own goldfish. The fish even made the drive home with us. One visited the toilet and the other is swimming happily. On vacation we also got to see Matt, Ash, Grammy and Papa. The favorite activity at night was collecting a zillion frogs. It was gross and fun at the same time. Thanks Ashley for the use of all your containers for our little critters.

2008-11-06T14:29:00.000-08:00

Our trip to Hume was great! It was way overdue. The kids played and the parents talked. As always, Hume was beautiful. Thanks again to Keri and Jason for letting us come visit. The girls got to try out their new quads and play on the playground with their cousins. We can't wait for another visit.

2008-10-22T14:21:00.000-07:00

Today was Kaitlyn's school field trip to Lone Pine Farms. The kids have been so excited and using the calendar I made for Kaitlyn to count down the days. We all got pumpkins that we will carve later today. The girls fed goats and went on a tractor ride. Maddie loved the playground. I think she could have stayed on the merry-go-round all day. Kaitlyn loved her partner Lexi from her class at school. She is really sweet to Kaitlyn.

2008-10-19T22:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks Keri for the new layout website. They have some really cool designs. I wasn't as talented since I lost all my extra tidbits when I changed templates. So I may be using this one for awhile. But it was fun to try something new. Tonight we went and saw Fireproof. It was a really good movie with an amazing salvation message. It was wonderful to see something like that on the big screen. Thanks mom and dad for watching the kids for us. Today I also got a nudge from God about doing some kind of project or volunteering with people that are in need. I'll let you know more once I get a clearer direction.

2008-10-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

We are enjoying the amazing Fall weather. The kids had so much fun the other day running and playing in the leaves. The leaves seem like they fall faster each year, so we are trying to enjoy them as much as we can. We collected leaves the past two days and colored them onto paper. Kaitlyn thought that was a cool project. Tonight we are heading over to my parents for a pizza party. We haven't seen them in awhile so the kids are really excited to see them and play with Maggie. It won't be long before we are in California. Only a week away.

2008-10-03T21:23:00.000-07:00

Can't believe I forgot to mention that Mark tried to be shark bait within the first minute of getting in the ocean. He cut a five centimeter gash in his forearm on coral. He got an 11 stitch souvenir (ouch). But he was a man on vacation and just rapped it up and played anyway. :) Now we have 3 weeks until we head down to California to see family. Yea!! We don't have exact dates yet, but we are aiming for 10/27-11/3 or so. I hope we get to see everyone. We miss the family.

Maui Vacation

2008-09-30T17:15:00.001-07:00

Vacation was amazing! We just got back at 2am today. We spent a week in Maui with Matt and Ashley playing in the sunshine. Grammy watched our kiddos at our place and had a great week. When we weren't soaking up the rays, we went parasailing and did a zipline through the rain forest at the crater. Matt and Ash got dunked in the water to Ashley's surprise complements of Matt. And the picture that mostly looks green actually has Ashley making the 750 foot zipline ride. It was really fun! On the last day Ashley and I lounged in an amazing spa, enjoying steam rooms that felt like you were in a cave to reading and looking out at a beautiful view. The boys went scuba diving while we were relaxing. They found an octopus and a shark and loved exploring. We all snorkeled and saw turtles and a group of 8 sting rays. Matt fed a turtle by hand. I don't think I would have done that. Yikes!
Happy 9 year anniversary sweetie! I love you!!!

Beautiful day at the park

2008-09-08T09:20:00.000-07:00

The other day we went to the park and took a few pictures before we played. I loved some of the pictures of the kiddos. I am starting my search for a picture that I will blow up poster size in black and white to use in the new house. So far, I don't have the winning picture, but these are very fun. School starts in 2 weeks, so we are enjoying playing for the last bit of our summer.

Birthday Party Pics

2008-09-08T09:08:00.000-07:00

The month of August was all about playing and celebrating the girls. They had a double birthday party at NW Gymnastics and then had fun at Chuck E Cheese. The gymnastics was great! Us adults even got to run around and play. I have so much respect for the Olympic gymnasts that did the trampoline exercises. I had a hard enough time just getting a few feet in the air and not falling over when I landed. Maddie could have swung on the single loop swing the entire time and Kaitlyn liked to hold onto the trapeze and fly.

County Fair

2008-08-15T09:12:00.000-07:00

What a blast! Last night we took the kids to the county fair. Mark was working it, so we got to go and say hi to all the fireman and play in the fire truck. I don't have any pictures of it yet, but I'll add them once I do. The girls said their favorite ride was the pony ride. They went round and round and had the hugest smiles on their faces. They looked so proud. We loved it. The girls rode about 4 carnival rides and loved each one. At the end they each one a lizard stuffed animal from a duck picking game. Needless to say, they each fell asleep snuggling their new little friend.

Happy Birthday Maddie!!

2008-08-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

Happy 2nd Birthday Maddie!! We have had a great day playing together and celebrating Maddie. We had smiley face pancakes this morning and then opened her first present. It was a morning painting project for her and Kaitlyn. The girls had lots of fun using the paintbrushes. This afternoon we surprised the girls with Chuck E Cheese. The giggled and played the whole time. One of my favorites was the look on their faces when they saw that Maddie's cake was in the shape of a horse, since they are so into horses right now. They have just ended the evening playing in the sprinkles and eating a snack watching Fireman Sam. The girls are such a blessing. They will have a friend party next week at a gymnastics place. Lots of partying this month. hee, hee.

Portland Zoo

2008-07-30T13:15:00.000-07:00

Check out daddy's crazy smile at the dinosaur exhibit at the Portland zoo. We took a last minute trip yesterday and we had a blast. The kids loved the surprise. We didn't tell them where we were going until we pulled into the parking lot. We rode a train, pet animals, went down a very fast slide and saw lots of animals. The TRex had the loudest roar and both girls covered their ears. It was too cute.

2008-07-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

Summer has been great! Now that the sun is in full swing, the kids are loving playing in the backyard in the water. Maddie always asks, "water plants please?" I love it. She can say so much now.

First Camping Trip

2008-07-19T11:34:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our first camping trip with the girls. We stayed at Belknap Hotsprings and you can see by the pictures that it is beautiful. The girls loved it and we felt like it was a bit of heaven. The girls loved throwing rocks in the river. We even splashed in it even though it was like stepping into a bucket of ice. Yikes! We also went swimming in the hot springs twice. They really loved that. We will definitely have to go back. Oh, and at night it was all about night time exploring with the flashlights. They are too cute.

Early summer visits

2008-07-19T09:44:00.000-07:00

We have had lots of fun visitors recently. Matt and Ashley came to see us for a week and they brought their amazing dogs. My Nanny also came to stay with my parents for a couple of weeks and we had lots of fun sitting on the porch talking and eating ice cream. We miss them already.