Jason, Sarah, Tristan, Wade, and Owen

It's S(n)o(w) Fun!!!

2012-01-22T20:09:00.000-08:00

We got snow this week! Finally!!! The boys and some of the neighbor kids set up a ramp alongside our house. They even had a jump at the end!

Then we went up to Granite Ridge and pulled the sled behind the truck. Eric met us up there and they really went for a ride!! I took these pictures from inside the nice warm truck as I was the driver.

Saturday was BEAUTIFUL! and SUNNY!! We really enjoyed being out in the snow because we didn't get COLD!!! I pulled so many kids on sleds I ended up just needing my t-shirt! Shawn had a great idea to pull the kids up the hill on their little dirt bike. It saved lots of walking! Owen loved riding with whomever was operating the dirt bike at the time.

I enjoyed going down the hill quite a bit too until it got so warm and bare!

Then when the hill lost it's snow, we hooked up Huck and Ollie to the boys and gave them a real ride! :) It was fun for Wade until Ollie went bounding through the deep stuff and over a berm and knocked Wade off the sled. :)

Owen was enough weight for Huck.

Wade hooked up his own dog!

For some reason the boys all needed their shirts off to go out on the deck and throw snowballs at daddy who was shoveling!

More Pictures from our CA Trip

2012-01-19T20:34:00.000-08:00

It looks like Leah is trying to stab Owen with a knife, but I assure you she is not!

January Fun

2012-01-17T21:19:00.000-08:00

Owen loves hats and will often find one and wear it around the house. His vocabulary has been increasing a lot every day! He can string a few words together!

We like to go to Jared's basketball games!

This weekend was winterfest in town. One of the features this year was the ice slide. The boys had a blast sliding down it!

I am always awed by the intricate designs in the sculptures!

The king and princes (or paupers?) (or jokers?) Winterfest 2012

The boys wanted their picture in front of the ice great dane...even though you can't see it behind them

This mule deer ended up having a cougar sculpted that looked like it was attacking the deer.

The boys favorite! A choo choo train!

An ice couch with ice coffee tables.

And for the "fire" part of the fire and ice festival..

The Thompsons visited for the weekend. We also hosted a potluck get-together, so we got to see a lot of our favorite people!

Surprise! I have a relative living near enough to come visit! Woohoo! This is my cousin Chase, he just transferred to the University of Idaho!

We took advantage of the day off on Monday to have a playdate! Of course it was just an excuse for the moms to visit! Melissa and Henry.

Krystina, Finn, and Kole

We received some wonderful packages today in the mail! Wade opened up this box from Uncle Garrett and (soon-to-be) Auntie Sarah and said, "Look mom! Angry Bird hats!" Yes, you could look at them and see that the bird hats were angry, but I was very surprised that he recognized the real "Angry Bird" hats! Not sure where he's seen that!

The boys trying to look angry!!

San Diego, CA 2011

2012-01-03T17:59:00.000-08:00

View from our hotel as we checked in!

On Tristan's birthday we went to Legoland. It was so busy, but fun!

Wade getting his driver's license.

Driving the boats.

Once they got past the place where this picture was taken, it was pretty much a free for all in the water. Jason and Wade got turned around and were going backwards. :)

We were sad that we didn't get to see our friends in Vegas this trip, but we did see a mini version made out of Legos!

Look who we ran into there!!

On the cruise

Mom and Dad in front of Mt. Rushmore :)

We really enjoyed this funny, acrobatic, firefighter show.

I didn't take very many pictures at the San Diego zoo, but it was a wonderful experience! That zoo is HUGE! Here are a few of my favorites!

Look at that wad of spit!

Owen's great view...and notice the shorts and tank top! We had beautiful weather our whole trip! Sunny and warm!

Owen and Annika playing in the water!

I'm not sure that I'd seen a giant panda before...

We went to Torrey Pines and hiked on the beach there.

Awesome designs in the sand!

Carebear and her papoose. He didn't enjoy it!

The cliffs on the water's edge.

The boys (and Jason!) had a great time playing in the waves!

We stayed at Lane and Alesha's house for 3 nights! They were so hospitable! Alesha and I were roommates and very good friends in college, but haven't seen each other for about 6 years!! We loved being with them!! They had a New Year's Evening party that we had a lot of fun at! Some played pictionary...

But the true competitors played Dutch Blitz! Alyssa and Alesha

Owen and Annika gave each other lots of kisses! They are only 2 months apart.

We thought it was kind of ironic that we spent last New Year's with Cara's brother, Ryan, in South Carolina! I guess we'll have to continue our Middledorf tradition! This is Landry, Cara, and Lila.

We had a nice trip home and are happy to be back even though it's cold!!! :)

This is how the boys entertain themselves on the drive home! :)

Indio, CA 2011

2012-01-03T10:34:00.000-08:00

The view from our balcony of the WorldMark resort that we stayed at.

Having fun on the playground.

The view from the balcony on the other side.

Thanks grandpa and grandma!

The shirt for the baby!

This is the lazy river where we spent most of our time!

Can you guess what they are doing?

He loved Ashlyn's new doll.

Can you believe that I'm the mom of a 5 year old!?!?

We also celebrated Carolyn's 30, Jason's 28, and Terra's 29!

The shirt we made Carolyn was too sappy for Jason, so he had to make his own version!

Owen's Surgery

2012-01-03T10:19:00.000-08:00

Getting his gown on for surgery.

He was in a very playful, fun mood...of course he had the undivided attention of BOTH parents! :)

Not so sure he wants to go!

Meanwhile, Tristan and Wade were checked into the sibling playroom. This is Tristan and a friend playing the Kinnect.

Wade made some beautiful paintings!

Eating popsicles and watching cartoons in recovery.

Owen wasn't feeling too great just coming out of recovery. It took a lot of snuggling to calm him down and then he was pretty grumpy! Understandable!

So helpless looking!

I'm very happy to say that he recovered very well! He feels great and everything looks and acts just like it is supposed to!!! :)

December News

2011-12-12T21:15:00.000-08:00

I found my camera!!!! In a basket with some old winter coats that I was putting up on Craigslist. Yippee! Back in business!
My husband makes really, really good smoothies! And thanks to a bet that I won last week, I get to enjoy one whenever I want! In fact, I am right now! :)
Holiday madness is upon us! I made treats and cookies this weekend, and next weekend is full of holiday parties, and then on to Indio! We will spend 2 weeks in sunny California. The first week in a condo in Indio (Palm Springs) with the whole Sanderson clan, and then the second week in San Diego with some of the clan and a few days with my dear friend Alesha, Lane, and Annika! Can't wait!! Long drive......but not as long as our drive to WI! January is pretty open though, so come and visit us!
Owen has surgery on Thursday to repair his circumcision. It was done incorrectly when he was born, so now we are going to Children's Hospital in Seattle to have it fixed. He will be young enough that he won't remember it, but still a bummer that we have to even do it. Hopefully I'll have an update with pictures soon, but until then, Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-30T16:38:00.001-08:00

Before I tell you too much about our Thanksgiving, I have a few updates I wanted to share with you. First of all, the other day Wade started saying "I don't know, sweetie," in this really sing-songy voice. After hearing it for awhile I asked him where he heard that from. He said, "Auntie Leah says that." :) Then, a few minutes later he said, "I'm a DISASTER!" I asked if Auntie Leah says that too! YUP! :)

I got my job. You know the job that I have been working at for a couple of months? Well, the week before T-day I interviewed for my job and I got it! The only thing that changes is that instead of being considered a sub, I will have a contract through the rest of this year.

Owen has been accumulating a few more words these days. Mostly he still communicates in grunts and points, but there are a few new words....like "MINE", "NO"...you know...all the fun words!

We went to WI for Thanksgiving. We ended up driving there. This was how Owen looked for some of the 28 hours it took us to get there. Oh, and my camera is MIA, so all of these pictures are from Leah's camera or pulled off of facebook! (Thanks Sarah and Kristi) :) If you have any pictures you think I would like, I would really appreciate them! Not sure how I'm going to be able to update my blog without a camera!

All 3 boys cozy in the back.

New Springbok rugby shirts and cool beaded animals from Uncle Kale and Auntie Jaspar.

We got to see Kale and Jaspar for the first time in 3.5 years!!!!!

We spent the day at Joyce and Anders' house. It was wonderful as usual!

One of the 3! tables set for Thanksgiving dinner!

Having fun in their basement.

Tristan showing me just how the toaster works. It is a "toaster like Carolyn's not like ours." (We use a toaster oven.)

It has been 6 years since I've gotten to play in the Turkey Bowl!! We go to WI every other year for Thanksgiving, but 2 years ago I was 7 months pregnant with Owen and 4 years ago I was 7 months pregnant with Wade, so I have sat the bench with a "bloated abdomen". But this year I got to play!!! YIPPEE! It was great fun!

It is so much fun to read the "Skinny" every year!

Ready to play some football!

Back home for pie after the young team beat the old team.

On Friday my parents had a party catered for Garrett and Sarah's engagement and Kale and Jaspar's return from South Africa.

Delicious Friday fish fry!

Garrett and Sarah telling us how they met.

Jaspar and Kale told us about their adventures and performed some music for us!

Family picture

This was the first time all four of us siblings have been together in 4 years, so it was really special!

My baders

The Tristans

These Videos Make Me Laugh!

2011-11-13T21:51:00.001-08:00

Fall Fun

2011-11-13T21:43:00.001-08:00

We went on a hay ride. It was awesome! We rode the wagon up to a corn maze and then over to an orchard to get some apples, and then to a pumpkin patch! :)

In the corn maze.

The tractor driver even gave the boys a turn!

Feeding the goats after our ride.

Watching a cider press in action.

Fred and Mildred: Some of our favorite people!

Another of my favorite people!!!

And even more of my favorite people! We had fondue night with Jason and Sue. We had two pots, one with a broth and one with oil. Yum!!! Notice the fresh salmon, shrimp, chicken, steak, vegetable assortment, and a variety of dipping sauces. Top that off with some sparkling lemonade and you've got a DELICIOUS meal! And fun too!!

Helping unwrap the caramels for the caramel fondue.

Yum!!!

The boys did a scavenger hunt on Halloween. They loved running around the house, following the clues, and finding prizes.

Hahhahaha! I love this one!

And this one!!!

We took a trip to the park to play in the fallen leaves. I tried to get a few fun pictures of the boys. Here were some of my keepers.

For some reason pictures of a little boy walking like this just melt my heart! Especially when his pants are too big! :) Ha!

Guess where those leaves are headed!

We spent some time raking leaves up at the convention grounds. The boys were a big help, as long as they could hitch a ride back on the tarp!

Leah found a prize in her pile!

Meanwhile the guys were laying blocks and building a block wall.

We had some special guests passing through. Cody and Dan went to work with Jason for a day, we had to visit them on the job!

A visit to Mike and Tawn's this weekend was great! The kids made a big mess with beans, the guys went bird hunting, and Tawn and I enjoyed a wonderful weekend!

A practice hunt with the kids.

Storytime!

Tawn and I took the kids up into Canada to a community centre water park. It was a great place to take the kids. There was an adventure river, hot tub, waterslide, etc. and very reasonably priced! And one of the highlights of the weekend was that we took the van up, and Jason and Mike fixed it!!!! Woohoo! It has been deemed ready for a trip to WI for Thanksgiving too! :)

Workers and Pumpkins

2011-10-28T17:12:00.000-07:00

The workers stayed with us, so we invited our cousins over to carve up some pumpkins.

From left to right we have Leah's pumpkin, Dorlene's, Tristan's, and Jan/Wade's

Seattle Weekend

2011-10-28T17:04:00.000-07:00

We love football season!

This was obviously a very intense game! Owen seemed to have missed the memo! :)

The boys wanted a bonfire to roast marshmallows, so we had a pizza picnic in the yard and a fire in the fire pit!

We headed to Seattle and were put up in this awesome condo building!

The view of the space needle from outside our building!

We took a night time walk through downtown Seattle!

The boys had lots of energy from napping most of the trip over, so we had to let them walk it off!

Owen couldn't resist stopping and dancing to the music from a restaurant!

A cool fountain outside of the lobby of the Ellington, where we stayed.

"Art" in the sculpture park

A view of the Ellington from the water.

Some kids are considered to be a "ham", but Owen is definitely all CHEESE!

A walk on the water down to Pike Place Market

When Daddy got done working we walked to the Seattle Center and hung out at the International Fountain.

We took the monorail to Westside Plaza. There was a big protest going on....everyone seemed to be protesting something different, so it didn't seem to be working out very well for them. :) There were tons of police, though!!! On foot, in cars, on horses, riding bikes! Everywhere!

The protest from above.

We went to see an IMAX, "Rocky Mountain Express", where we all took naps, except Leah! We checked out the science center a little as long as we were there.

Oh, don't you just LOVE this mirror! :)

You can see why I married him, right?

We loved the butterfly habitat!

We enjoyed a wonderful meeting on Sunday at the Elly's! And then marveled at the fall colors on the way home!

Owen took a nap as soon as we got into the car, he woke up to this sight. Immediately he started pointing and saying "Daddy, daddy!" He recognized Daddy's truck right away!

Fun car ride buddy!

Thompson Falls

2011-10-28T16:46:00.000-07:00

We love our trips to Thompson Falls to enjoy the outdoors!

The only place we can bring our rubber boots on a consistent basis! What fun!

And hang out with great friends!

Sue's new toy!

Lichen and baby Ryla were a big hit!!!

Owen LOVES mud!!!

An old car that was on our hike.

Tristan posing by a big pile of bear poop!

Brian celebrated a birthday

Beautiful views!

Grandpa and Grandma Come to Chelan

2011-10-12T20:52:00.000-07:00

So proud to be at their own table!

Boxing Match

Visiting me at school.

Hot Tubbin'

Beautiful day for a hike!

The boys liked the names of the trails...Tootsie Roll and Lolly Pop

Our dear elder, wife, and daughter.

Dinner before the Chelan football game.

The BBQ has a great place for the kids to run and play!

1st Friday events

Happy 3rd Birthday Kole!

Baby Landon!

Grandma loves games!

Walk through Leavenworth. Owen was such a comedian this night!

Back to the train! Come again soon!!!

Video Post

2011-10-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

Fun Visitors

2011-10-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

Yummy ice cream!

Jessica and Kevin came to visit from Alberta. We had such a great time meeting their children! This is Kenna, she is Owen's age.

Olivia's 5th birthday party!

Ready for meeting, Jhett, Kenna, Wade, Owen, and Tristan

Jason and Kevin

Sweet Kenna

Baby Kesha

Hot Tubbin' it!

The Newly-weds joined us! The hot tub water was about the same temperature as the ocean in Cozumel where they honeymooned. :)

End-of-Summer Camping Trip

2011-09-29T21:38:00.000-07:00

We went on an end-of-the-summer camping trip with a bunch of other families to the Lake Chelan State Park. We had a great time laughing around the campfire and enjoying a beautiful (87 degrees!) weekend in the water!

Jocelyn and her princess!

Matt making toast!

The state park has the best playground in all of Chelan!

Enjoying the water.

Geoff, Jason, and Jason competing to see who could get the farthest underwater without coming up for air.

Clara spent the day at the spa getting a mud and sand treatment.

Brand-new baby Blake (and his parents and sister) joined us as well!

Best buddies!

We took the boats out for several hours and had a floatilla. We also skied, tubed, kneeboarded, etc. Ryland got up on skis for the first time, and Jason went about 50 mph in a tube. The guys also had a fun "King of the Tube" tournament, which involved knocking each other off of the tubes....while being pulled behind the boat and during our floatilla time!

Sweet Aislyn was definitely a crowd pleaser!

The Kestners joined us for awhile.

We enjoyed a surprise visit from the Longs and our workers too!

I didn't take a before picture, but this is after their haircuts. Definitely a keeper! I can't remember the last picture I took of all 3 boys!

New Job

2011-09-27T20:58:00.000-07:00

First of all I want to tell you to look back soon for pictures from the BEST CAMPING TRIP EVER! :) We had a lot of fun this weekend with several other families camping at the state park. I have to tell you about something that Wade said before we left. He had a little owie on his heel and was worried about needing a band-aid for it while we were camping. I assured him, "I have some along in case you get an owie." Later he said, "Can I have some "along" for my owie?" Heehee

Ok, back to the reason for this post. I got a very interesting call Wednesday of last week from the high school principal here in Chelan. I haven't talked to him for 4 years, since I quit teaching to stay home with my boys, and was worried that he had forgotten about me or will have forgotten about me by the time I was ready to go back to teaching. Anyway, he called to see if I would be interested in teaching math part-time at the middle/high school. My initial response was that I couldn't, because of my obligations to the daycare and to my boys. Jason and I talked about it, though, and he was very willing to fill-in on the boy-watching portion, and Carolyn figured we could make it all work with the daycare too! So, I accepted the position!! It is only for 3 hours/day and it is right during the boys nap time, so I'm not feeling too guilty about leaving them. Also, it seems like a great opportunity to ease into the school system. I was worried about finding a job in a few years when I was ready to go back, and this seems to be a great way to get my foot in the door. The principal seems very willing to work around my schedule and needs, so that is very wonderful!

So, I started yesterday (Monday), and have had 2 days with the kids. I am their 4th teacher in the 3 weeks that they've been in school, so it has been a rough start for them. It will take a little bit to establish a normal routine and schedule. I am teaching a 7th grade math lab, an 8th grade math class, and a 9th/10th grade Algebra 1 class. I am excited to be back into the classroom!!

Eric and Aura's Wedding!

2011-09-21T14:47:00.000-07:00

We met up with the Bowers on Friday before the rehearsal. Taylor was gorgeous in her princess dress.

Aunties wanting baby Owen.

At the rehearsal Owen kept on walking around with his collar up and his hands in his pockets. It was pretty cute!

How many cousins can fit on a golf cart.

The boys being briefed on their duties.

Here comes the groom!

Cheese!

Boy train

After the rehearsal dinner I had to give Eric and Aura part of their wedding present. Bride and Groom aprons and a Newlywed cookbook.

Opening their present from Lisa.

Ready for the big event!

Yum!

Cool dudes!

Brothers

Leah talking to Lisa on skype. Lisa got to see and hear the whole wedding!

I was very bummed that I didn't get any good shots of the boys coming down the aisle. Owen was just trucking along and swinging his arm. He must not have found his pants' pocket!

Very cute with their hands behind their backs!

Owen got a lollipop when he got up to the front to help him out. In this picture he just caught sight of me and behind lollipop lips said, "Mama!" and pointed at me. :)

The wedding party.

Al did such a wonderful job of having the ceremony!

They wrote their own vows...very nice!

Randy filling his plate! :)

Leah and I were kind of twins!

The Shepherds Visit!

2011-09-12T14:46:00.001-07:00

It has been 5 full years since we have seen our good friends Jeff and Renee. Their little "Cubby" was about 5 hours old the last time we saw them, on our way out of town to move to WA. They've added to their family and we've added to ours! :) Now that they are living back in Seattle, we made a point to get together! It won't be so long next time! :) Camden and Carter enjoying the Escalade.

It was a HOT weekend, so we took the boat out.

Camden and Jeff

Lots of little fish! The boys enjoyed their new friends and they seemed to get along really well!

Renee and her boys. I love Camden's expression!

Carter taking a tube ride with his Daddy.

Cam's turn! He loved it!

Happy Family

Our neighbor hosted a Welcome to the World bbq for their new little baby. The boys liked holding the new little kittens too!

The water table was a big hit!

Love the babies!

Owen enjoyed the shoe selection!

2011-09-09T15:09:00.000-07:00

Oh boy...what a mess!

We got to go to the Waterville Fair, because we got free tickets to Lee Brice. This wasn't our ride, but it was Jason and Sue's!

Our kind hosts getting mauled!

He was a great musician!

Red Neck Hot Tub!

Neighborhood wedding

Tristan was the groom!

Going away in style!

Lake Roosevelt Sunset!

This year Jason invented this ski-chair. On the very first try, the back of the chair broke off, but who needs that anyway! As a stool it worked awesome!!! It was very fun to ride! And everyone enjoyed a turn! :)

DeAnne on the water chair.

Julie brought 2 little kittens to the lake. Owen enjoyed snuggling Cricket.

Do you see him in there?

Kisses for Cricket!

These are all little frogs.....cool huh?

Week In Review

2011-08-25T21:11:00.000-07:00

Our buddy Conrad pushed the boys on the tire swing at Chelan Falls Park.

Owen's 1st finger painting.

The experts show us how it's done!

We got to spend 3 days at Olympia convention.

Brotherly Love

Tristan is in time out, Wade is supporting him.

I got to watch Lydia and Gwyndolyn while Tawn worked on Tuesday. Then, we enjoyed some pool time!

My boys made great strides in their swimming skills on Tuesday. Tristan has been swimming in the water with a life jacket, but Tuesday he decided he didn't need a life jacket anymore. Wed. while he was swimming he put on a mask and started swimming under water, and today he started snorkeling! He would swim for 3-4 minutes without coming up or touching the floor, just breathing through the snorkel!

Wade has been content playing in the kiddie pool and on the steps. He will only go out into the deeper water if I am holding him. But Tuesday he put on Gwyndolyn's cool life jacket (pictured above) and immediately jumped into the water! and continued swimming!

Owen put on this life jacket as well and started swimming across the pool by himself!

Gwyndolyn was super brave!

Morning snuggles

Snuggle turned into a tackle.

This was Tristan snorkeling today.

We got to go to a baby shower that was one big play date.

How many kids can fit around a picnic table?

Wild Rumpus

2011-08-22T08:38:00.000-07:00

Tristan came upstairs this morning and said, "Let the wild rumpus begin!" So now thanks to our current-favorite book, Where the Wild Things Are, we have a name for the chaos that ensues at our house! :)

Wade

2011-08-15T15:32:00.001-07:00

"If you don't be good bees will sting you, but if you do be good they make you some honey!" As he's eating fresh applesauce sweetened with honey.

Aura's Bridal Shower

2011-08-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

We hosted a bridal shower for Aura.

Her mom has a beautiful house! The wedding will be outside in the yard!

Terra (Aura's sis), Aura, Shirley (Aura's grandma), and Peggy (Aura's mom). If you think they look alike, you should hear them talk! You can't tell their voices apart!!

Aura asked that we bring items to donate to the humane society instead of bringing gifts, but we decided that we would just get Eric a gift. So, this is Eric's gift, Aura just has to wear it! She kind of figured that we would do this, so she had her hat and sunglasses handy to help hide her. :)

And of course, what would a shower be without a toilet paper bride.

or two!

Sanderson Weekend

2011-08-15T13:19:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn and Teana tubing

In the past week, all of my boys have gone tubing with me! They didn't want to, but I managed to convince them that they would have fun, and they did! They had so much fun that they convinced their cousin Caleb it was fun! Here is Caleb tubing with me.

Unfortunately I don't have any of my boys tubing, I'll try to have someone take some next time we're out.

While we were tubing, Ashlyn put Owen to sleep!

Saturday we made our annual trip to the waterslides here in town. This was nap time!

After the waterslides, we took the boats out again to enjoy the evening!

3 boats tethered together made for a fun time! We brought some pizzas out with us for dinner.

The bride-to-be was making Owen crack up!

Leah and Jason tried skirfing (sp?). It looked fun! I'll have to try it sometime!

She's up!

The full moon looked huge on the horizon, so I taught Sam the trick I learned in Astronomy 1010 that if you look at the moon from between your legs, it looks normal sized. :) Then I had to take a picture of him doing it!

It WAS a big, beautiful moon!

The other side of the lake had the sunset!

Summer is HERE!

2011-08-15T10:35:00.000-07:00

Buzz Lightyear!

Fun at the beach with Emily and Jonathan!

Snack time!

Stuffing them in as fast as he could

We love stick beach, because there is sand that leads gradually into the water and lots of sticks to play with!

1st Friday events included new fire fighter hats!

And a fun bouncy house!

We had a plethora of boys around one Saturday

Popcorn on the boat

More stick beach, this time with some bigger kids!

I was a little nervous about this fort collapsing on our heads.

Bryce and Rylan speared a FISH!

Owen and Molly

We had an evening picnic in the park and watched this house burn across the lake! We were feeling so bad, and then we found out it was a condemned house that had a meth lab inside, and decided we didn't mind that it burned.

7th Anniversary Trip - San Juan Islands

2011-08-01T22:31:00.000-07:00

Jason and I decided to spend our 7th anniversary boating through the San Juan Islands. We went to Sequim late Thursday night and met up with Mom and Dad S. Friday morning. They had spent Thursday night on the boat, but we took it over on Friday. :) We spent a few hours with all of us, so that the boys would have a chance to ride and then the boys, Grandpa and Grandma, and Auntie Teana all disembarked, and Jason and I had two days of kidless vacation!

The boat is a beautiful cabin cruiser that was just right for this purpose.

Happy 7 years!

Brotherly love (sometimes)

We started off about 35 miles south of the islands. The islands are between the U.S. and Canada in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We went north to Lopez Island, went into Fisherman Bay, then up to San Juan Island and into Friday Harbor where we had dinner and spent the night. Then we ventured up between Shaw Island and Orcas Island, past Blakely and Decatur and south again. You will see how much fun we had!

The first experience we had approaching Lopez Island was Cattle Pass. It was crazy! There were some wicked tide pools that made the water very choppy in some places, and very smooth with whirlpools in others. I tried to capture in a picture how confused the water was as to which direction it was going!

In Fisherman Bay we anchored out (that's the boat!) and rowed the dinghy in to this beach (that's the dinghy!). It was a beautiful beach with lots of shells!

We went on to San Juan Island and Friday Harbor. It was awesome! We could moor up for 4 hours for free, so we got off the boat and walked around the town.

I wish I could describe the "yacht culture" that I observed. I definitely did not fit in, but it was so interesting to watch all of the yachters in the harbor! I had worn a swimming suit...sure the water is 51 degrees, so there is no way I'm going in, but I'm on a boat, so I wear a swimming suit. Wrong! I did not see a single other person wearing one! Also, I had put on a pair of pants, but they were totally the wrong length! Bermuda shorts or pedal pushers were the only things worn by the women around the boats! Also, I didn't have a glass tumbler filled with an amber colored liquid, so I was totally out of the loop! Not to mention the lingo! I'll have to brush up on my yachting dictionary before I go again! :)

A small band playing in the park.

We had an excellent seafood dinner at this 3 tiered crab shack.

The view from dinner.

After we got back to the boat, we anchored out in the harbor for the night. It was a beautiful, calm evening! And other than pulling up a neighboring boat's anchor, went without a hitch!

We slept in and lazed around in the morning. (No kids!) And then headed out to explore some more islands.

This was one of Jason's favorites. Must be nice to have your own private island!

We saw lots of seals and one porpoise (no orcas :()

We anchored in another bay and rowed into this island that is a small state park. It can only be accessed by man-powered vessels and had 4 campsites on it. I have dreams of coming back up here with canoes/kayaks and camping on various islands!

Beautiful view of the islands with Mt. Baker in the background.

We debated spending another night in the islands or heading back. We were planning on getting off the boat in time to get ready and go to meeting in the morning, so we didn't want to risk getting in too late. Also, the weather started to turn ugly which made for a rougher trip back. We headed to Port Townsend, which is only 2 bays over from Sequim. This was the lighthouse heading into the harbor. I've never been to Port Townsend, but it was a real eye opener! Made me think of Minneapolis, just tiny.

We moored the boat and passed several homeless people on our way up the dock. Once in town we looked for a place to eat. We smelled pizza from a block away and followed our noses to this pizza place. We watched the employee finish his cigarette, come inside take our order, grab a chunk of dough and start making our pizza all without washing his hands! Extra flavor I guess! It was really good pizza!

If this gives you any clues, this was their delivery vehicle! :) We anchored out in the harbor for the night and made the trek back to Sequim in the morning. It was a wonderful trip! Can't wait to do it again!

Our bad guys and their guns on the way home!

I grabbed Mom's camera so I could steal some pictures of "while we were gone" Here is Wade and Grandpa in their matching hats!

The boys had a blast playing at Lake Crescent!

He sure doesn't look like he misses his momma!

Thank you for the wonderful vacation!!!!

And thank you too!!!!

Owen decked out in his new meeting clothes!

Can't wait until next year! Where should we go???? :)

Sleepover

2011-07-27T10:51:00.000-07:00

Tristan put on one of Owen's outfits. Yikes!

Beach fun

Our slumber party with our cousins started with dinner. While having dinner, the boys watched a water fight take place in the street between the neighbors. As soon as dinner was over, we broke out the water balloons and had our own water fight. This morning when the boys woke up, the only thing they could talk about was another water fight. I was kept very busy filling water balloons!!! They used up a whole bag of 250 water balloons! What fun! :)

Surprise 40th Anniversary

2011-07-27T10:47:00.000-07:00

Mom and Dad S. celebrated their 40th anniversary in Hawaii! We weren't able to join them :), so we all surprised them by bombarding their house for the weekend and having a party! We met up at their local Wal-Mart parking lot, and headed to their house together. I think there were 7 cars of people!!

They were expecting Julie and Sam, but not all 20 of us!

Care-bear skyped in for the party!

Raspberry cheesecake and strawberry cake! Owen likes!

Watching the slideshow of pictures of their 40 years together!

Happy Anniversary!

DeAnne worked hard and compiled pictures to put into a photo book for them!

Watching his parents feed each other the cake, made Jason want to reenact our wedding cake cutting. He did it almost the same, except I'm pretty sure he managed to stuff even MORE cake in my mouth than he did at our wedding!

One of the families that Mark and Karol do daycare for bought their old house. They invited us to walk through it so everyone could reminisce of the years spent there!

Jason's hand has grown since this concrete was poured out back!

Even though Leah was 6 when she left that hand print, her hand hasn't grown at all! :)

C.S. (Carolyn), Jason, E.S. (Eric), J.A.S. (Julie Anne), Leah

Monkey in the tree

Video Post

2011-07-21T22:16:00.000-07:00

Please excuse Tristan's hands in his pants. Owen is saying "Cheese" in most of these videos! :)

More Summer Fun!

2011-07-21T22:13:00.000-07:00

We had gone fishing with our buddy Eric while we were camping, and then after meeting on Sunday we had Subway with him too! He is a good friend and we will miss him as he is heading off to new adventures!

Getting wet is what we do best!

We went to Robisons house to pick raspberries and cherries. Owen was eating as he picked!

These cherries are for you, Leah!

We love to go to the lake! We have been going 6 days a week, even though it has been cool and cloudy a lot! Tristan decided he likes to "scarf" the waves. He attacks them by punching them. I think punching a wave is a good way to get his "punching tendencies" out of his system!

Stick beach is our favorite.

We don't get to see much of the Farmer's Market when the sheep, "Miss Mundy" is there. Owen wants to watch her the whole time!

There was a sweet barn owl there this week. The boys were dressed in their cowboy clothes, because after the Farmer's Market we watched the Rodeo Parade!

Mitchell Creek Camping

2011-07-21T22:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we took the boat up lake to Mitchell Creek to camp. There is a dock with several campsites alongside a creek that is running into the lake. We didn't have the best weather, but we had fun hanging out at camp! Heading up was pretty windy, and there were lots of logs on the lake, so we had to be careful!

Watching the sunset after setting up our tent.

Chips and smores, yum!

Tristan and this hatchet are camping buddies. He was hoping that this picture showed off his muscles.....uh huh....

"Look at this piece of wood I chopped off, Mom!" I was focusing more on the leg he was ABOUT to chop off! Yikes! (He came home completely unharmed from all his hatcheting!)

Playing in dirt all day is just what Owen loves!

A sort of cool day with cold water....is he going to jump in?

He did it! hhahaah

Our camp was under this GREAT tree! Everyone had a turn climbing it!

Heading out to go fishing!

Cleaning the 5 silver salmon that they caught!

Wade was "too little" to catch any fish, but I guess he was big enough to hold one!

Cooking them up! They were delish!!

Owen likes fish apparently! Now he's onto the tuna!

One of the boats that was docked by ours had some tunes going, so the boys had to bust a move!

A hike up the river to a cool cave!

View from the top! Do you see our tent down there?

We had a great trip! There are lots more camping sites all the way up the lake. I can't wait to try another spot! :)

BBQ in the Park

2011-07-21T21:47:00.000-07:00

We had a very windy bbq in the park hosted by Ernie and Linda! Here Mary is getting blown away!

They love the skate park.

And Owen loved the blueberry cream pie!

30?!?!?!

2011-07-15T12:56:00.000-07:00

The numbers must be wrong! :) It's not possible! :)

There are a couple of other stories from the boys I wanted to share. Wade came to me and said, "When Ashlyn is not my cousin anymore, we're going to get married." :)

Tristan asked me the other day if God picks up Jesus' toys. I said that Jesus probably doesn't have any toys, and if he did God probably wouldn't be the one to pick them up. "But Jesus is God's son, and Dad's help pick up their son's toys." Makes sense to me! :)

Owen had his 15 mo check-up today. He has hit the 75% in height and is around 50% in weight. His head is somewhat more normal too...60%. :) The doctor was pleased with his activity, eating, sleeping, and he also signed him up for MENSA after Owen knew exactly what to do with the equipment. We also got the ball rolling on a circumcision revision that we will have done on him. Don't ask.

We are heading up lake to camp this weekend, so I'm sure I'll have some pics for you to view after that! :)

Bike Show and Swim Lessons

2011-07-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

The girls in our neighborhood organized a bike show for the block. My boys were ready to go by 8:30 am. At Noon when they actually had the show, their decorations had already been ruined! :) Balloons and soda cans for Wade.

Owen and his runny nose are ready!

All lined up ready to go.

Tristan started swim lessons in the lake this week. The water is still quite cold, so his wet suit has been put to good use!

Learning to kick.

Birthday Surprise!

2011-07-11T10:58:00.000-07:00

Saturday started out with a trip to the farmer's market and a couple of garage sale stops. Then, our neighbor wanted to give the whole family pedicures, complete with a clear coat of polish! :)

A little bit of baseball with another neighbor...

Then, Jason and Sue came up and we went out on the boat! These were some cool Ultralights that had floats attached to them. So we were just kind of floating by this park, not really doing much. Then we moved to the marina, I assumed to sight-see. Then, all of a sudden I saw some people I recognized coming down the dock! What a coincidence!!! Nope, not a coincidence! Jason had planned a birthday surprise for me!! Yippeee!!!

Justin, Pam, and Dakota surprised me on the boat. It would have really been a surprise if this towel would have fallen down while Justin was getting his swim trunks on. It was funny, because I had been asking Pam what they were up to this weekend, because we wanted to get together. She answered all of my other questions except what they were doing. I was a little bummed Saturday, because I thought that all of my friends were busy, but they were just surprising me! I've always dreamed of having a surprise birthday, but this was the first it actually happened, and I didn't have a clue!

Saturday was also the day of the Poker Run, so we enjoyed looking at all of the cool boats! Our boat didn't really fit in, but they did ask us to tie up with them! haha

Tristan's interesting sleep position

Eric and Aura had their boat out too and tied up with us for awhile. After boating, there was a birthday dinner! And even cake with candles! Wow! I'll have to see if I can get a pic of that from Pam.

Thanks for the great surprise and birthday celebration!

Sunday after gospel meeting, we went over to Kevin and Julianne's for a backyard bbq.

This picture looks like it could have come straight out of Better Homes and Gardens. Julianne is a wonderful hostess/chef/decorator/etc! Kevin did a good job grilling shrimp skewers too!

After Owen cleaned up my strawberry shortcake, he went to work on Sue's.

It was a great weekend!!!!

4th of July Weekend!

2011-07-05T17:47:00.000-07:00

This is how we roll!

Friday we spent the morning at the beach, our favorite place!

Friday was the 1st Friday of the month which means that Chelan has activities downtown. One of the things we did was go to this petting zoo! Owen loved feeding this chicken!

And the bunnies!

This is the house that Jason has been helping to frame.

Saturday we spent 8.5 hours on the lake! Woohoo! It was hot and sunny and perfect for lounging in the lake!

Teana was with us and practiced her awesome boat driving skills.

Wade and Owen both came out on the dragon with me.

Grandpa and Grandma met up with us partway through the day. We went out for dinner and posed in this great climbing tree.

Little koala bear!

Big koala bear!

Monday we went to Silverwood theme park for the day. There were very few lines and we had a great time!

This was by far the favorite ride of the day!

This was my favorite kid ride of the day! :)

I can't believe this is my baby! He's so big in the airplane by himself. I can't believe he didn't climb out of there, but he was just all grins and LOVED it! He went over and over again, waving and grinning! Grandpa and Grandma were so kind to watch the boys so Jason and I could go on the roller coasters! It's been awhile since we've been to a theme park, so we had a lot of fun getting our brain scrambled!

Jason teasing dad about his outfit. :)

We stayed for the fireworks which ended at 10:15, but it took us 2 hours to get to the freeway which is about 15 mins away...between fighting the crowds to the parking lot, fighting the cars to get out of the parking lot, and battling a major traffic jam getting on the freeway. We got home at 3:30 this morning! It was a short night! Visine has been my friend today! :)

WOW

2011-06-28T13:51:00.000-07:00

You may remember that Owen knows how to say, "Wow!" In fact, it's one of the few words he says that I can understand. (He talks all the time, I just can't understand much of it!) The other day, he leaned over to pick something up and passed a ton of gas. He stood up, looked at me, formed his mouth like an "o" and said "WOOOOOW!" I agreed!

I love how Owen swings his right arm when he walks.

Tristan's mosquito bite is getting better. His eye looks like it did Sunday morning, about halfway swollen shut. He's had to answer lots of questions about it the past couple of days. Yesterday on the way home from the grocery store, he said, "Mom, can we get a piece of paper and you can write 'Tristan has a mosquito bite.' Then everyone will know and everyone will know my name too." I think it's a brilliant idea!

Oroville Weekend

2011-06-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

We got to spend this weekend in Oroville. Lydia and Owen are ready for the beach!

The water was so high at Palmer Lake that there was no beach!

It was very beautiful!

I guess the swim trunks I packed were a little big!

My buckethead

Buckethead making a waterfall

Lydia was concerned that Owen didn't have any pants on, so she went and got hers and tried to give them to him!

Tristan had fun with the drum. So did Wade.....at 6:15 Sunday morning....

Tawn and her birthday girl!

Tristan insisted we bring marshmallows in case we had a bonfire. So, Mike appeased him in a big way!

It was a little too hot and the sticks were a little too short to really do much roasting. Also, this is about the time when a little itsy bitsy mosquito stung Tristan on his eyelid.

Apparently he's really allergic to mosquitos!

24 hours later it's even more swollen. This morning it is even MORE swollen!

Sleepover Party

2011-06-27T09:36:00.000-07:00

Dress-up with the Sandersons!

Mowing our new lawn for the first time! Every good mower needs a mentor to help!

Tristan and Olivia spent 2 days talking about a sleepover they wanted to have. Thursday morning, Tristan woke about 6:45. I heard him downstairs waking up and getting dressed. He usually comes up for breakfast then, but I didn't hear him for awhile. I peeked outside and saw he was up at the neighbors' house. I called him back and asked what he was doing up there. He said he was talking to Eric. He rang their doorbell at 7am! I texted Eric to apologize for the early morning door bell ring. His response, "I wasn't as concerned about the wake-up call as I was that Tristan was asking if he could have a sleep-over with my daughter!" :)

So a sleep-over it was! Complete with a tent and popcorn!

Everyone enjoyed chocolate pudding! Even the dinosaur!

Summer Fun

2011-06-22T12:54:00.000-07:00

2 decks of playing cards + 1 hour of time = A marvelous castle! :)

In the dug-out

This is Will. I've been watching him a couple of days a week.

Running the bases.

Ashlyn and AJ have been planning this wedding for weeks! Sweet Olivia was supposed to marry Tristan, but no one asked Tristan about it, and when the moment came he got cold feet. Cody happily filled in for him. Then, AJ had to have a turn to be the bride, and even Ashlyn donned the veil and took a turn!

This was how Wade celebrated the wedding!

The happy couple!

Sue's pinning ceremony for becoming an RN. I'm just a little worried that her new job is going to interfere with her social life! :)

After the ceremony we went to the park to celebrate. As well as celebrating the graduation, we celebrated Sue and Cody's birthdays as well!

Good friends solving all of the world's problems.

Cody's cool new airplane!

He hasn't learned that he can't use his hands in soccer yet.

The graduate and birthday girl!

Fun at the park

2 of a kind

Big shoes to fill!

We hosted Father's Day lunch at our house after meeting.

Owen and one of his very favorite people!

I promised pictures the next time we went out on the boat. Last night was hot, so we hit the lake! We picked up a pizza and ate dinner on the boat!

Loves being on the boat! I can't give him any snacks, because he will just feed them to the ducks/geese. Owen likes to say "yaya" with the other boys when we go under a bridge. That has been a tradition since the boys were very young. They like the way their voices echo under the bridge.

Loves the boat, not sure about the water when he can't touch the bottom.

Tristan not wanting to swim.

Now he's having a blast. The sandbar is just about gone for good, as the lake level keeps on rising.

Did you hear that we have another wedding in the family? You probably know that Eric and Aura are getting married in September, but now Garrett and Sarah are getting married as well! The boys get to be ring bearers in their wedding! So, we get to make another trip to Hilton Head Island! I hear March is the perfect time to be there, too! I think that the new Sarah Lepak will have a big name to fill! heehee :)

Things I Want to Remember

2011-06-13T21:48:00.000-07:00

I try to do posts like this every once in awhile so I don't forget some of the things the boys do or say. I wish I was better about keeping track of their funny things. Here are a few.

Owen is at such a fun age! He communicates VERY well. He doesn't say much, but boy oh boy can he get his point across. The older two boys are really into BeyBlades right now (I know right? What are those?) Owen will often bring me the top, launcher, and rip cord and have me assemble it so that he can launch the beyblade. He comes to me, hand outstretched, clutching the pieces, saying, "uh..uh..uh" I put the pieces together while he claps and looks as pleased as punch. Then I give him the beyblade and he looks at me really seriously and says, "ghaidhgkjwhbjaslkgh shgihlshgfj?" He's just telling me that he is going to go and launch it in the arena. Of course.

When Wade was Owen's age, we took videos of him raising his hand and saying "Me" for everything. "Who wants a sandwich?" "ME!" "Who wants some candy?" "Me!" "Who clogged the toilet?" "Me!" So cute... anyway...Owen has his own version. He raises his hand and says "NEEEE". Today I brought out some otter pops and before I said a word, Owen's hand was up, "NNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!" :) He got one! :)

He loves the pantry. He will often wander in there and come out with a box of cereal or package of oatmeal. He brings them right up to me and says, "ghidhgngdhien aghinelngiahde?" (May I please have some, Mommy?)

He waves his arms and dances whenever he hears music.

We just got done with our convention, and he was a real trooper. Fortunately he is still taking 2 naps a day, and it was pretty easy to have him nap at 10 and 2:45! He slept through most of the first two meetings everyday! The 2nd meeting they all slept, so that was great! The night meetings were a little bit rougher, but all in all the boys were champs! And of course the messages were just what we needed!

Speaking of convention, I was scolding Wade for something he had done (don't remember what exactly), and he was looking kind of sad and pouty when I was done. Then he piped up, "God is still in my heart!" Just what I wanted to hear!

Wade wasn't feeling very well this weekend for our yard sale and block party. When I told him it was time for the block party to start, he trudged downstairs to his toys and asked which blocks he should bring.

The boys Escalade is broken!!!! It was used at the block party by a lot of the neighbor kids and now it doesn't work! One of our neighbors is very handy with things like that, so I might have him take a look!

The same neighbor has a REALLY nice boat that he has parked between our house and his. After we took the boat out this weekend, we decided to park our boat next to our house too. (It had been parked at one of our friends' shop.) Now our neighbors boat looks REALLY, REALLY nice! :)

All parents come up with strategies to get their kids to eat healthy and to obey. Often these strategies have to change with the different children and even as the children get older, but here is what is working with Tristan right now. He is very excited about going to school. (He still has over a year to go....) Almost every day he asks me how many more days until he goes to school. (I don't know, but I think we're around the 450 day mark.) Then he'll ask me how many that is. (Numbers that big don't mean a lot to him.) So I count to 450 (This job is just going to get easier!) When I'm done he says very excitedly, "Woah....that's not very many!" Then, I have mixed feelings. I would like it to be a lot less because I get really tired of counting that every other day, but only 450 days until my little boy goes to school!?!?!?!? booooohoooooohoooo!!!!!!

Anyway back to what I was saying about him being excited to go to school. It comes in very handy. Washing hands: "Tristan, you need to make sure that you wash the fronts and the backs of your hands, with soap, because that's what they do at school!" Brushing teeth: "Make sure we brush everyday so we don't have stinky teeth for school!" Standing in line for the bathroom: "We need to practice standing in line quietly and not skipping, because that is what they do in school!" When one of the boys clears his plate and the other doesn't: "I can tell that Wade is almost ready for school, because he's learning how to clear his own plate!" (The other boy quickly follows suit) etc etc etc for everything....it works! For now! :)

The other thing that Tristan is really into right now is his muscles (tiny though they might be). He is really intent on making his muscles "big and strong". He asks about every food he eats if it will make his muscles "big and strong". I've been trying to broaden his thinking a little by explaining how each food will help his body. Not necessarily his muscles, but his bones, or his eyes, or his brain. He loves to think that he is helping himself grow by what he eats. He also has become very aware of sugar and how it doesn't help his body. He will eat a cookie for dessert, but will say that he doesn't want to eat any more of them because they have too much sugar and will give him a tummyache. This is STRONGLY reinforced by me! :)

That's about all I have for now! I hope to get some pictures of my mom and dad's visit to show you....and we've been on the boat a couple of times, but I haven't taken my camera yet!

Summer Fun

2011-06-13T21:14:00.000-07:00

We went for a walk in the gorge with our neighbors.

The gorge is full and fast due to the excess amounts of rain!

More rock throwing and getting wet!

Even the big boys threw big rocks!

Pretty soon clothing was optional.

Saturday we had a neighborhood yard sale! While I was cleaning up, Owen was very entertained with the sprinkler!

Hours of entertainment, as long as I moved the sprinkler around some! (Nice grass, huh?) :)

Later on we had a block party. It was so much fun! Great to get to visit and eat with the neighbors! Most everyone has children around the same age, and we are always all out in the street watching our kids anyway, so we decided to make it official and have some food!

Some of our friendly neighbors! :)

Worker Walk

2011-06-13T21:08:00.000-07:00

During preps this year, we got the special privilege of having Allyson and Gretchen stay with us. We went for an evening walk in the park. The boys enjoyed throwing rocks.

The dandelions were a big hit too! Looking at his lower lip I think he tried to eat it as he was blowing on it! :)

He never was able to actually blow it off, but not for lack of trying!

Gretchen got this great picture! This was a big breath and then he came out with the weakest blow! :)

Interviews

2011-05-31T10:32:00.000-07:00

Boys Update

2011-05-31T09:54:00.000-07:00

Digging up the yard for the sprinkler system

Owen loves to be a big boy and ride the big bikes.

Memorial Day parade with our neighbors Krystina and Finn

On a walk

Grandpa and Grandma are in town!!!

Peek!

Tristan, Cody, and Wade wanted to camp out on the hill behind our house. Here is Tristan all ready to go. They ended up coming back down when it got dark, and Tristan slept on the hammock instead!

Ron came over after preps on Saturday and helped us install the sprinkler system.

Our planned picnic turned into a work party!

The sod part only took 20 mins. Thanks to Ben and Jason for helping!!!

Jaela played Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, so she sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" for us!

Joce enjoyed cruising with Wade.

The sun was out for a couple of hours yesterday, so we took full advantage! Kiddie pool, splash pad, and some time out on the boat!

Tristan's quote today: "Mom! Look! My arm is growing fur!"

Owen had great fun picking up candy at the parade.

Another Owen and food video. "WOW"

Wedding Weekend

2011-05-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

Owen feeding Marigold a cracker.

Right after giving Marigold this bite he took his own bite out of the cracker! EEEWWW!!! That was the end of Owen feeding the goats!

Having some girls around resulted in Owen dressed like this!

Jason's cousin got married. Here are the beautiful flower girls!

Julie

Uncle Mike and Melissa

Tristan "cutting a rug"

Matthew is describing how Melissa should stuff the cake into his mouth!

Jason's New Trick

2011-05-10T08:33:00.000-07:00

Jason has been a little bit jealous of the amount of blogage the boys get. He wanted to show you all his new trick! :) You can teach an old dog new tricks! (I won't tell you that he can only do this downhill, because that would take away from his great accomplishment!) :)

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day! Excuse the ending of this video when Jason hits the brakes and I gasp and almost drop the camera! hahah! :)

Apple Blossom

2011-05-10T08:29:00.000-07:00

We started off the weekend by attending a potluck to say goodbye to our dear friend Bob. He will be laboring in Hawaii after conventions. Then, we went to Jason and Sue's for a sleepover party! :) They are so hospitable to our family! We had a blast, even though they beat Jason and I in rook! (The first time for sure!) (Maybe we let them win because they were our host and hostess) (Uh huh)

The next morning we headed downtown Wenatchee for the Apple Blossom Festival. We met up with Trese, Branson, Kathy, Justin, Pam, and Dakota and walked through some of the fair/craft booths. Then, we ventured down to watch the parade.

So sweet!

A loaded down Daddy! Yes, Owen is sleeping with Wade's bum sitting on his face. :)

Snacks before the parade.

Kettle corn is a parade favorite!

Jason is so kind and patient with our boys!

Pam and Dakota, and Baby Boy!

This lasted until the police motorcycles did their trick riding complete with sirens!

Jason and Justin

Aren't they cute?

Sunday morning the boys were playing so nicely together I just had to get a picture.

I forgot to tell you about Owen's walking! He started taking steps a few months ago, but unlike the other two boys, was not very interested in really walking. But on Friday I can say that he actually walked more than he crawled! And each day since it has been more and more! I may actually be able to put him in shorts this week! I've been hesitant to, because I don't want him tearing up his poor knees on the concrete outside. Also, notice the railing on our deck that Jason finished yesterday! Yippee! Now we can let the boys out on the deck without me having a heart attack! :) I think Owen is trying to get me with the squeegy I was using to clean the glass. :)

Owen Feeds Himself

2011-05-05T13:33:00.000-07:00

Just because I KNOW that you can't get enough of Baby Owen! Oh...wait...that's me...anyway...if you're interested, here it is! I love how he chases that elusive cheerio on the back of his spoon!

Other Pictures From Our Trip

2011-05-04T10:57:00.000-07:00

Echo joined us for a tea party!

Tara came down for the evening and we went to Famous Dave's! Yum!

Having lived in 4 different states and having to make new friends all over again each time, I am so thankful for the friends that I have had forever!!

Owen loved everything about Echo. He loved to feed her food, put her food into the water dish, spread her food all over the floor, and even eat her food himself! :)

Bender Park

Echo was very tolerant of Owen climbing on her and "petting" her.

Echo enjoyed our morning runs. She is used to running with Cammy when Cammy comes to visit, so I confused her at first, but by the time I left she was going crazy if she saw me come down the stairs with my tennis shoes in my hand!

Hot tub time!

Riding Echo

4-Wheeler time!

The Lepak Family

2011-05-04T10:23:00.000-07:00

My Grandma

My Uncle Tom and Aunt Mary just moved back to WI after many years in Alabama. Tom was showing off his new coat rack. :)

Some of the Lepaks at dinner.

Grandma with all 4 of her children!! She is the great-grandma of 5 with one more on the way!

Grant Park

2011-05-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

Grant Park was one of our favorite parks as kids. We'd swim in Lake Michigan and ride our bikes on the trails. It was fun to walk there with mom and the boys! Isn't it beautiful?

W A D E spells Wade!!!

Scooting across the stream on the tree.

Schmidt Custom Floors

2011-05-04T10:10:00.000-07:00

We went to visit my dad at work. We brought lunch. Schmidt Flooring has the most beautiful showroom ever!!!

After lunch we left, but Tristan stayed for the rest of the day to work with Grandpa! :)