Time keeps on slipping

We can never go back to this, thats okay, but we were so little when.......

Zach first went sledding

Mia cozily sleeping

Marshall's birthday

Visiting Yellowstone

Emma enjoying summer in our first backyard.

Back when Ryan had hair.

4 yr old babysitting

I think ever since Mia has been born Marsh has looked forward to the day that I say to him "Marsh you're in charge". Well I had to take a shower and the baby was no where near a nap so the big day happened. I asked him if he would watch her and make sure she didn't get mad. This is what I found the next day on my camera.


At least I have evidence that she was happy. I think these guys will become partners in crime.

Happy Birthday Dr Seuss

Hats off to this creative author.



Marshall's favorite Dr Seuss book is Thidwick the Big Hearted Moose



Zachary and Emma's is Green Eggs and Ham

We had a visitor in our basement just as the kids were settling down for bed. When we first moved here we heard a frog outside the house and named him Henry. We have not seen "Henry" the whole time we've been here. He made an appearance on our stairs. The kids were royally freaked out and would not go to bed. (We moved the boy's bunks downstairs to start the bedroom swapping process.)

We had a beautiful sunrise this week, I had to try to get a good picture. It was really fun to see the pink hues change.

Mia is beginning to really smile. On a couple of occasions you can almost hear her giggling.

Her big brother Marshall loves to give her loves.

Zach had his first ever basketball game Saturday. It was so much fun watching him. He is the most fierce defender you'll see in 6 year old basketball. His coach is really awesome. (hi Alicia) He is number 16.


Mia's blessing was this Sunday.

Bring on the cankles

They have officially arrived. Poofy fat ankles with little sausages for toes. Sorry no pictures, I really don't think a picture would do it justice. I love all the things pregnancy does to you.

I told Ryan last week the baby won't come because the house was totally clean with all the laundry done, the dishes done, the kids rooms clean, the play room clean, freezer meals done, and the hospital bag packed. It didn't really work to have everything ready so this week we are trying a new method. So if you come to my house, and there is spaghetti on the walls, dirty dishes in the sink, little boys' underwear on the living room floor, just know that we are trying an experiment.

Random questions: why does your ear hurt if you lay on it weird and why do you sometimes get zingers in your neck if you turn your head, and why do your middle toes cramp up?

Marsh and I were talking about numbers today and he all the sudden got really sad and said "mom, one is the loneliest number." I asked why. The response was "because it's all alone."

When I asked Zach how his day was the other day, he expressed frustration over the fact that a little girl he didn't know was chasing him at all the recesses. I asked what he did about it. He said I tried to run away and I hid in the play shed for a while and then the kicker...He says "I think she loves me" in his serious voice and that will always be imprinted in my memory. I was curious if she was she cute. He said well yeah. (obviously mom) I said well keep on runnin' buddy.

Emma wanted a sewing project, and I have been wanting to make a rag quilt for the baby. I bought material and made one and got enough fabric for her to make a mini one for her dolls. It was a great first project where it was just straight lines and she could do it mostly on her own. She picked out the pattern of the fabric. It was great to see her be so excited about it. She wondered if there were any other 8 year old kids sewing out there, so we talked about what kinds of things kids used to have to do on the frontier. Which she was interested in any because she's reading Little house on the Prairie. Sorry for the side note, anyway here she is with the finished product. It turned out so cute and she has been beaming about it ever since.

You can't pull the wool over a super powered investigator's eyes

This Monday I was picking up the kids from school. While I was in line to pick them up an unspecified child of mine asked another un-named child of mine "how was your day?"

Well, the questioned child apparently didn't have a very good day, was offended and gave the sibling a knuckle sandwich in the mouth causing a minor flesh wound. The attendant came up to me and said "these two were fighting in line. I told them no matter how they behave at home, we don't fight at school." I was thinking in my head "Right, because we encourage them to punch each other. And they do this all the time" I politely said "they don't do this at home they must have had a hard day at school to do something like this."

And now the rest of the story......

Later in the afternoon super-daddy-investigator-man broke down the instigator and found out it wasn't as innocent a question as originally told. They actually said "how was your day, boogerface?"

I'm pretty sure we wont hear that phrase at our house again.

An aha moment

I have a pile of unmatched socks, it happens, I know you have some too. Well they have been bugging me and I was about to toss them Monday. Well we were doing cleaning around the house, and trying to get the kids to pitch in. Dusting was on the agenda and they all were fighting over the dusting rag so into the discard pile of socks we went and used these for dusters. They had a blast and the dusting was over in a very short time-- bonus!

Memorial Day weekend

Exploring around the park



A gorgeous day at the beach



They were trying to find a whole clam shell... no luck though



Zachary was the only one brave enough to actually get mostly in the water. He had to keep coming over to show us handfuls of seawead.





We then hit a Tacoma Rainiers game. We got a deal for tickets, hot dogs, drinks, and chips. Then afterward, they have fireworks. It was very fun, and true to Zach's personality, he asked a million questions. I think he pretty much knows the ins and outs of baseball.



It was such a gorgeous night for a baseball game. We did have drama on the way though. Darrell's van got hit with a rock and it totally shattered the glass window next to me. I've never had that happen before.



To celebrate Zach's birthday we went to Charlie Safari's with a couple of Zach's good friends. They had a blast, and I have to tell you that it was the most fun birthday. I didn't have to plan any games, or clean up, or worry about things. We had so much fun. Laser tag was the big hit, and everyone tried their hand a mini golf.



It was a fun weekend....now back to reality for the kids.