Sum, Sum, Summertime...in Wyoming!

We were lucky enough to spend most of July and August in Wyoming again this year. Wyoming happens to be my girls' favorite place in the world. You may have heard that Disney World is the "happiest place on earth," but for them, good ol' Wyoming is right up there, maybe even tops. I'm sure it has nothing to do with all the grandparents and the amount of spoiling that goes on there either...  



The "little" swingset grandma and grandpa
put in for the grandkids, then of course,
we had to rig it up as a waterslide 

It gets hot in Wyoming

Kate dressed for the fun in her "googles"

Ellie didn't hesitate for a second.
She climbed right up there to try out the slide.

It turned out to be lots of fun!

Kate thought so too!

(one of my favorite things this summer was her new gappy smile)

Barefeet, summertime, relaxing in the swing...
what could be better?

Ellie Turns Two!

Whoever said, "the days are long, but the years are short," really had it right. My baby turned two this summer. Where does the time go? In some ways it feels like she has been a part of our family forever (we wouldn't be complete without her), and at the same time it feels like just yesterday she was a tiny, new baby. Well, whether I like it or not, she's two now. And when you get to be two you can do things like...

    

Eat push-pop suckers with your big sisters

Open your presents all by yourself


And get really cool presents...like M&M's


Still didn't like the flame on the candles though...
It almost ruined the fun birthday theme we had going.
Had to get those things blown out quickly!


There, no more candles! Much better!


Now she's happy again!
Happy Birthday, Ellie!

One Incredible Guy

My Husband. One pretty incredible guy. Awhile back, a good friend of ours told us she was going to run a half-marathon. Simple enough, or so it would seem, but she had just had a baby less than six months before, and this got Jay to thinking...if she just had a baby and is out there running like that, why aren't I? So... he started running the very next week, and the rest is history. A training plan was decided upon, the first race was registered for, and the training runs were fit into the schedule and completed.

His first race was the "Beach to Chowder Half-Marathon," last June in Long Beach, WA. We booked a hotel room, and made a family weekend of it. The drive down along the coast and through the evergreen forests was beautiful. We stayed at a hotel on the beach, ate a ridiculously huge and delicious pizza at a restaurant on the broad walk,  and took the girls to play at an arcade afterwards. We also drove out to a bluff overlooking the ocean which happened to be the turnaround spot for the race. The view was breath-taking, nothing short of spectacular.    

The morning of the race dawned the way many mornings in Washington do...gray and overcast. We drove Jay down to the race start and wished him well. I think I may have been feeling as nervous as he was. Then the girls and I headed back to the hotel. It was nice, because the race course happened to go right by our hotel. So when it was time, we got to go right out our hotel door to cheer him on as he ran by. We kept our eyes peeled for the first runner with a yellow cap and fluorescent green compression socks. Good thing he was the only one. It was a lot of fun. And even though it was a cool and drizzly morning, it seemed perfect for the occasion.

"Go, Daddy, Go!!!"

Cheering for Jay as he runs by...

Heading for the finish line

The final stretch

Mission accomplished - 1st half-marathon completed!

Official Half-Marathon Finisher!

 We're more proud of him than he knows!

Watching and cheering for Jay proved to be an inspiration. We've been doing an awful lot of running and cheering since then, so I guess you could say...the rest is history.  

Those are some big shoes to fill!

These are some big shoes to fill

I should have no problem with that!

Everybody swing!

Guess it's pretty obvious what we were up to this day...

Eagles and Elephants and Budgies, Oh My!

At the end of the school year Kate's class took a field trip to the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma. We lucked out with some nice weather that day, and had a really enjoyable time. Kate felt so big and important to be going on her first school field trip. 

The elephants are always one of Kate's favorite

This year, Kate and Ellie especially loved the Budgie bird exhibit. While we were there a bird flew right down to Kate's seed stick, and she and Ellie watched in amazement. Of course, Ellie then threw a fit because she didn't have her own seed stick. But once that oversight had been corrected, they watched in amazement a second time while Ellie's bird ate. There are no photos of that round because I couldn't hold Ellie, help with the stick, and take photos all at the same time. Hey, I'm pretty talented, but I do have my limits.

Sticker face

Warning: this is what you may look like after letting your big sister "decorate" your face with stickers

Sometimes the sticker temptation is just too hard to resist! 

Now that's pretty silly!

Time for a Smile!

Sometimes the simplest words say the most. I love this sweet girl of mine...she makes my heart happy. 

"I love Mommy. She is very nice," - Talk about bringing tears to a mama's eyes, and a giant smile :) along with it!

This is fun!

Ellie loves playing with her big sisters. Dress up is especially entertaining!

This is fun! Right, Maddie?

Isn't this so much fun, Kate?

Yep! Most fun ever!

Mother's Day

Back in May I had a very special Mother's Day thanks to my three very special girls. I always love the homemade gifts the best. This year Maddie made a beautiful pillow and Kate touched my heart by putting her thoughts down in a card. Moments like this are some of my favorite "mom moments" of all...

Thank you, my angels! I loved every minute of it!

Batter Up!

Oh, the fun to be had with a bat and some balls! We were looking for something fun to do one day this past spring, so we got the girls a bat and a tee and it was game time. Batter up!! My absolute favorite part was how almost every picture I took showed the girls closing their eyes at the moment of impact. So much for "keeping your eye on the ball." Now I can't wait until Ellie is big enough to take a crack at it too!