SJ's 4th birthday

another Rapunzel themed party for our family

 tug of war with Rapunzel's braid

 Flynn Rider piñata (we used a frying pan instead of a bat).  I put some candy inside, and SJ supplemented the prize with the hard earned quarters from her piggy bank.

 Balloon Launch:  we tagged each one with the child's name and a note to contact us if found.  One was found in a town nearby and another one made it all the way to Portland, OR!

Baby S's First Birthday

 

Where does the time go?  It makes my heart ache to know that a year with this precious baby has already passed.  She is sweet and happy and brings joy to all of us.

 She smashed and ate a cupcake, and opened presents while wearing a crown made by her big sisters.

Fun Friday in Seattle

Seattle and I had a rocky week... iphone stolen, (And miraculously recovered), car theft in our "crime free" neighborhood, and a very rough experience at the library left me more than a little disgruntled.  Today's really fun day helped smooth off some of those rough edges.  Gotta take the good with the bad, I guess.  

City center fountain, science center, and mariners game with my man.  

Camping

We went camping at an awesome property owned by our church... Ensign Ranch.  They have canoes, horseback riding, and  a giant slip and slide (our girls still call it a slipping slide). We had lots of fun and baby s slept great and ate lots of dirt.

Lunch help

Here is a list if the things I served for lunch today...

Leftover homemade Mac and cheese

Banana

Yogurt with honey and banana

PB&J sandwich

Hummus toast with tomatoes, wait -no tomatoes, wait I changed my mind I do want tomatoes

Pretzels with hummus

Cherries 

strawberries 

Snow peas

This is crazy, right?  I am really strict during breakfast an dinner... The kids have to eat what I make and can't pick and choose from other things in the kitchen.  Since I am so strict the rest of the day, I made a decision a year or so ago to let them have more flexibility and choose what they want for lunch, but this is getting difficult!  By the end of lunch I was worn out and my kitchen was a disaster.  What do your moms of multiple children do for lunches?  Mine are too young to make their own... Or at least to be helpful making their own.  :)

Jubilee Farm

I love this place.  We're participating in a farm share.  Each week we come and pick up (and sometimes pick ourselves) our very fresh (picked that morning) produce.  During the summer we also participate on "farm school" once a week.  This week we learned about cows and got to helping them to a new pasture. We saw lots of baby cows... One born that very day!  

I can't say enough good things about this place.  My kids love visiting the animals and picking fruit and peas.  I love the delicious fresh veggies and the gorgeous surroundings.  It is definitely one of my favorite things about our new city.

Hike to twin falls

S was too enthralled by the rushing water to look at the camera.

I thin SJ could throw rocks into water for hours.

And the baby Snoozed on the last half

The best visit

A very welcome visit from some NC friends... It was great to not feel like the "new folks" for a couple of days.  I loved seeing our girls jump back into their friendships.  my favorite quote from E ... your my very best friend, except for when you're not.  

Day 1 was a marathon day in Seattle... We spent almost 12 hours enjoying the city.

Day two we recovered and played at home.  The girls treated us to a rendition of Cinderella.

This photo was taken before we lost A on the monorail.  

Space needle 

I thought the oysters were beautiful ... SJ wasn't so sure.

The play... They drew the scenes and listed the characters on this homemade set.

Summertime

School ended yesterday for c.  We are ready for a fun summer!  Cookouts, lemonade, rainbows, and BFFs (sisters) playing together all day.

Also, the official last day of school photo.

No cavities for C and SJ

They loooved going to the dentist... It was close enough to walk and they got to watch movies while they got their teeth cleaned  and got prizes and new toothbrushes.  What's not to love?  Childhood rocks.  

Mothers Day Tea Party

SJ invited me to a tea party at her preschool to celebrate Mother's Day. It was fun and she is adorable.

In Minutes

Our new neighborhood...

 

10 minute walk to beautiful hiking

 

3 minute walk (or ride) to yummy pizza

 

5 minute walk  (big girls ride while Mom jogs to keep up) to a great school

Loving our location... missing our friends. 

Happy Mother's Day

 

First, Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful mother!  Thank you for teaching me what it means to be a daughter of God.

 

Now... about me.  :)  I woke up to breakfast in bed from these cuties, complete with love notes. 

Being a Mom is the best thing I've ever done.  My girls bring me joy every single day!

Officially crawling for a few weeks now

This baby is really upping the cuteness factor with her new skills . Nope, she's not proud of herself at all. Lots of love for her in this house! (Don't miss her squeeks at the beginning of the video... they are super cute, too).

Hiking Tiger Mountain

Date night...errr, morning in this case. We hiked in this beautiful place...  8 miles round trip, phew! So fun to spend time just the two of us!