Preschool Graduation

This year a group of women from church put together a preschool. We took turns teaching at our houses each week and it worked out great! Kimmie loved going to school, in fact she was upset the first day when the bus didn't pick her up. She learned so much and had a great time socializing with the other kids. She was excited to graduate, but is now even more excited to start kindergarten...only 6 weeks!!!! I don't know if I am ready for her to grow up, but I can't do anything to stop that:( I am just trying to enjoy these last few weeks before my little girl heads off to school!

First day of Preschool 9/13/11
a forced smile for Mommy:)

Preschool graduation

The graduating class
Dax, Kimmie, McKenna, Brandon, and McKenzie

Joshua is walking!

We are a family who loves tradition, and last night (7/12/12) we kept up the tradition of me missing the first time our kids walk. Kimmie walked for the first time while Seth & Scott had her at work. David walked for the first time when he was with Seth. And last night, Joshua decided to walk for the first time! We were at a church activity and Joshua started getting fussy, so Seth took him into the hall while I stayed in the class. When class was over, Seth showed me the wonderful video he got. I was so excited, but  a little bummed that I missed yet another milestone for our children.

Today is taking more steps on his own and getting more confident, but he still prefers to crawl since he is super fast at it. He is going to turn 1 in less than two weeks, where did my baby boy go?!?

Mothers Day 2012

*I know, Mother's Day is long gone, but I am behind on my posting, so I am finally catching up!*

This year I got breakfast in bed and then spent the day relaxing and not changing any diapers:) Since we were planning a trip to California/Utah, we decided that would be our Mother's/Father's Day gift to each other. The kids were all dressed up super cute, so I decided to get them outside for a picture before church, but instead of the sweet picture I envisioned, I got this...

No, I do not want to sit down!

Look, Mom, I can hold him!

Always such a happy boy

Brothers in matching suits

So cute!!

Spaghetti dinner

I love the first time the kids eat spaghetti. I have posted about it with Kimmie and David, so now it is Joshua's turn. It never fails that they make a huge mess and I love it!!! (Actually, Joshua was the tamest, he barely made a mess.)

Smile!

starting to make a mess

yummy!

so cute!

Now to compare the three kids...

Kimmie - 11 months old

David - 10 months old

Joshua - 10 months old





Tulip festival

In April we took the kids, and their friend Brandon, to the Woodburn Tulip Festival. It was a rainy day, so it was pretty muddy, but it was lots of fun. We walked around, played, and ate lunch in the van when it started to rain. I love going to the Tulip Festival, it is gorgeous and tulips have become my favorite flower.

The tulips look beautiful against the rainy sky

David, Brandon & Kimmie. Best Friends Forever:)

Three little tulips

Future farmers. Kimmie is pretty buff!!

riding the "horse" jsut before it started pouring on us

such good friends!

Just after this picture David drank the nasty water, and then got sick the next day, coincidence???

Ever since our friend Katie taught him to rock climb, he does it every where we go.

Nathan & Lauryn's wedding

On June 12th Nathan & Lauryn were married in the Portland Oregon Temple. It was a beautiful ceremony & such a fun (and busy) day. Lauryn looked beautiful & they both were so happy. Aunt Stephanie did an AMAZING job (like usual) putting everything together. After a lot traveling, they are finally back in Oregon and settled into their new apartment. We are super excited to have Lauryn in the family and the kids are really, really excited with the possibility of cousins here in the future. Lauryn is super nice and she makes Nathan very happy, which is great to see. It was fun to be part of the wedding celebration and we are very excited to see what the future holds for them!

The happy newlyweds

love this shot!

so handsome

Parents

poor Cyndy, the boys are so mean to her!

Papa & Joshua

beautiful Kimmie

My loves!

The kids are so excited for Aunt Lauryn & Uncle Nathan

6 years of marital bliss :)

On June 30th we celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. We heard about something called the Four T Trail and decided our anniversary was the perfect day to do it. So, we left the kiddos with Oma and headed to the Portland Zoo, which is the start of the TRAIL and began our 4 mile hike.

The first 2 miles took us up to Council Crest, the highest point in Portland. Ok, I have to admit, I haven't done much hiking in my lifetime, so I didn't really know what to expect. I pictured a paved trail, but we were literally hiking through the beautiful trees on a little path, it was beautiful.

As we walked up the trail to the top of Council Crest I noticed a blanket off to the side and as we got closer I saw this...

Seth had organized a picnic lunch for us overlooking Beaverton. It was gorgeous and I was so surprised!! And I was starving, so this was a much needed surprise! The blanket was equipped with my favorite salad from Red Robin, lots of extra bread and ranch dressing, a bouquet of purple flowers the kids helped pick out, a bottle of sparkling cider, and the Rock of Ages soundtrack (yes, I know I am nerd, but I really love the soundtrack!) A big thank you to Scott for helping put it all together.

the view from our picnic lunch

After we finished our lunch we headed back to the trail to finish the last 2 miles of the hike, which led us to OHSU.

At the end of our 4 mile hike

From there we took the TRAM down

looking down from the Tram

View from the Tram, on a clear day you can see all the way to Mt. Hood



and got onto the TROLLEY (which is actually a streetcar).

Seth on the super hot/muggy Trolley

We rode the "trolley" to downtown Portland. It stopped right by Cyndy's work, so we got off and visited with her for a bit. Then we got on the TRAIN and headed back to the Zoo.

It rained on us off and on, but it didn't bother us at all. I had so much fun walking and talking with Seth. The scenery was beautiful and it was fun to get out and do something we have never done before. After we got home from the 4T's, we picked the kids up and went to a quick dinner and then to get frozen yogurt. Then we headed to the grocery store to buy treats for later that night.

Once we put the kids to bed we headed out again. That is one benefit of living below Seth's parents. We can put the kids to bed and then go out and they will listen for them. We grabbed our snacks, loaded up the van, and headed to the Drive-in! I was super excited about this. I haven't been to the Drive-in since I was a kid, so I was really excited to go again. Seth took the seats out of the van and put the air mattress in.

We got there about 2 hours before the movie started to we walked around and played a card question game while we waited. The first movie, Brave, was supposed to start around 9:30, but due to some mechanical difficulties (a fire broke out on the cables above the building, temporarily knocking out the power) it didn't start until around 10. We had already seen Brave, so I decided to take a little nap so I would be able to stay up for the second movie, The Avengers. After my little nap there was a short intermission and then the second movie started around midnight. It was so fun to cuddle up and watch a movie. I can't wait to take the kids there, they will love it! We made it home around 3 am. It was a late night, and I was exhausted the next day, but it was so worth it.

I loved every second of that day and I have loved every second of the last 6 years with Seth. We have been blessed with 3 beautiful children and although things have not always been perfect, I love that man so much I can't even begin to explain it. I can't wait to see what the next 6 years holds for us.

I love you, Sethy!!!!