Joining The Party!

February 10th

2012-02-10T17:26:00.000-08:00

Woke up this morning to 4 text messages - Baby on the way!!!

Molly was pretty excited by the news

Yes, our children do always wear helmets in car (not really). Safety first

Baby Andrew, mom, and big sister Abbi

Only 13 more weeks for us!
Our little tree in its new spot

Sean riding down the hill

Molly playing in a box.

All in all a great day!

Out of hibernation

2012-02-07T11:11:00.001-08:00

Hawaii: Lava & Snorkeling

2011-12-16T21:16:00.000-08:00

Since the Big Island is the most recent, and still active volcano there is lava everywhere. It is fascinating! We saw lava tubes, fields, etc. all over the island, then went to the active volcano and saw other, freakier, looking things like this lava vent:
Another amazing experience we had there was snorkeling - not just because of the beautiful fish, but we actually got to swim with dolphins! In the wild! In this picture below you can see my mom's blue fins, and Ryan's green snorkel, and the dolphins right beyond where they are. I can't really describe just how much fun/how amazing this was!
Sean and I watching the others snorkel
We rented a boogie board with a window in it and both kids enjoyed seeing some of the beautiful tropical fish. And they looked pretty cute on the board :)

Hawaii: Beaches

2011-12-15T11:41:00.001-08:00

We just got back from a week long vacation with my parents to the Big Island of Hawaii. It was GREAT! The kids had a blast, especially on the beaches. Here are a few photos of our beach excursions throughout the week:

We seriously had about 1,000 pictures of Sean doing this:
All in all the beaches on the Big Island treated us royally. Stay tuned for some pics of lava and snorkeling!

Fall

2011-10-27T21:41:00.001-07:00

A few photos from this fall!

8 on 10 aka a blog post finally

2011-10-11T06:57:00.000-07:00

I only managed to get 8 photos today, but the important part is that I will (hopefully) be posting pictures on a regular basis again (sorry family). Here is our day:

Grocery store & "Worlds Biggest Pumpkins"

apparel delivery at local high school - I LOVE fall in the NW

Playdate at a local nursery. . . .

. . . . that has a hay maze . . .

. . . . and a cool blue rocking chair . . . .

. . . . and lots of pumpkins and gourds.

Uh, Molly, there is a spider on your head.

Waiting for dad to get home & watching the rain.

Fish Tales

2011-08-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

There is a great fishing creek here at the ranch - Ryan, the kids and I packed dinner the other day and set out to catch us some trout.

Molly was super excited about throwing rocks in the water - and almost falling in the water.

Sean and Ryan, focused

Sean, pretty proud of his catch - but not going to touch it.

Molly, trying to focus

Can you see her little face here? It is awesome.Molly's tiny catch. She was also proud. She touched it without hesitation. And yes, she does have a fat lip and scuffed up chin in this picture - that is how she rolls.

10 on 10 August

2011-08-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

I spent the whole day today thinking it was the 10th. Oops. Here is my ten on ten, a day early.

The Amazing Miss Molly

2011-08-04T10:14:00.000-07:00

We always knew there was something special about Molly. Today, however, when I observed this interaction between Molly and the horses I realized her powers and abilities go beyond our wildest imaginations (insert Katie's dry sense of humor here)

for reference the horse on the far left is KR Lady Hawk with her baby, and on the right is KR American Girl with her baby. And the one in the middle is Molly, our baby.

stretching out, warming up:

Attention please!

And the magic begins

not sure what is happening here, all I know is that I have never had 4 horses look at me that way.

Pretty sure she is casting some sort of spell on American Girl's tail here

and her work here is done.

I thought it was just a fluke, but then we walked directly over to the pile of dirt, and before she sat down to play I saw her doing this:

apparently it was fine to play in then.

Wish You Were Here!

2011-08-03T13:58:00.001-07:00

A lot has gone on since my last post . . . I hope to post pics and stories sometime, but for now a VERY brief synopsis:

-decided to move back to Seattle
-sent kids on plane with my mom
-Ryan and I drove and drove and drove to Seattle
-celebrated Molly's 2nd birthday & my 31st
-attended family reunion in Moses Lake
-now in MT with Ryan's parents for undetermined time
(I just realized all this has happened in less than a months time - that is crazy)

While we are here we are soaking in the beauty and peacefulness of the land (besides the small fire Ed, Mary, and Ryan are out helping with right now)

Here is a couple photos Ryan took this morning from an amazing view point. The first was looking one direction with square butte in the distance, and the second is looking 180 degrees the other way with the Rocky Mountains in the distance.

The kids have been having a blast with the horses (pics soon hopefully), the pile of dirt places especially for them, as well as posing on some machinery:
Sean was loving it just a little bit:

More to come soon!

the 4th

2011-07-07T06:16:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful 4th of July down here in Texas. We started the day with a small parade in downtown Mckinney. We saw plenty of cars, motorcycles, and horses. Our one Seattle connection, Kristen, joined us and we had a blast.

Sean: "Look, its Doc!!"

And some sparkly pink horses

It is kind of hard to see, but downtown Mckinney is actually a really fun, cute, old town square with great shops and places to eat.

Later we were paid a visit by none other than Roberto! Came all the way from Costa Rica to visit us (not really, but it makes a good story). We had a blast catching up, and throwing the kids at him. We missed you Paola!!

Hope you all had a great 4th as well!

Nana & Papa

2011-06-16T06:39:00.000-07:00

We had such a great time with my parents in town!

Here are the kids waiting in the airport parking lot for Nana & Papa to arrive. They were showing me how excited they were:

Our first stop with Nana and Papa was the aquarium:

Penguins

Shark tunnel

3 toed sloth (super close)

Giant river otter

Manatees etc.

And there was the daily swim time in our community pool:

And special treats, like ice cream:

Thanks Nana & Papa for visiting! We had a great time and can't wait to play again soon!!!

Back-up Dancer

2011-06-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

2 Peas

2011-06-08T12:26:00.001-07:00

Sean and Molly are VERY different children. I could right many-a-post on their differences, however, Molly has been doing a couple things lately that reminded me of her brother when he was her age:

Example 1: The "I am going to force this smile out if it is the last thing I do" Smile

Example 2: Eating corn like it is going to get up and run away from you

Ah kiddos . . . Thanks for making me laugh!

waiting

2011-06-05T06:56:00.000-07:00

it was 96 the other day . . . I melted. Here we are waiting for Ryan to get home:

The stake out followed.
He arrived (see his truck between bush and garage)

The sneak attack

Lots of splashing followed, then a trip to the pool. I am beginning to understand why all the pools down here are not heated.

Welcome to Texas

2011-05-25T13:50:00.001-07:00

last night the tornado sirens right outside our house went off. We put bike helmets on the kids (ok, and on me also) and got in the bathroom.

I am pretty sure I just found two baby black widow spiders in our garage.

Awesome.

The Zoo

2011-05-09T09:10:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Mother's Day by taking a day trip to the Fort Worth Zoo. It is a bit of a drive, but since it is ranked in the top 5 zoos in the nation we thought we should check it out (and see how Woodland Park measures up)

Some of the animals we saw:

They have the same dinosaurs that Woodland Park has right now, but they are spread all throughout the zoo (don't have to pay extra). That was pretty fun.

All in all it was a great day! fun in the sun with the family, I didn't wash a single dish or make a meal. It was amazing!

Oh, and I have to say I prefer Woodland Park Zoo still, although Fort Worth did have some AMAZING displays and some really unique animals.

Happy Birthday Sean

2011-05-06T06:41:00.000-07:00

Sean is four! Our big boy turned 4 years old this last weekend on May 1st. We celebrated by passing the flu around. It was really special for him.

Soooo, we decided to try celebrating again, sans vomit this time.

The kids and I started the day by going to the Dallas World Aquarium. I failed to take any pictures, but I have posted some in the past when my mom and brother & Alicia were visiting.

The kids ate PBJ, oranges, and carrots on the car ride home at Sean's request. Once Ryan got home from work we headed out to get some cheese and black olive pizza. It was delightful:

Then the kids had a flex-off

I am pretty sure Sean won. Molly still has to work on her form a bit

Then, the waitress, who heard the whole it was his birthday but we were all puking story, brought Sean out a big bowl of ice cream. He LOVED it!

After dinner, again - no pictures, we walked down to the "sandy beach". A local park that has a boardwalk, sand volleyball courts, and a kids play area with slides, buckets, shovels etc. It is one of our favorites.

We finally headed home to have Sean's birthday cake, but we were all so stuffed we mainly sampled and will finish them off another day.
The cake was a delicious bundt cake from this local shop. Sean picked out the red velvet (with chocolate chips) bundlet for himself, and we got the chocolate chocolate chip one to share.

Happy Birthday big boy! We love you so and can not believe you are 4!!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T07:04:00.000-07:00

Hope you all had a Blessed Day!

family photo attempt #1:

family photo attempt #2:

Easter Egg Hunt with a few friendly neighbors:

My 1st and probably only . . .

2011-04-13T12:49:00.000-07:00

Crafting Post!

Yes folks, this is a crafting post - no you did not come to the wrong blog.

I saw a couple images of this paint chip Easter egg garland around the internet and thought it was super cute and potentially super easy.
However, I knew that I did not want to drag 2 kids to the hardware/art store for paint chips and white twine, and figured I could come up with supplies enough at home to make our own version.

Here is our experiment:

It is not nearly as clean and pretty looking, but it was a lot of fun (I know right?!?!) and Sean is pretty proud of his creation. There might be something to this crafting thing after all . . . . maybe this isn't my last crafting post.

more pics & a video

2011-04-12T15:08:00.001-07:00

We have had some incredible visitors during our time down here, Aunt Stacey, Nana, and most recently Uncle Tim and Aunt Alicia! Thanks all for coming to visit us.

I failed to mention in the last post that many of "my pictures" were actually taken by Tim or Alicia (oops). Here are a few more they took that are adorable:

Tim and Alicia also got to come to Sean's flag football class last weekend. Uncle Tim helped Sean out on the field a bit:
(some of these were also taken by Tim or Alicia)

Molly wanting in on the action:

water break

That's my kid - the one paying attention, ready position.

that's my kid: the one not really stretching. He actually came over right before and told me he didn't want to stretch. It took some major convincing to get him out there.

hugs for Uncle Tim for helping

Sean in action, running a route. Don't worry, none of the kids caught a pass.

more than 10 on 10 (not taken on 10)

2011-04-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

pictures from the last two weeks: parks, aquarium, visitors etc.
Enjoy!

Week 3

2011-03-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

We are entering week 3 of being in Texas. So far things have been good, especially considering we have been having days in the 70s and 80s and it has been raining non stop back home. I can't complain there. Our first week down here my sister-in-law, Stacey, came to visit. Not only did she help me a ton getting settled and watching the kids while I worked, but she also is an amazing photographer and blessed us with some much needed family pictures! You can check out more of here work (and more of our pics) on her facebook, and check out her other professional shoots on her blog and NEW website: www.staceykylerphotography.com. Here are a couple of my favorite:

(molly's attempt at a smile)

Today the kids and I went exploring to find a new park - I think they liked the one we found. The following pics were taken by me, not Stacey (as if I even needed to write that :)).

So, I suppose we are adjusting well for 3 weeks out. I hope to post more regularly. And I will get photos of our house up at some point. Hope you all are doing well!!!

10 on 10: March (late)

2011-03-12T08:04:00.000-08:00

We have been here for a week now! I will write more later. . . but here are a few pics of the kids mainly, more photos of the house/area to come. Also my sister-in-law, Stacey, stayed with us for a few days and took some great pictures! I will post a few of those soon as well.

hello

2011-02-25T22:14:00.000-08:00

Hmmm

Soon I will be more regular on this blog. Will be forced to I suppose. For now here are some photo updates:

Still getting over the emotion of seeing our house empty . . . moved into this house 2 days before Ryan and I got married 8 1/2 years ago. Brought 2 babies home here, lots of memories. It will be a good house to come home to if that is the case.

Thanks to all who helped load, lift, assemble, paint, clean, provide food, listen to me complain, watch our kids, etc. through our house fixin & packing process. We managed to fit all our "worldy belongings" into this lovely pod:

Arg, Bryan!And now that pod is somewhere between:
Kids are doing good. Here they are trying out some of their "Texas clothes".

How cute. So all is good. I will be more frequent here. Promise. Picture, stories, complaints, etc. Thank you all for your support & friendship!

The Kitchen

2011-01-30T17:00:00.000-08:00

Of the many projects we have been doing here before we move, the biggest by far is the kitchen. I don't have any great "before" pictures, but here are a couple that basically show what it looked like:

And here is the magic that Ryan has worked:

It is almost totally complete. And yes, you do see a dishwasher! and a microwave!

10 on 10: January

2011-01-10T22:05:00.001-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISTI!

10 on 10: December

2010-12-11T08:49:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving in Montana

2010-11-30T16:29:00.001-08:00

I mean, is there anything cuter????

It was Cooooold

The pregnant mares

Sean named these babies Hockey Stick and Sugar Pony (left to right)

Hockey Stick:

Sugar Pony:

hello my friends hello

2010-11-11T14:55:00.000-08:00

A lot has happened, kids are still cute, here are some photos:

Molly with Tim on one of his last days living at our house

Don't worry, I didn't let them eat them all off the floor.

Molly had to make sure none were still under the cabinet.

Black & White:

(Thanks Bergstroms!!!!!!!)

Halloween:

(I kind of love that one!)

Minnesota

2010-09-19T20:51:00.000-07:00

Molly and I joined my family in MN for my cousins wedding this past summer. We stopped by the mall of America. The picture below shows PART of the amusement park that is in the center of the mall . . . . . those of you that know me well know that I was in heaven in a mall this large with this many people (can we say panic).
This was a giant turtle at the aquarium inside the mall (yes, INSIDE the mall) that was literally bigger than Molly.

Molly & me at the wedding.

creative movement

2010-09-17T21:55:00.000-07:00

Molly's first time at Creative Dance with Nana. I think she loved it. And she looked to cute and little out there!

"Actually . . . "

2010-09-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

Dentist

2010-09-15T16:07:00.000-07:00

I wasn't sure how it was going to go . . . He was a star!

Driving at Sunset in MT

2010-09-12T20:44:00.001-07:00

Birthday Girls (In July)

2010-09-11T19:50:00.001-07:00

10 on 10: September

2010-09-10T20:05:00.000-07:00

(almost 10)
(Ryan's contribution)

Carkeek

2010-09-09T22:52:00.000-07:00

Mmmmm

2010-09-08T22:11:00.001-07:00

September 7, 2002

2010-09-07T20:54:00.000-07:00

8 years of wedded bliss! Love you Ry!

State Fair

2010-09-06T20:30:00.001-07:00

Buddies

2010-09-05T21:18:00.001-07:00

Bed Head

2010-09-04T20:22:00.000-07:00

Hello

2010-09-03T21:09:00.000-07:00

I realized that is has been well over a month since I posted, and now that school has started back up I will have even less time to blog . . . . so I have decided to post a picture (or two or three) a day - most of these pictures will be from the last month and half with a short description if needed. Thanks for still checking this little blog!

Fishing for Trout in MT:

More pictures . . . .

2010-07-23T09:52:00.000-07:00

My very talented sister-in-law, Stacey, captured some beautiful photos during our time in MT together. Please check out her blog and see the pictures that put mine to shame :) She is pretty amazing.

I will update some more of my photos soon!

2010-07-13T18:16:00.001-07:00

2010-07-07T15:33:00.001-07:00

2010-06-23T15:29:00.001-07:00

During the FEW days of sunshine we have had, we have managed to get out and enjoy it. A couple weekends ago it was a super low tide, so the kids, my mom, and I went to the house of a friend who lives on the water and walked the tide pools.

This picture is looking straight out - it was amazing how far out the tide was!

Immediately following this picture the shell went straight to the mouth.

The other day Sean was playing in this pool and Molly was splashing from the outside. Before we knew it Molly was in the pool!

And of course, a couple trips to the zoo with friends and family! Hope you are enjoying the days of sunshine as well!

10 on 10: June

2010-06-11T08:05:00.001-07:00

May 16th & 17th

2010-05-17T20:28:00.000-07:00

Molly was dedicated at our church this last Sunday. It was a special day. She was dedicated along with the adorable Amelia and Wes, children of friends of ours. I remember Sean being dedicated and how emotional it was - this did not change one bit. Unfortunately I did not get any pictures of the actual dedication (if anyone who attended did, I would love any you might have). I did get a couple from that morning.

Molly Elizabeth:
Molly - a form a Mary. Both our mother's names are Mary, and Ryan's Great-grandmothers name was Molly.
Elizabeth - meaning "consecrated to God". Many women in my family have this as a middle name, myself included. It is also the first name of my Grandmother, Molly's Great-grandmother who turned 90 years old the same day our Molly was dedicated.

Molly, Great-grandma (Elizabeth), and I

Today is May 17th - Norway's Independence Day. There is a small parade in town that my brother, my dad, and I took the kids to. Sean had a blast sitting with the big kids, and seeing all the drums.
Sean had his first lollipop about 2 weeks ago and it was hilarious watching him try to eat it. Today at the parade a lollipop landed at his feet and he was transfixed . . . he just kept staring. What an awesome boy!

Hope you had a great day!

2010-05-14T15:12:00.000-07:00

catching up

2010-05-12T10:08:00.001-07:00

It has been a while since I posted. Work has been so crazy lately, It feels like every time I sit down at the computer it is for work and blogging has been pushed aside. So here is what we have been up to lately:

Sean turned 3!!! He is such a big boy, and brings us so much joy, laughter, and love. I am continually amazed at him and his growing mind. What a blessing he is to us.

We took a long weekend to visit Ryan's parents. It was beautiful and peaceful.
My sister and her family were able to come and visit us at the Ranch on Mother's Day. The kids had a blast being together.
Saying goodbye to Cartel & American Girl

Travelers

2010-04-23T11:21:00.000-07:00

Molly and I had the privileged of visiting Stacey and Will at their new home, which is beautiful! They took great care of us, and of course Stacey practiced her amazing photography skills on our little Molly. Here is a link to Stacey's site where you can see more pictures. We had a blast! Thanks you two, we love you!

10 on 10 & 11

2010-04-11T17:50:00.000-07:00

I decided to do my 10 0n 10 this month on the 10th and 11th . . . the 11th was very exciting and warranted a few pictures.

videos

2010-04-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

Here are our two kids, doing their thing:

2010-03-29T22:00:00.000-07:00

March Madness Road Trip

2010-03-23T15:23:00.000-07:00

For those of you that know us you are well aware of the fact that we don't do much during March besides watch basketball. Well this year is a little different as we actually took a road trip . . . to watch the first and second rounds of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Ryan, my dad, my brother and I got to attend the games while my mom and Alicia, my brothers sweet girlfriend, watched the little ones.

We had a blast! 9 hours (4 games) of basketball on Friday, and 2 AMAZING games on Sunday. We got to see the last second shot in the Maryland vs. Michigan State game followed by the over-time Purdue vs. Texas A & M game. To top it off my sister and her family came from the other direction to meet up with us so we had a mini family reunion!

Here is a short video I took of the last few seconds of the Purdue vs. Texas A & M overtime (I had Purdue for the win in my bracket, so I was a little excited).

On the day in between games we went to the Children's Museum and the kids had a blast.
We then walked down to the riverfront park and got some photos
Apparently Molly feels the same way about swim suits as I do. You should have seen my face :)

A fun weekend

2010-03-15T21:52:00.000-07:00

We had a fun, full weekend over here - Saturday we went to the dog show that was in town. It was a blast, but for some strange reason the only dogs that Sean posed for pictures with were the Chinese Cresteds . . . hmmmm. His favorite was the Dalmatian (no picture) but these other two were pretty cute also.

Then on Sunday we went to the local fire station where the husband of my high school young life leader is Lutenant. It was pretty fun to see Sean in such amazement. He wanted to know what everything did, he wanted to sit everywhere, and then while he was driving the ladder truck the alarm went off and the crew came out and drove away. We all had a blast.

Oh, and lastly, Molly started crawling (more or less) this weekend! I have known it was coming since she has been getting up on her hands and knees for a while now, but has not, until now, been very good at moving forward. Now, she can pretty much get anyplace she wants to. Game on!
(I know the lighting on these videos is terrible! I will take another soon, just thought the grandparents would like to see)

8 on 10: March

2010-03-10T21:42:00.001-08:00

Huge baby

2010-03-09T20:58:00.001-08:00

We were over at our friends place the other night, they have a newborn. I was caught off guard by the HUGE baby that was sitting in Ryan's lap - it was Molly. She still seemed like such a little baby to me, but compared to a 7 lb newborn she looked enormous. All that said, I think it is now time that she moves to the big bathtub - and oh boy does she love it!

Park Days

2010-03-08T15:23:00.001-08:00

A Quick Hello

2010-02-26T17:00:00.000-08:00

I have been super busy lately - too busy to spend a lot of time here. But I have managed to take a few photos, and found a few minutes to upload them. Hope you all are doing well!

Getting outside on nice February days. Sean doing what he does best:

A impromptu beach outing with friends:

As the boys threw rocks, Molly relaxed:

Molly has also been practicing being girly, ok, not really. I just wanted put the headband on her and couldn't resist taking a pic.

Hope you have a great weekend!!!!!

Breathe

2010-02-17T16:14:00.001-08:00

Both kids are napping - I think they knew I needed this. I just graded 16 assignments, only 20 to go. . . for now . . . I can do this.

Here are a few pictures of the little ones lately:

more Molly

2010-02-02T13:27:00.000-08:00

I mean seriously . . .

2010-01-29T15:03:00.000-08:00

I know this might be one of those things that is only funny to me because I am the mom, but I figure at least the grandparents will appreciate the pictures:

I am not joking . . . the girl loves it under the couch (see post below)!

Kids

2010-01-26T18:32:00.000-08:00

I got a haircut Uncle Will.

On another note - Molly is scooting around a lot . . . backwards. This seems to be her favorite place to end up:

our kids

2010-01-25T11:01:00.001-08:00

Zoo

2010-01-20T15:17:00.001-08:00

It was a beautiful day today - I know it won't last - so Mandy and I took the kids to the zoo for a day of fun! I realized it was Molly's first trip! I think she enjoyed herself just a little. Thanks Mandy and Leta for joining us!

6 months

2010-01-15T22:17:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow Molly is 6 months old! Seriously?!?! 6 months?!?!

It is crazy how fast it has gone. Before we knew it our baby girl was rolling around, eating solids, sitting up, and grabbing for her big brothers toys. She is such a joy to watch and I am so excited for the next 6!!!!

Siblings!

2010-01-14T08:07:00.001-08:00

I thought it was interesting seeing both the similarities and differences between the kiddos at this age. I always thought they looked soooo much alike, but in the picture below you can really see their differences.

I love these kids!

10 on 10: Happy Birthday Sis!

2010-01-10T20:59:00.001-08:00

Love you!!!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-02T14:56:00.001-08:00

Lots of travel, lots of Kleenex, lots of family & lots of fun!!!!! Enjoy

Looking forward to 2010 and all it has in store for us!!!!!

Uncle Tim Santa

2009-12-08T15:59:00.001-08:00

Molly & Papa

Sean & Molly already got to see Santa this year . . . here they are waiting, Sean quite anxious . . . . well, not really anxious, more like nervous.

He did manage to get out that he wanted a "little tiny dump truck" and that his little sister wanted a "pink car".
It helps however when you realize that it is "Uncle Tim Santa" and not the "Real Santa". Phew.
It has been super fun to watch Molly lately - she is growing so fast and doing so much, and she will just stare, and smile, and laugh at her older brother. Sean likewise has been noticing her more . . . many times she will be napping in another room and he will all of the sudden say, "mom, where is Molly?!?!?!" like we lost her or something. I pray that they may have a strong bond and friendship and continue to admire and look out for one another.

That being said, I am not sure which of these two pictures I like better, the one where Molly is characteristically sticking her tongue out, or the one where she is characteristically looking at her older brother. I think they are both cute!

Is it just me . . ..

2009-12-02T09:29:00.000-08:00

Is this really strange to anyone else? The raccoon was just sitting there, pawing at the door like, "what?!?! It's not like I am some rabid prone, over sized rodent or something."

ps, not my door :)

2009-11-30T10:46:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful time in Montana over the last week. It was great to see family, get outside, and of course eat wonderful food. Here a just a few of the pictures and a couple videos from our trip. My sister-in-law Stacey got some AMAZING shots also - check it out here. Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving!!!!

This is Sean riding Shake Em, he is talking to Sassy in this video.

2009-11-20T06:56:00.000-08:00

The other weekend Ryan flew down to Los Angeles with his parents to watch the races at Los Alamitos and support his mother who was awarded a pretty prestigious award in the horse racing community. She was given the Milli Vessels award which is given to one women every year who shows an outstanding commitment and achievement within the American Quarter Horse racing industry. It is very cool to see Mary get recognition for all the hard work she does!!!

This first photo is of Ed and Mary with their friends Candace and KC. They are the ones who nominated Mary for the award! KC also received the leading Challenge Owner and Trainer of the Year!

Here is the beautiful race track at Los Alamitos!

And getting the award! Congratulations Mary!!!!!

10 on 10: November

2009-11-10T19:38:00.001-08:00

Good morning buldozer!

We had the pleasure of playing with Leta today! Yay!!

Watching the big kids

snack time

goofy kids

and tired out

nap time for Sean, play time for Molly

Nap time for kids, work time for mom

Sleepy legs

And back to play

2009-11-09T20:58:00.000-08:00

Molly at 3.5 months and Sean at 4 months. Cuties.

2009-11-06T14:36:00.001-08:00

Last weekend Ryans parents ha a 9 hour layover here - It was so good to see them and the kids had a blast with Grandma and Grandpa!

Happy Halloween from the fire breathing dragon

2009-10-31T22:04:00.001-07:00

Pumpkin Carving

2009-10-25T21:06:00.000-07:00

Today we had our first pumpkin carving experience. When Sean was asked what he wanted to put on his pumpkin he said, "mustache". Well, ok. Sorry about the ketchup on the face in this photo

Sean was a little unsure of the innards . . . he said there was scary stuff in there.
Molly was a little unsure about the whole process at first, but then we explained what we were doing and she got pretty excited.

And the finished product, mustache and all. Don't judge, it was my first pumpkin carving attempt since grade school.

2009-10-24T16:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks Mandy & Matt for the invite! We had a blast!

2009-10-23T12:41:00.000-07:00

2009-10-22T09:29:00.001-07:00

10 on 10: October

2009-10-10T23:08:00.001-07:00

2009-10-03T22:02:00.000-07:00

2009-09-26T11:52:00.000-07:00

In the last month . . . .

2009-09-09T14:55:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened. The first three photos there were taken throughout the last month. She has grown! But what a good baby she is. She is a great eater & sleeper, and she is content to just be.

I will attempt to update this blog here in one post - I am sure I will forget plenty, but I have been a little busy. Ok, where shall we start, Molly is smiling! That has been fun. She actually started smiling a few weeks ago but of course it has taken a while to document a good one.

Around the time of the first smiles our wonderful sister-in-law Stacey came out to stay with us for a week and help me with the kiddos.

It was such a blessing to have her. She is a very gifted photographer and she did us the honor of taking some pics of our family. click here for a link to see some

We just got home yesterday from a week vacation to see Ryan's parents. We had a great time as always. We got to stop in Missoula and Great Falls to visit my sister's family and Ryan's Aunt and Uncle. Here are some pictures from the trip.

The kids did great in all the car rides but it is real good to be home.

And finally, I started my new job! for those that don't know I got a job teaching high school online! If I had kept my classroom job I would have had to go back to work when Molly was 5 1/2 weeks old (and the thought of that was giving me a panic attack). So when I heard of the possibility of teaching high school online I explored it, applied, and got the job! So now I get to work from home. This is super exciting to me, but does provide its own challenges in time management. Since my work now is so computer intensive I have not been very motivated to spend any extra time in front of the screen, thus the lack of blog posts, emails, comments etc. I am sure I will find a balance . . . . . eventually.

bon jovi

2009-08-22T21:59:00.000-07:00

Our Sister-in-law, Stacey, was out visiting this last week. It was so much fun and I will post more later about her visit, but for now I want to upload a video she took of Ryan and Sean with her cell phone. This is their special song.

10 on 10 :: August

2009-08-11T11:42:00.000-07:00

Pioneer Days

2009-08-02T19:21:00.001-07:00

This past week my sister and her family were in town. We had a blast hanging out, and as usual I did not take enough (or hardly any) pictures. Here are a couple of the kids, I am working on getting a few more!

This past Saturday Ryan, the kids, and I took a quick outing down to Pioneer Days, another Seafair event, on Saturday. It was hot, but Sean had a blast on the pony rides and looking at the "fast cars". Molly was taking it all in from the stroller, but I am pretty sure she really enjoyed it.

staying cool

2009-07-31T14:36:00.000-07:00

1 week

2009-07-23T11:56:00.001-07:00

Molly is one week old today. She is doing great, as is Sean. He seems to be taking to is "baby sister" quite well. Enjoy the pictures!!!!!

Just holding hands

What do you think? Siblings?
Sean was about a week old in the picture on the left - Molly on the right.

We even got out last night to the Greenwood Seafair Parade. Good times with friends and family, and good food (thank you Goughs!). I think the kids had just a little bit of fun.

Molly Elizabeth

2009-07-18T17:34:00.001-07:00

She is finally here! Fashionably late . . . but well worth the wait. She arrived at 7:40am on July 16th weighing in at 8 lbs 6 oz and 20 inches long. She looks a lot like her older brother, but has dark hair. She has been treating us great so far and we are adjusting well to life as 4. Sean loves his "baby sister" as he most often refers to her, and frequently wants to kiss her soft head like daddy does. He is doing great. Here are a few pictures of the first couple days:

2009-06-24T09:10:00.001-07:00

Finally! It is the last day of school for me. Really, are we the last district still in session or what?!?!? So now we can get on to more important things, like mowing the lawn in our diaper, and having a baby! Hooray for summer!!!!!

ten on ten - June

2009-06-10T21:27:00.000-07:00