Merry Christmas

2011 Santa Picture

Our Christmas card pic this year!
Our tree is the one in the background :)

Me & my girl had a special pre-Christmas date
at the Nutcracker ballet!
It was a fun girly date, for us!

We wish all of our friends and family a very Merry Christmas
and blessings for a fabulous New Year!

Trick-Or-Treat

Our Halloween night was spent with our good friends the Newgard & Riggs Families!

The whole gang
Not to shabby, smiles all around
(except for my sick little skeleton)

Kids group shot,
much easier this year than in years past ;-)

A little smile from my sickie :(

The cutest little witch I ever did see!

♥Love♥

Love our
pumpkins!

Pumpkin Carvin'

Last Thursday night we had a family pumpkin carving session! It.Was.Fun! We had a pizza and salad dinner. Followed by some yummy pumpkin cream cheese whoopie pies, courtesy of Joe's girlfriend Danielle. Then we carved pumpkins, they took up my whole kitchen table plus our island counter space! The kids helped by cleaning out their pumpkins, then they gave Daddy directions on what they wanted carved. They loved how their pumpkins turned out, thanks to Daddy! Here are some pics from the fun night we had :-)

Norah really liked getting all the goo and guts out, she did great!

Nolan wasn't quite as thrilled by it, but he still was a good helper.

Pumpkins galore!

Even my sis and her hubby drove up from Olympia after they got off work to take part in the carving extravaganza!

Me and Norah are sorting seeds here!
Seeds for roasting are a must!!!

More seed sorting ;)

My little ones with their pumpkins!

Happy Halloween !!
I hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday!

Better late than never!

Over Labor Day weekend we headed to Lake Easton state park to do some camping Newetta style(our family + our besties the Newgards)! So this post is over a month old but there are some super cute pictures that I couldn't pass up sharing!

On our camping trip we.....

climbed trees,

had dirty faces with cute smiles,

had awesome food,
cooking mostly by the hubbies in dutch ovens,

wore zip-up hoodies on the cold mornings,

and played in the water during the HOT days!

For a lot of hours!

took breaks from playing in the water to be girly
and lay in the sun with pink shades!

and got super dirty as little boys should
playing in the sand,

Had hot chocolate to warm up those little bodies

and did a lot of "cheers" with above mentioned hot chocolate!

and sat around the campfire in 4 cute little campin' chairs!

If your a kid and your feet/shoes get THIS dirty,
you know a good time was had by all!!!!!

Our 1st & only zoo trip this summer.....boo!!!

It was probably a combo of our not so stellar PNW summer, and the fact that we were very busy, but I'm sad to say we only made it to the zoo once! And, I only managed to take one kid :( But, there is always next year and I have vowed to buy a membership and go a lot more often, because this kid just loved it!!!!

Nolan with one of his best buds Carson, climbin' all over that bear at the zoo entrance!

Nolan says "the map will show us the way to go"

The Meerkat exhibit is fun! They are super cute to watch and you can just see how much personality they have. One of my favorite stops :)

We visited Budgie Buddies and...

....loved on a camel!
Nolan wasn't quite as adventurous as Carson on this particular day and passed on the chance to RIDE the camel.

My handsome little guy,
with his 'new' cheese face for the camera.
I ♥ it!

Preschool

Well, preschool started yesterday for this mister, and he just loved it! I stayed up after getting off work so that I could drop him off for his very first day. It was much harder on me than on him, that is for sure. I had to hold back tears as he was standing in line waiting to go into class. He's my baby, quite the momma's boy and I just can't believe he's already old enough to be in preschool! As hard as it was for me I couldn't be happier with the school we chose for him. It's called Celebration Friends Preschool and it is held at Celebration Lutheran on South Hill. The teachers and staff are great, the atmosphere is friendly and welcoming and they have a great curriculum. The kids also have chapel time every Thursday with the church's pastor, which I am thrilled about. When he got home that afternoon he was all smiles, wearing his preschool crown and excited to tell me about his day. He even had homework, so cute!
Here are some pictures of his first day, enjoy :-)

In the parking lot posing for the camera!
I ♥ this picture

He couldn't stop jumping while waiting in line, the excitement was too much for him!

Nolan and Mollie
My cousin's daughter who is the same age as Nolan is in his class. How fun to know someone on your first day!

One last hug for momma before heading to class.

I love the look on his face, there is just something about it that says I love you mommy!

1st Day of 1st Grade......

..... for my little miss Norah! It's really hard to believe that she will be gone from 8:40 to 3:16, 5 days a week, it makes me a little bit (actually a lot bit) sad. However, I know she loves school and loves her friends, and will grow to love her new teacher too. It's just me (oh and Nolan too) that will have to adjust to her being not here. Nolan has already asked when we get to pick up sissy 3 times! Here is her morning before her first day of first grade.....

Whole wheat pancakes and apple juice, just what the body needs for a good start to the day!

Brother is gonna miss his big sissy so he's showin' her some love. I'm not quite sure what the expression on his face is all about?

It's blurry, but this is how super excited she was for school.

Looking so grown up! Where is my baby?
♥

She had to make sure I got a shot of her new kicks!
They are Sketchers, they are Sporty Shorty and they light up!!! They are a BIG deal to her!

Just a little bit more ♥ from brother before we head off to school!

And she says "mom, NO more pictures, lets go!"

P.S. It's been a long time since I've blogged, I can't seem to find the time for it. But, I'm hoping that with summer ending it will fit back in somewhere in my crazy, busy little life. We have been up to lots over the past month or so, so I'll just make a little list....
A wedding at a winery
An amazing coastal backpacking trip, just me and the hubby
My loves 30th birthday and a BBQ for him
Work for me and lots of work for the hubby
Bridal shower planning and hosting(for my beautiful little sis)
Playing outside with frequent dips in the pool and trips to the park
Trips to Grandma and Grandpa's house
Bachelorette party FUN in Portland and White Water rafting the White Salmon
Preschool and elementary school prep
The stomach flu :( for me and Norah
and now the 1st day of school for my 1st grader!

Next up a long weekend camping trip with our absolute best friends the Newgards! I am excited, my hubby is excited and the kids are beyond excited!! I can't wait to hit the road tomorrow and am so looking forward to relaxing in the sun, by the lake, watching the kids play, sippin' a simple vodka drink ;)

AND if all this weren't enough Nolan, my momma's boy starts his very first day of preschool next Tuesday..... tears for sure from this momma!

Six!

Today my 'baby', first born the one who made me "mommy" is 6! WOW time has sure flown by, sometimes it feels like I just found out we were pregnant, now she's 6.....crazy to say the least. She is turning into quite the awesome little lady, if I do say so myself. She is smart, fun, pretty, athletic and VERY creative. Not a single day goes by that I don't hear "I made this for you Mommy"! She is definitely an artist, and I love it! She makes us smile a lot, thanks Norah! She is a great older sister, they rarely fight and I know Nolan thinks the world of her. She will be in first grade next year and I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with myself when she is at school ALL day. I already missed her enough this year and she was only gone for 2 1/2 hours! But, she loves school, so for that I am thankful. Big news too, as of last week she has her very 1st loose tooth! She's excited(and so am I)!

Saturday we had a backyard, butterfly themed birthday party for my little princess! I think it turned out great and was a really fun time, for the kids as well as the adults ;-)

I made her this butterfly shaped cake(super easy) and she helped me decorate it! I loved how it turned out and so did all her little friends!

One happy girl!

The spread :)

Probably my most favorite pic of the day! They really do love each other!

She had everything butterfly, thanks uncle Joe for the cute butterfly wings(even if you had help picking them out ;)) And thanks Auntie Sarah for the crown and super cute birthday butterfly skirt!

Had to get a couple of this little guy, he had just as much fun at the party as she did!

We had a water balloon fight that was a BIG hit!

She got spoiled with SO many great gifts! Here she is opening her 1st set of golf clubs from Papa!

The Happy Birthday song!

Making that one special wish

Enjoying her sweet treats

These 2 little buds were happy blowing bubbles!

We had a pinata, so fun to watch all those little ones swing away at that thing!

Norah knocked it down then proceeded to beat on it!

A little birthday love from one of her very best friends Alissa!

The kiddos ended the night with a their besties the Newgards, just chillin on the couch watching a movie! It was a great day!

Happy Birthday sweet girl, we all love you so very much!!!!!!!