a little update

We went up to the Pacific Science Center in Seattle yesterday. It seems like the kids and I have been going non-stop since summer started on Monday, and I love it. Emily just had to hold this nasty cockroach. No one else would get near it.

Emily loves to climb anything. At Sara's last tball game Emily was climbing the chain from the swings at the park over and over again. She has got some tough hands...and strong muscles! I don't know what we would do without our fun Emily around.

Tyler's report card came in the mail today and......all A's!! He is so excited for his $20 and I am taking him and a friend to the go carts. He is so happy about that. This is a picture I took right after he got his braces on two weeks ago. He WAS so happy to get them until about an hour later he started to hate them. Poor guy, I remember those days.

end of a season

Not a great picture, but I love seeing Sam on Emily's lap.
Yesterday was the final day for tball. Emily and Sara both had a great time playing this year and want to play again next year. I think the trophies played a big part in why they enjoyed it so much. Unfortunately last night Samantha got a hold of Emily's trophy and threw it on the pavement. It shattered into several pieces. Tomorrow I will get some super glue and put the puzzle together. Samantha wasn't trying to hurt it, she saw the ball on it and tried to throw it. Makes sense, right?
Samantha eating tball celebration cake.

Sara getting her trophy. Hannah behind her in the hat.

Emily and her good buddy, Clara.

Emily and Tyler during Emily's final tball game. (Her team doesn't pay much attention. By the last game they were down to playing just 2 innings)

A proud mom

I love athletics. I love watching my kids play sports. Tyler has really been the only one, until this year. I coaxed two of my girls to play tball. It didn't take any coaxing for Emily, but Sara had to be sold on the idea. They both love it. Hannah will be playing soccer in the fall. She isn't excited, but she knows that I insist she at least try it.
Emily in the field...

Chick helmet with the pony tail hole :)

Sara pretending she knows what she is doing.


A week before they started tball/and Ty started the baseball season, we had a primary talent show. Tyler and Emily performed a musical/dance number. It was great. One full minute of a big brother dancing with his princess sister to "Someday My Prince Will Come". What a good brother he is. Two weeks later they did the dance over again for the ward talent show.

Spring Break 2009

It is about time I updated my blog. I have been a little busy. ;)

This year we had the best Spring Break. First, the Friday before the break Marshall and I took off to Utah for a long weekend. Our airplane was very delayed, but with no kids it was no big deal, we arrived in SLC by about 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning. We spent four great days in Provo and Salt Lake. My parents are currently working at the missionary training center in Provo so we got to spend a lot of time there. It was amazing and Marshall and I had a much needed vacation. I got to hang out with my sister, Kirsten. She inspired me to get these nasty 10 lbs off. Nothing she said, just her walking in the room makes you want to go on a diet! Well, I have begun! I hope it sticks this time.

When we got back we took the kids to our current favorite family hotel, the Springhill Suites by Marriott. We easily fit in the rooms and the kids love to swim so we did that at least twice a day.

When we got there they had to go straight to the pool. Then got cleaned up to go to the Seattle Temple. They love walking around the beautiful grounds. Samantha was feeling sick, but she just had me hold her most of the time.



Samantha's nose was running like crazy so Tyler ran to the car for some tissues. I love that he is coming to the rescue in this picture.


The second day we went on a hike up Mt Si. It was actually Little Si, the kids loved it and can't wait to go back.


Swimming and more swimming. I didn't bother to bring a swim suit this time. I am glad Marshall did! Emily loves to make us laugh and she just walked around the pool acting like nothing was going on while she actually had this beard. She did this over and over.

Emily is 5

We have a tradition that on your birthday night you stand up on the fireplace and we all say what we like about you. Tonight when we were done we asked Emily, still in the spotlight, what she is most looking forward to this year. Of course she said kindergarten, but first she said playing baseball! She is on a team for the first time and will start practices in a month or so. Yesterday our little family went over to the church and had a little party for her. We played a new game, Hyperdash, which was a blast, but stopped working so we need to do an exchange. Then we played t-ball with her new set.
Singing Happy Birthday, Emily!

Hannah about to get hit by the bat. She was just trying to slow it down from the last hit.

Emily wearing the wings once they were ripped off the pinata.

Once it was pretty beat up by the girls, we let Tyler have a go at it.


Just the head left hanging...

Birthday party family

Today, Emily's real birthday, we had another day of fun.
After church and naps, we went to Grandma's house for dinner and a treasure hunt. Grandma (ABBY) is out of town but set up a hunt before she left. The kids had a blast finding all the clues and gifts. It was a baseball theme all around. She is all set for the season ahead. I just hope she likes it and continues now that she has all the gear.
Some wanted to get out of church clothes, others did not. Here they are holding a clue.



Emily insisted the we all do a "workout" with her after dinner and baths. They found these kids yoga workouts on demand last week. What a great way to finish the day after two cupcakes each.

Emily is a one of a kind girl. She keeps us laughing and smiling all day long.

My new favorite book.

I just finished this book last night and loved every minute of it! The character, Sarah, has a wild west kind of life, fighting off Indians and all. She is self reliant, hard working, and loves her man like I love my man. Check it out.

Dust off your roller skates!

Great news! We have a NEW roller rink that just opened up in our town last week. I can't wait to go and try it out this weekend with the kids. The roller rink used to be one of my favorite places as a kid, except the smoke, sticky seats, and scary people lurking around. Well, we have a brand new rink so no bad smells or sticky seats...yet. We will probably have some weirdos, but I won't just drop my kids off like my mom did.

Wheelz Skate Arena at 2101 So. Mildred (for all of those locals who want to check it out)

Tubing website

For all of you who would like to check out the fun on the mountain yourself...

http://www.summitatsnoqualmie.com/winter/index.asp

You can purchase tickets online, but you still have to wait in line when you get there no matter what to get your tags. Our kids loved it and it was a small crowd so we didn't feel like we would lose our kids or anything. We need to go back up to some of the open hills you don't have to pay for. Spring Break?

Any good ideas you all have for a fun Spring Break with the kids? We thought about going up to Whistler, Canada.

Tubing Snoqualmie

It is mid-winter break and we have been having a blast. Marshall took the week off and we have had the best weather. Tyler got some friends together for some soccer,football and pizza one of the days. What more do boys want? The kids were all looking forward to our tubing trip at the end of the week up at Snoqualmie Pass. We left Samantha home with our favorite babysitter so we could enjoy it more.
The four kids ready to hit the hills.

Tyler coming down the hill.

Cute Sara always smiling.

This picture is a little blurry, but you get the point. :)

The kids loved going on the pulley up the hill, but we got sick of waiting in line.

Our family, minus Samantha.

Emily is a lovable girl. She is NEVER boring.

Always in some sort of mood, and we love her.

She decided to sleep down some of the runs. The other girls would have been terrified with their eyes closed. Not Em.

When we got there Emily was not wanting to wait in line for tickets and Tyler wouldn't let her climb on the roof of the lodge. She is a wild girl.

Family Time

We love our family time. It is always great to look forward to some fun time together, but it is a lot of work. One night in Vancouver, WA, how hard could it be? Well, since I was to speak in church on Sunday I was starting out a little stressed out. I know I shouldn't be so worried, but I always am. It is over now and I feel much better.

We gave up cable last summer so the kids were glued to the television as soon as we arrived to our hotel. Is that the reason, or would they be glued anyway? I don't know. We all stayed up until after 11 to watch The Incredibles on Disney.

We were all starving when we got there so Marshall went to Red Robin and got takeout for us while the kids went swimming. We ate burgers and fries by the pool, what could be better? Marshall swam with them Friday night and I swam with them on Saturday morning.

The reason for the visit was a funeral...a happy funeral. Chalmer Pond, was Marshall's great-uncle and was ready to leave this body behind and his wife knows she will be with him again. The opening song was, "There is Sunshine In My Soul Today." That set the tone for the memorial. The kids told funny stories about thier dad. He was a fun man with a great sense of humor. I loved this picture of Marshall and Emily leaving the funeral.

Lakebay, WA

Marshall works with seven other people who are in their first year of residency at TG. We all met up for a retreat this weekend in Lakebay, WA. We were supposed to go up to the Cle Elum, WA to play in the snow, but the weather had been too extreme so the owner of the house we were to rent cancelled on us since her driveway was a sheet of ice. We quickly found this great house just passed Gig Harbor. My family stayed in the guest house and the rest of the residents and spouses stayed in the main house. It was perfect and the kids had a blast.

As soon as we woke up Saturday morning the kids were begging to go kayaking. After breakfast we got all the gear and headed out.

Hannah was really nervous. Every time we moved she thought we were all going to fall in. We dropped Hannah and Samantha off at the shore after a quick 15 minutes. Then Marshall and Tyler got their own kayaks and we raced around in three kayaks. We had a good, fun workout.

The kids swam in the hot tub a couple of different times and loved it. Hannah and Sara made up dances and songs. Emily mostly did jumps into the water and drove the rest of the kids crazy with the splashing.

This morning we saw several seals out on the docks jumping on and off. You can see them in the distance here. The kids loved this porch swing.
We plan to meet up annually with these families, but hope to make it up to the snow next year.