Good work

Each of the grandkids have a tree planted in their honor on my parents' property but a few years ago Ava's Aspen got sick and it finally conked out this year, so my dad took her to pick out a new tree and they chose a Sugar Maple (she calls it a Sweet Maple!) so we headed out awhile ago to plant it.

Jemma Jane loving her bare toes in the grass!

Digging the hole (with a little help from Grandpa and some supervision from Daddy)

A sweet maple for a sweet girl!

Cleaning up!

And of course finishing with a bowl of ice cream!

When they were all done, sweet Jack touched a leaf on the tree and said, "Have a good life!"

Happy Mother's Day to me!

I really like Mother's Day!

I woke up to Jack's sweet face saying, "Happy Thanksgiving!"

Then he said, "Hmmm. Stay there just a minute." And then I heard him pitter patter back to the kitchen where Ed was making breakfast and he came back and yelled, "Happy Mother's Day!"

We started with breakfast (and presents!) here.

Did lots of cuddling here.

And finally headed here for some fun and some Starbucks.

Celebrating at Grandma and Grandpa's

Will got to raise the flag this time, while Jack played a tune on his whistle.

Happy Mother's Day to my mom!!
Jemma's giving her some love.

Happy Birthday (again) to Paula!

Brooklyn got every last crumb!

The boys did a ton of running and wrestling (as usual).

Later that night, we heard Jack yelling and we went in his room where he was sitting up in bed, fast asleep, yelling, "Will! Will!"

And today he said, "I love Will...he plays with me, and he loves me, and he wrassles with me."

Really, what more do you need?

The latest project.

Our next big project is our backyard.

Ed sprayed and killed it a few weeks ago and we (and by that I mean Ed) are going to dig it up, flatten it out, and hopefully get ourselves a beautiful green yard.

The lovely Before shot.

Sharpening the chainsaw.

Digging out some seriously scrappy shrubs.

Look what we found!!

Grandparents Day!

Friday was Grandparents Day at Ava's school and her class did a fantastic presentation of poems and songs and verses that they have memorized this year (aren't they cute?!)

Ed's parents came up for the day and they took the kids to lunch and then while Jack and Jemma were napping they took Ava back to the school for the Talent Show and then of course to Starbucks!
After dinner, we went back to the school for the Open House where we saw some of Ava's hard work on display and we checked out First Grade to see what she'll be doing next year.

Nice shot, huh? I was standing in the sun and the kids wouldn't look at me!

Bringing home the (turkey) bacon.

Sweet Jem at six months!

I love this face! And the sweet pea that goes with it!

Jemma Jane is now six months old but she is still our baby! She can't sit up or eat crackers or do really any of the things her brother and sister did at this age. She loves to just sit on my lap and observe. She is serious but smiley and she loves, loves to lay in her crib and think important thoughts.

I told her the other day that it was time to start growing up so she has started eating rice krispies (loved them!), playing in the walker (did not love that), and playing on her tummy (really does not love that!)

Sitting up! Woo hoo!....and just a second later....

oops! But still smiling for the camera!

Retro Friday

This weekend, last year.

I love this shot--it's so almost-summery!

My eternal optimist

Jack is a cheerful little buddy.

He's a definite glass-half-full kind of kid. The other day we saw a guy on a unicycle and he says, "Hey! That guy lost one of his tires..(pause)..oh well, he's doing pretty good with just one!"

And his favorite phrase is "I love..." as in "Chex for breakfast? I love Chex!" or "a water bottle for me? I love water bottles!" or "we're taking Ava to school? I love taking Ava!" (and these are just from this morning!)

It's good to be his mom.

Bloomsday!

We, along with 55,000 others, headed to Spokane for Bloomsday, a 7.46 mile road race, one of the largest in the country. A good number of our running group made it, along with Ed and Shawna's husband Josh, and after a chilly start, we had a good time (and even a little sun)!

Josh and Ed both finished in under an hour!

Lunch at Red Robin after the run. Yum.

And look, we're still smiling!

Later that day (after a nap!) we walked the kids to the park and store.

Jemma hitched a ride.

Jack LOVES a good mud puddle! He stomped in every one he could find and on our way back he said, "Hey! My mud puddles are still here! Hey mud puddles!"

Ava's very favorite activity!

Later that night, Ed relaxed by doing this (with a big ol' glass of Fosters).

While I did this.

Sweet baby Cate.

We were lucky enough to meet new little Cate, a baby whose birth my kids have been anticipating for awhile now. Ava of course has been immensely busy taking care of her own baby Cate and, as she informed me, newborns really wear her out! And Jack was sure to include her in his little prayer, "Dear Lord, gank you for Miss Sarah's teeny baby, please love her and keep her safe."

Happy May Day!

After helping me pick tulips for our house, Ava trotted over to our neighbor Miss Candy's house with specially made May Day basket of flowers to hang on her door. Miss Candy, who we are pretty sure is well into her 90's and just about four feet tall, reciprocated with a plate of homemade cookies!

Retro Friday

This weekend, 2007

Toddlin'

My guitar hero

The kids love when Ed has his friends over and this time they played Guitar Hero. I was gone but Ed made sure to get some good shots for me!

Jack was pumped before the guys got there, and he was running around yelling, "Metallica, Metallica!"

This is driving me nuts!!

Watch out for the "global health emergency" coming soon to a city near you. You might get a sore throat, headache, and upset stomach.

"A total of 11 countries now have at least one case, and the number of confirmed cases is 331, according to the World Health Organization, up from 257 Thursday." 331. In the world.

A member of Obama's staff tested but positive but thank goodness "he had not come within 6 feet of the president." (sounds like an important guy, huh?) "'The family members experienced mild to moderate symptoms, received no medications and recovered," Gibbs said, adding that the individual is back at work now.'"

"In some cities, officials have closed entire school districts after a single student becomes ill, causing some to wonder if the country is overreacting." Ya think??

"Richard Besser, acting director of the CDC, said that health officials hoped the closures would help stem the spread of the virus in affected states, although he added that it remained to be seen whether the strategy would actually work. 'We want to make sure that school closure is in fact lowering the risk of spread in a community,' Besser told "Good Morning America" Thursday. 'The goal is not to send the children out into the community.'" Like into daycares, the mall, the park...you know all the places you go when you have an unexpected day off.