Starting Summer With BUBBLES

I just have to say this once around here at our house: "Does anyone want to go outside and blow bubbles?" and I hear pitter patters run at lightening speed to get shoes on and head to the back door. They are completely happy to entertain their little hearts out for atleast a good hour. Such a lifesaver on a day when I need a few minutes of peace. :) And I can't forget that it's a win-win. They're happy and so is their mama! I love bubbles. And according to these pictures, I'm not the only one!

6 Months

{Happy 6 months Andrew! We love you!!}

17.6 lbs (50%)

25.5 inches (10-25%)

It's official! My baby boy is 6 months old as of June 19th! And he's looking the part too. I just want to snuggle him and tell him to stop growing for a little while but like that's possible! John on the other hand is looking forward to him growing up so they can do father-son things like watching basketball games and pal around together. I'm really starting to see the big boy in him already and not the baby boy I've been so used to seeing since he was born. For a second or two, I was sad to see him getting so big but then I too focused on all the things I get to experience with him as he grows and gets bigger and it brought me so much happiness. Andrew is truly a blessing to me - as each of my children are. But something about having a boy makes it a different kind of special. I love him more and more with each new day and I'm thankful to be his mama!

Here's what he's been up to:

* still loves to smile!

* rolls over like a pro (started rolling at 5 months)

* scoots on his tummy and back

* starting to sit with support

* has also started showing a bit of stranger anxiety (if I'm holding him with him sitting outward and all he sees are people he doesn't know, he starts to cry until he sees me or his dad or sisters.)

* loves storytime at the library

* enjoys whipped cream on occasion (shhhh!)

* giggles and babbles (has started saying things like "coo". Other sounds too just can't remember what they are at the current moment.)

* enjoys music and being read to

* loves stroller and car rides

* enjoys the wind (who doesn't in warm Virginia summers!)

* smiles at people

* still has very strong legs while we hold him up to stand

* passes objects from one hand to another

* can usually put his pacifier back in his mouth successfully

* starting to drop toys over the side and look for them

* gets mad if he can't reach or find the toys he once had in his hand

* sucks on rattles, books, toys...you name it!

* sometimes sleeps with his blanket or burp cloth over his eyes (like he's trying to shade out the sunlight-it's quite funny!)

* loves bathtime

* really enjoys the attention he gets from his sisters - and his mama and daddy too!

Father's Day 2009

{This picture: Jocelyn's Baby Blessing: October 8, 2006 Gresham Oregon. My Dad: fourth in from the left and my step Dad: third in from the right. It's obviously time to get a more recent photo.}

Wanted to wish the men in our family as well as our close friends who are Dad's a Happy Father's Day today! We love you and are so grateful for you. Thank you for all that you do. We look forward to reuniting with our family back west in just a few short months! :)

{John and the kids after church. Yes, not the best time to take the kids pictures. AFTER church and BEFORE lunch=TIRED!}

{The girls watching the cookies bake}

{Andrew being cute as ever: playing with his toes & smiling}

{John grilling: just for the record. I DID offer to make him dinner. But he was in the mood for some grilling. Who am I to say no to that? :)}

I hope John had a great Father's Day. We spent it by going to church, John (and all the fathers at church) received a pie to take home (YUM!), naps all around, talked to family on the phone, baked cookies for our home teacher, took cookies to our home teacher and hung out with them for awhile, and ended the wonderful day by cramming in a bunch of homework before the midnight deadline. (Again, John - not me!) Whew. What a day. But it SURE was fun! "Thanks honey for being such a great Father to our wonderful children. They sure do love and admire you!"

Activity Day Camp

Aubrey had the opportunity to attend Activity Day Camp at our church. (These girls are ages 8 to 11.) She came home every day - of these two fun filled days - excited about seeing her friends, meeting new ones, and the activities they learned and were able to experience. Some of these activities include: soap carving, painted snakes (faith), helped missionaries with scripture study (highlighted verses in scriptures for investigators), made biscuits & honey butter, hand cart games, tote bag she sewed the letter "A" onto the front, songs, helped make cough pillows (serving others), decorated journals, and friendship bracelets. She's so excited to go again next year!

Things Usually Happen In Threes, Right?

I should clarify: It's not always bad things that happen in threes. The three things that I'm talking about are the three weekends straight we had with company and barbecues and I'm wiped out! Don't think I'm complaining because I'm not in any way. It was all so FUN...but exhausting. I need a good month to recover before going back to entertaining again.

The first weekend, we had my cousin Holli and her family over. As always, it was so good to see them - especially since their new addition to their family will be arriving soon. Aubrey and Jocelyn always love to see my cousin's son so they were bouncing off the walls with excitement when they were here. So fun to watch them run around in the back yard and play ball. I made the mistake of telling Jocelyn he was coming over after nap time. Therefore, there WAS no nap time! (And I sure learned my lesson not to say next time.) Luckily she slept really well that night. :) Also, for all of our outdoor eating needs, John built a lovely picnic table in just a matter of hours. Found plans online, got the supplies and worked away on it. It's really nice and we even have neighbors requesting one to be built for them! Go John!!

{Menu: Burgers, Hot Dogs, Corn on the cob, Baked Beans, Chips, Brownies and Ice Cream.}

* Made these baked beans for the first time! Definitely a "keeper recipe."

The second weekend, we had some really good friends of ours come over. (I used to be her visiting teacher and he's our home teacher who also gave Andrew his baby blessing.) The kids call them Uncle Rick and Aunt Annette. It's really cute. We had a great time eating and chatting together! And the weather couldn't have been nicer! (We have been experiencing a lot of severe thunderstorms here in the past month or so. We lucked out this day and enjoyed the outdoors!)

{Menu: BBQ wings, Ribs, Hot Dogs, Corn on the cob, Pasta salad, Baked Beans, Veggie Sticks, Cherry Dump Cake, and Lemonade.}

The third weekend that we had a barbecue was today. The weather was borderline cooperative so one of John's running buddies and his family, who we had invited over suggested we have it over at their place since they had more room to have it indoors. Another one of his running buddies and his family also joined us. One of the main reasons to have this barbecue was to see them before they moved back to California in the next month or so. Such is the military life. While it's true that I was barbecued out, I was grateful that we all got together. It was fun to finally meet the host's wife. In fact, it was pretty funny. All three of us ladies were inside gabbing away while all three of the guys were out on the deck talking away as well. I held Andrew a majority of the time so I regret to say that I didn't take any group photos. A few of Jocelyn and Aubrey was all I could muster up while I was taking care of my mommy duties. Luckily, we're all getting together one more time before they move and after both families get back from their vacations. So I'll be sure to get some photos then.

{Menu: Burgers, Hot Dogs, Potato Wedges, Baked Beans, and Mud Pie.}

* We received rave reviews on the potato wedges!

{Going...}
{Going...}
{Gone! Until next time...}

And this ends our barbecue fun. At least until July! We love spending time with our friends and look forward to more get togethers soon. Hope you are all enjoying your summer so far. :) And please try the recipes. They're SOOO good!

Last Day & End Of The Season Soccer Party

It's hard to believe that my first born is now a graduate of the 3rd grade. Seriously! Where has the time gone?!?! Unlike most kids her age, she's sad school's out. She LOVES school. Not that summer vacation isn't fun for her but she'd rather learn more spelling words (I can make some for her if she'd like!), read a ton of books (which she will be doing through the summer library reading program I signed her up for), and socializing with all of her friends (with friends coming and going and her going and coming - I'm pretty sure she'll get in a ton of socializing! Especially with girls camp this week). So that's that. We're set. And our family road trip is just around the corner. I don't think the car ride will be that boring for them either. Snoozing, movie watching, hat knitting, page turning (ie: books!) are ALL on the list of must-do! (Lucky bums! A lot more interesting than starring at the road ahead and driving! Ahh...to be a kid again.) And that's just for the car ride. There's so much more to do on the outside of car riding but I'll save that for another day.

This year's spring soccer ended awhile ago but last night was the end of the season soccer party at a local pizza joint. The party room overflowed into the restaurant dining area (which we gladly took part of due to the lack of enjoying crowded spaces) and watched all the girls hopping around and acting giddy. Like they needed the cake!! :) It looks like we'll be having a new coach for the Fall season. We'll for sure miss the old (GREAT) coaches if they decide not to return. Aubrey is already so excited for the next season to start - just as much as she's already so excited to become a 4th grader. Wow. I still can't believe it. Just as that song goes: "Don't blink." Time sure goes by quick.

{Jocelyn waiting EVER so patiently for her cheese (and only cheese) pizza to arrive!}

{But for entertainment purposes, she was on a roll. That sitting around business was MUCH too boring! Can't see what's she's doing? Let me get a better view for you...}

{That's right people. She's learned something new. Definitely a two year old little girl!:) }

{Ahum. (clearing the throat!) On to more exciting things. Trophy time! This is Aubrey with her soccer coaches. These ladies are amazing!}

{And Aubrey with her soccer buddies.}

THE END!

On The Trail Again

We're back to our Sunday drives and walks again. It's hard to stay inside when it's decent weather and Sundays are family days for us so we've made this a tradition. Either we drive somewhere or we take a walk around our neighborhood on most Sunday afternoons/evenings. I'm sure being a TRUE Oregonian has made us love and appreciate the outdoors so we take advantage of it anytime we can. Here are some pictures we took with our new camera tonight on our nature walk.

{Of course, I had to take a nap with the kids first! :)}

{Here is the start of our walk. This picture was kind of hard to get. Lately, Jocelyn doesn't want to look at the camera. So I do what I can without her cooperation. Spontaneous is good.}

{I really liked how this picture of the girls & I turned out. This was a first for the kids & I to go on this trail as John and his work buddies go running on this trail often. We've been to the park as a family before. Just not on this trail. The scenery with the nature all around us was really nice and refreshing!}

{Here's a closer shot.}

{Looking up to the sky}

{The girls were walking ahead of us here. They may look brave but they were scared out of their pants at first. This is all we heard from them while they were walking: "Are there bears out here? Are there snakes out here? Are there animals out here that are going to hurt us? Will a bear eat me? What was that sound? Oh my! Is that a fallen over dead tree? Ewww. GROSS!" LOL They were quite comical.}

{"Mama...there are snakes in here!" I checked. The coast was clear. :)}

{John and the kids}

{We heard a plane flying overhead and actually got a picture of it through a clearing in the trees.}

{Some of the nature floor we walked past.}

{And another. Only this one has some fungus. John thought it was pretty cool.}

{Andrew did so well on the walk. He kept busy by sucking on the Baby Bjorn straps. Hey. Whatever works right? :) He was content the entire time. He really is such a good boy. I just love my little guy! :)}

{And I just love my sweet girls too! We made it back to our starting point just before sunset - when the park wants us gone. The girls were worn out but we all had a great time. But NEXT time, we're wearing our tennis shoes and NOT our flip flops/ salt waters. :) Those sticks sure didn't feel so hot sliding under our bare feet. But hey - with no injuries to report, having fun is all that matters, right? Can't wait to do it again.}