An EPIC adventure

We just got home from a couple of fun days at Great Wolf Lodge.  My kids summed up our trip in one word....EPIC!!!!!  Megan's favorite "ride" was the hot tub and Jordan's was the Howlin' Tornado...complete opposite ends of the spectrum.  Here are a few pictures I managed to get them to stand still long enough to take.  One picture I didn't get on camera, but will forever be in my mind...my sister's face when our tube went down a drop off in the Howlin' Tornado...nothing like a thrill ride with your big sis to make you feel like a kid again!!!!

 

A Touching Story

As I am mainly using this blog to make my blog books, I thought I'd include a touching story that I put on Facebook so I can remember it in the future.  It started with this post on August 9, 2014...

My day just keeps getting worse.   My car overheated yesterday and I was spending the morning trying to figure out where to get it towed.  I decided to take a break from the stress of that and take the kids on a fun little outing to go pick blueberries at a free u-pick place.  On the drive there I was feeling annoyed that I had to drive Andrew's car without AC and that the car was on empty.  We picked blueberries for 20 minutes or so and Meg got thristy, so we walked back to the car to get a water bottle, only to discover that someone had smashed in our window and taken my purse that was tucked under the seat. Am grateful for a sister who was closeby and had cash so I could fill up my empty tank...grateful for a little boy who said softly from the back seat, "Mommy, I think I should say a prayer."...grateful to be able to drive home to a neighborhood where I feel safe...grateful for a husband who is handy with cars and is currently fixing the window himself. I'm supposed to be playing in a production of the Sound of Music in about a half an hour, with no way to get there...guess they'll just have to do without a viola...people always joke that the viola is expendable anyway :)

and ended with this post a few days later...

Just got off the phone with a nice lady who was out tracting for the Jehovah's Witnesses on Saturday and found my "recommend for the Mormon temple" lying in the street near the blueberry farm where my purse was stolen.  She told the other woman with her, "This is very important to someone.  I must track her down."  It made me smile knowing that there are good, kind people in this world who despite differences in theology, still respect the cherished beliefs of others.

September Birthdays

Andrew will no longer be celebrating his birthday alone, as Austin was born 2 days after his birthday.  We celebrated with Andrew's side of the family on his birthday and with my side of the family on Austin's birthday.  It was lots of celebrating...but for a very good reason....

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a Facebook post I made on Austin's birthday...."My baby turned 1 today and it leaves me wondering where the time has gone.  I remember with my first baby, the first year seemed like it took forever as I adjusted to my new life as a mother, but with baby number 3 the year just whizzed by. These are some things I love about my littlest guy.
1.  He still hasn't learned to crawl, but has perfected the scooting motion and has it down to a perfect art.  As a result, he's wearing the bums out of his pants, which makes me smile.
2.  He loves to eat and has eaten pretty much everything I've given him, except for the time he cried when Megan gave him mint ice cream...which may have been because it was too cold. 
3.  He loves stuffed animals, especially the really soft and fluffy ones.
4.  He loves his bed and is a really good sleeper...except for at the cabin...which  resulted in me making the two hour drive home with him in the middle of the night...but that's a long story....
5.  He is a super happy little guy and is always smiling, showing off his adorable dimples.
6.  His most favorite thing in the whole wide world, besides maybe his binky, is his daddy.  When Andrew is home all he wants to do is be held by his daddy.  When I try to take him away so Andrew can do something else, Austin sobs and sobs like his heart is breaking.  It is very sad, but very endearing at the same time. 

I could go on and on, and it looks like I already have,  but we just love him to pieces and have enjoyed every moment of his first year!  Happy Birthday to our little man...who isn't so little...did I mention he's wearing 2T????"

Firsts..

 First day of school...1st and 3rd grades

First Seahawks game of the season...finding a shirt for Jordan was quite the ordeal. Those things must have been flying off the shelves, because after striking out at all the regular stores, I had Andrew check out a grocery store on his way home from work. He couldn't find one, but a nice lady at the customer service desk said she had one stashed behind the counter that she was going to give to her grandson. SCORE!!! Go HAWKS!!!!

 

...and first time for this...and so it begins!!!!

School Haircut- Before and After

Pack Trip

Andrew took the kids on the family pack trip, which was to Twin Sisters Lake this year.  I had to stay behind with Austin, but luckily Andrew took lots of pictures to document the trip.  The kids had a great time being with a ton of cousins in the great outdoors. So fun to see this tradition being passed onto the next generation.... 

 

 

 

 

More Summer Fun

We spent time cooling off at a newly-discovered swimming hole near our house...

and went hiking at Union Creek Falls

....and of course, some much needed time at the cabin.  Andrew had a week off so we spent 10 days up there, something we had never been able to do before.  The trip went great until the last few days when Austin decided he'd rather cry than go to sleep in the middle of the night.  This resulted in me making the 2 hour drive home with him in the middle of the night when I just couldn't take it anymore.  We made it through 7 nights...just couldn't do 2 more. 

The brothers built a bunk house this summer as we have officially outgrown the cabin.