Missing In Action

Crystal has been too busy doing other things to update her blog, so I am taking the controls for this flight. We went to deception pass on Monday for FHE. Crystal went to Issaquah on Thursday to see some of our old friends & do some stamping. Tonight was date night and we saw Vantage Point. It was pretty intense, I especially liked the chase scene because the cars were invincible, and amazingly enough, no pedestrians were injured. Well, I guess that's it. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Asher and Henry

Crystal and Catherine

Halle took this one, I think she was going impressionistic here

You'll never see another one like it...

Asher loves his boots, give the guy a break

Happy Belated President's Day

I took the kids to the beach on Monday to enjoy the sun and sea (something we don't do often enough). We were equipped with a few rubbermaid containers, plastic spoons, coats, crocs and the camera and we were set! The kids had a ball digging in the sand, throwing rocks (we only had a couple close calls) and playing in, on and with the drift wood. I'm hoping this post will spark some jealously so all of you will plan a visit in the near future!

"That one's too big Asher!"

My little Halle monkey

A terrified Haven who had intended to climb "all the way to the top"

We concluded our President's Day at Dustin and Ciera's for a hot dog and marshmallow roast. Dustin had a rip-roaring fire going and had pulled his tractor up so we could put the food in the bucket, who needs a picnic table when you have a John Deer!

If you click on the picture to enlarge it you can tell just how hot the fire was.

One other highlight of our day was when Jenna (0ne of my laurels) brought me "Happy President's Day Treats," being that I am her Young Women President. I felt so loved. Thanks Jenna!

The Puppy Party

Last week was Haven's 4th birthday so we invited some friends and family over for a puppy party. The kids decorated puppy ears and a collar and Mike painted their faces. Then we played a couple rousing rounds of Trainer Says (the dog version of Simon Says) and hunted for dog bones (sugar cookies). This was the perfect party for Haven and I loved how all of the kids really played up their puppy role!

The Birthday Puppy

Rylin didn't really appreciate her puppy ears

Joy is admiring her painted puppy face!

Such obedient puppies

We served puppy chow and brownie bones in dog bowls

All of the puppies were so excited about the presents!

Mike painted this cute dog house for our front door, so we had to take pictures of all of our puppy guests... first up, Asher and Brinlee

Dallin and Kara

Joy helping Paul keep his ears up

Kaden and Parker (who is howling)

and Frances

I have to give a shout out to Family Fun magazine for the brilliant idea of a puppy party!

The Woman's Trip (as Haven called it)

For Christmas, my mom gave all of us girls a one night getaway. So on Friday, we left OH around 2 PM and headed north to Lynden. We stayed at a cozy condo on a beautiful golf course (I can't remember what it is called) and had a grand old time. We shopped, ate dinner at Red Robin, and then hung out in the hot tub for almost 2 hours. Then we retired to our "Sports Cabana" and started a movie, complete with all the necessary sweets. On Saturday we did a little more shopping, ate lunch at the Olive Garden, got a pedicure or manicure, saw 27 Dresses, did a little more shopping and then finished off the evening at Red Robin for Mile-High-Mudpie. It was fantastic!

Amanda sporting her swimsuit and winter parka as we headed out door for the hot tub.


Ciera, in her fabulous towel turban.

Ciera, Sarah and Amanda waiting in the cold for mom to checkout so we could take a picture.

The girls (a little blurry, but what can you expect when you hand your camera off to a stranger)

It's become a tradition to get our own piece of mud pie when we're on our girls trip. In years past, our waitress' have made some snide remarks, such as, "you all want your OWN piece...we're going to have to roll all of you out of here!" But this time, our waitress rocked and told us how awesome we were. She is a smart girl!

Thanks Mom, Sarah, Ciera and Amanda for a great weekend!