9 months

It's amazing how much things can change in 9 months.

Days before delivery. Who knew a 9 lb 8 oz baby was hiding in there?

A crawling, smiling, curious, little (not so little in size though- he's around 25 pounds) boy who brings us so much joy (not to mention who has given me some serious arm muscles!). We can't imagine how we lived without him :)

Little bit of randomness....

Since I have been seriously lacking in the blogging department as we have been in the midst of a series of unfortunate events.....here's a bit of randomness to catch you up on our lives.....


We completed the summer 2011 bucket list!! Even though summer weather never quite arrived in the Seattle area, we still achieved 30 items. We had so much fun planning fun outings, eating at favorite/new places, and doing "summery" things at home. I want to do one for the school year now too. Um, maybe not. We barely have time to read stories at night we're so busy! And we only have 2 children in school!! I fear for the future.....

Clint and I have now been married 9 whole years. Growing up, my mom would put on her wedding dress on every anniversary and my parents would take pictures as a couple and as a family. It was fun to see us kids growing up in each picture. We decided to start the same tradition each year in our family. Instead of my wedding dress only being worn once in its lifetime, it gets worn once a year. And yes, it still fits. And actually, it is a lot looser on me than on my wedding day.

We ended the summer with a Mariner's Game:

Aren't these boys delicious? Especially the one on the left. He is a spitting image of his older brother except for the red hair (that is beginning to curl!)
This girl keeps us on our toes. She will be having surgery in a few weeks to fix a minor bladder issue. We were hoping that they could fix some other things too....but that would make life too easy for us. She's the one here to teach us.

We have lots of crud going on right now and it seems like there is no end to it, but we will come out of it sooner or later, or our perspective will change..... The one thing that has been therapeutic for both of us has been training to run a 1/2 marathon on Oct. 1. The training schedule has been tricky, but once I get out running for an extended amount of time, the stress starts to subside. It's a great time to meditate and pray.

That's all the randomness for now.....

School days

This post is a bit overdue, but life's been a bit crazy busy lately. And as my kids get older, I am getting the feeling that this is the new pace of life.

Jack started 1st grade. He is in a 1/2 split with his best friend and really likes his teacher. He loves going to school every day. Soccer season started again and games begin this week.

Lindsey started preschool at the same elementary school Jack went to for preschool. She goes 4 mornings a week. She is also in class with 2 of her best friends and likes her teachers.

With the 2 older kids in school, it means I get to spend a lot of time with this handsome fella. He is trying soooo hard to crawl, but hasn't quite mastered it yet (which I am grateful for) and he cut three teeth this week.

We took a quick family vacation last month to central Oregon. We stayed at the same resort that my family stayed at 10 years ago (the vacation in which my "friend" Clint came along). We credit Eagle Crest as the place where we started liking each other. It was fun to go back and bring the kiddos. We took a picture at this exact spot 10 years ago, which I wish I could upload, but that was in the years before digital cameras :). Let's just say I think we're a lot cuter now :)