Our September

And just like that....we are into October.
 Here's a few glimpses of our September.... (and these uploaded in the wrong order...so they go from today back to the beginning of the month :))

 Pre-fort building this morning.

 Scones at the Puyallup Fair. We are NEVER going on a Saturday again. Way too many people, lines and money spent :(

 $20 bucks bought the kids 3 rides a piece.

 Milking the cow.

 Chad and Elenia came to town for their Open House. We went to a Mariner's Game.

 Lindsey played soccer for about 5 minutes. We put her on a team, only to find out that she was not quite ready for an organized sport. She looked cute in her uni though!

 We love hiking!

 Some friends took us boating. Too chilly to ski or tube, but the boys jumped in the water.

 We had to knock bowling off the old bucket list. This year went smoother than last year. The kids seemed to enjoy themselves a little longer :)

Jack and Linds are in school all day, but are enjoying their teachers and friends. Lindsey has made a pretty smooth adjustment....we still have a few things to work on, but I think she's going to make it as a successful kindergartner! Blake and I spend our mornings going for a walk/run and running our errands. Afternoons are spent on the couch while he naps in my arms (that's the only way he'll sleep longer than 45 minutes). I don't feel particularly productive, but I am trying to cherish this time I have with him. 

Happy October!!

Chad + Elenia

My little brother, Chad, married his sweetheart, Elenia, August 11th in the Oquirrh Mt Temple.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the day:

The two cousins up to no good, as usual :)

Lindsey's best smile of the day :)

The original 5 (plus 1). Funny thing is that all three of us kids are married 5 years apart (Me 7/6/2002, Erin 9/8/2007, Chaddy 8/11/12)

Our new entire family

So excited to have a new sister in law!

We had a mini family reunion the week before the wedding in Utah. We also got to see some old friends, do a lot of swimming, and eat lots of yummy food. The week went too fast!! But we are so excited to  have a new sister in law and aunt!!

LOVE this picture of these two. I'm blowing it up to put on their walls :)

We all love the water...time to move somewhere where they actually have outdoor pools!!

Twins in their matching strollers.

Not sure what Blakey is doing, but love this one of Erin and I.

Congrats Chad and Elenia!!

School days

I have much to catch up on with blogging (i.e. our whole summer :)), but I now have a LOT more time since I have only ONE child at home now! With Jack starting 2nd grade and Lindsey starting full-day kindergarten, my life has changed drastically. I've only had 2 days so far, but I think I'm going to like it :)

 How is this girl old enough to start Kindergarten?!? My life is a whole lot quieter with her gone all day. And maybe I can still teach Blake that hitting is not the answer?!?

 Big boy Jack in his "skinny jeans" and "skater shoes". He is 7 going on 15.

 "O" means kindergarten :)

 Me and the babes. Only 4 more years till he ships out. Wow...that seems like a long time :)

Side note about my arms....mostly they really bug me in pictures because they look SOOOOO big (and not always buff :(), but I am trying to accept the fact that this is what you get when you lug around a larger than life baby for 20 months.  Oh Blakey!

I stole these pictures from my friend Kristy. These are the best buddies:

 Abby and Lindsey. Sad not to be in the same class (but for the best) but they get to "see each other at recess!!"

 Jack and Dallin. Sad not to be in the same class and different recesses! Good thing they live close and see each other lots outside of school :)

Olive and Blake. No words necessary.

See you soon! Planning to blog at least a few times a week while Blake naps on me :)

Must be in the genes.....

We had a stake 5k a few months ago that Clint and I planned to run. At the last minute, Jack decided to run with us. He ran under an 8 minute mile, and we crossed the finish line together. We signed him up for his first "official" 5K last weekend. He ran with Clint and did a fantastic job! He ran a little over an 8 minute mile.

 He ended up finishing 5th in his age group (which was 13 and under!). The 4 finishing in front of him were boys aged 12 and 13 (Jack is 7). Way to go Jack Jack!!

 For his half birthday (since all of our children have birthdays within 4 weeks of Christmas, we save a gift or two for summer break!), Jack attended a basketball clinic put on my the Harlem Globetrotters! He had a great time and learned some new tricks :)

 For Lindsey's half birthday, we went to Remlinger Farm: rides, train, animals, fun.

See this boy? He is so darn cute, but he is trouble! He is now a screamer (how is it fair that we created 2 screamers?!?), into EVERYTHING, fearless (you should see him in the water and the kitchen table), and completely adorable. He knows how to wear a mama out :)

Paradise

We spent the last week in the Riviera Maya (south of Cancun Mexico) to celebrate my birthday and our 10th anniversary (I am still flabbergasted that we have been married that long!!). We left our children in the capable hands of my mom and dad, Clint's sister and brother-in-law, Clint's parents, and our friends Ryan and Quinae and Josh and Kristy. It took a lot of scheduling and leg work, but I hope no one felt too overwhelmed by our busy brood. 

We spent the week relaxing, eating, and swimming. We stayed at a beautiful resort (Valentin Imperial Maya if you're wondering)....an all-inclusive, adults only resort. My kind of place :)

The first day we were the whitest people at the resort. We sunscreened up, spent a few hours in the ocean and at the pool and quickly became the reddest people at the resort. I felt like we needed to have signs on our foreheads informing people that we were from Seattle (what is that warm yellow thing in the sky called again?!?). 

 For my birthday, we took an excursion to Mayan Adventures which included ziplining (so scary until I actually was pushed off the edge of the huge tower and then I loved it), rappeling off a 70 foot tower (um, this one never got to the fun part....it was just scary!!) and then snorkeling in a cenote.

 All geared up to zipline and rappel.

 Clint finishing up his run.

 

Snorkeling in  the cenote (an underground swimming hole)

 The view from our seats under our palapa.

 All cleaned up for one of our dinners out. The resort had 8 different restaurants to choose from: anything from seafood to steak to sushi to french. Everything was delicious and we loved trying a different place each night.

 Birthday dinner at the Lobster Pot.

 Lovin' that ocean (and being the only girl under 65 in something other than a bikini)

 Notice my friend? Luckily, he never tried to join me for a swim!

 The view from our balcony.

 The only couple at the entire resort without a drink in their hands :) (well, we did try a few virgin pina coladas and strawberry daquiris)

 This was our favorite thing to do in the pool. Unfortunately, this is also what caused our 2nd degree burns our first day :(

We did a lot of lounging. I can't remember the last time I've been so lazy, but it really felt sooooo good.

Good-bye Mexico!! We leave redder, fatter and much happier! We will be back (and next time we want friends....so if you're interested.....)

We made friends with a flight attendant on the way to Cancun and she surprised us with 1st class seats on the way home. Perfect way to end our vacation (but I don't think I can ever go back to coach :))

Happy 10 years to us!!