Here are my kids with a brilliant idea from their dad tightrope walking across boards in the living room. I didn't mind Brooklyn doing it, but Beckham is a wild man....then I watched him do it and he is quite the dare devil and good at it too. And next week we have tickets to the circus, yipee!! Brooklyn has been asking me since last spring if we could go and it's finally come to town. She is sooo excited.
The other video would not upload on blogger so click on this link to see it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSJv4pOYX1o
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Back to regular life (not such a bad thing)
Soooo, we have had an awesome fun filled summer and we are going to have a fun fall too. But the best thing is we are back on schedule. Chris started his 3rd and final year of law school today....Yay!!! The first two years have gone by pretty quick so I know this year will. Chris received his offer from Perkins Coie and is so relieved. This year will be his easiest year...he'll still have tough classes but no writing classes and not as much law review stuff plus his schedule is really nice and open.
I am having fun with the kids, Brooklyn will be starting an ABC artist class in a few weeks as well as a ballet class, she is so excited and can't wait to do them....in the meantime we do school activities every day and she loves it. Beckham is a handful at the moment, he is such a fun kid but is getting into everything and teething at the same time so he is super cranky. And he still doesn't sleep through the night and he won't quit nursing....whatever!!!! I hope things start getting better there. I just bought the dreamweaver program with training DVD's to learn web design so I can start a web page for Word Boutique and tweek the warnerportraits website. I am really excited to learn about making websites and really excited to put some of my new and recent portrait work on there.
We had some down time the last few weeks which were great, we played a lot of video games, went to the park, shopping aquarium and watched the olympics it was really nice to have no schedule.....except I thought neither Chris or I would be working but I got a ton of photo jobs so it worked out for Chris to be at home while I did those.
We were able to celebrate our anniversary by going to the temple and it was so nice. We had been fasting and praying that things would work out for Chris' job and Heavenly Father blessed us so it was a really good day. We are really excited to start planning post school stuff now. Going on a trip, buying a house, etc. So it's actually a reality now instead of a dream.
We were invited to 3 parties on Saturday and each one was really fun. The first one was for two little girls. Their mom was the one who worked at drugstore.com with Chris and referred him to Perkins so it was so fun to tell her that he got the job. I took some pictures of her girls and the kids played and had a blast. It was at a park on Lake Sammamish in Issaquah. There was a fun playground, and ducks to chase and a dock with slides and diving board and a floating trampoline. We all had a lot of fun and want to go back.
The second party was for the gospel essentials class from church, Chris is a ward missionary so we were invited along with new members of the ward to a guy who owns a lake house out in Maple Valley/Black Diamond. It was so fun. His backyard was grass down to a lake with a dock and the water was warm and there was an awesome view of Mt. Rainier. Again, the kids and us had a lot of fun. There were a few older girls there and they let Brooklyn pal around with them it was so cute.
From there it was my party, I dropped the kids and Chris off and went to my friend, Janeece's house. It was a girl's night to make pizza and gab...we had a blast and I didn't leave until midnight...we've got to do that more, so it was a good weekend.
I am having fun with the kids, Brooklyn will be starting an ABC artist class in a few weeks as well as a ballet class, she is so excited and can't wait to do them....in the meantime we do school activities every day and she loves it. Beckham is a handful at the moment, he is such a fun kid but is getting into everything and teething at the same time so he is super cranky. And he still doesn't sleep through the night and he won't quit nursing....whatever!!!! I hope things start getting better there. I just bought the dreamweaver program with training DVD's to learn web design so I can start a web page for Word Boutique and tweek the warnerportraits website. I am really excited to learn about making websites and really excited to put some of my new and recent portrait work on there.
We had some down time the last few weeks which were great, we played a lot of video games, went to the park, shopping aquarium and watched the olympics it was really nice to have no schedule.....except I thought neither Chris or I would be working but I got a ton of photo jobs so it worked out for Chris to be at home while I did those.
We were able to celebrate our anniversary by going to the temple and it was so nice. We had been fasting and praying that things would work out for Chris' job and Heavenly Father blessed us so it was a really good day. We are really excited to start planning post school stuff now. Going on a trip, buying a house, etc. So it's actually a reality now instead of a dream.
We were invited to 3 parties on Saturday and each one was really fun. The first one was for two little girls. Their mom was the one who worked at drugstore.com with Chris and referred him to Perkins so it was so fun to tell her that he got the job. I took some pictures of her girls and the kids played and had a blast. It was at a park on Lake Sammamish in Issaquah. There was a fun playground, and ducks to chase and a dock with slides and diving board and a floating trampoline. We all had a lot of fun and want to go back.
The second party was for the gospel essentials class from church, Chris is a ward missionary so we were invited along with new members of the ward to a guy who owns a lake house out in Maple Valley/Black Diamond. It was so fun. His backyard was grass down to a lake with a dock and the water was warm and there was an awesome view of Mt. Rainier. Again, the kids and us had a lot of fun. There were a few older girls there and they let Brooklyn pal around with them it was so cute.
From there it was my party, I dropped the kids and Chris off and went to my friend, Janeece's house. It was a girl's night to make pizza and gab...we had a blast and I didn't leave until midnight...we've got to do that more, so it was a good weekend.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
cousin fun
Preston, Lori, Tallulah, and Sawyer came over last Sunday for lunch and to play. The kids had a blast together, it's so fun that they are the same ages. Here's a few cute pictures.
Here is Beckham tickling Sawyer's feet
And here are the kids playing in the frog
Top 5 reasons I love my husband
5- He has gotten a wii fitness age of 20 more than once.
4- He has discovered a new and improved Arrested Development chicken dance.
3- He guessed my drum solo on the table was from the cartoon movie Robin Hood.
2- He is now going to let me get a cat someday when we have a house because.........
1- HE GOT AN OFFER FROM PERKINS COIE!!!!!!!!!!!Yay!!! We have a job when we are done with school..........Honeymoon, here we come!!!
Congrats Chris, what an awesome anniversary present! I love you!
4- He has discovered a new and improved Arrested Development chicken dance.
3- He guessed my drum solo on the table was from the cartoon movie Robin Hood.
2- He is now going to let me get a cat someday when we have a house because.........
1- HE GOT AN OFFER FROM PERKINS COIE!!!!!!!!!!!Yay!!! We have a job when we are done with school..........Honeymoon, here we come!!!
Congrats Chris, what an awesome anniversary present! I love you!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
5 years and still in love
Wow! It's weird to say it's our five year anniversary! Time flies, it really doesn't seem that long ago that we were married but then again when you see how many times we've moved, we have two kids, we're almost done with law school, I guess it's been that long.
I just want to take a moment and let my dream come true husband know how much I love him. He was an answer to my prayers, a best friend, a perfect match for me. I will never forget the feeling I had when I first talked to him. It's unexplainable....I felt like I needed to know him...and had to take every chance I could to meet him and find out why I felt the way that I did.
Heavenly Father opened that door and it has been the most amazing journey ever since. I still can't believe how our story unfolded, we truly were meant to be. I love the saying, "Once upon a time, right in the middle of an ordinary life...love gives us a fairytale..." That is how I would explain our love story, it's my own fairytale. It has it's ups and downs but at the end of the day I can always say that I know I am loved and that my heart belongs to Chris, my one and only...the one I will walk through this life with hand and hand and the one I get to be crowned celestially with. He is my rock and my strength, the one who can make me so mad and then make me laugh two seconds later, the one who lets me cry when I want to and will put his extreemly huggable arms around me, the one who makes the silliest of sillies come out of me and we'll laugh and laugh and laugh. I just love him....that's all I can say.
I've been blessed to have 2 amazingly beautiful children with him and one other who I believe watches over us and helps keep us strong. He is an amazing dad and I could not ask for a better father for my children. I love being with Chris and our kids, we have the best times together. We laugh and play and hug and dance...it's the best.
I am also blessed to watch the priesthood preside in our family. The silent strength that is there when I watch Chris give priesthood blessings, the dedication to fulfill his church callings, or the way he explains his knowledge of the gospel. He amazes me and it makes me only want to be a better person each day.
I am thankful to his hard work and dedication in all that he does. I am especially proud of him in his schooling. I could not even read one page of one of his law books and be the slight bit interested. But there he is day after day after day reading lots of words that I cannot comprehend when put together. He is still top of his class and is one of the only students at his school who has a family to also take care of, I think that it amazing.
I also love that he lets me be me. He supports my many hobbies and lets me prove that I can do things. He loves to help me with my photography and is interested in my vinyl business. He loves my projects and loves to see what the next thing I come up with in decorating ideas. He lets me have my time away from the kids and supports the silly girl nights I put together. He loves my family and likes to be around them. One of the most important things I love about Chris is that he loves Montana and the farm I grew up on. That place is so near and dear to my heart. Whenever we go there, all the worries and cares of the world leave and we are able to relax....one of the most magical memories of our marriage happened on the farm when we discovered lightning bugs right near my house...it was a memory I will never forget. He also loves to just hang out with me, even if we are just folding laundry or flipping channels, we just love to be together and make the most of it, that's what best friends do.
So, I guess I just want to say Thank you Chris for loving me and for choosing me to be your wife. You complete me and I will love you forever and ever.
I wrote Chris a poem 4 1/2 years ago and would just like to share it on this 5 year anniversary...
Never knowing it exists
or how it comes to be
Love whispered into my Heart,
my Soul.
with gentle touches,
longing glances,
A feeling.......
a feeling one can't describe.
no definition
no explanation
~beyond the simple truths of Love.
a connection
a perplextion
a belief in destiny?
It fits: all is right; it's in place
peace and harmony in perfection with Love unimaginable
each moment of life now has meaning
i've found what everyone seaches for...
My Heart.....is Home
My Soul holds firm in Your Heart
an everlasting Love
one with Eternal glory
a fairy tale without an end
a Forever story unfolding
a journey together
...in Your arms
the future...
nothing but happiness
because of You.
Your Heart. Your Soul.
......My Home
Happy Anniversary Chris....I love you!
and you're really stinkin' cute!!
I just want to take a moment and let my dream come true husband know how much I love him. He was an answer to my prayers, a best friend, a perfect match for me. I will never forget the feeling I had when I first talked to him. It's unexplainable....I felt like I needed to know him...and had to take every chance I could to meet him and find out why I felt the way that I did.
Heavenly Father opened that door and it has been the most amazing journey ever since. I still can't believe how our story unfolded, we truly were meant to be. I love the saying, "Once upon a time, right in the middle of an ordinary life...love gives us a fairytale..." That is how I would explain our love story, it's my own fairytale. It has it's ups and downs but at the end of the day I can always say that I know I am loved and that my heart belongs to Chris, my one and only...the one I will walk through this life with hand and hand and the one I get to be crowned celestially with. He is my rock and my strength, the one who can make me so mad and then make me laugh two seconds later, the one who lets me cry when I want to and will put his extreemly huggable arms around me, the one who makes the silliest of sillies come out of me and we'll laugh and laugh and laugh. I just love him....that's all I can say.
I've been blessed to have 2 amazingly beautiful children with him and one other who I believe watches over us and helps keep us strong. He is an amazing dad and I could not ask for a better father for my children. I love being with Chris and our kids, we have the best times together. We laugh and play and hug and dance...it's the best.
I am also blessed to watch the priesthood preside in our family. The silent strength that is there when I watch Chris give priesthood blessings, the dedication to fulfill his church callings, or the way he explains his knowledge of the gospel. He amazes me and it makes me only want to be a better person each day.
I am thankful to his hard work and dedication in all that he does. I am especially proud of him in his schooling. I could not even read one page of one of his law books and be the slight bit interested. But there he is day after day after day reading lots of words that I cannot comprehend when put together. He is still top of his class and is one of the only students at his school who has a family to also take care of, I think that it amazing.
I also love that he lets me be me. He supports my many hobbies and lets me prove that I can do things. He loves to help me with my photography and is interested in my vinyl business. He loves my projects and loves to see what the next thing I come up with in decorating ideas. He lets me have my time away from the kids and supports the silly girl nights I put together. He loves my family and likes to be around them. One of the most important things I love about Chris is that he loves Montana and the farm I grew up on. That place is so near and dear to my heart. Whenever we go there, all the worries and cares of the world leave and we are able to relax....one of the most magical memories of our marriage happened on the farm when we discovered lightning bugs right near my house...it was a memory I will never forget. He also loves to just hang out with me, even if we are just folding laundry or flipping channels, we just love to be together and make the most of it, that's what best friends do.
So, I guess I just want to say Thank you Chris for loving me and for choosing me to be your wife. You complete me and I will love you forever and ever.
I wrote Chris a poem 4 1/2 years ago and would just like to share it on this 5 year anniversary...
Never knowing it exists
or how it comes to be
Love whispered into my Heart,
my Soul.
with gentle touches,
longing glances,
A feeling.......
a feeling one can't describe.
no definition
no explanation
~beyond the simple truths of Love.
a connection
a perplextion
a belief in destiny?
It fits: all is right; it's in place
peace and harmony in perfection with Love unimaginable
each moment of life now has meaning
i've found what everyone seaches for...
My Heart.....is Home
My Soul holds firm in Your Heart
an everlasting Love
one with Eternal glory
a fairy tale without an end
a Forever story unfolding
a journey together
...in Your arms
the future...
nothing but happiness
because of You.
Your Heart. Your Soul.
......My Home
Happy Anniversary Chris....I love you!
and you're really stinkin' cute!!
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Simply Amazing!!!
Ok so I posted this once before but I am again so that you get the whole story of the wedding.
Sooo, the Glacier trip.....was awesome!!! I cannot even describe how amazing the whole weekend was...I guess I will try to put it into words. First of all, I love the mountains, I have seen a lot of mountains in different states and such, I haven't been all over the world, but....whenever I go to Montana, it's no competition, they have the most beautiful mountains ever!!! I am not kidding, if any of you who read this have been or ever go there, I know you will agree.
Sooo, the Glacier trip.....was awesome!!! I cannot even describe how amazing the whole weekend was...I guess I will try to put it into words. First of all, I love the mountains, I have seen a lot of mountains in different states and such, I haven't been all over the world, but....whenever I go to Montana, it's no competition, they have the most beautiful mountains ever!!! I am not kidding, if any of you who read this have been or ever go there, I know you will agree.
So I can't believe how Heavenly Father answers prayers....I hate packing as I mentioned before but the other thing I hate is airport security. It is just stupid what they make you do, I know I know, it's for our own good but it is just a crappy process that I hate going through with kids, strollers, laptops, cameras, etc. But, every step of the way this time was a breeze and so many people volunteered to help me, even the sweetest lady helped me get everything through security and after we were all done we figured out we were both LDS, both headed to family weddings, it was funny. Another great thing was that the flight was only a little over an hour which made it nice. The sky was clear that day and when we took off we could see Mt. Rainier, Mt. St Helens and Mt Hood all in a row to the south, it was pretty cool.
Well, we landed and Brooklyn was so excited to see her GG and Papa...when she saw them, she ran to give them hugs and asked them about her kitty on the farm. We got our luggage and headed to the lodge we were staying at to meet up with the rest of the family. There was a caravan of 4 cars carrying both our family and Staci's family. We lost Zane who was driving one of the cars for a short time because my mom has some of the most funny and embarrassing stories she tells. Well, she decided to tell Zane one of these stories and Zane got laughing so hard he had to pull over...he soon caught up to us and was still laughing when we got there.
The Great Bear in was a brand new lodge and cabin facility. The owner was so hospitable....she was going through so much trying to get this lodge going. It was supposed to be all done the first of June but she had some struggles and the cabins (which we were supposed to stay in) weren't finished and the landscaping wasn't done....she hated to cancel on a wedding party, so she turned away the people who were supposed to stay in the lodge and gave it to our family to have the whole place to ourselves. It was amazing!! There were 8 suites and everyone got there own space with gorgeous and spacious rooms with flat screen tv's and complimentary huckleberry fudge (Laini and my favorite part). The common areas were gorgeous with big windows overlooking the mountains and beautiful fireplaces. There was also a rec room with pool table. Ryan and Staci assigned us our rooms and we all got settled in, Staci had even made a gift bag for everyone who came, it was such a nice personal touch.
That night we made dinner in the big kitchen and sat together in the huge nook with windows all around. My mom had made some yummy pulled pork sandwiches and lots of yummy treats. Ryan and Staci had personalized water bottles that had their picture on it, we all got a kick out of it. After dinner we headed to Glacier Park, a few miles away to Lake McDonald. This is our family's usual place where we stay, it is such a beautiful place go. Beckham, my dad, Laini, Zane and I all skipped rocks and were being silly while Ryan and Staci showed her family around. Beckham kept acting like he wanted to get into the water, so Aunt Laini took his sock off and stuck his toe in. He took it out and sat there for a minute before his lip curled and he just started crying. The water is ice cold...Laini felt bad but it was kinda funny. At sundown we headed back to the cabin and hung out. Beckham and Staci's niece, Abby, had a blast crawling after each other on the floor and the people that owned the lodge had these 4 huge, I mean, huge dogs that Beckham loved. He giggled when they kissed him and loved to ride on their backs. He had started to get the woof woof sound going and could almost say Dog, it was so cute. We taught him to stick out his tongue and pant, it's hilarious.
Friday in the Park
Ok so more about Glacier Park. So we got up on Friday morning and got ready for a day of hiking and sight seeing and just hanging out in the most gorgeous place. We went into the park and went on Trail of the Cedars and then half of us went up to Avalanche Lake and the other half just relaxed and took a walk up to the cliff jumping rock. It was a beautiful day and I had tons of fun with my kids, Laini, and my parents....taking pictures, joking around, etc. Everyone met back up for lunch at the campground and then we went back down to Lake McDonald where me and my bros and sis rented a boat and went out on the lake. We had a great time joking around, Zane made a hilarious comment to Ryan about if he needed to talk about the wedding night, it was so funny. Then my brothers kept rocking the boat scaring my sister and me to death! We weren't afraid to fall in, we were afraid for our cameras!
We headed back to the lodge for dinner, it was soooo yummy!! The Chef was awesome. The dinner entertainment was telling each other some embarrassing stories about Ryan and Staci. Ryan sleep walking was one of the best of the night....but after embarrassing the bride and groom, my mom topped the night with some of her embarrassing stories, everyone was rolling. Later on, we put together a puzzle and just hung out. Zane took Staci aside and asked if she needed to talk about the wedding night....another big laugh. We were also teasing Staci that Zane was the entertainment for her bacheolorette party. Soon it was midnight and time to go and get Chris from the airport. Zane and I headed to pick him up. It was a lot of fun riding on dirt roads with my brother just like old times....him scaring the crap out of me....but we had a lot of laughs too. He is so funny, I wish we lived closer to him. We picked up Chris and went back to the lodge. On the way there we had a good time talking about the show Arrested Development and quoting lines and laughing about them.
When we made it back we had some mud pie and huckleberry soda. Chris was amazed with the lodge, he loved it We definately want to come back another time. Next post......the wedding day!
Ryan and Staci's wedding day
Ok, so now I am finally writing about my bro's wedding day. It was a nice relaxing morning at the lodge, everyone just hung out and had breakfast. Chris and I played some pool, the kids ran around with the big dogs and then it was time to get ready.
Everyone got ready and headed down to Heaven's Peak Lodge and Resort. It was a beautiful log lodge with very nice landscaping and a great view of Glacier's mountains. Laini and I got ready with Staci and her mom and sisters. It was fun getting all dressed up and Staci looked absolutely gorgeous. Brooklyn got into her amazing little flower girl dress and looked so adorable. She was so excited to be doing her important job of showing Staci where to go to find Uncle Ryan. She was excited to have her basket full of flowers.
Everyone else was ready and the ceremony was about to begin. It was so fun to see the guys all dressed nicely. Chris, Zane, and Dad wore matching ties that I found them....I had to drive to 3 different stores to get them the same style. My mom had found a beautiful dress and sassy shoes as usual and Ryan looked pretty spiffy himself...Is spiffy a word....my dad used to say it a lot... Ha! It was so nice to have it just be the family for their wedding. It was just so comfortable and less stressful and laid back. It just flowed so well.
The ceremony began and Brooklyn took her cue and started walking up the long aisle to Ryan....she got a little confused on the way though and it was so cute! She started zig-zagging across the lawn before she got to the actual aisle, but she was so focused and wanted to do it just right. She threw her petals out so well, what a stinkin' cute kid.
Staci came out with her dad and looked beautiful, it was awesome to see her and Ryan make their dream come true...just the way he looked at her as she was coming down the aisle was golden....you could see such happiness. The ceremony was nice and short and sweet with a few little funnies in it. Our bishop from my parent's ward was able to marry them so it was nice to have someone we knew do the wedding and he is also quite a funny guy.....a big cowboy who does the moonwalk.....another story for another time, ha! It was 90+ degrees outside and everyone was melting so it was good that it was short and sweet. After the kiss, Ryan and Staci went back down the aisle to the lodge and Brooklyn told her dad, I have to do my job and followed them and through petals behind them, it was so cute.
She knew that it was an important day and then asked if she could go and give them a hug and she did and they told her how good she did, it was so cute. Then she jumped into her daddy's arms and said, "Give me a kiss" and he gave her a kiss and then she said, "Now we are married!" It was so cute and funny.
We then had an hour or so to enjoy appetizers and visit with each other while also taking pictures. Then we had a fabulous dinner in the lodge, it was a gorgeous lodge and Staci did an awesome job with the decorations. We all were able to sit at the same table and enjoy each other and have some laughs. We all signed a decorated plate for Ryan and Staci, which I thought was a really cute idea and then the little ones ran around and were our entertainment before the cake cutting.
They cut the cake out on the deck overlooking the mountains, it was so pretty and we all enjoyed a piece and then it was time for their first dance to Broken Road by Rascal Flatts. I got the most amazing dancing pictures I have ever gotten at a wedding. I'm not just saying that because he is my brother, they truly were photogenic and the background was great and they just had awesome expressions that I was able to capture.
We finished up at the lodge and most everyone went back to the Great Bear Inn and Staci, Ryan, Beckham, mom, dad, JP, Staci's dad, and I went into Glacier Park for some more amazing photos. We got some awesome ones at the lake, at the river, on the bridge and in the woods. I love the pictures....I can't wait to redo our website and get them on it.
We went back to the Great Bear Inn and we were able to just relax and enjoy the night. We played pool and the kids had fun being silly, we played with the big dogs they had there, ate mud pie, watched tv, etc. It was really fun. JP and I stayed up late and looked at all our photos that we took, he was really fun to work with and had an awesome style. We picked out some pictures for a slide show to do at breakfast the next morning.
So, the wedding day was fantastic and fun. I would recommend a small destination wedding to anyone, it was awesome.
Departure Day and the Simms Open House
Sunday was the day we had to pack up and leave....so sad, but we are definately coming back to the Great Bear Inn. We got up and had a great breakfast with everyone together and after breakfast we watched the slide show of pictures JP and I put together, it was so fun to see it. Then everyone packed up and we all gathered outside for a group shot. Afterwards everyone just hung out and played with the dogs and Beckham had been walking a little bit but that morning he took off and walked back and forth between Zane and I and then he would walk toward the big dogs and bark, it was so cute.
We headed up the Going to the Sun highway, it was a beautiful day. Laini, Zane, Chris, the kids and I all drove together and listened to Alabama's greatest hits....oh it brings back memories of family vacations back in the day. Anyway, the waterfalls along the roadside were awesome and when we got to the top we all had a snowball fight which Brooklyn was very into. She was getting everyone, it was so funny. On the way back down we went through the weeping wall, usually there is not this much water, but it was crazy this time. Check out the video.... Then we headed back down and we have a tradition when we go through the tunnels. We yell and honk...but about 7 or 8 years ago the yell turned into "Siyah!" because my dad started yelling that when we would pass Siyah Creek.....so if you are wondering why we are so weird, that's why... Then we ended up at the jumping rock. It's a place we always stop and have lunch and jump into the freezing cold water. The pool is usually an aqua green color which makes it look so inviting but then when you hit the water, your lungs freeze and you can't catch your breath for a few seconds when you come up....but it's a blast. Anyway,Laini, Zane, Chris and I were all pumped to jump off because it was so hot out. But because it had just snowed two weeks prior there was a ton of water moving through there and we would have been swept away just trying to swim over to the rock. People who have been there will understand the video and seeing how scary this looks......(Tori and Kelsi)
We got back to Simms just in time for the Open House. It was a really fun evening and it was great to see everyone from home. The weather was great, the decorations turned out awesome and the food was good too! We had an ice cream sundae bar which I think everyone loved. Brooklyn loved it because it was held at "the cowboy's" house and she got to see the horses. I made a slide show of pictures and put it onto Zane's laptop so everyone could see some of the pictures. And I had designed some brands for Ryan and Staci with my vinyl machine so we put them on hearts and decorated the tables with them and dried flowers in mason jars and horseshoes, it turned out really cute. After the open house we went home to my parent's home to watch Ry and Staci open their presents and then Zane and Laini put on a firework show. It was a great way to end the weekend. Brooklyn loved it and got everyone yelling and clapping, it was really cute.
We headed up the Going to the Sun highway, it was a beautiful day. Laini, Zane, Chris, the kids and I all drove together and listened to Alabama's greatest hits....oh it brings back memories of family vacations back in the day. Anyway, the waterfalls along the roadside were awesome and when we got to the top we all had a snowball fight which Brooklyn was very into. She was getting everyone, it was so funny. On the way back down we went through the weeping wall, usually there is not this much water, but it was crazy this time. Check out the video.... Then we headed back down and we have a tradition when we go through the tunnels. We yell and honk...but about 7 or 8 years ago the yell turned into "Siyah!" because my dad started yelling that when we would pass Siyah Creek.....so if you are wondering why we are so weird, that's why... Then we ended up at the jumping rock. It's a place we always stop and have lunch and jump into the freezing cold water. The pool is usually an aqua green color which makes it look so inviting but then when you hit the water, your lungs freeze and you can't catch your breath for a few seconds when you come up....but it's a blast. Anyway,Laini, Zane, Chris and I were all pumped to jump off because it was so hot out. But because it had just snowed two weeks prior there was a ton of water moving through there and we would have been swept away just trying to swim over to the rock. People who have been there will understand the video and seeing how scary this looks......(Tori and Kelsi)
We got back to Simms just in time for the Open House. It was a really fun evening and it was great to see everyone from home. The weather was great, the decorations turned out awesome and the food was good too! We had an ice cream sundae bar which I think everyone loved. Brooklyn loved it because it was held at "the cowboy's" house and she got to see the horses. I made a slide show of pictures and put it onto Zane's laptop so everyone could see some of the pictures. And I had designed some brands for Ryan and Staci with my vinyl machine so we put them on hearts and decorated the tables with them and dried flowers in mason jars and horseshoes, it turned out really cute. After the open house we went home to my parent's home to watch Ry and Staci open their presents and then Zane and Laini put on a firework show. It was a great way to end the weekend. Brooklyn loved it and got everyone yelling and clapping, it was really cute.
Friday, August 15, 2008
A week in Montana
So after all the fun of the wedding, the kids and I were able to stay in Montana for four more days. It was so fun because Laini, Ryan and Staci were still home. Monday morning, Laini, the kids and I went for a walk on my parent's land, it was the perfect morning, sun shining and no wind! We went out to the canal and watch the birds that make their nests out of mud on the bridge and then on the way home we saw a snake slither through the grass, which was funny because Brooklyn wanted to go and catch it after catching her snake a month or so earlier. We got back to the house and we were going to turn the hose on to get a drink and play in the water and I saw a snake poke his head out of the rocks but the house. So Laini and I decided to catch it. He was a smart one, we had to take a bunch of bricks apart and spray water down where he was to get him to move and then Laini was trying to video it while I was trying to catch it with my mom's hot dog griller (which she wasn't too happy about), I started screaming and Laini started screaming....we didn't get the video but I wish we would have....I'm sure we looked rediculous. We finally got it into a big bucket and Brooklyn was so happy she thought "Kaa" her first snake had come back to visit. When my dad and Ryan and Staci got back from their ride out on the range Brooklyn went running to Papa and said she caught a snake...she was very proud. Anyway, the day went on and we had meant to let the snake go outside the fence somewhere....but forgot and he died in the bucket in the sun....whoops!
We went into Great Falls and had lunch at El Comador, my favorite place to eat when I am home, and then to visit my Grandma. Then my sister and brother and new sister-in-law had to get on the plane. The rest of the week was fun and relaxing just hanging out on the farm.....we went for rides in the truck and saw lots of deer, played with the cat, went swimming and just had a good time.
We went into Great Falls and had lunch at El Comador, my favorite place to eat when I am home, and then to visit my Grandma. Then my sister and brother and new sister-in-law had to get on the plane. The rest of the week was fun and relaxing just hanging out on the farm.....we went for rides in the truck and saw lots of deer, played with the cat, went swimming and just had a good time.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Chris and I have a problem
Some may call it an addiction.....but both of us have a problem...we can't stop playing Dr. Mario on the Wii against people we don't know. We are so addicted that sometimes we feel guilty because we are neglecting our kids....not really neglecting because they like to watch and dance to the music.
Anyway, we had an old school Nintendo and I introduced Chris to Dr. Mario when we were first married....I kicked his butt all the time and he didn't like it so he practiced and started beating me up.....so then it was causing problems in our marriage so we quit for a while. When the Wii came out with Dr. Mario, we were so excited to play again, although we were still having the problem playing against each other, it kind of makes you mad!
So now that you can play random people online we cheer each other on and have a blast making fun of other people and sending them the little messages you can send them....we have made up some of our own too and crack up because we are so stupid for getting so into it. Our best line is, "Shipoopy!!!, take that to the bank!!!" But the problem is....we want to play any chance we get....we'll say to each other--"What are you going to do?" and the other one will say, "I'm going to go beat somebody up." And we both know what that means and even if we say we're only doing one game.......that never happens.
Anyway, I just needed to admit my weakness to all of you......now I am going to go and play because Chris is at the park with the kids....ha!
Anyway, we had an old school Nintendo and I introduced Chris to Dr. Mario when we were first married....I kicked his butt all the time and he didn't like it so he practiced and started beating me up.....so then it was causing problems in our marriage so we quit for a while. When the Wii came out with Dr. Mario, we were so excited to play again, although we were still having the problem playing against each other, it kind of makes you mad!
So now that you can play random people online we cheer each other on and have a blast making fun of other people and sending them the little messages you can send them....we have made up some of our own too and crack up because we are so stupid for getting so into it. Our best line is, "Shipoopy!!!, take that to the bank!!!" But the problem is....we want to play any chance we get....we'll say to each other--"What are you going to do?" and the other one will say, "I'm going to go beat somebody up." And we both know what that means and even if we say we're only doing one game.......that never happens.
Anyway, I just needed to admit my weakness to all of you......now I am going to go and play because Chris is at the park with the kids....ha!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
USA!!! USA!!!
So, the Olympics are finally here, we've been waiting all summer to watch them. Chris got done with work and came home and to celebrate we had pizza and then Brooklyn and I made a fruit pizza that looked like a US flag for dessert to go along with the Olympic opening ceremonies. The ceremonies were amazing, I can't believe some of the things the Chinese did, it was awesome.
Sunset Sailing, just us
So this past week was Chris' last week of his internship. For one of the the last activities for the interns, we were able to go sailing. It was a really fun experience. We loaded the sailboat downtown by the piers and headed across Elliott Bay to a cove in Bainbridge island. It was gorgeous weather and we really enjoyed just relaxing and taking in some alone time without the kids. When we reached the cove, we had dinner and visited with everyone and took in the pretty sunset. We couldn't believe we were on a cool date we didn't have to pay for. It was really nice to just be us and have our hands free to hug each other and pay attention to each other rather than chasing the kids and holding diaper bags, etc. It was a really fun evening....thank you to our awesome babysitters for letting us have a night out!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Beckham's Birthday Weekend!
So it's a bitter sweet thing when your baby turns 1. This year has gone by so fast, I love all the new stages Beckham is in but I am going to miss my little baby. Anyway, besides all that mushy stuff, we had a great time celebrating his 1st birthday. First, my parent's came over for the weekend. They got here and Beckham had just woke up, my dad went up to get him and he was a little confused. They came downstairs and for the first time ever Beckham was shy (I think he was just groggy) but it was so funny to see him like that. Then my mom went to wake Brooklyn up and when Brooklyn saw my mom she said, "You came!" They had been talking on the phone about gg and papa coming to visit for so long I think it confused Brooklyn of just when it would finally happen. So Brooklyn got up and showed GG her room. She was excited to show her Beckham and her giant names I did in vinyl lettering on their wall and their new pictures in the pictures frames (I'll send pictures soon, it turned out cute!). We all hung out and when Chris got home we had a fun dinner, Strawberry Blueberry Crepes.
After dinner it was party time. We quickly went in to open presents. Beckham, of course, didn't know what was going on...just that it was fun to see new toys. My mom is always so good to pay attention to Brooklyn and knew that she would be sad if she didn't get anything. So my mom made up two sacks of presents, one for Beckham and one for Brooklyn. Obviously Brooklyn stole the show getting all excited about her new books and things....my sister was crazy about Aladdin a long time ago and had collected a ton of cute Aladdin things, she was going through it all and gave it to Brooklyn and Beckham and they loved it! I ended up opening Beckham's presents and he got some fun stuff. A soccer ball, of course, puzzles, books, clothes, shoes, a stick horse, a walking dog, play cell phone, tool kit, and the kids both got cute harnesses, Beckham got a dog and Brooklyn got a monkey. This will come in handy when both are at the aquarium with me and they both love to have their little pets on their backs. We took pictures with Beckham and his presents and played for a bit and then it was time for games. We got out the Elefun game, it's an elephant that blows butterflies through his nose and everyone has a butterfly net to catch them as they fall. Beckham was so cute, he got his net and knew just what to do...he held it up ready for the butterflies, my parents got a kick out of that.
So after having a good laugh and playing that for a while it was time to break out the pinatas. We made a dog for Brooklyn to break and because Beckham loves dogs and barks whenever you say the word dog or he sees one. Brooklyn had a blast hitting the pinata and was so excited to eat CANDY!!! Beckham watched her every move and wondered what the heck she was doing but when he saw that it was his turn to hit his soccer ball pinata he went crazy on it and thought it was so fun. We got a kick out if it, what a stinkin' cute kid!
After all the games, we jumped in the van and went down to one of our favorite spots by the water...the stairs. We watched the sunset on the Olympic mountains and just played around. Beckham and Brooklyn enjoyed chasing a red pigeon with fuzzy feet, it was the weirdest bird we've ever seen. It was fun and relaxing and my parent's enjoyed the views. We came back home to have our soccer ball cake and ice cream and to let Beckham dive into his cake. We all enjoyed our cake but Beckham didn't want anything to do with his. He took the soccer ball off the top and that was about it. He is really weird about different textures and always makes a funny face when something feels weird....he really didn't like the sticky frosting and started to cry, check out the video...it was funny and sad.
So that ended the birthday night with the kids, the rest of the night Chris and I made my parents play Rayman 2 on the Wii, they got a kick out of it.
Now, on to Saturday, we all got up and headed for the mountains. We went to Remlinger Farms, a really cute farm with an amusement park for the kids. We all really enjoyed it. First were the pony rides, then the canoes, which the kids had a blast in, then on to the petting/feeding zoo. The kids had fun feeding the animals and got a kick out of the tickling tongues of the animals. From there the kids had fun driving my parents in old fashioned cars, they both had steering wheels and thought it was so great. Then it was the flying pumpkins, the ferris wheel, and the merry go round. It was so cute to see Brooklyn and Beckham in the ferris wheel together...Brooklyn was a good big sister and held onto her brother and made him feel safe...so cute!
Then it was time to do the hay jump and hay maze, which I loved this time because I could actually jump because I wasn't pregnant. The kids had fun tackling Papa. Then Chris and I went on the bike track and we all ended up at the train to end the morning at Remlinger Farms, it was so much fun and it wasn't busy but just laid back and relaxed. We had some lunch and went into the gift shop where my mom had promised Brooklyn a little stick duck that walks, she was so excited about it and then we had Beckham try one out and he loved it, you couldn't get it out of his hands...he threw a fit when we had to hand it to the cash register lady, it was kinda funny.
We headed up to Snoqualmie Falls and then onto some neighborhoods that Chris and I would love to live in some day. It was fun just looking. Then we went out to rattlesnake lake and headed back home. It was a really fun day with my parents and the kids and it wasn't over yet...we went out to eat at the Luna Park Cafe, an old 50's diner. It was so yummy, everyone went crazy for the Chocolate/Peanut Butter milkshake. Then another drive down by Alki beach and back to home to rest.
Sunday, of course, was church day, Brooklyn and Beckham wore their matching clothes from my brother's wedding, they looked so cute! After lunch we headed up to Chris' office in a building downtown on the 46th floor where we had an awesome view of the Blue Angels who were performing over Lake Washington for the Seafair. The kids loved looking out the window and they were so cute pointing and getting all excited when the planes would go by, we all enjoyed the show, it was really fun.
Monday, my parents just played with the kids, they made puzzles, went for a walk, read books and had a dance party. Both kids showed off and it was so cute. Then we went out for KFC and went to Jack Block park, a dock that overlooks the city. We flew a kite and just hung out, then it was time for my parents to go...the kids (and I) didn't want them to leave. We had a great time though and it was fun to have them in Seattle. It was a great weekend and a fun first birthday for Beckham!
After dinner it was party time. We quickly went in to open presents. Beckham, of course, didn't know what was going on...just that it was fun to see new toys. My mom is always so good to pay attention to Brooklyn and knew that she would be sad if she didn't get anything. So my mom made up two sacks of presents, one for Beckham and one for Brooklyn. Obviously Brooklyn stole the show getting all excited about her new books and things....my sister was crazy about Aladdin a long time ago and had collected a ton of cute Aladdin things, she was going through it all and gave it to Brooklyn and Beckham and they loved it! I ended up opening Beckham's presents and he got some fun stuff. A soccer ball, of course, puzzles, books, clothes, shoes, a stick horse, a walking dog, play cell phone, tool kit, and the kids both got cute harnesses, Beckham got a dog and Brooklyn got a monkey. This will come in handy when both are at the aquarium with me and they both love to have their little pets on their backs. We took pictures with Beckham and his presents and played for a bit and then it was time for games. We got out the Elefun game, it's an elephant that blows butterflies through his nose and everyone has a butterfly net to catch them as they fall. Beckham was so cute, he got his net and knew just what to do...he held it up ready for the butterflies, my parents got a kick out of that.
So after having a good laugh and playing that for a while it was time to break out the pinatas. We made a dog for Brooklyn to break and because Beckham loves dogs and barks whenever you say the word dog or he sees one. Brooklyn had a blast hitting the pinata and was so excited to eat CANDY!!! Beckham watched her every move and wondered what the heck she was doing but when he saw that it was his turn to hit his soccer ball pinata he went crazy on it and thought it was so fun. We got a kick out if it, what a stinkin' cute kid!
After all the games, we jumped in the van and went down to one of our favorite spots by the water...the stairs. We watched the sunset on the Olympic mountains and just played around. Beckham and Brooklyn enjoyed chasing a red pigeon with fuzzy feet, it was the weirdest bird we've ever seen. It was fun and relaxing and my parent's enjoyed the views. We came back home to have our soccer ball cake and ice cream and to let Beckham dive into his cake. We all enjoyed our cake but Beckham didn't want anything to do with his. He took the soccer ball off the top and that was about it. He is really weird about different textures and always makes a funny face when something feels weird....he really didn't like the sticky frosting and started to cry, check out the video...it was funny and sad.
So that ended the birthday night with the kids, the rest of the night Chris and I made my parents play Rayman 2 on the Wii, they got a kick out of it.
Now, on to Saturday, we all got up and headed for the mountains. We went to Remlinger Farms, a really cute farm with an amusement park for the kids. We all really enjoyed it. First were the pony rides, then the canoes, which the kids had a blast in, then on to the petting/feeding zoo. The kids had fun feeding the animals and got a kick out of the tickling tongues of the animals. From there the kids had fun driving my parents in old fashioned cars, they both had steering wheels and thought it was so great. Then it was the flying pumpkins, the ferris wheel, and the merry go round. It was so cute to see Brooklyn and Beckham in the ferris wheel together...Brooklyn was a good big sister and held onto her brother and made him feel safe...so cute!
Then it was time to do the hay jump and hay maze, which I loved this time because I could actually jump because I wasn't pregnant. The kids had fun tackling Papa. Then Chris and I went on the bike track and we all ended up at the train to end the morning at Remlinger Farms, it was so much fun and it wasn't busy but just laid back and relaxed. We had some lunch and went into the gift shop where my mom had promised Brooklyn a little stick duck that walks, she was so excited about it and then we had Beckham try one out and he loved it, you couldn't get it out of his hands...he threw a fit when we had to hand it to the cash register lady, it was kinda funny.
We headed up to Snoqualmie Falls and then onto some neighborhoods that Chris and I would love to live in some day. It was fun just looking. Then we went out to rattlesnake lake and headed back home. It was a really fun day with my parents and the kids and it wasn't over yet...we went out to eat at the Luna Park Cafe, an old 50's diner. It was so yummy, everyone went crazy for the Chocolate/Peanut Butter milkshake. Then another drive down by Alki beach and back to home to rest.
Sunday, of course, was church day, Brooklyn and Beckham wore their matching clothes from my brother's wedding, they looked so cute! After lunch we headed up to Chris' office in a building downtown on the 46th floor where we had an awesome view of the Blue Angels who were performing over Lake Washington for the Seafair. The kids loved looking out the window and they were so cute pointing and getting all excited when the planes would go by, we all enjoyed the show, it was really fun.
Monday, my parents just played with the kids, they made puzzles, went for a walk, read books and had a dance party. Both kids showed off and it was so cute. Then we went out for KFC and went to Jack Block park, a dock that overlooks the city. We flew a kite and just hung out, then it was time for my parents to go...the kids (and I) didn't want them to leave. We had a great time though and it was fun to have them in Seattle. It was a great weekend and a fun first birthday for Beckham!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Lots of fun stuff to catch up on!
Ok so I finally have time to put the last couple of weeks into words.....too much going on, but having lots of fun doing it. We are finally ready to settle down for the next couple of weeks and get back into normal life. We have been on the go since April....vacationing, summering, sight-seeing, having visitors. It has come to an end...all the things we looked forward to are over and now just the memories and the blog. Chris ends his internship this Friday and has a two week break before school starts, so we are just going to relax and do nothing but play with the kids and watch the olympics. I am looking forward to this coming semester, Chris has an awesome schedule, we are going to see a lot of him, he doesn't have class until 2pm on Mon and Wed...he is done by 4pm on Tues-Thurs and has no classes on Fridays. And best of all, he has no writing classes, Yay!!!!
So, let's start the catching up with Brooklyn's creative dance class that she has taken this past month. She absolutely loves it and it's perfect for her. My favorite part is watching these little girls stretch before they start dancing, it's so cute! Brooklyn takes such good direction and is very serious about her class and loves to talk about it. She even got a brand new pink tutu for the class and loves to wear it at home because it makes her dance better. Anyway, here are a few photos of a day where they learned somersaults and were doing an obstacle course. Chris got to come for her last day yesterday and got a kick out of how cute she was and how good she was. Afterwards, the community center was doing toddler splash time and so the kids got to play in the water, it was 90 degrees here!!! That doesn't happen too often in Seattle.
Next thing to catch up on is the fish bone bridge and the giant dragon fly. We have been here for two years now and have always wanted to go and walk this trail near our house to find the fish bone bridge. Well, one Sunday afternoon we finally did it and here are the pictures. It was pretty neat and then we walked a little farther and found a giant dragon fly sculpture as well, Brooklyn thought that was pretty neat.
It's been so fun to have free rental cars and free gas all summer, we are sure going to miss that. We were able to have cars, a van, an SUV, and this convertible. The kids loved it! It was small but lots of fun to go joy riding in. We went and drove down by the beach and took it over to Green Lake one day where we went out on paddle boats on the lake. Most of all the kids just loved to pretend they were driving it as you can see from the pictures.
Thinking it would be funny to catch the floating ball!
Ha! I did it!
Ok, now to end this very long post is just a picture of my little stud, he just looked so cute in this outfit, he is growing up way too fast!
So, let's start the catching up with Brooklyn's creative dance class that she has taken this past month. She absolutely loves it and it's perfect for her. My favorite part is watching these little girls stretch before they start dancing, it's so cute! Brooklyn takes such good direction and is very serious about her class and loves to talk about it. She even got a brand new pink tutu for the class and loves to wear it at home because it makes her dance better. Anyway, here are a few photos of a day where they learned somersaults and were doing an obstacle course. Chris got to come for her last day yesterday and got a kick out of how cute she was and how good she was. Afterwards, the community center was doing toddler splash time and so the kids got to play in the water, it was 90 degrees here!!! That doesn't happen too often in Seattle.
Next thing to catch up on is the fish bone bridge and the giant dragon fly. We have been here for two years now and have always wanted to go and walk this trail near our house to find the fish bone bridge. Well, one Sunday afternoon we finally did it and here are the pictures. It was pretty neat and then we walked a little farther and found a giant dragon fly sculpture as well, Brooklyn thought that was pretty neat.
The next fun day was a Christmas in July party we went to with my mom's meetup group. We had a potluck picnic down at Lincoln Park by the shore. Then we exchanged presents. It was really fun and the kids were so excited to exchange presents. Brooklyn kept saying how silly it was to pretend it was Christmas. Beckham got a stuffed winnie the pooh and brooklyn got a bug flashlight. They had lots of fun. Beckham hasn't been one to latch on to anything much, but he is so attached to this winnie the pooh, it's cute, he loves to carry it around and hug him.
It's been so fun to have free rental cars and free gas all summer, we are sure going to miss that. We were able to have cars, a van, an SUV, and this convertible. The kids loved it! It was small but lots of fun to go joy riding in. We went and drove down by the beach and took it over to Green Lake one day where we went out on paddle boats on the lake. Most of all the kids just loved to pretend they were driving it as you can see from the pictures.
just relaxing
Thinking it would be funny to catch the floating ball!
Ha! I did it!
Ok, now to end this very long post is just a picture of my little stud, he just looked so cute in this outfit, he is growing up way too fast!
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