sixgrimms

Seattle Aquarium

2011-08-15T21:39:00.000-07:00

After our harbor cruise we went to the aquarium.

Carson the octopus

Zoe the jellyfish

These birds were so funny. The keeper put a mirror out there and they went berserk talking to it and bobbing their heads up and down. I guess they will do that for an hour or more and it's supposed to be good for them because they think they are interacting with other birds. Obviously not the smartest species...

Salmon. Yum.

Zoe got ahold of the camera and took a ton of pictures of the exhibits. Some of them are so pretty. Here is a pink anemone.

A purple urchin

A white anemone

An orange rockfish

A big ugly fish

A shark looking fish

Sleepy river otters

A peach anemone

And this concludes our tour of the aquarium. Fun!

Seattle harbor tour

2011-08-15T21:21:00.000-07:00

The next activity for our Seattle stay-cation was going on a harbor tour. Matt had to work so we brought Cole Mitchell along with us. I had the kids pose on the pier before our boat came in. The reason some of the kids are looking to the side is because just as I said 'smile' one of the dock workers started yelling at us to get away from the ring! Apparently their special Argosy ring is trademarked, which means they want to make you take a picture with it before boarding so they can try to sell you the print when you get back for $15. Yeah, no thanks. I'll just take my freebie picture, ha ha, you're too late!

Waiting for our ship to come in...

The boys...

Enjoying the view of the city from the top deck.

The city skyline

Harbor traffic

I think this picture looks like a postcard. We got lucky to have such a beautiful day.

Carson was less than thrilled with the hour long boat ride.

We got to go right into the Port of Seattle and see the big container ships and cranes. It was pretty neat.

Woodland Park Zoo

2011-08-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

We visited Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle as part of our Seattle Stay-cation. The elephants were so cute.

After reading Modoc, watching this elephant made me think much more about them. They are such smart and gentle creatures. I wish I could have one. It would be quite a committment though since they live for so long.

Carson fed the birds. They were really sweet and loved the seed sticks.

This group of green birds looked so cool in their tree.

Posing by the flamingos.

The flamingos are pretty but they stink! Probably because they eat brine shrimp all day. Eww.

Organ-ized

2011-08-10T09:23:00.000-07:00

My friend Roni inherited an organ but since she doesn't play she asked me if I would like it. YES, I WOULD LOVE IT! And I DO love it, it is so much fun to play. About one week after I got it I even got asked to fill in at church on the organ and it was great because I was able to practice at home. Fun!

EMP in Seattle

2011-08-08T09:12:00.000-07:00

We finally went to the Experience Music Project (EMP) in Seattle for the first time. This is the really cool guitar tower sculpture.

There was also a neat Avatar exhibit where the kids got to design their own Pandora flora and fauna. This is the flower/tree Zoe made.

Corn on the Cob Cupcakes

2011-08-01T09:08:00.000-07:00

These cute cupcakes have jelly belly's on them to make them look like corn.

Hayden breaks his arm

2011-07-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

Hayden got taken out in some rough play at a soccer tournament this weekend and ended up with a little break in his arm. He'll have to wear a cast for about 4 weeks. He should get it off just in time for the next tournament!

He chose orange so that it would match his soccer uniform :) Go Slammers!

Bunny Playpen

2011-07-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

Madeline and Hayden made a play pen for the bunnies and then decided to get in and play with them too!

Peter Rabbit

Nigel and Emmett have fun jumping over Madeline

Mesa 4th of July

2011-07-05T10:28:00.000-07:00

We had a watermelon eating contest with the kids in Erin's backyard. Brody surprised everyone by being the littlest but fastest!

When it got dark we did a few 'safe and sane' fireworks in the street out front. I don't know how safe and sane it actually was because the wind was blowing and there were lots of dry trees around!

Dessert was chocolate fondue! Mmm, Mmm good!

The next day was our last day in Mesa. The kids made tie-dye shirts and we celebrated Wendi's birthday. Then we got on a plane to head home. We sure had a great time in Arizona!

Cousin Fun

2011-07-03T07:43:00.000-07:00

The boys had fun playing video games from the top bunk with Maddox and Thatcher

This is what I got when I asked them to smile

Then Thatcher wanted to make a silly face for me

The rest of the kids were happy to play with baby Kate and she loved the attention

Zoe was in heaven to get to hold Kate until she fell asleep

Grandpa Orville and Grandma JoyLee

2011-07-02T22:22:00.000-07:00

It was great to get to visit with my Grandma and Grandpa in Mesa. It's so neat for the kids to get to know their Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa! We are so blessed to have them healthy and still here with us into their 90's.

Roxy the dauchshund is such a sweetie too.

Taliesin West

2011-06-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

In all the years I lived in Arizona I never went out to see Frank Lloyd Wright's Talesin West, so this time I did it! If you've never been that interested in FLW you should read Loving Frank. It's a really good book. I've always loved his architecture so it was great to see this place.

I just wish this was my house and my backyard

and my pool. There were even cute little bunnies hopping around out here!

It was a hot day, about 110 degrees. It's hard to believe he built this place and didn't have any air-conditioning when he stayed there!

I love this breezeway. It seems so chic and 60's ish.

This is outside the studio where there are actually on site architecture students who are doing the FLW Master's program.

Love these red doors outside the theater/chapel.

It was a fun outing with my mom!

Arizona fun

2011-06-26T14:47:00.000-07:00

Having all the cousins eat together at Grandma Gwen's house is fun, we just cram them all around the table and keep passing the food!

I stood on the island to get an aerial shot

Another fun activity around the table is playing Uno.

Thanks to Netflix the kids discovered the series H2O and it became a marathon to watch all 72 episodes before we left. This was a frequent sight whenever we were at the house, a bunch of couch potatoes!

One day we drove out to Maricopa to see Austin and Nicole's new house and go swimming with them.

Swimming at Brimhall pool was fun too because they had diving boards and water slides.

Carson got up the courage to go off the high dive after a few failed attempts. He was so proud of himself!

We went to a Diamondbacks game

The ballpark was getting ready to host the All Star game so it was neat to see the signs up

Swimming

2011-06-25T14:14:00.000-07:00

We had fun swimming in Arizona AFTER we got the scorpions out of the pool
! Creepy! We would have thought scorpions could not live under water, but there they were walking along the bottom, crazy!

Madeline with Thatcher, Berkeley, and Maddox

Playing Dibble Dabble and watching for the stick to pop up...

Madeline with baby Kate

Baby Kate loved floating

Slide Rock in Sedona, AZ

2011-06-23T22:03:00.000-07:00

Right after school ended we flew to Arizona to spend time with our cousins. We were so excited to finally meet baby Kate! She is such a cutie! Madeline and Zoe just loved holding her and Kate was so happy and smiley.

Our first adventure was driving up to Sedona to go to Slide Rock state park. It was so much fun to get in the river and slide down the smooth and slippery rocks like a natural water slide. Here is Zoe and Elle getting ready to get in the water.

Jensen, Zoe, and Hayden on the rocks

Keeping baby Kate happy in the shade

Zoe goes for a slide

Hayden slides toward one of the whirlpools

All the cousins

The whole group of us after spending the day at Slide Rock

Sedona is beautiful with it's red rocks and cliffs! The trip was definitely worth the drive!

Last day of school!

2011-06-20T21:49:00.000-07:00

The last day of school is finally here! Zoe is happy but also sad to say goodbye to her teacher Mrs. Hillyer and Mountain Meadow.

Carson's class wore pajamas on the last day of school which is why he has the funny checkered pj shorts on.

Zoe's 5th Grade Banner

2011-06-16T23:22:00.000-07:00

Zoe loved 5th grade in Mrs. Hillyer's class.

Grandma Gwen created the banner for the 5th grade class. It turned out awesome!

There was some really neat detail on it including jewels, burnished edges, and a sea monster. It looked like a real pirate map!

Every 5th grade student's name was on it. Grandma Gwen did an amazing job. They unveiled the banner in the assembly and afterward a lot of kids had their picture taken by their names on the banner.

The Circus comes to Buckley

2011-06-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

A little circus came through town so we took the family to see the show. It was a little one-ring circus called Culpepper & Merriwether's and they set up on the grass beside the Buckley Eagles. It was totally cute with tigers, a clown, a hula hoop girl, a family on unicycles, performing dogs, performing doves, a juggler, and an acrobat.

Getting ready for the show with some cotton candy.

Madeline and her friend Jen.

Sweet Bunnies

2011-06-06T08:21:00.000-07:00

I really don't think there is anything cuter than a baby bunny. These little babies, Nigel and Emmet, are the sweetest things ever! It seems like someone is always holding them and they just sit there so sweet and cuddly :)

Zoe's 11th Birthday

2011-06-04T21:35:00.000-07:00

Zoe celebrated her 11th birthday with her friends, Alex, Ariel, Hannah A, Nina, Hannah F, and Chloe

Blowing out 11 candles!

Playing the Candy Bar game is always fun. Zoe got a big chunk here!

Zoe just wanted a pretty party so we decorated with big tissue flowers and a cute banner. She wanted a simple white cake with tall candles. It all turned out really cute.

Birthday Bunnies

2011-06-03T12:10:00.000-07:00

For Zoe's birthday we surprised her with a baby bunny. She was instantly in love! He is the sweetest bunny and she named him Nigel.

Madeline went with me to pick out the bunny and they were so cute that I let her pick one for herself also. I just couldn't resist! Madeline's bunny has gray spots and she named him Emmett.

Zoe wanted to take a birthday treat to share with her class so we made watermelon sugar cookies.

Besides the bunny, Zoe got a few other birthday presents like a new MRFC sweatshirt and Salt & Vinegar chips (her favorite).

Band Concert

2011-06-01T16:20:00.000-07:00

Zoe started learning the trumpet this year in the after school 5th grade band program. Zoe and Madeline got to perform together at the year end district band concert. Our friends Megan and Zachary Kayner were also there. Zoe and Zachary sit next to each other in their 5th grade band playing trumpet.

For the finale the highschool (far left), middle school, and 5th grade (far right) all played a piece together.

Tacoma Art Museum field trip

2011-05-27T16:11:00.000-07:00

I was glad to get to go with Carson and his class on their field trip to the Tacoma Art Museum. It was a little rainy outside when we were eating lunch though. Inside the art studio.

Carson working on his self portrait.

Learning about art. After this we went through the museum exhibit of Norman Rockwell's art. Thank goodness I had already gone through the exhibit previously without 70 kids. His artwork is amazing but the kids were kind of oblivious.

Carson turns 9

2011-05-12T16:04:00.000-07:00

Carson had a baseball game on his birthday, and they won! That's a nice present. Birthday cinnamon rolls to share with the team after the game.

At home ready to open some presents...

Some of Carson's presents: a book about the moon, a Pokemon game, the Percy Jackson movie, peanut butter, and fruit snacks!

The Grimms

2011-05-08T15:53:00.000-07:00

Matt's family came over for Mother's Day which was also his mother Barbara's birthday. His sister Andrea and brother John were also there so we took a family picture of the 5 of them.

Madeline turns 15

2011-05-02T10:39:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Madeline turned 15. She is such a beautiful girl inside and out! She has a great sense of humor too :)

Family dinner at Olive Garden to celebrate- yum!

Madeline in action

2011-04-25T10:21:00.000-07:00

Here are a few shots of Madeline in action with her soccer team, MRFC Elite, this spring:

She has an awesome corner kick!

Easter

2011-04-24T09:14:00.000-07:00

The weather on Easter was on and off rainy, so we were lucky to get a sunny break right after church so the Easter Bunny could scatter some eggs. Here are the kids ready to go...

Looking for eggs...

Everyone got a bucketful of goodies

Dad and Madeline being silly

Hayden turns 13

2011-03-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

This is Hayden a few days after turning 13 celebrating with ice cream sandwiches. He didn't want a cake or a party this year. He's too cool! This was the day of his birthday (and before getting a haircut), he got new shoes that look like candy corn.

A teenager at last!

Science Fair

2011-03-14T17:57:00.000-07:00

Zoe and her friend Hannah did their 5th grade science fair project on which fruit juice has the most vitamin C. Their display was cute and they got a perfect score! (By the way, the answer is pineapple juice, not orange juice like you might think)

February Snow

2011-02-24T11:09:00.000-08:00

At the end of February we had a snow storm and got enough snow to cancel school for the day and play outside. Puff wore her little scarf and stayed cozy inside. The Mitchell kids and Jessica & Justin Tidwell came over and they all helped build a ramp for snow boarding.

Here goes Hayden down the hill. You can't really tell, but there is a jump down there as well.

The old pool ladder came in handy to get up on the ramp!

Payton was zipping down the hill too! They all had a great snow day.

Snoqualmie Falls

2011-02-12T10:53:00.000-08:00

Hayden had a soccer game in Snoqualmie so we stopped by to see the falls on the way home. The falls were raging and beautiful!

Scholar and Athlete

2011-02-08T10:45:00.000-08:00

Madeline played on the freshman basketball team for White River and had a lot of fun. She learned a lot and their team was pretty decent.

Madeline does a great job of keeping her grades up. Here she is doing homework while wrapped up in her new Snuggie. She loves her Snuggie!

Zoe's new haircut

2011-01-08T09:37:00.000-08:00

Zoe decided to start off the new year with a new look. She decided to go short!

And it turned out super cute! She loves it.

Sledding

2011-01-01T09:31:00.000-08:00

We went sledding with the youth group from church and found this great hill.

It was such a great hill we ended up going back with the kids on New Year's Day.

Christmas Day

2010-12-25T09:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning we opened presents at home.

If we can't have a white Christmas, at least we can have snow on our tree.

Later we had the family over for dinner. John, Matt, and Andrea worked on a puzzle.

Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T09:12:00.000-08:00

We had Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa Grimm's house. Dinner and presents were fun! Puff yawns. She's ready to go to sleep so that Santa can come.

Grandpa and Zoe look over a new book.

Puff gets a Christmas Eve treat, whipped cream! Of course she loved it.

Lindsey dances around in her new coat and slippers.

Then Lindsey helps Zoe get ready to dance in her new coat and pajamas.

The Nutcracker

2010-12-24T08:53:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve day, Zoe and I went to see the Nutcracker in Seattle.

We got a Mouse King cookie to share. It was really good!

The ballet was great and we had a wonderful time.

Expanding Carson

2010-12-09T12:33:00.000-08:00

This is Carson's first phase of orthodontics. He got a nice expander on the roof of his mouth to help make room for his huge teeth.
There has been some slurred speech and drooling, but he's getting used to it!

Pants on the ground

2010-11-26T12:23:00.000-08:00

Hayden is afraid his pants are becoming too short so he's been pulling them lower. Problem is it looks ridiculous. Pants on the ground, pants on the ground, looking like a fool with your pants on the ground!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T12:07:00.000-08:00

Zoe, Madeline, and Lindsey at their Thanksgiving table

Zoe, Madeline, and Lindsey under their Thanksgiving table (not really sure why)

Grandma Barbara had surgery the day before Thanksgiving so we just had a nice quiet dinner at their house and visited a bit. Her friends made her this pretty quilt.

Madeline goes to Washington DC

2010-11-10T11:31:00.000-08:00

Madeline was really lucky and was chosen to go with the DECA group from school to their convention in Washington DC. First order of business, McD's in DC. Now we're ready to go!

On the subway with Jessica

The Capitol

Taking in the sights at the museums

Madeline and friends at the Monument

Saying Hi to President Lincoln

Seattle soccer is cool

2010-11-06T11:19:00.000-07:00

Zoe had a soccer game on Bainbridge Island so we thought it would be cool to take the ferry over. It's just one of those unique Pacific Northwest experiences you shouldn't pass up. Here's Zoe and some of her teammates as we are ready to go.

Brrr! Facing the wind!

Leaving the Seattle skyline behind and heading into the Sound

Halloween

2010-10-31T10:09:00.000-07:00

Carson decided what he wanted to be last minute, so he became a last minute toilet paper mummy. The tp immediately started coming undone of course, so by the time he was done trick or treating he was back to regular Carson. Grandma Gwen made Zoe this adorable French Chef outfit and even embroidered Chef Zoe on the jacket. Zoe had fun putting flour on her face to make it more authentic.

When brainstorming about what to be a few weeks before Halloween, Hayden came up with Mr. Peanut. Grandma Gwen said, I think I can do that... and voila! Mr. Peanut! It was a really cool costume that she molded out of foam and she made a big cardboard hat for the top. Hayden was able to look out the monocle eye. At first he wasn't too keen on wearing black tights, but it looked awesome. All night people kept saying, What an awesome costume!

Madeline wore her cute cupcake from last year.

Hoot hoot!

2010-09-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

These are the stuffed owls Grandma Gwen made with Madeline. They turned out so cute that it was hard to stop! One became five and then before we knew it, there were about 40!

We called them "Hoots" and gave each a tag with their name on it because they were all unique. The girls had names like Chloe, Makenzie, and Olivia and the boys had names like Dexter, Emmet, and Brady. They were so cute! We had Matt's mom, Barbara, sell some at the Puyallup Farmer's Market.

Sounders game at Starfire

2010-09-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

We were able to see the Sounders play Chivas at Starfire (their practice facility) which was really cool because we were able to be really close to the action. A lot of families from Zoe's soccer team were there so we sat in a big group.

Madeline and Hayden, before the start of the game... it was beautiful and busy day! (Same day as the first day of school)

The Sounders stretched and warmed up right in front of us. That's Freddy Montero with the curly black hair.

The Sounders band got everyone riled up and then it became a big party, just like the games at Qwest field. Loud and full of chanting!

Our little Sounders after the game. (I made that Sounders afghan for Hayden)

Sounders Family

First day of High School, Middle School, and Elementary!

2010-09-01T21:08:00.000-07:00

In the wee small hours of the morning Madeline and Hayden get ready to catch the bus (at 6:45am) Madeline is going to her first day at White River High School as a freshman! Hayden will be at Glacier on his own!

Later, after the sun is up, Zoe and Carson get ready to catch their bus to Mountain Meadow and start 5th and 3rd grades.

Hayden's Bigfoot

2010-08-24T20:58:00.000-07:00

Hayden guest played with Synergy at the Bigfoot tournament. He had a lot of fun and they did really well. Here are a few action shots of Hayden...

They ended up taking 2nd place!

Pool Boys

2010-08-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

The boys were all having fun cooling off in the pool today. The neighbor boys, Cameron, Ty, and Chandler, were over too. Gotta love the "summer bathtub" as I call it! Just keep adding that chlorine!

Zoe's Fish Crackers

2010-08-23T10:16:00.000-07:00

Zoe loves to make fun snacks. These are snacks that are supposed to look like fish that she made out of cheese nips, cheese, pepperoni, and olives. And they were delicious too!

More Mesa

2010-08-23T10:06:00.000-07:00

I found a few more pictures from my quick trip to Mesa. This is my gorgeous sister in-law Wendi. She's so tall and pretty, kinda makes me feel like an ugly troll but I love her anyway! And these are 3 of her cuties, Berkely, Jensen, and Maddox. I don't know where Thatcher was... he's adorable too of course. It was fun to see them even though it was only for a few minutes!

Bigfoot Soccer Tournament

2010-08-22T17:59:00.000-07:00

We took the Airstream to the Bigfoot soccer tournament in Snohomish again this year. It was fun camping for 4 days and seeing a lot of games! We had at least 3 games a day since Madeline, Hayden, and Zoe were all playing. Carson and Madeline watching a movie

Looking toward the back of the trailer. It's so cute now that Gwen changed all the fabrics and Matt put down the hardwood floor. It's a little tight with all 6 of us, but it's still a nice little home on wheels.

Zoe, #7 for the MRFC Storm U11

Madeline, #23 for the MRFC Elite U16

Hayden, guest playing with Synergy FC U13

our camp...

Mesa

2010-08-14T17:40:00.000-07:00

On my way back from Albuquerque I stopped in Mesa for a day. It was so great to see my sweet Grandpa Orville and Grandma JoyLee. Grandpa had fun retelling the story of how my mom freaked out when he took us up in his Cessna and I passed out at the high altitude (I was about 6 months old or so). He said as soon as we came back down I woke right back up, 'See? She's fine!' he said. I don't blame my mom for being worried. It would be scary to see your baby just go limp and pass out! My little brothers, Ryan and Scott. They've been working out and are so cute, just forget about me, the cream puff in the middle.

My sister Erin with her dog, Mavis.

Albuquerque

2010-08-12T16:47:00.000-07:00

For my birthday in August, I took a quick trip to Albuquerque, NM to see my sister Laurel and her family. It was so fun to see her and meet my newest most adorable little nephew Sawyer!

We went sightseeing in Old Town along Route 66
My neice Haylee and I by a souvenir shop.

There was really neat jewelry. I got a little turquoise & silver necklace made by a local lady.

This is me trying to be artsy with my fancy camera. I call this one 'peppers'

'chiles'.

This was some old church. It looks so pretty under the blue sky.

another art photo, if I ever have my own ranch I would need this over my driveway.

a pretty iron gate and shadows

Sawyer is the cutest thing ever!

Sawyer and his mommy :)

Seth, Laurel, Haylee, Luke, Sawyer, and me going sightseeing

Grandma Gwen and Luke. While I was in Albuquerque I got to attend Luke's baptism. It was really neat to be there for that. He is such a great kid!

The last days of July

2010-07-27T22:23:00.000-07:00

July was so fun because my sister Erin and her kids Wade and Elle were here with us the whole month. We tried to do lots of fun little outings and also just fun stuff around the yard. I can't believe how many posts I had for this month! I'm glad I took lots of pictures so we can remember all the fun we had. These are the last few miscellaneous pictures from July... Erin and I took a day and went to Seattle to Pike's Place. We had a good time looking at all the shops and even stopped in at my friend's new shop there called The Chocolate Market. It's so cute!

We went to Ocean Shores for a day to play in the sand. The kids love the new souvenir shop there called Sharky's. They have every shark related souvenir you can think of!

Zoe loves being silly for the camera!

Elle turned 6 while they were here. She got an ice cream cake with starfish candles (she LOVES the beach!)

Wade, Hayden, and Carson. Cousins united by a common love for video games. They would be happy sitting there the whole day in their pajamas.

Board games were fun when Mom said "turn off all the TV's!"

My strawberry plot did really well this year. Last year I had 6 little starts from my friend Amy and this summer they completely filled in the space and produced a lot of berries. They are so much sweeter than the berries from the store too! We ate all these fresh! Yum!

Carson's Redondo Nap

2010-07-25T22:47:00.000-07:00

We went to Redondo for some fish and chips and to do a little beachcombing. Carson got tired and fell asleep on the sand. It's not even comfortable sand, it's totally rocky! But Carson can sleep just about anywhere. The gentle lapping of the waves must have been too much to resist and he just drifted off...

Three Boys in a Tent

2010-07-25T22:42:00.000-07:00

Hayden, Carson, and Wade had so much fun sleeping in the tent in the backyard. They played Uno and had fun with the flashlights and lanterns. Summer is so great for yard camping!

Puff's shade spot

2010-07-25T22:05:00.000-07:00

Puff found her own shady spot on the front porch, right underneath the hydrangea bush. She dug a cool spot in the bark and made herself comfortable. It was really funny watching her dig.

Puff was so hot from running around in the sun. Madeline was holding her in the shade and put a cute flower in her hair.

On the lake

2010-07-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

This year we got a new tube that the kids loved. Here we had 5 kids on it. It's nice and roomy and stable. Here's Hayden, Zoe, Carson, Wade and Elle taking a ride

Girls only for this ride

Boat Puff. She loves going on the boat.

Floaters

Emerald Downs

2010-07-24T16:19:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to see the horse races at Emerald Downs. Aunt Erin had given Madeline a little makeover, so she was looking beautiful in the sunny breeze... Carson the jockey

Wade, a little bit shorter jockey

Elle (the littlest one) standing at the fence to watch the horses go by. It was a fun day. We watched a few races, Hayden picked 3 winners in a row, and we had some delicious garlic fries and nachos.

Summer Bubbles

2010-07-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

We made some super bubble potion for the bubble wands we found at Target. Zoe and Elle had the most fun. They had giant bubble blobs floating all over the yard!

Portland Rose Garden

2010-07-18T21:56:00.000-07:00

On our way home from the soccer tournament in Beaverton, we stopped to check out the Rose Garden in Portland. There are really neat parks there. Here is Zoe by a monument. This was a pretty fountain. Everything around was so green and lush

Then we got to the roses. There were SO many different kinds! We had fun smelling them all.

The name of this rose was Elle, so we took a picture of Elle by her namesake. She thought that was pretty neat.

These were my favorites. They kind of look like peonies. I wish I had an English tea garden with a huge trellis of these!

Elle found a slug. Ugg!

Gross! This thing was huge!

Erin found a tile for Queen Erin from the past. Funny because we all call Erin the princess...

This was the Holocaust Memorial in the park. It was so austere and solemn. It was hard to read some of it. The stories were just so heartbreaking.

Tillamook, Oregon

2010-07-14T16:44:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to Tillamook since we were going to Beaverton for Madeline's soccer tournament. It was Elle's birthday and she LOVES the beach, so we went straight to the beach. When we got there we had a picnic on the grass. It was SO WINDY! Birthday girl Elle turned 6

After our picnic, we walked down to the beach

Elle was doing her best to catch the seagulls.

Cute Zoe

All the kids. We are missing Hayden because he had a soccer tournament back home the same weekend, so Dad stayed home with him.

The beach was rocky and windy! But it was still fun to walk around.

The water was pretty chilly, but Carson and Wade splashed around a bit and had fun jumping waves. The wind had the waves pretty whipped up!

We found a cool tunnel that went through the rock to another beach. The tunnel was so windy it was hard to walk through it.

One of the peep holes drilled through the tunnel

After the beach we went to tour the Tillamook factory. We sampled yummy cheeses and saw them packaging the cheese.

Then we sampled their delicious ice cream, yum!

Hayden & Synergy win Kent Cornucopia

2010-07-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

Hayden was asked to guest play with Synergy for the Kent Cornucopia tournament. They dominated every game and won the tournament! Here's Hayden (number 22) with his medal. Synergy is a great team and Hayden (back right) had a lot of fun with them. Alex and Nate were on his team last year so it was fun to team up with them again.

Tacoma Glass Museum

2010-07-07T21:37:00.000-07:00

We went to Tacoma to see the UW campus and the Glass Museum. First we had lunch at the Spaghetti Factory.

Elle loved her spumoni!
Checking out the campus at UWT

This is on the bridge going over the freeway to the glass museum. You can see the Tacoma Dome in the background.

There is a covered part on the bridge that has all these glass pieces in boxes up above. They are so pretty.

Here are a few good pictures of them...

Then you pass over the actual freeway. Erin is afraid of heights so she was freaked out if the kids got too close to the railing.

Tacoma Glass Museum

2010-07-07T17:15:00.000-07:00

This was Zoe's favorite in the wall of sculptures
This was Carson's favorite. It has 'naked babies' (aka. cherubs) and weird beetle bugs.

The water tubes were refreshing

This is the pretty glass pond fountain. It has an alarm all the way around so you can't reach into the water.

Watching the artists blow glass

The kids made their own art, on paper

Too boring for Dallas. He fell asleep.

By the boats in front of Johnny's Dock in Tacoma

Chihuilly's Museum of Glass

Fourth of July

2010-07-05T21:58:00.000-07:00

Matt and Dallas took the kids to the reservation to get some fireworks. Oh yes, we have a long night ahead of us to get all these things lit! Bring it on! Hayden came up with his own patriotic outfit, then he and Dillon got to work lighting fireworks with the blow torch.

Carson lighting Mom's favorite Ground Bloom Flowers

Madeline with her sparkler and sparkling smile :)

Zoe gets tricky with two sparklers at once

Madeline, Ashley, and Puff get warm and comfortable to watch the big fireworks

Elle and Zoe are warm and ready to watch too

We had a fun Fourth with lots of good bbq food and having Dallas, Erin, and Gwen here as well as the Sutherlands. Happy Birthday America!

Hayden's new look

2010-07-02T16:50:00.000-07:00

Hayden has really enjoyed his surfer like golden locks and has had the same look for more than a few years now. Every time I would trim it would be traumatic for him and I would have to promise not to go too short. Well, I've been telling him he should try something different and the beginning of summer is the perfect time because if he doesn't like it he would have time to grow it out before school starts. So after a week or two of thinking about it Hayden decided to go for it. I knew I didn't have the expertise to do a good job so we took him to Sports Clips. Here he is before, with his goldi-locks and his 'side feathers'...

And here he is after! It turned out great and he really likes it!

Everywhere he goes people are shocked at the change in his look. Hayden was afraid his hair would be dark underneath, but as you can see he is still a blonde.

He also likes using 'product' to style it and do a little flip at the front.

Beach Ball

2010-07-01T21:31:00.000-07:00

Hayden brought along a soccer ball and had fun kicking it around on the beach. The kids used driftwood to make sidelines.

Spring Break at Ocean Shores

2010-07-01T21:23:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know it's summer and spring break was a long time ago, but I just uploaded these pictures that I had in a different camera. So we went to Ocean Shores for spring break and yes, it was cold and windy! We stayed at our friend's awesome beach house, so the weather isn't a deal breaker. In fact, the kids played at the beach for over an hour! I never left the car and was content to take pictures with my zoom lens. Matt was a good dad and got out to play with the kids.

Windblown Zoe

Puff was hilarious running in the wind. I'm surprised she didn't blow away! She had a good time running far.

The girls went to the water's edge, brrr!

Sweet Puff

2010-06-27T20:55:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to take more pictures with my good camera so I can learn how to use it. Puff was laying on the couch so I snapped some of her. She would just stare at me like 'what are you doing?'. Her little face is just so cute! We sure love our sweet little dog!

Why do you keep calling my name when I'm right here?
Ok, I'm bored of this. I'm going back to my nap.

Swimmin'

2010-06-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

Mackenzie, Elle, and Zoe ham it up in the car ride over to the swimming pool at Chuck & Joan's house. What a fun pool! The cousins all had a great time!

Elle and her upside down goggles, so funny!

Maricopa Cousins

2010-06-19T14:07:00.000-07:00

Madeline and Zoe stayed with Grandma Gwen while she was taking care of Austin & Nicole's kids (while they went to South Africa for the World Cup!) They had fun hanging out at their new house in Maricopa and playing soccer in the park across the street. Zane liked playing Chuzzle on Madeline's phone

Brody holds two Arizona playtime essentials, ice water and sunblock!

Zoe and Mackenzie take a shade and ice water break

Soccer time!

Madeline and her buddy Zane

Unaccompanied Minors

2010-06-18T13:27:00.000-07:00

School is out so the girls were excited to start summer by going to Mesa, AZ to stay with Grandma Gwen for a few weeks. They flew all by themselves! I was nervous but also really excited for them. It was so weird to watch them walk down the jetway alone. I think I made at least three phone calls during their flight to make sure someone was going to be at the gate when they landed! One of their first activities was going to the river with Uncle Scott and cousins Jensen, Maddox, Berkley, Thatcher, and Belle.

Zoe got a nice sunburn the first day!

Zoe's birthday party

2010-06-04T21:42:00.000-07:00

Zoe had a Tiny Party for her birthday (just like Madeline did when she turned 10). We had fun making tiny decorations and tiny treats for the party.

A tiny banner...

Zoe's special tiny cake...

Tiny cakes for all the guests...

Tiny hamburger cookies...

Zoe turns 10

2010-06-03T22:29:00.000-07:00

Zoe's favorite treat right now is Muddy Buddies, so that is what she wanted to take to her class on her birthday. I decided to put them in dixie cups with a cute little tag on a stick. It worked out well and she was happy to share them with her friends. many Muddy Buddies...

Turning 10 is pretty exciting! Zoe opened presents from us on her birthday. She got roller blades, soccer shorts, and the movie Alice in Wonderland.

She was really excited to finally get a pair of Adidas soccer sweatpants that she had been begging for.

Now she looks like a real soccer girl!

Dad takes Carson on class field trip to zoo

2010-05-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

I couldn't take Carson on his field trip to the zoo this year, so Dad filled in. They were happy, I was sad. I hate to miss those fun outings with the kids. But they had a lot of fun together.

Madeline's New Smile

2010-05-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

This is Madeline before going into the orthodontist to get her braces taken off. She got them on almost two years ago. According to Madeline it's been a long almost two years of no sticky candy and corn on the cob. The 'fangs' she had are just a distant memory now! Fun! They sang to her and gave her balloons with a bottle of sparkling cider to celebrate.

The beautiful new smile all straight and sparkly white! Madeline was happy to go back to school and smile the rest of the day. She has since enjoyed Milk Duds and corn on the cob sans braces.

100th Blog post!

2010-05-25T07:57:00.001-07:00

I can't believe this is my 100th Blog post! I thought I should mention it because they always mention it for TV shows if it's their 100th episode or whatever. I don't have anything special to blog about, so I just took some pictures of my front porch area because it is such a pretty morning. This is my cute piano lessons sign I put out to get new students. As of right now I have 7 students (8 if I count Zoe) which is all I have time for. Teaching has been pretty fun. Zoe is the hardest to teach because she doesn't like to be corrected so our 'lessons' usually last about 5 minutes.

This is my pretty bush that is blooming right now. I think it's some type of rhododendron, but I'm not sure. I love the brilliant red/orange color. All the rhodies in my yard are in full bloom right now and the giant fuzzy bumblebees are loving them. The bees are so cute and fat and just slowly buzz among the flowers. They don't bother us at all, unlike the hornets that are trying to make more nests in our eaves.

This is my Japenese maple that I trimmed in the fall, but now it's so bushy you can't even tell. It needs some serious pruning and shaping! I just don't know what I'm doing!

Carson gets a new haircut

2010-05-15T09:49:00.000-07:00

Carson's hair was just so bushy and he would get hot and sweaty, so we took him to SportsClips to get a cool style. We came out with the Faux hawk and 'product'! Carson likes it and we think it looks so cute on him.

Madeline turns 14

2010-05-14T22:00:00.000-07:00

Madeline is so old! She turned 14 and celebrated by having a Cooking theme party with some of her friends. Grandma Gwen was here so she made adorable aprons for everyone as party favors. Adorable aprons!

Puff got an apron too that matched Madeline's.

Hayden flaunted some frills with his apron...

The girls (and one brave boy, Brendan) made enchiladas, salsa, a mexican dip, beans and rice, and fried ice cream. They did a great job and everything was delicious!

Brendan was such a good sport. He even chose his own apron and was man enough to pull off pink! He was in charge of the enchiladas.

Jen made a yummy chocolate fruit dip.

I made some Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting that were Muy Delicioso!

more party...

2010-05-14T21:55:00.000-07:00

Playing spoons...

Making cookbooks...
Cute cookbook cover...

Madeline opens her presents. This was a hilarious dancing hamster card.

Sporting her new Sounders jacket!

Some birthday kisses from Puff

Easter

2010-05-14T21:32:00.001-07:00

I know this is over a month late, I am trying to catch up on my blogging!
This was Easter. Everyone still enjoys hunting for those eggs! Zoe was the only one who was interested in coloring eggs this year, so she and I did about a dozen.

Carson turns 8

2010-05-12T13:56:00.000-07:00

Where has the time gone? My baby is 8?! Carson is just so big now, it makes me sad. It seems like just yesterday he wouldn't keep any clothes on and just wanted to roam the yard in his green rubber frog boots... Carson requested 'that big chocolate cake from Costco', yum!

Group birthday hug!

He was overjoyed to get a bag of Almond Joys :)

Boxer briefs make a great gift too!

Madeline finishes middle school soccer

2010-04-22T09:21:00.000-07:00

This was after Madeline's last soccer game as a Glacier Grizzly. She had fun and we didn't have any horrible rain or snow games this year. This day of the last game was actually warm in the sun! Mount Rainier is always such a pretty backdrop. Madeline is #36, I'm always surprised at how tall she is in a group!

Hayden and his beard

2010-04-14T09:09:00.000-07:00

We got Hayden a pretend shaving kit for his birthday because he is always telling me that he is really starting to grow some facial hair. But let me just tell you, he is not. He wishes he had a mustache and beard! Hayden practices his technique with friends looking on. It was pretty funny because Hayden was being pretty serious about it.

Madeline offered her help

And if you think this was the only time he 'shaved' you would be wrong. He has practiced multiple times and keeps trying to tell me he has a 'stache! It is so funny!

Hayden turns 12

2010-04-10T09:50:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe that Hayden is 12 now. He just isn't a little boy anymore. He still loves soccer more than girls though, so that is good. He was excited to get this Sounders jersey for his birthday. Hayden and his buddy Nathan were sitting in the recliner together so I had to do a double take and ask, 'what are you doing?'

Well, they were just reading Calvin & Hobbes and eating snacks together. It's cute that even though you're 12 you can still hang out with your buddy as if you were only 7.

Hayden opening presents...

Here's a fun present, a new hamster! We named him Patrick (since it was St. Patrick's Day). He is so cute!

Madeline's cake pops

2010-04-04T21:46:00.001-07:00

This is Madeline making some cute and very delicious Cake Pops that we saw on Bakerella. She tinted the white chocolate light green for St. Patrick's Day (not that you can tell in this picture.)

Then we put on some cute sprinkles just for good measure. Sprinkles make everything better. They were so yummy! Madeline is such a good little baker!

Horse bite

2010-03-29T20:35:00.001-07:00

Carson came in from outside crying and I asked him what happened, thinking he'd say he fell off his bike or something, and he tells me he got bit by a horse! It didn't even compute for a second and then Zoe was there saying, "Yeah Mom, the horse bit him on his shoulder!". Horse? What horse? We don't have a horse! So come to find out the kids were all down IN the field next door with the neighbor's wild horses and one decided to try to pick up Carson by his shoulder. Luckily he wasn't hurt too badly, just an ugly horse mouth shaped bruise. Needless to say we have since told the kids it is never a good idea to get inside the field and next to horses without supervision (seriously, is this not obvious?! I guess we forgot to cover that topic...) Anyway, Carson is fine and we had fun calling him Horsebite for a week or so.

Cute things

2010-03-28T08:23:00.001-07:00

This is Zoe holding the little crocheted owl I made for a friend's baby shower... Isn't he cute? Zoe was sad I gave him away, so now I need to make another one.

This is a cute little flower I made with stamped hearts. Of course it needed a bucket of cookies to grow in to be complete.

Roller skating

2010-03-10T10:33:00.001-08:00

We had a family roller skating party for Matt's birthday and it was a lot of fun! We had about 5 families there and we all skated. For some of us it has been a few years since we were on skates, but it's like riding a bike, it comes back, sort of! Doing the Hokey Pokey (after all, that's what it's all about)

Carson got roller blades for Christmas so he was loving it. He skated non-stop as you can see by his pink, sweaty face!

Carson did the races and won a ticket for a free drink! Way to go Carson!

Carson and Dillon racing around the floor

La Tour Eiffel

2010-03-06T22:00:00.001-08:00

Ok, this will be my last Paris post. I know you're all probably thinking 'enough already'! But I took so many pictures! So I'll end my Paris blogging with the centerpiece of Paris, La Tour Eiffel. It was so pretty! Even with the tip top in the clouds it was really cool.

Going up in the original 1889 hydraulic lift was neat. The giant wheels that turn the cables were amazing. We only got to go to the middle tier. The very top was closed, maybe because it was in the cloud cover? Anyway, where we were was pretty high as it was! Mom wouldn't even go up. It was chilly up there!

I absolutely LOVED the brown color of the Eiffel Tower. It was so pretty! I bought the cutest brown & orange mugs at the gift shop up top :)

L'Arc de Triomphe

2010-03-05T21:15:00.000-08:00

The Arc de Triomphe is in the center of an intersection where about 13 streets meet and there are like 5 lanes in a roundabout, it's crazy busy! The good news is that there is an underground passage for pedestrians so you walk under all the traffic and come out right at the base of the Arc. Pretty cool. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is directly beneath it with its ever burning flame. The details on everything are amazing. We climbed to the top (more circular stone stairs) and the view is spectacular.

This is the sign for the Musee d'Orsay. Of course I had to stand by it because Mo is my nickname :) We only did the Louvre, but I definitely want to come back some day and go through the M'O so I can see all the Impressionists works!

Dad and me inside the Louvre. So much to see! These cases had the coolest miniature artifacts. I can't imagine having to dust and clean all those knick knacks!

I couldn't resist. Hope I don't get an Egyptian curse.

Heads & Tails in the Louvre

2010-03-05T11:59:00.001-08:00

Heads...

Tails...

The Venus de Milo...

Mona & me...

More Paris...

2010-02-08T08:17:00.000-08:00

I loved the Seine! It was so pretty. All the bridges were so neat. This one had the big N for Napolean. Can you imagine being so important that you could order having your initial put all over like that? The building is La Conciegerie which was a jail at the end of the 14th century. During the Revolution more than 4,000 people were help prisoner there (including Marie-Antoinette) and about half of them were guillotined. This is the fountain outside the entrance to the Louvre. The entrance is in the glass pyramid.

What? I'm not tired, let's go see some old stuff inside the Louvre!

Inside was neat. From this center you can go off in 4 different directions. There are three wings with 4 levels each of art! You really could be in there for days and probably not see everything. There was also some neat shopping including a Starbucks and an Apple store. My Dad was excited to stand outside the Apple store and get a lighting fast connection on his iPhone :)

Notre Dame

2010-02-05T13:38:00.001-08:00

The first of many, many spiral concrete stairs we would climb. This is climbing up to the top of Notre Dame. Here's the little door leading to Quasimoto's bell tower

My Mom and Dad and me

So much to see! Yes, there's the Eiffel Tower in the center background in the mist.

Ah, Paris!

2010-02-05T13:17:00.001-08:00

I had the most incredible opportunity to go to Paris a few weeks ago with my parents! It was so neat! We were only there for 2 full days (the other 2 days were spent in airplanes) but they were FULL days. We saw so much! Here are a few of the first things.... like the Metro at St Michel we emerged from coming from the airport. How cute is it?! Our hotel was in the Latin Quarter right near Notre Dame. There it is, flying buttresses and all! Weather was a little chilly but not much different than Seattle, so that was good.

We climbed up to the top of Notre Dame to see the gargoyles. They were really neat. The view from up there is awesome.

We even went into the bell tower to see Quasimoto's bell

What is it?

2010-02-05T12:40:00.000-08:00

Hayden was so funny the other day. I came home from the grocery store and he picks up the lime and says, "is this an avacado?" so I tell him no, it's a lime. Then he picks up the ginger and says, "is this a potato?" so I tell him no, it's ginger! You're 0 for 2! I guess I know who won't be going to culinary school to become the next Wolfgang Puck! ha ha :)

Good bye Alvin

2010-01-15T10:28:00.001-08:00

Our sweet little hamster Alvin died today. He was such a sweet little thing. He was really gentle and the kids loved to hold him and watch him run around in his ball. We will miss him. I'm glad my friend Kelly took these photos of him just for fun last year, because they turned out so cute & it is great to have them to remember him by.

Happy New Year it's 2010!

2010-01-07T20:15:00.000-08:00

The moment we've been waiting for, Happy New Year! Zoe was afraid to pull too hard on the popper string... she was so funny, her face reminded me of Buddy the Elf testing Jack in the Boxes!

Bentley (the Sutherland's dog) was so tired. He just kept looking for someone to sit still so he could have a place to lay down. Matt was kneeling behind the couch for just a few minutes and Bentley saw that as an opportunity to get comfortable!