A couple more...

Getting ready to ride the train around the park!

And there they go.....

We're back!

Well, we're back from Arizona and we had a great time! I took lots of pictures but I don't have much time to put a lot tonight, so I think I'll put some on here and there when I get a few precious seconds :-) Emma and Ben had so much fun at Grandpa and Grandma's house! Here's a couple pics, and I'll add more in the next couple days!



Emma in Grandpa and Grandma's backyard

A VERY happy boy!

Off to Arizona!

Well, we're off to Arizona to visit Dave's dad and mom, and we're very excited! Emma has been counting down the days until she can ride in a BIG airplane and go see Grandpa and Grandma. And we're excited for maybe a little sun :) Anyway, we just got a new camera because I couldn't get our other one to work, so now I will be able to post pictures again! So, I'm sure we will get some good one down in Tucson, and when we get back I will also finally post pics of the new kitchen tiling!! Hope everyone has a great week! Oh, if you read this and think of it tommorrow morning around 10:30 to about 2 or so, pray that Benjamin will PLEASE be quiet on the plane :) (Am I being too hopeful???? :))

Happy Valentines Day!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentines Day....I love this picture of my nephew Austin and Emma...it was taken two years ago on Valentines. It was before either of them had little brothers...boy, how times have changed....They will always be the best of buddies, though....

What's new with us??

Well, I've been slacking a little on here because my camera hasn't been working, so no new pictures. But, I can update everyone on some of the fun, some of the crazy, and some of the plain old boring stuff going on in our house :-) So, in no particular order, here's some highlights:

....Dave and I have tackled another home improvement project (for those of you who don't know, Dave loves to work on our house :-)). We have been wanting to do a tile backsplash in our kitchen, and so we just dove right in. Dave learned how to do it and we saved a lot doing the work ourselves. I wouldn't say that the tiling itself was hard, it was doing it around two little people running in and around our legs, and asking for food, crying, and scrwaming that threw us over the edge :-) But it looks great, we're almost done (pictures to come soon).....

....I have finally gotten into the groove of my new diet, and I figured I might as well tell everyone on here so that you can all hold me accountable and stop me if you see me reach for the M and Ms or cookies ;-) As I was telling my friend Amanda, I can't use Benjamin as an excuse for this extra weight anymore...though I will as long as I can :-) But I must be talking more about healthy stuff and dieting because we went to Fred Meyer today to get some groceries, and Emma got to pick out a toy. She picked a Barbie swimming pool, and she turned and looked at me and said, "Hey Mommy, you can even play with this pool too, because its fat free!" Oh, my....

....Rosco is depressed...we are pretty sure he has the seasonal disorder....poor guy...it rains so much that he just stares outside or gives us this look like he saying "Are you kidding me? I'm inside the house all day with these loud kids who tackle me and try to dress me up with hats and blankets, you could at least give me a little love.....sorry rosco :-)

.... kids are good....Emma's favorite foods right now are grapefruit, pancakes and pizza....Ben loves turkey hot dogs, pepperoni, granola bars and NO VEGETABLES! :-)

Hope everyone is doing good....lots of stuff going on, but you are all in our thoughts and prayers! Love to you all!!

I'm too cool for you ! :-)

Oh, my..... this kid is wearing us out!! The day he started walking changed our lives forever :-) He went from a laid back couch potato to a full blown tornado that runs through the house creating havoc :-) He throws anything he can get his hands on...walks by tables and just pushes everything off them and then moves on to his next target...he loves to laugh REALLY loud, and Loves to throw his food at dinner (and has even found that it makes daddy mad, so he waits until Dave isn't looking ).... he would play outside in the pouring rain, snow, sleet or hail, and I went from giving him a bath every other day to sometimes two a day because he's so messy ;-) He even has learned to fight back the big sister...And we love him so much.......that being said, Dave and I cherish the few hours of peace and quiet that we can get- I have a feeling Ben has come into his own!!!
Worn out with his cool glasses on

After dinner he likes to lounge in his own Elmo chair (and will NOT let Emma near it) to watch a video, he thinks he's so cool.....

trying to grab the camera

Scary! He's not too sure of this, ut he wanted to try it on :-)

More from the zoo....

Thanks Alicia for all the pictures...as promised, more pictures from our little trip to the zoo!

One of Emma's favorites- watching the Sea Lions!

Alicia and Emma

Ben and Emma loved this little Meercat- it looked so cozy in its little den and it just stared at them. Ben just kept laughing and trying to pound on the glass

Emma is trying to look "cool" in this one :-)

Alicia got a great shot of the tiger....

A day at the zoo!

On Wednesday we met my sister Alicia at the Portland Zoo for a chilly, but very fun afternoon! It was 29 degrees when we got their, so the kids had to be bundled up :-) but the sun was shining, and we felt like we were the only people there, so we got to see lots of animals. My camera ran out of batteries after two pictures, so I'll post more after I steal some from the sis :-)

Emma never goes anywhere without her new "Wizard of Oz" shoes....Lions, Tigers, and Bears, Oh MY!!

Benjamin is 1 !!!

I can't believe that out little guy turned 1 yesterday! This year has gone by so fast, and it's been amazing to watch him grow and learn all kinds of new things! He has started walking just in time for the big day, and he loves every minute of life! What a happy guy and his smile can light up my day. We love you buddy!

Here is Benji the day after he was born.....
And here he is now- look out world!

Happy Birthday Benny!

What a fun birthday party for Ben, thanks everyone for coming! Ben got to have all of his cousins here, except for Finn, so that was so fun. The kids all had a great time, and Ben loved every minute of it... I have to say though, he pooped out pretty early, the birthday boy crashed at about 6:30, and was asleep about 6:45 :-) The party went on without him, though, and we must have worn him out because he didn't wake up until 8 the next morning!

watching us all sing happy birthday (he thought that was pretty funny)

We love you bud!

Nana and Ben

Ben with some of his cousins checking out the goods

I love his face in this one- he looks so excited :-)

5 years!

Dave and I had our 5th Anniversary on the fourth, I can't believe it! Its been a wonderful 5 years. I think we've packed about as much as we can in our years together so far, and I can't wait to see what the next, well, 60 or 70 years bring :-) I love you, Dave!

Happy New Year! 2008 is here!

Cousins Lucas, Bella and Emma ringing in the New Year

Our niece Isabella