Goodbye Preschool, Hello Kindergarten!

Well, preschool is officially over now, Emma had her end of the year picnic on Thursday. It was a blast, with lots of fun stuff to do. Emma was a little sad, though...I think it finally hit her that she wasn't going to that school anymore, and wouldn't have her favorite teacher next year...BUT, she is very excited to go to BIG KID SCHOOL!! Here are some pictures from the end of school picnic!

Emma with her whole class on Pajama Day

Emma and her buddy Natalie

This big parachute was a hit with the kids...

Benjamin followed Emma around all day at her school picnic, and luckily she let him hang with the Big Kids :)

Mrs. Vanveen and Emma... what a great teacher!

The doodlebugs recieving their end of the year awards..

Egg relay at the BBQ

Memorial Weekend

We hope everyone had a great weekend! The weather was so nice here, I think summer has arrived! Like every Memorial Day, Dave had to work...its a busy weekend for outdoor stuff. But Saturday night we all got to go over to our friends Brad and Stephanie's house for a BBQ (thanks guys!).. then Sunday the kids and I headed down to my moms for a BBQ and Memorial Day service at the cemetary. It was a fun couple days, but we wished Dave was with us (we did bring him lots of food home though :))..anyway, here are some pictures from the weekend!

Crystal and little Charlie

Emma and Austin roasting marshmallows

Jack and Benjamin about to get a sugar high :)

Emma and Ben walking the Avenue of Flags

The kids by my dad's flag. He served in the US Coast Guard so now his flag flies on Memorial Day up at the Dallas Cemetary

My mom with the kids by "Papa Don's flag"

Me and my grandma

Jack and Benny anxiously awaiting some water balloons (ummm...i need to get Ben some swim trunks :))

Water balloon fight!

Roscoe relaxing in the field

Nana and Charlie

Emma at school

Emma had her spring program at school last week, and it was so fun! She did great, and it always amazes us how fast she is growing up! Our camera wasn't cooperating with me during the program, so I didn't get any "action" shots :) But here's a couple of her and her friends after the show...she only has one more week of preschool and then we will have a kindergartener!


Emma with her friends Lauren and Natalie

Emma, Paige and Preslie

Crazy hair day

Thursday was crazy hair day at Emma's school, so I took a couple pis of her wild hair. She thought this was SO funny, and loved seeing how all the kids came with their hair done...

Mothers Day

Sunday was the first time we all felt pretty good at the same time, so we took advantage of the beautiful day and headed to Lake Merwin to do some Kokane fishing. I was a little nervous about being on the boat feeling so quesy, but I did ok thanks to my new medicine... the kids had a blast, and we caught 5 fish! Here's a few pictures...

Morning sickness and the stomach flu do NOT mix

Okay, i've been a little behind on everything lately... just wanted to give an update on things going on here in the Hughes house. Things have not been pretty here AT ALL... I have morning sickness so bad this time, and am nauseous all the time! I wasn't like this with Emma or Ben, so it's thrown me a little. On top of that, we have all been taking our turns with a bad stomache flu (virus, etc) and for me, this was a disastor... luckily my wonderful husband has been doing tons extra, as I have been out for the count. Today was Emma's turn, and she's suffering through as best she can.. we all need rest, but I know it will be over soon.
On the very good side!.... I had our first doctors visit for the baby, and things are fine! It was my 8 week appt. and I saw the heartbeat and got a little ultrasound picture of baby #3. So, it seems very real now and aside from feeling so sick and exhausted, we're really happy that things are ok.
So, no pictures for now.... but hopefully things will be getting better SOON!
Hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day on Sunday!

Redmond/Lincoln City/Dallas

Here are a few pictures from our time in Redmond with Mark, Thuy and Lucas, and also our time in Dallas for my Grandpa's funeral. We're back now and trying to get back to "normal". We're getting excited to plant our garden!

Ben riding in cousin Lucas' cool car :)

Lucas in his baseball uniform- so handsome!

Dad and Emma on the trail

Benjamin, Lucas and Emma by a BIG tree

Ice cream cones in Sisters, OR... Ben gets more food on his face than in it :)

Austin and Emma in Lincoln City

Little Miss Emma

Three Ninjas at the beach :) Austin, Jackson and Benjamin

Dad and Emma

Me, Tanner and Cody at Grandpa Als's Memorial Service

Schmidt grandkids by Grandpa Al's John Deere...he only retired 4 weeks ago :)

Thanks Brad, Jane and Caleb for watching the kids during the funeral....they had a great time with you! We really appreciate it! Love you guys!

We'll miss you Grandpa Al

It has been a whirlwind few days for us this past week. Dave, the kids and I were headed to Redmond for our vacation when I got the call that my grandpa wasn't going to make it through the day. He had been doing a lot better since his surgery at OHSU, but then all of the sudden his body just started to shut down. I got to the hospital where everyone had gathered to say goodbye. We all gathered in his room and as the pastor prayed, he slipped away to be with Jesus. I love you Grandpa!


After spending a night in Dallas, I got to meet up with Dave and the kids in Redmond to spend some vacation time, and now we're back in Dallas to help with funeral arrangements. I wanted to post a link to the obituary for anyone interested. I know some of you live far away and may want to read it. Lots of love to everyone, and we did take some fun pictures both in Redmond with Mark, Thuy and Lucas, and in Lincoln City with the Winters fam. Pictures to come soon! Here's the link for Al Schmidt's obituary:

http://legacy.com/statesmanjournal/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=126647696

Easter pictures

I didn't get any pictures taken on Easter, but these are from Saturday, while we were decorating eggs- it was fun, but let me just tell you this:
colored dye + glitter paint + eggs + ONE HYPER BOY = TROUBLE :) :)
that's all I will say about that....haha

No training wheels!

Once Emma sets her mind to something- there is no stopping her :) Her two most favorite things are swimming and riding her bike, and this week she took her training wheels off! We had tried a couple times last month, but she wasn't quite ready. The nieghbor girl came over and for some reason, she had the magic touch! Emma learned to ride and now she is going full blast! Enjoy the video and pictures, she's so excited!

Random pictures :)

Its been a beautiful few days here in Washington, and mostly we've tried to stay outside and enjoy it! The kids have loved getting in shorts and t-shirts... and one awesome thing happened- Emma has learned to ride her bike with NO training wheels!(pictures to come soon)... we're so proud of her- she's growing up so fast.. I also got glasses (haha) and i will have to post a picture soon of just how studious i look now :) Hope everyone is doing good!

Emma and her best friend Preslie hanging out in the sun

I think it's safe to say that Benjamin thoroughly enjoyed his brownie :)

One of Emma's many silly faces

Emma's 5th Birthday!

Emma had a very fun Birthday- thanks to everyone for making it so special! The phone calls, cards, presents and thoughts sent her way- we appreciate them all! She had a tinkerbell birthday party, had friends and cousins over, got to play games and a pinata, and eat lots of good food! :) Here are some pictures from her big day...

The birthday girl! She's 5 today!

Me, Emma and Steph

Me and my mom

All the kids!! Paige, Preslie, Emma, Bella, Finn and Benjamin

Emma's new bike from Daddy and Mommy

opening presents

Brian, Bella and Finn playing the Wii

Daddy and Emma (dave was so tired by the time this picture was taken- he went to work at 5am)

Isabella and Emma- best friends!

Benny and Emma with Nana and their build-a-bears (thanks nana!)