LONG overdue

We are back.  Monday we got back from a 2 week vacation back home in Washington.  It was beautiful and we had such a good time seeing friends and family.  Brooke and I took advantage of Grandparents willing to babysit and went out to 3 different movies.  We shopped, ate and pretty much kicked back and enjoyed it.  The kids both got ear infections and were sick the first part of our trip and then Brooke and I got sick at the end.  We still managed to squeeze in lots of fun.  Here are a few pictures of the fun we had.

I had a birthday while we were there and Brooke totally spoiled me.  He bought me this new camera and I am having so much fun with it.  I have lots to learn though.  That night he took me out to The Melting Pot for dinner.  We ate so much and had a great time together.  It was very odd being out without our kids.  

Gracie is alot more adventurous the Jake ever was.  We have to keep and eye on her!

Jake wanted to "workout" with his dad one afternoon.

We went to Brandi's new house for a bbq.  It is a great house and we all had fun....especially Grace trying to climb up the roof.  

We are already looking forward to when we get to go back home again.

I don't like dogs...

Today was a beautiful day outside.  Mid 60's with a few clouds in the sky and a nice breeze.  We didn't really have anything going on, so we decided to have a picnic in the park.  Lunch was good and then the kids had fun on the playground.  Brooke went to put together a kite at the picnic table and then i decided to go to some nearby trees and take a few photos of Grace.  I had just set her down and was about to get the camera out when I heard this loud screaming.  I noticed that some dogs that had been playing across the park were now running our way.  I looked over to the playground and saw Jake with a panic stricken face, running toward me faster than I have EVER seen him run.  I hurried and picked up Grace and we went to save Jake.  The poor guy was so scared.  We went over to the picnic table and he would not leave the cement slab or go anywhere near the playground for fear of the dogs returning.  He kept telling us that he didn't like dogs.  So, that was the end of our afternoon at the park. 

afternoons

As soon as the kids are up from their afternoon nap, we head outside to enjoy the nice weather.  Jake has fun playing with all the kids in the neighborhood and Grace has fun with whatever she finds on the ground.  I enjoy watching them be kids and having fun, like they should.

The other night, Jake tried on Brookes boots.  They are some pretty big shoes to fill.  

Gracie

Here is Gracie with the outfit Grandma Tomi gave her for her birthday.

And here she has had her limit of being photographed

Pay it forward

1.  Be one of the first FIVE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty, yummy, artsy, silly, who knows?

2. Winners are supposed to pst this on THEIR blogs and pay it forward, but if you happen to be one of my non-blogging readers, I'm not counting you out.  You can win, too.  But you wtill have to pay it forward, somehow.

3.  The gift that you send to your friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item.

A little bit ago, my good friend Danelle posted this on her blog.  So, I left a comment and was on the lucky list of people to receive a fabulous surprise from Danelle.

 

Danelle is one of my favorite people.  She is Hillarious, smart and very creative.  She is very talented and am so glad to have her as a friend.  The other day, I received my handmade item from Danelle.  I was so excited to open it up and see what she made.  Well, here it is....

She made the collage by cutting out the shapes from different boxes...kleenex, cookie crisp, coke, graham crackers, pic crust mix, popcorn, and cake mix.  She put so much thought into the picture and I was so impressed with it.  Thanks Danelle....I LOVE it and I can't wait to find the perfect place to hang it.

So, I am putting the offer out there for anyone who wants a homemade surprise from me.  It won't be nearly as cool as what Danelle made for me, but I will try.  And anyone who knows me, knows that i am a huge procrastinator, so I may use all 365 days allotted to me to complete and mail your gift.  But, I will try to stay on top of it and get it to you in a timely manner.

Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday Grace!

I had big plans to take gracie to a park today and take some pictures of her.  When we got there, i discovered something.  She doesn't like to sit in the grass with bare legs.  I put her in a skirt and she did NOT like the feel of the grass.  I guess we will have to try again tomorrow...in pants.  So, I snapped a few shots of the birthday girl as she was enjoying her morning.  more to come later...

more stuff

The other night while I was making dinner, this is what Gracie was up to.  She is fascinated with cupboards.  It keeps her occupied and happy, so that is good.  I tried bringing in some toys for her to play with instead, but she would have none of it.

Toys, or canned asparagus....the asparagus won.

Today we went on a little walk to a nearby playground.  For some reason, Jake made a game out of trying to avoid the camera.  I only managed to snap a couple of him actually looking at me.

He was being a bulldozer here and moving the rocks around

Grace once again enjoyed playing with the rocks, but she is getting better at not trying to eat them.  I caught her a couple times trying to snack on them, but she spit them right back out.

They both got dirty, and had fun.  Good thing it is bath night!