...and they lived happily ever after

Easton is two (a little late)

2010-12-18T22:15:00.000-08:00

Sorry everybody, but we were pretty behind on our blogging so we're trying to catch up with a few different entries. There are a lot of pictures!

I really can't believe that Easton is already two. He is such a sweetheart and we love him so much. He is definetly in the "terrible two's." He is very polite always says please and thank you, but his favorite word is "NO" and he uses it all the time. He loves trains, trucks, and Mickey Mouse. As soon as he wakes up he says "Mote" (for remote) and "Mou Mou" (Mickey Mouse) and points to the TV. If I need him to be entertained I can just put that on and he is an angel for a good 25 minutes. He is a pretty good eater and he loves to run. Just like any other boy, he can turn anything into a pretend weapon (He even uses the otoscope from his doctor kit as a gun). He is a true boy! He is such a cutie and we love him so much!

Happy (late) Birthday Easton!

Because Easton loves Mickey Mouse so much we had to give him a Mickey Mouse Birthday! My sister made him this amazing cake. Thanks Tiffany, we loved it!

Halloween

2010-12-18T22:03:00.000-08:00

We decided to do a family theme this year and I've got to admit, it was kind of fun. We may just have to do another theme next year!

I love this next picture because it show the beautiful leaves here in Washington!
They are pretty proud of their pumpkins!
The Pumpkin patch.

First Day of School!

2010-12-18T21:57:00.001-08:00

Brooklyn was so excited for her first day of Kindergarten!

I love this picture because Easton just had to peak around the corner and be a part of the picture!

Kennady's First day of 3rd grade. I can't believe we have a third grader!

OUR SUMMER

2010-12-18T21:16:00.000-08:00

Here is what we did this summer.

Scott had to spend a month in Spokane working in a PICU, so the rest of us decided to go home for the summer.

Utah Fun

Kennady and Brooklyn's cousin got baptized!
Brooklyn fell going up the stairs and split her chin upen and had to get stitches. It was her third time in the ER that week! (She had been sick a few days earlier and needed IV antibiotics). Because she did so well in the ER all three times I took her to a little girl spa and they got pedicures and were totally pampered. They loved every minute of it.

The 24th of July parade in Utah.

After we spent a few weeks in Utah we went to Spokane to spend some time with Scott before heading back home.

SPOKANE

Seattle Fun!

The Seattle Aquarium

The Ferry

Kennady's Baptism

This Summer Kennady was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints! It was such a great day! All of her grandparents and Aunt Tiffany and Uncle Trever were able to come up for the baptism!

Tara's Family

Scott's Family

She was glowing the whole day!

Whenever the Yankees come to Seattle we have to go support our team!

We really had a great Summer! It went by way too fast! It is hard to belive this was our last summer in Washington!

Kennady is 8!

2010-07-11T18:50:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that our little Kennady is 8. It seems like just yesterday we were sitting on the bed (at two in the morning) staring at our beautiful baby girl! She was just so precious we could have watched her all night. Now she is this grown up little girl and I don't know what to do with her. She comes home from school and tells us about the cute boys in her class. (We're really not ready for that yet). She is such a joy to have and we love her dearly. She is a great helper and loves to do favors. She likes TV a little too much. She loves to dance and play the piano. She is good at reading and teasing her sister. We love her so much and are blessed to be her parents. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Kennady!

California

2010-06-23T22:29:00.001-07:00

Tara's Aunts house

Last month we took a much-needed vacation to southern California. On the drive down we were able to stop in and stay with my aunt for a night. The kids had so much fun and they are begging to go back. My aunt made a big dinner and all of my cousins came over. It was so good to see them again. It had been a long time and I hadn't seen some of their kids. Brooklyn now thinks she has her very own chicken that lives in California. She tells everybody. It really was a ton of fun.

Here are the chickens

Lainey-Anika-Kennady
Kennady-Lainey-Brooklyn

(those are snakes they're holding!)

Midevil Times
Our first night in Anaheim we went and ate at Midevil Times and the kids had a ball. We cheered for the red knight and thanks to our cheering, our knight won. That just made the night even better. We bought our kids little red flags to wave and you should have seen Easton, he was waving it the highest and the fastest. He had a ball.

Disneyland

(The Happiest Place on Earth)

I know it is cheesy but I had to buy matching Disneyland shirts. I think they are pretty cute.
Scott and I decided that this was one of our funnest trips to Disneyland ever. The girls were at a perfect age. They were still young enough for the kids stuff and they were just tall enough for the big stuff. We did it all and loved every minute of it. We could have stayed for a week.

The girls are now Jedi trained. (They love Star Wars)

Scott and I have a theory that Disneyland either brings out the best in people, or the worst in people. I think it brings out the best in the girls. They are so cute together when we are there (and you wonder why we love it so much). It truely is the Happiest Place on Earth.

Springtime Fun

2010-05-09T21:17:00.000-07:00

Easter Egg Hunt

Tulip Festival

Every spring there is a Tulip Festival up by Seattle that is really quite amazing to see. There were so many tulips and they were gorgous. The day we went it was very cold and windy (as you can see the girls hair was all over the place.) I really did do their hair and had hoped for some amazing pictures. It didn't work out as I planned but it was still fun.

Seaside
In March we were able to get together with our really good friends we met at medical school and go stay in Oregon in a town called Seaside. We stayed at a hotel right on the beach and it was a lot of fun. Thanks for a great time Lael and Marcie.

Amalie-Kennady-Brooklyn-Mia

Northwest Trek

Just a week ago Kenna and Brooklyn's cousin came to visit so we went to Northwest Trek. The girls had a great time.

Madison, Brooklyn and Easton

Baseball
Our first Mariner's game of the season. I am sure there will be many more to come. Easton's favorite thing is a ball. I can't take him through the produce section of the grocery store without him yelling ball when he sees the oranges.

Kennady is playing on a coach pitch baseball team. She loves every minute of it.

Yardwork

Happy Birthday Brooklyn!!!

2010-03-19T22:20:00.000-07:00

This year Scott was home during the day (which usually never happens) and was able to take Brooklyn's five year old pictures. Brooklyn actually likes having her picture taken now and I was happy with how they turned out.

I can't believe my baby girl is five. We are a little upset with her right now because she promised us that when she turned four she would stop getting older and stay the same age forever. (I really wish she would stop growing). Brooklyn did a lot of fun things this year and she has learned a few new things as well. She now can ride a bike all by herself. She is starting to read short three letter words. She can do a cartwheel and swing on the monkey bars. She likes to do her own hair in a pony tail and has decided that when she grows up she wants to be a "hair designer." She would style my hair all day if I would let her, it's her favorite thing to do. She loves to play with her friends and loves pre-school. She has got such a funny personality, and we are always cracking up at her. She sometimes thinks that we are laughing at her and not with her and gets upset. She hasn't quite learned the difference yet, and she's pretty dang cute when she's mad too so that makes us laugh even more. She is still very full of it. We absolutely LOVE this girl and we're so lucky that she's ours.

HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY Bugga! We love you!

First Hair cut and Daddy Daughter Dance

2010-03-13T14:51:00.000-08:00

First Hair Cut

We are a little late posting these. Better late than never. Easton had his first hair cut. He really needed it as you can see in this before picture.

He was not so sure about sitting in the big chair and having some stranger mess with his hair.

This is the after picture. I think he is pretty cute.

Daddy Daughter Ball

"A Night at the Oscars"

Every year in the town that we live in they have a Daddy Daughter Ball. My girls absolutely love it. They love getting all dressed up and then going on a special date with their favorite person (Daddy of course). Scott takes them out to eat where ever they want to go. This year they chose BJ's. It is their favorite because they love the dessert (a chocotale chip pazookie). After dinner they went to the dance and had their pictures taken, and get to dance and run around with all their frinds. They love it. Scott actually likes it to. His favorite part is going out to dinner and show off his favorite girls. He is such a proud dad. They all had a really good time this year. (and I had fun doing their hair).

Crystal Mountain & Guess Who's Walking

2010-01-30T22:24:00.001-08:00

Kennady and Brooklyn have been asking us for weeks if they could go skiing. We weren't quite sure if they would like it or not, but there is a ski resort nearby where kids under 10 ski for free, so we decided to take them. They were both a little nervous at first, but when Kennady got to the top of the first lift she took off down the hill as if she had been skiing her whole life. Brooklyn fell a lot but just giggled and got back up every time and kept going. We ended up staying until closing time and they are already begging to go back again.

Easton is finally walking!

Our little man is finally walking. It seems like he was crawling forever and was driving us crazy because he has been able to walk for a while, but just wouldn't. He would start walking then intentionally fall down and crawl because he could get there faster. Now he thinks that walking is fun and won't let us carry him anymore. He doesn't even like riding in strollers or shopping carts. We fear that Easton has Brooklyn's sense of independence and is going to insist on doing things himself. Also, we stole the idea for the picture above from our good friend Jocelin. She is an amazing photographer and you can see her work at photographybyjocelin.com. Thanks Jocelin, I hope that was OK!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-22T21:59:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! We didn't send a letter with our cards this year so I just wanted to give you all a brief update as to what we've been up to.
Scott finished his internship year and has started his second year of residency in pediatrics. We were always told that the second year is not as busy as the first. Oh how we wish that were true. It seems like he pretty much lives at the hospital. I think he sees his co-workers more than he sees us. I guess that's what we get for him choosing this profession. Don't get me wrong though, he loves what he does and that makes me happy. He pretty much lives on no sleep, and I think he'll be tired until his residency is over. If you are talking to him and he falls asleep don't take it personal.
I am still doing the same as always, nothing really new with me. I have enjoyed spending time at home with my kids, although sometimes it seems that I am busier than Scott is. Three kids has been a lot of work, but very fun and I love every minute of it.
Kennady turned seven this year and is in the second grade. She loves school, dancing, and playing the piano. She is truly one of the most caring little girls ever. We love her so much.
Brooklyn turned four this year and she is still as full of it as ever. She has a funny little personality and cracks us up all the time. She is in pre-school and can't wait for kindergarten next year. She also loved dancing and swimming.
Easton turned one and he is also very full of it. He is so fun to be around. My new favorite thing he does is crawl up and say "bite" when he wants what you are eating, and you can't help but smile and give him some. He also will glare at you if you tell him no or when he gets in trouble, and it's so cute that you can't stay mad for long. He is stubborn and refuses to walk, but I'm tired of him crawling so I really want him to walk. Raising a boy has been a new experience for me, so any pointers would be greatly appreciated!
We have had a really great year. We went to Disneyland once (of course, our favorite place) and we went to Utah three times. We also started camping this year and have been to some very pretty places (the Pacific Northwest is beautiful and we're going miss it when we leave). We hope you all have had a great year and we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We are truly blessed to be able to celebrate the birth of our Savior as a family.
With love,
Scott-Tara-Kennady-Brooklyn-&-Easton

My Baby is One!!!

2009-11-05T20:59:00.001-08:00

Wow! I can't believe my baby is one! This year has flown by. I swear I just had him. It is amazing how fast they grow. While we were looking back through all of his pictures we couldn't believe how much he still looks like he did when he was born.

Easton you are such a joy. I love you so much! You make my days better. I love when you crinkle your nose. I love when you get embarrassed and hide in my neck. I love when you cuddle me, and I especially love when you say mama.

Easton Happy First Birthday! We love you so much.

First Day of School!

2009-09-17T22:11:00.000-07:00

Kennady decided that it would be fun if her and Brooklyn wore the same thing for their first day of school. Of course I thought it was a great idea and it took a little convincing, but I talked Brooklyn into it. (I thought it was cute that Kennday really wanted them to be the same). Kennady started the second grade this year and Brooklyn is in pre-school. They are both loving school and I don't really know what to do with both of them gone at the same time. When Easton takes a nap I am all alone, which is kind of a weird feeling when I'm used to having all three with me all the time.

10 Fabulous years!

2009-08-21T16:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary Scott! I can't believe we have been married for 10 years. It has flown by. We have done so much in those years. We have both graduated from college. We have had three amazing kids. We have moved nine times (including four different states.) We made it through medical school. We have been to Disneyland more times than I can count. We have traveled to New York to see the Yankees. We have also been to Hawaii, Texas, Florida, and many other fun places. We also have lots of fun school loans to pay off. We have grown so close together through our journey and I know we have so much more ahead of us. I am so excited and I feel so blessed that I get to have Scott by my side through all eternity. Scott I love you and I want you to thank you for all that you do. You truly are the best husband and I love you so much!

HAPPY 10th ANNIVERSARY!

Cowgirl Kennady

2009-07-30T21:04:00.000-07:00

When Kennady was little we took her to a rodeo in Utah. When she saw the little kids riding the sheep she told us she wanted to do that someday. We didn't think she was serious, but for the last few months she has been reminding us that she wants to do it. We still didn't think she would go through with it, but Grandpa Lynn signed her up for it anyway. As the rodeo got closer she started to get a little nervous (as you can see at the start of the video), but she suprised us all and actually got on and did really well. We were so proud of her.

Tara in Forks!

2009-07-19T17:30:00.001-07:00

Tara was a little embarassed to be taking the picture at the top, but I figured since we drove about 4-5 hours out of our way just so that she could say that we went to Forks, then she had better have proof of it.

Happy Birthday Kennady!!!

2009-07-09T22:45:00.000-07:00

Our little angel Kennady is seven years old! I can't believe how lucky we are as parents to have a child like this. Kennady is one of the most caring and loving people I have ever met. She has an amazing love of life and is such a fun person to be around. I would gladly take her anywhere with me. She is growing up way too fast, but I am so happy that she doesn't think she is too old to still hold our hands and give us a kiss goodnight. We love you so much Kennady! Thanks for being such an amazing daughter.

Happy Fathers Day!

2009-06-21T21:09:00.000-07:00

I just want to wish Scott a Happy Father's Day. He really is the most amazing dad. He is more than I could have dreamed of for my kids. They adore him. Here are a few of the fun things he does with them:

-He loves to wrestle them

-He flies them around the house like an airplane

-He pulls then on a blanket and plays taxi

-He will even play barbie with them

-He does the best pretend voices for their stuffed animals

I really could go on and on. I just want him to know how much I love and appreciate all that he does for our kids. Happy Fathers Day!

Scott and Kenna

Scott and Brooklyn

Scott and Easton

I would also like to wish my dad and Scott's dad a Happy Father's Day.

They are both amazing fathers and Grandpa's.

Dad I love you and want to thank you for all that you have done for me and my family. You have always been there for me and I can't thank you enough. Happy Father's Day.

Lynn I also want to tell you how much I appreciate all you have done for us. You have been such a great father to Scott and you taught and raised him so well. I have you to thank for such a great guy. I hope you have a great Fathers Day also.

Easton's Blessing

2009-06-16T22:03:00.000-07:00

For Easton's blessing we were able to take our first family trip home to Utah. Scott was only able to stay for the weekend but we enjoyed every minute. The blessing turned out great and Easton did so well. He was a little old for it but we really wanted to be able to go home to be with our families.

Grandma Celia and Grandpa Don

Tara's Family

Grandma Diane and Grandpa Lynn

Scott's Family

Great Grandma Ruth and Great Grandma Thelma

It was such an enjoyable day, even though it did snow (in April). I'm so thankful for Scott and the beautiful blessing that he gave Easton. It was a lot of fun to see our families and friends again.

We hope to come back soon.

Spring Break 2009

2009-06-05T15:58:00.000-07:00

I know that this is long overdue since we went to Disneyland in April. It has just been a little crazy so here are some pictures of our great trip. We had so much fun and we were ready to go back even before we made it home.

Easton's first Mickey Shirt. I think it is pretty cute!

Here are a few family pictures.

If you know us very well we take Disneyland pretty serious and we take advantage of every minute we have to enjoy everything possible, so at the end of the day our kids usually look like this. You can see we got our money's worth. It was a BLAST!

Seaworld

The girls loved going to Seaworld, but while we were there they kept asking when we could go to Disneyland. They were so brave and went on a huge roller coaster that they got wet on. I could not believe they even dared go on it at all. I really don't think they know what they were doing though, because when it was done I asked them if they wanted to go again and they prompty answered

"no thank you!"

Five Months

2009-04-08T23:50:00.000-07:00

I finally did it. I moved Easton to his room and in his crib. I also started him on rice cereal and he loves it. He is really starting to jabber and giggle a ton. We just can't get enough of him.

Happy Birthday Brooklyn!

2009-03-22T18:37:00.002-07:00

Our little Brooklyn is four years old. It seems like just yesterday we were moving to Phoenix and I was expecting her; now we live in a different state, Scott is done with school, and we have another baby. Brooklyn is just like her dad, we call her our little "button pusher." If she sees something interesting she has to touch it and play with it. She is always getting into new things. She loves to push Kenna's buttons and boy does she know how. She loves her "sunky" (silky blanket) and is by far our most snuggly child. In the morning all she wants is her chocolate milk, sunky, and to snuggle on the couch. She also loves to dance, and asks me everyday if it is Tuesday and if she can go to dance class. It is her favorite thing to do. She also has a little bit of a temper which we are tying to work on. It is amazing just how infuriating and cute she can be at times. Our home would definitely be boring without her.

Happy Birthday Brooklyn, we love you!!

Easton is 4 Months Old

2009-03-22T18:37:00.001-07:00

I really can't stand how fast he is growing up. Scott laughs at me because I still have him sleeping in our room in a bassinet that he has pretty much outgrown. Scott also said that we can start feeding him solids, but I refuse because it just means that he is getting older. I really don't like my kids growing up. I want them to stay small. We have been looking at old pictures and have decided that he is a boy version of Kennady. Her six and seven month pictures look exactly like he does right now at four months. It has been so much fun having a boy, we love him so much.

Brooklyn Made Me Cry

2009-03-22T18:25:00.000-07:00

By far the biggest challenge I have had to face so far as a doctor is the amount of time I have to spend away from my family. I love my job, but when I come home I try to leave my work at the hospital. Several weeks ago I had to start studying for step 3 of my boards. I tried to study at the hospital as much as I could (between appointments, standing in line at the cafeteria, waiting for the elevator, etc...) but as the test got closer I had to start studying at home too. A few days before the test I was spending every waking minute studying. I knew it was hard on both me and my family, but I didn't realize just how hard until Brooklyn made it clear. I was in my office taking a practice test and I could hear something just outside the door. I didn't think anything of it at the time and went back to studying, but when I finished the test 45 minutes later I stood up to take a break. As I opened the door I looked down and saw Brooklyn lying on the ground with a pillow and blanket. I asked her what she was doing and she said (in her sad little 3 year old voice) "Just waiting for you to be done studying". I felt horrible. She had been lying quietly on the hard ground for over 45 minutes without making a sound because she knew that she wasn't supposed to be bothering me. It just about broke my heart. I couldn't help but pick her up and snuggle on the couch, her favorite thing to do.

Kenna & Brooklyn's First Date

2009-03-01T23:07:00.000-08:00

Every year the city where we live has a "Daddy Daughter" dance. The theme this year was "Happily Ever After" and the girls were so excited to go on a real date with their daddy. They were counting down the days. A few days before the date I asked Kenna where they were going to go eat. She looked at me and said "Probably Olive Garden or Red Lobster, maybe even Outback." Most kids would say McDonalds or Wendy's, but not my daughter, she goes right for the good stuff. She doesn't mess around when it comes to eating out. I just laughed. Brooklyn said Subway or Panera (she doesn't have as expensive taste as her sister). They ended up eating at Olive Garden and I think Scott was the proudest dad around. He loved that everyone asked what they were doing and where were they going. After dinner they went to the dance had their pictures taken and danced for a while. They all had a blast. Scott even had them home for curfew and he got a goodnight kiss on each cheek before they went to bed.

Three months old!!

2009-02-05T23:17:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has been three months. These kids are growing up way too fast. I wish they would just stop right where they are. Whenever I tell Kennady that she has to stop growing, she tells me she has to grow up. Brooklyn has already planned her fourth birhtday party, so she made us a deal that after the party she will stop growing. I wish it were that easy.

I think he is pretty dang cute. He is such a smiley baby. Don't get me wrong he has his mad times too, but he really is a good baby.

Easton's two favorite things; his blankie and his binkie. I have just recently learned that if I wrap him up real tight and give his binkie then he is good to go for a nice long nap. I hope it lasts.

Check out these muscles.

He loves to be talked to. Whenever I am on the phone he always thinks I am talking to him and he will smile and talk right back to me. We love you Easton!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-23T13:17:00.000-08:00

These are our Christmas cards for this year. We tried to send them to everybody that we had addresses for, I am sorry if we missed you. If you didn't get one, it just means we need your address. Scott put these and Easton's announcement together and I thought that they turned out good. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We miss you all. Christmas will be a little different away from loved ones. This is my first Christmas in my 30 years of life that I have not been with my family. It may be kind of sad but hey, it's still Christmas and we love it. Easton' s Announcement

Dance Recital

2008-12-15T18:26:00.000-08:00

Last week the girls had their ballet recital. They both did so good. On our way home Brooklyn couldn't stop talking about how much fun it was. After about 10 minutes of non-stop talking she took a big sigh and said, "Can I do that again?" They have pretend recitals on a daily basis at home. They usually "sell" us a ticket that we have to give back to them in order to attend in our own living room, so it was fun to finally have a real recital. I loved watching them.

Here are some recent pictures of Easton. He is growing so fast.

Just look at these rolls and double chin. He's such a chub.

Easton is one month old!

2008-12-08T15:15:00.000-08:00

I can't believe our little Easton is already a month old. He's growing up too fast. He has been such a good baby so far, he's spoiling us. We love him so much.

Easton is so lucky to have two extra "mommies". They can't seem to get enough of him.

Visitors

It has been a lot of fun having our families come and visit for the last couple of weeks. We feel bad that they have all gone home now and we are looking forward to them visiting again.

Grandma Celia

Grandpa Don

Grandpa Don & Madison

Aunt Tiffy

Grandma Diane

Grandpa Lynn

Family fun in Seattle

Tiffy, Madison, Kennady and Brooklyn on the ferry.

Brooklyn and Grandpa Don on the ferry.

Brooklyn feeding the seagulls. We'll put up a video of this as soon as we can figure out how to do it.

Sunset on top of the Space Needle.

The Snowball Express

Baby Easton!

2008-11-07T15:25:00.000-08:00

Kennady and Brooklyn's first time meeting their new little brother

Brooklyn is still a little upset that we didn't name him Derek Jeter like she wanted, but she was happy when she saw him in his Yankees shirt.

We are so excited that our baby boy is finally here. It seems like Tara was pregnant forever (especially to her). He was born on Wednesday, Nov. 5th at 2:00 in the afternoon. He weighed 7 lbs, 6 oz and was 20 inches long. The whole labor process was not exactly what Tara had in mind. With Kennady and Brooklyn she had the epidural before any of the hard contractions started, and that was pretty much what she was expecting with Easton too. If it were up to Tara she would have the anesthesiologist waiting at the door with a needle in hand. Not quite so lucky. We went to the hospital Wednesday morning after she had been contracting most of the night, but got sent home because labor and delivery was crazy busy and she wasn't dilated far enough. Tara knew that she was close, so we didn't actually go home. We sat out in the parking lot for the next two hours, timing the contractions until they were about 3 minutes apart. We went back inside and this time they were nice enough to let us stay. By the time they checked her she was dilated to a 9, and they informed us that it was too late for an epidural. At this point Tara was more than a little upset, and had a look of death in her eyes that could have killed a small animal. I think the nurse who sent us home earlier that morning felt bad and was doing her best to make things better as they ran the bed down the hall to the delivery room. Knowing that Tara doesn't have much pain tolerance, I was worried that my normally mild-mannered and pleasant wife was going to turn into something you would see in a Freddy Krueger movie. I was surprised (and very impressed) when instead, she just took care of business. She took a few deep breaths and quietly said to herself "I can do this". 20 minutes later Easton was here and all was right with the world again. The last couple of days have been a complete whirlwind, but we are so very lucky and blessed to have three healthy kids. We can't wait for you all to meet him.

October Fun

2008-10-29T19:48:00.000-07:00

Backyard Camping

OK, so we didn't really go camping, but the girls still wanted to put up the tent and pretned that we did.

Brooklyn's new "goshes"

When we went out to the Washington Coast a couple of weeks ago, Kennady and Brooklyn got some new galoshes and they were so excited to wear them, but we forgot to take them when we went to the beach. There is a little part of the Puget Sound that extends down behind our house so we decided to take them down and let them try them out. Brooklyn thought her pink polka-dot "goshes" were pretty cool.

Shilter Farm Pumpkin Patch

Kennady and Brooklyn were so excited to go pick out their pumpkins this year. There is a farm that is set up like a little fall carnival not too far away, so we took them down to let them play and find their pumpkins. They got to go on a hay ride behind a tractor, play on a big pyramid of hay bales, pet some farm animals, and walk through a hay maze. It was a lot of fun.

"Shredding" Pumpkins

Brooklyn had been asking for weeks when we were going to "shred" pumpkins. We weren't quite sure what she meant until she said, "You know, like the princess castle from last year".

The pumpkin on the left is Scott's, in case you couldn't tell. Kennady and Brooklyn were pretty excited about it too, though. By the way, if you ask Brooklyn what she wants to name her little brother, she always says, "Derek Jeter". Scott is so proud.

Halloween Costumes

This year Kennady is a Halloween Minnie Mouse, and Brooklyn is TinkerBell.

Brooklyn's pre-school Halloween Party

My Cute Wife

Tara is very mad at me for adding this picture, but fortunately for me I can move a lot faster than she can right now. Well, let's be honest, most anything can move faster than she can right now. This has not been an easy pregnancy by any means (I don't think Tara has slept for more than an hour or two at a time for the last five months) but I've got to give her credit, she never complains about it. We are so anxious for the baby to come, especially Kennady and Brooklyn. We were at the store a few days ago and Kennady was looking at all the baby toys and asking how much they were. She picked up one and asked how much it was, and we told her it was twelve dollars. She reached in her bag and started pulling out money. We didn't think anything of it until she started pulling out fives and tens, and asking if she had enough. We were were shocked that she had that much money with her, and asked where she got it. She told us that she got it out of her piggy bank, something that we have told her not to do. Not understanding, we started to get mad at her and tell her that she shouldn't have done that and she needed to put it back. She looked down, and with a little tear in her eye said, "but I just wanted to buy something nice for little brother". We felt so bad for getting mad, and ended up letting her buy it. She is so excited that she wants to spend her own money (that she is saving for our next Disneyland trip) to buy something for the baby. She is such a sweetheart, and is going to be such a good big sister.

Great Wolf Lodge

2008-10-10T17:38:00.001-07:00

This past weekend I had a "golden" weekend where I actually had both Saturday and Sunday off. (It's kind of sad that a two-day weekend is considered "golden" but hey, I'm not complaining). Some friends had told us about this really cool hotel with a giant indoor water park attached to it. It is only about 30 minutes from our house, but it was still pretty fun to get away for a little while. I think Brooklyn was more excited to stay in a hotel than she was to swim at the water park. I think that girl would live at a hotel if she could. Inside the place looks like a giant log cabin with a big fireplace and log furniture and everything. Even the rooms had log furniture and bunk beds for the kids. At night they have a pajama story time in front of the fireplace before bedtime (read by a guy in a freaky-looking wolf outfit, interestingly enough). The girls had a blast and ask just about every day when we're going to go back to "that wolf place".

You would never guess that it was pouring rain outside

Just after story time

This is the guy who comes to scare your kids off to bed. Brooklyn wouldn't go near him.

Point Defiance Zoo

2008-10-10T17:30:00.001-07:00

So we decided to take advantage of one of the last remaining days of good weather here and go to the Point Defiance Zoo. It's a really cool little zoo that is right on the coast of the Puget Sound. Being this close to the water they actually had a lot of sea life there. Kenna and Brooklyn thought the sharks were pretty cool, and Tara thought the Balooga whales had "cute" faces. After the zoo we went and had dinner at a little restaurant out on the pier. Tara and I have never been big seafood fans, but we're venturing out a little and have decided that clam chowder is pretty good. Who knows, maybe at the end of our three years here we will have tried something else.

Kenna & Brooklyn with the penguins

They thought the sharks were pretty cool

Brooklyn liked touching the starfish, but Kennady didn't want to have anything to do with them. (Tara is mad at me because this picture shows her pregnant belly, but I think it's cute)

This is about as normal of a pose as we can get Brooklyn to do. She is the main reason why I take as many pictures as I do. On average I have to take about 10 pictures to get just one where she has a normal smile. We love her anyway.

Washington Coast

2008-10-03T19:22:00.000-07:00

A week ago the pediatric department at Scott's hospital had a resident retreat, and we went to the Pacific Beach Resort on the Washington coast. The girls loved playing in the sand and finding all sorts of "treasures", most of which we quickly threw back in the ocean when they weren't looking. It was actually pretty cold, but that didn't stop them. One night we went to a luau that the resort had with Hawaiian dancers and everything. It was nice to be able to get away and relax a little bit. We had a great weekend.

Best Buds

2008-09-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

Since Kennady started school all day Brooklyn and I have become really close. The other day I was taking Brooklyn to a friend's house and then I was going to the store. On the way she asked me if I was going shopping all alone. I told her that I was and she got all sad and said to me, "But Mom, we're best buddies." My heart melted, she is such a sweetie. She also told me that I could come and play at her friend's house with her. I am so glad she is so concerned about me. Isn't it great to be a mom!

First day of school

2008-09-15T22:11:00.000-07:00

Seeing as this is our first post ever and we're still not quite sure what we are doing, instead of coming up with some clever story or excuse for why it has taken us so long to actually start this, we thought we'd just show you our girls and their first day of school. Kennady just started first grade and is loving it so far. Like a typical first grade girl, she can't remember what she learned about in class that day, but we get a full report about who she played with and what was said at recess. Brooklyn has been so anxious to actually start school that she has been driving us crazy for the last month until it was "her turn". She started school today and unlike Kennady, she told us everything that she learned about. We're just excited that she now has some real friends and hopefully will stop talking about her imaginary friend "Julie".