I promise

Wow, and oops!!

I know that it has been forever since an update and I am sorry. Life, work and having fun has gotten in the way!

I promise to update this weekend, right after some landscaping and playing in the yard.

Hope all is well with everyone in blogger land!

The Countdown Continues!!

4 days till Isabelle's birthday party AND 8 till she is actually 4 years old!!!!!!

Zoo Trip!

A trip to the Pt. Defiance zoo over Spring Break was mandatory, and YAY for the weather cooporating! It was beautiful, blue skies, a slight breeze warm. Once home though, and I heard the temp for the day, I was surprised at the high being only 54... seemed way warmer! Guess that is warmth from being in the 30's and 40's lately. ;)

Though the day was not on our side at all, supposed to be at the zoo by 10... we didn't arrive till 11:30. Major tired mommy, and lazy morning kiddos, needing to feed the car and traffic made us quite late. hehehe, but at the same time, our friends that we were meeting up with were super late too, same lazy kid morning and traffic. Despite the lateness we both were happy to meet up and strangely neither of us were affected by being super late. This may be the fact that life with more then one kiddo is full of lateness and learning to be flexible. Of course we kept texting and calling stating new late factors. It became quite funny!!

Life is so grand!

Pics are in no certain order, (blogger was being a bit of a pain while loading), but there was a TON of fun and William LOVE, LOVED his first trip to the zoo!

Nolan and William enjoying the animals and being pushed during their first trip to the zoo!

William getting a chance to walk around a mural of fish. He loved pointing at the all and saying 'oooh'

Isabelle and Paige playing in the touch aquarium. They did such a good job and really loved being able to touch some of animals!

Then they got to color some sea animal pictures. Isabelle made hers for William. She is such a sweet big sister! She even hung it up on teh fridge for him when we got home!

The girls pretended to be snails!

Isabelle found a seahorse, along with Nemo and some other coral fish. Those pics didn't come out so great.

She also found the ONLY mud puddle in the grassy area that we ate lunch near.

Paige and Isabelle loved the Artic Foxes. They both wanted to bring one home.

Cute Girls at the zoo!

They both wanted to try and squeeze into the stroller. Somehow they succeeded. Bruka and I took turns pushing that stroller.

William (top) and Isabelle (bottom) watching the elephants!

Shark Bite!!!

William trying to get into the shark's mouth.

Smiles

I do believe that the kids know what to do when they see a camera... they are far from shy when it comes out! I love it! Sometimes its smiles, sometimes its silly faces, any way you look at it, they show off when the lens cap comes off! This summer is going to fill my camera card. ;)

My Loves!

BFF's

These two are joined at the hip!!! He calls her his girl friend. The have cuddled in bean bag chairs and watched a movie together, they play everything together at school, they are sad if the other does not make it to school, they have even shared a kiss or two. Im thinking Jaiden could be Isabelle's first boy friend.

Happiness!

I saw on a family blog the question :

What makes your spirit happy?

Right now, these bring the biggest smiles to my face and soul!

**Exploration

**Crisp morning air with the sound of the choo-choo train and birds singing

**Signs of Spring : little tulip leafs sprouting!

Good Friends

A herd of Elk traveling through the front yard with the kids watching them and them watching the kids.

Building with Lincoln Logs

Eatting Pizza

Sheer happiness of smiles and giggles!

Helping hands of a big sister!

Love

Now I pose the question on to you??

What make your spirit happy?

One Year Portraits

Work in progress~~~

William loves being outside! The only stiplation is... do not put him down, he must be carried. I personally can't wait for the day to come that I can put him down and he will be happy. So far, the 2 portrait sessions I have done with him, he is full of tears.

The cat on this one helped a bit...

Here is the best shot from this session... no smile though, and no tears.

He was so hesitant, wouldnt stand, wouldnt sit,
just stayed in that position and cried till daddy picked him up.

I will try again next weekend, weather permitting.

Birthday Photos

Isabelle helped blow out the candle.

A couple of trouble making cousins... can't wait to see how they grow!

1st Pizza! He loved it!

New Love! Meet 'Dinosaur baby'

'Time for presents now?'

This baby was all about opening presents!

Sing Baby!!!

Balloon Static

A Cool Dude!

**********************

For his actual birthday we had a 'baby' carrot cake for him too!

Mmmm... Isabelle eyeing that cake!

My heart and thoughts are in Japan!

This last week has been one that won't ever be forgotten in the history of this world. Natural disasters have been tormenting the people of Japan. WA state time, Thur, Mar 3, 2011 , during the evening news, a horrible 9.0 earthquake rocked Japan from the water, moments later a tsunami hit the already rattled residents. Devastation did not come from the earthquake, minor destruction and power outages. The almost instant tsunami on the other hand, completely devastated everything in its path for 3 miles inland. Looking at the photos looks like pick-up sticks were dropped on toy cars and planes.

I have been glued to the TV... I find it so hard to stop looking at this unbelievable site. Technology is so wonderful these days that when it happened Thursday night, and we were able to watch the first wave come out of the ocean and travel across the land and destroy all in its path as it happened. It wasn't a replay, it was happening that moment. It looked like slow motion. My brain knew better, that nothing but massive amounts of fast rushing water could move things like barges, whole houses, and tanker trucks, or make a passenger train completely disappear... but watching it was unbelievable and 'slow' as the water 'simply' covered, carried and leveled everything.

Instantly, thought of friends from college that live in Japan came across my mind, friends who's family are there for work, and all the citizens of Japan were in my prayers and still are... will be for a long time.

Sadly though, earthquakes with all the aftershocks and tsunami are not the end. (Mind too, that it is freezing temperatures currently there, many videos have it snowing while people are videoing the tsunami surging across the land). The threat of the nuclear power plant and its meltdown/explosions... and tonight, Sunday, 4 days later, a volcano in the southern part of the country has erupted! What next!?? I wish that natural disasters would stop over there, so the rescue can take place and the people can begin the rebuilding process. I pray that food, clean water and medical treatment can get to everyone, before disease becomes an epidemic.

Praying for those Japan!

Oh and now Tokyo is 8 feet closer to the US and the Earth's axis tilt has moved 4 inches. WOW!

New Venture!!

I am so excited for some friends of mine!!! They have taken on a business adventure with old wine barrels. What, you ask, does this mean?? Well, take a look at their website!

http://www.washingtonwinegifts.com/

I challenge you to buy from a small local business, that gets their materials from local WA state wineries. These wine gifts are made in Washington state from barrels that age Washington state wines. More products coming soon! -- Go check out the site and buy, Buy, BUY!!! Great pieces add to you own collections, or even better make perfect gifts!

Also, exciting news, I am featured on the website too. I took all the photos of the new merchandise that they made!

Best of luck on this new venture V and R!!!

Happy Birthday!!

One year ago this morning, William Michael came into this world and has blessed us with his smile, laughter, and stubbornness!

Happy 1st Birthday sweet boy!

Photos of his party and one year portraits to come!

Feel Free to say HI!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

It has been a while since anyone has left any messages/comments on our blog. It is nice to know people are reading this and keeping up with our adventures. Take a second and let us know you are there... We appreciate your comments and thoughts!

Cabin Fever!

Pictures Say it ALL!