Birthday Treats for Pre-School

What a great Halloween weekend. The kids enjoyed a party at the Library complete with pumpkin pie and great stories and kiddie parade with many friends from school. Connor attended a Halloween party with 15 friends and Chloe and Mommy went out for hot chocolate and ice cream(her choice). We wrapped up the evening with a little bit of trick-or-treating and a kids party at the fair grounds with games and crafts! Wow, were we tired by Sunday.

Riding like the big boys!

Connor has been pestering us to remove the training wheels from his bike for several weeks now. Finally he took the bull by the horns found a wrench and removed them himself and insisted we take him to the park to learn to ride. Thank goodness Craig was home to help teach him. The boy pedals so fast I know I could not keep up with him. Craig's jogging abilities were put to the test for the next two days running beside Connor as he mastered the fine art of riding like a BIG BOY! Proud to say he can start, stop, and ride all by himself!

COCO MUST READ TOO!

Connor Reads His First Book

Endless Summer Fun

Fall may soon be approaching and the leaves are starting to change but at our house it still feels like summer. Sunday's weather was amazing 92 and not a cloud in the sky. Jumping on the trampoline with the sprinkler going is a fav. summer pastime at our house.

First Day of Preschool

WANTED! WANTED! WANTED!

THE SUSPECTS WERE LAST SEEN FLEEING THE SCENE OF THE CRIME IN COLVILLE WASHINGTON! Both have been accused of spoiling their grandkids rotten! Suspects should be considered armed and dangerous, Nancy Friesen (aka Grandma Nan) maybe in possession of large amounts of chocolate and Robert Friesen (aka G. Bob) has been known to allow small children to watch Ice Road Truckers and Sponge Bob!!! If you see these dangerous felons please contact Connor and Coco immediately. THEY WANT THEIR GRANDMA AND GRANDPA BACK!!!

SUMMER SUMMER SUMMER

Summer time is in full swing and we have been busy with trips to visit Nan and Bob, soccer, camping, and trips to the park! Connor and Coco had their first ferry ride in Canby with G. Bob and loved it. Connor was thrilled to ride on the ferry with a John Deere tractor, talk about great timing. We visited the children's museum and had so much fun with G. Nan.

Favorite New Shirt

This is Connor's favorite new shirt! Yes, he will trade Coco for a tractor!

CONNOR AT SOCCER CAMP

Ouch that hurt!

Chloe's has been sporting a nifty new owie on her sweet little face after getting to close to her big brother while he was swinging a bead necklace around!!!

Gymnastics Recital

Wow, today was Sam's graduation. How did this day get here so soon and when did my little girl turn into such an amazing young woman. Wednesday was Senior Awards night at the HS and Sam's night to shine. By the end of the night she received 3 awards, honor cord recognition, and 5 scholarships. Graduation was planned as an outdoor event and quickly things turned ugly. Dark clouds rolled in and the thunder started to boom in the distance. Graduation was quickly cancelled and rescheduled for later that afternoon. Sam was heading to Seattle for a concert and had a plane to catch by three so she actually only partially graduated! Hmmm.... maybe she'll stay at home and try again next year! This explains the lack of graduation photos with a diploma. Well now the real world (life without living with Mom and Dad) is calling. She plans on spending the summer working and taking a CNA class. She's hoping to work as a CNA while she attends Spokane Falls Community College. Oh, the excitement to be young and just starting out!

Samantha's Graduation

I'M WALKING ON SUNSHINE!!!!

What excitement and anticipation waiting for another gift from Hawaii! Con and Coco checked the mail everyday waiting for a package to come from Manner and Pa (aka Leah and Jim) Everyone loves their new Hawaii socks, especially Samantha who has an aversion to plain old white socks. Seeing these fun socks reminds me of Samantha in the 6th or 7th grade playing in a basketball game sporting a pair of pink and white striped knee socks with pink feathers dangling from the top!(Also a pair of socks from Manner and Pa) Perhaps my kids are genetically disposed to love decorated socks. Thank you Leah for always thinking of something special for my family WE LOVE YOU!

Hawaii Memories

Yum Yum Yummy in Our Tummy!

A little slice of Hawaii arrived on our front porch the other day. Three beautiful loaves of hawaiian sweetbread. Pink guava, purple taro, and traditional hawaiian sweetbread. You can imagine Ms. Coco's delight at seeing a loaf of pink bread. She knew it was just for her! We snacked on bread and butter all day and had Hawaiian french toast and pineapple for dinner. Connor headed to school today with a rainbow array of bread and butter to share for snack time and a great big smile on his face.

Thankyou so much to Leah and Jim for thinking of us and sharing this wonderful treat from the Punalu'u Bake Shop. Yum Yum Yummy!

Mother's Day

Every year my three babies go to the local bakery the day before mother's day and make three special cakes. Each unique to it's maker and each equally beautiful and delicious. This year I can hardly wait to see what cake creations arrive from my little ones! There's not a gift they could purchase that could outshine these treats made from their hearts. So forget jewels, trips, and spa days I'll take a cake decorated with the love, laughter, and joy of my babies any day.

These cake pictures remind me of one of my favorite quotes. Grandma's are like moms with extra frosting! This is so true for my kids and I'm so thankful for her spectacular grandma abilities (she's an awesome mom too)!

Naptime

The other day Chloe didn't want to take a nap. "It's to boring", she said. So Sammy layed down to keep her company and instantly feel asleep. Chloe was worried that Sammy would get to cold, her solution get a hot pot holder from the kitchen to keep Sammy's ears warm. What love!

Made with Love

It's not mother's day yet but this is my favorite present. Connor made it for me today.

It's raining it's pouring

Sunday we had brief rain showers and Craig told Connor to run outside and play. Connor thought this was a great idea and enjoyed the downpour coming off our porch (no gutters to catch the rain)He was so excited to have a new mud puddle to play in.

PROM PROM PROM

OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW

Most everyone knows that Connor loves John Deere tractors. Originally Connor loved his hammers and still does but John Deere products are his passion. He's already worn out several John Deere hats and has a hard time giving up his shabby worn out comfy hat for a new one. It takes many months of playing in dirt and sleeping in a cap to get just the right fit. Grandpa Bob and Grandma Nan brought Con a new JD hat for Easter and he's already working on getting it broke in. He's decided to keep his old hat as a backup just in case he needs it. I suppose you can never have to many JD caps. I must say I'm happy to put the worn out old cap in the closet it was getting a little to grungy for my taste. And yes he does sleep with his hat on.

Easter 2009 With Grandma and Grandpa

HAPPY EASTER

In the Jungle (well sort of)

Last Friday we had a family fun day in Spokane. We visited Cat Tales Park, rode the gondolas over the falls, and played at Mobius Kids. What a great day the weather was in the high 50's and the sun was shining! We had lunch at Red Robin one of my favorite places to go with the kids, Yummy! The lion roaring was amazing to hear and you can't tell from the pic but this boy is huge! The first time he roared Connor about jumped out of his pants.

I am stuck on Band-Aids..........

Con and Coco love bandages and think of them as a fashion accessory. They love to adorn themselves, dolls, and stuffed animals with them! I remember Samantha covering her legs with an entire boxes of them when she was that age! Band-Aids and kids just seem to go together.

Joy in the smallest things

The return of hummingbirds to our area is my sure sing that summer has arrived. Last year we had over 20 hummingbirds feeding at our house. Our favorite summer evenings are sitting on the deck and watching them feed. Ours became so tame they would sit on your finger and wait their turn at the feeder. The buzz of hummingbirds in the air is by far one of my favorite sounds.

Coco's Birthday

We celebrated Chloe's 3rd birthday yesterday. Sam and I had big plans for making a Hello Kitty birthday cake. Ace of Cakes on the foodnetwork makes foundant cake making look so easy, I thought what the heck I can do that! We baked our cakes, shaped our cakes, filled our cakes, and colored our foundant pink. Up to this point it was smooth sailing then we needed to cover our round 2 tiered cake in foundant. Now on TV this part looks easy but at our house this was a disaster. It's extremely difficult to cover a round cake without getting wrinkles and creases! Needless to say the cake ended up in the garbage. Lesson learned: somethings should be left to the professionals. So a quick trip to the bakery to buy a pretty pink doll cake and the birthday was saved.

Chloe was tickled pink with all her birthday gifts. 2 Hello Kitty shirts, a Hello Kitty bathingsuit, a Hello Kitty pillowcase, a Hello Kitty outfit, a pink sweater, a little doll, lipgloss, bathtoys, a book, a Hello Kitty doll, and a movie. As you can see Miss Coco loves Hello Kitty and all things pink!

Snowcones, swimsuits, and sunglasses

Every year we have a few beautiful days in February when the sun shines and the temp rises above freezing. These days have some strange effect on me and I feel the need to get ready for spring. By the end of February I’ve purchased all of my children’s summer clothing shorts, shirts, sandals, and swimsuits. The new items are all washed, folded and ready to be worn. Then the waiting begins! At least once a week for the next few months I wish and hope we will soon be able break out the summer clothes! This year I showed an amazing amount of self control, I have not yet purchased any tank tops for the kids ( actually I couldn’t find a store that had any yet ) Perhaps there’s a 12 step program for compulsive summer clothing shoppers; until I find one I’ll just keep looking at our summer stash and long for the sunshine.

Best Friends

Chloe told Connor last night that he was her best friend. Connor thought for a moment and replied "Your my best friend too, well your okay for a GIRL I guess". Being a man of the world with his own set of preschool friends he seems to think being a GIRL is a not cool!

Words of Wisdom

Never Argue with an Idiot. They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

Yes, a very negative thought. Yet this describes my experience with our insurance provider trying to find an answer to a simple question. Three blue cross reps later and three different answers later this is how I feel.

Things from our backyard