Joel, Jen & Ava

FROSTY

2012-01-21T11:26:00.001-08:00

The other day when it actually started snowing and looked like it might stick around for awhile, I decided to go out and buy Ava a sled and a shovel. She loves both!

I let her play with the sled inside until her dad got home from work. Then we all went outside to play in the snow.

She did not want to come inside but it was really starting to get cold, so we headed in for the night.

The next morning Ava started putting on her boots, so Joel took her outside to make a snowman.

"Frosty the Snowman" is one of Ava's favorite movies at the moment...so they named this snowman they built Frosty.

Hopefully the weather stays cold. Ava would be so sad if Frosty melted away.

Family Night

2012-01-10T22:20:00.000-08:00

Last night for our family night activity we took Ava swimming at a local YMCA. She has been looking at a digital scrapbook that I made of our trip to the Oregon Coast last summer with our great friends the Blacks, and constantly saying that she wants to go in the water. The other day she found her old bathing suite in her dresser and begged us to put it on her. After we got it on her she told Joel that she wanted to go outside in her pool. The problem was that it was in the 30's outside. She cried when we told her that it was too cold. With that said...you can only guess how excited she was when we told her that we were going to go swimming last night.

Ava absolutely loves the water and is not scared of it at all. I cannot decide if that is a good thing or not. Once she learns how to swim I will be more excited for her love and no-fear of playing in the water.

Ava thought that the kiddy end of the pool was the best. She could swim like the big kids.

But her all time favorite part of the night was riding down the water slide with dad.

She is still talking about it, and saying that she wants to go on the slide with water.

It was a lot of fun just spending time together and watching Ava's face light up.

We will have to go again soon.

CHRISTMAS

2011-12-31T21:03:00.000-08:00

December just came and went for our family. Ava was sick for half of the month starting on the 15th and is just starting to feel better today and Joel and I were crazy busy with work. We decided that we are going to slow down next year and really try to enjoy the month of December and fulfill some of our traditions that we were not able to do this year. However, even with the illnesses and busyness of life, we were able to spend some time with family over Christmas which is really the best part of the holiday season.

On Christmas eve we went to Joel's parents house to listen to the Christmas story, eat, enjoy the company of family, and watch the kids open presents. Ava is starting to really enjoy opening gifts. She was spoiled this year.
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One of my favorite gifts that she received was a family edition of the scriptures. I love it!! Hopefully it will make family scripture study more enjoyable in the years to come.

One of our good friends Stacy brought Ava a gingerbread man decorating kit. Ava loved making him cute with colored candy buttons all over his body. It gave her something to do while she was not feeling well. (Anything to keep her occupied and not thinking about her itchy rash)

On Christmas day we headed to my mom's house to have Christmas dinner and open gifts with them. Her husband Mike dressed up as Santa for the kids. Ava was too scared to enjoy this part of the evening and would not let Joel put her down.

We had a wonderful time with family. We are so thankful to our Savior Jesus Christ and hope to remember him always, not just during the holiday season. 2011 was a good year, and we look forward to the adventures that lie ahead for our family in 2012.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

We have a 2 year old.

2011-12-28T21:08:00.000-08:00

Ava has been so sick these last few weeks that there were a few days that I thought she may never get to have a birthday party. We had to cancel it once because of her illness, and then almost cancelled it again after being in the ER with her the night before. Ava had a cold and fever for several days, and then on Christmas day she woke up with a rash on her stomach and back. They think that it is a reaction to the medication that she was on, but we have to keep an eye on it since it is lasting a little longer than normal. She was a trooper and the doctors said that we could still hold it, but she might not look the best in pictures. The theme to her party was "The Hungry Caterpillar" (one of her favorite books). My mom made a super cute caterpillar cake and Joel's mom made adorable cookies.

We had the party at the gym of our church so that we could have a jump castle for the kids to play in. I think that it was the hit of the party for anyone under age 8.

We made crayons for the kids to take home with them.

Ava had fun but was extremely tired by the end of the party. You can kind-of see the rash on her face in the picture of her opening gifts. We gave her some benadryl before the party and by the end of the two hours she was beat. I cannot believe that she is two already. Our baby is a little girl now. These last two years have been amazing and gone by way too fast. Joel and I cannot imagine life without her. She brings us so much happiness and adds such an excitement to our days. We love you Ava!!

These last two pictures are just for document sake...

This is how her rash looked the first day (a few bumps on her belly and back).

This last picture is two days into the rash. It is even worse now. Hopefully it will end soon because she is incredibly uncomfortable.

Getting Ready...

2011-12-17T23:59:00.001-08:00

I have been trying to get ready for Ava's second birthday party for a few days now, but have not been able to get much done because Ava is so sick. I hope that she is better in the next few days so that her party can still take place.

I decided to go with the "Hungry Caterpillar" theme this year since it is one of her favorite books. Ava just loves to read, and I thought that this book would make a cute party. I feel like I have to give Ava a bigger party than I probably would normally do just because her birthday competes with such a major holiday. I think that it is fun to come up with crazy ideas that make the party more exciting and Joel thinks that it is a waste of time for someone so young. Oh well...it will be a great party and she willl have fun.

Her invitations were a caterpillar in a canning jar. The actual invitation was written on a leaf cutout.

Then for one of her give-aways I decided to melt crayons into molds. My original plan was to melt them into the foods that the caterpillar eats through in the book, but I got too anxious and melted the crayons too fast so they came out in all different shapes. (It is OK because they still look cute)

Ava helped me peel the paper off some of the crayons one night before going to bed. (She has crazy hair after a bath, but I think that it looks super adorable)

These are some of the finished crayons. Hopefully I will be able to post more picture of the actual party next week if my little angel gets to feeling better.

I cannot believe that she is turning two. Where does the time go??

Mobius

2011-12-17T00:43:00.000-08:00

Mobius is a children's museum here in town, and Ava has really started to enjoy it now that she is older. My mom decided to get us a family pass for Christmas which we were all thrilled about. Ava really needs something to do when the weather is too cold and crummy to be outside in, and Mobius has given her something to look forward to. I was worried that she would get sick of it after awhile, but she hasn't and we go at least once a week. Several of the families in our play group have passes too, and it is always fun when we meet up there to let the kids play and the mom's are able to chat.

A few of Ava's favorite things to do there are; dress up as a police officer or fireman, play with the water feature, and she loves to paint. Here are a few pictures of our last trip to the museum...

They have several plasma cars for the kids to ride, and then other kids dress up and direct traffic or help with crashes. Ava was trying to direct traffic in these pictures.

And here is a picture of her painting. She loves to use all the different colors and mix them together on the paper.

We love Mobius!!

Oh Christmas Tree

2011-12-15T22:50:00.000-08:00

I am way behind on these blog posts and need to catch up if I am going to print out a book at the end of the year, so here are a few back-to-back posts of the things that we have been up to this last month.

The day after Thanksgiving we bought passes to cut down a Christmas tree with my brother Eric and his family.

Ava thought that it was fun to see snow on the ground.

And she thought that it was even more fun to bend over and pick up a hard chunk of snow. She thought that she had made a snowball and was excited to show it to her dad.

Ava and her cousin Simon are super cute together. We had fun spending some extra time with Eric, Jenny and the boys before they headed home.

Long story short...our tree was a little "Charlie Brown" when Joel found it, but by the time we got it home it was a missing even more branches and needles. We decided that it was so weak that it would have trouble holding ornaments, so Joel drove down to the store and bought a tree. It is a beautiful tree but we love finding the perfect little tree out in the woods so much more. (Guess we got to experience both this year)

Ava was so excited to decorate the tree and loved wearing our Santa hat while doing so.

Having a child makes the holidays so much more fun and meaningful.

We sure love Ava and the joy she brings us each day.

This last picture is just Ava having fun with a strainer and making a cute/funny face.
It was too cute to leave out...and I am sure that she will love me for it some day.

SNOW

2011-11-19T21:09:00.000-08:00

Ava never really got to enjoy the snow last year because she was still pretty young. This year however, she is really excited about the snow and tells us about how white and fun it is.
Today she decided she wanted to help her dad shovel the driveway, and had a blast outside.

She wanted to make sure there was no snow on her slide, so she had her dad help her clean the swing set.

We are glad that she is starting to enjoy winter more, because her parents love the snow and cannot wait to teach her how to downhill ski.

A Very Cute Good Witch

2011-11-02T10:46:00.001-07:00

We had a pretty eventful Halloween season this year.

I started going to a Mommy and Me play group in our development a few weeks ago, and Ava and I love it. I love spending time with the moms and Ava enjoys all her new friends, so it is a win/win. The week before Halloween the play group had a Halloween party and all the kids dressed up. I wish they would have let us take a group photo, but it is hard to get toddlers to cooperate for a photo. They all looked adorable though.

Ava is totally into coloring right now, and when she saw the art table she threw off her witch hat and began drawing a picture. That was the last of her hat that day... she refused to wear it for the party.

The girls frosted and decorated sugar cookies.

And they all had a blast playing in this little Halloween fort. She had a great time!!

Then a few days later I took her to my mom's school for Ava to trick-or-treat her grandma. Ava loves going to my mom's classroom.

We also hit up a church Halloween carnival the weekend before Halloween night. Ava had fun running around with her cousin Gage ("The Viking").

(These two kids are so cute together.)

They ran around the numbers of the cupcake walk even if the music stopped.

(Thanks to her grandma Anderson for making a witch costume to match her hot pink hat.)

We could not ask for a cuter witch. We love this kid to death.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Playing with Cousins

2011-10-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

Ava got to spend time with her cousins Maveric and Simon this weekend. Jenny and I took the kids to the park to play while Joel and my brothers went to the Eastern football game. Ava loves the park and is more than happy to go play there any time that she is able. It was even more fun this time because she had her two cousins to chase around. We had a great few days with them and wish we lived closer so the kids could spend more time together.

Ava and Simon looking out the windows of the tree fort.

Ava would probably swing almost the whole day if we would let her. My sister-in-law Jenny took this picture. I love how it shows the joy and excitement Ava has on the swing.

These last two pictures make Ava look so big. I feel like my baby is such a little girl now. I cannot believe how fast time is flying by. Watching her grow and develop has been so much fun. I just wish it would slow down a tad bit.

Carving Pumpkins

2011-10-23T15:56:00.000-07:00

We decided to have a family date night last night and carved our pumpkins. Ava loved cleaning the seeds off of the newspaper until she realized that her hands were dirty which caused her to scream "clean me". (She hates to be dirty...wonder where she got that from.)

But her favorite part was when we lit the pumpkins. Ava loves to watch candles burn, and it was even more neat to see them burn inside of a pumpkin.

I am grateful for nights like this spent together.

Pickin' Apples

2011-09-25T13:26:00.001-07:00

The weather was perfect yesterday, so we decided to head up to greenbluff (Walter's - one of our favorite farms) and pick some apples. We took Ava to greenbluff last September too, but this year it was so much more fun. Ava was able to pick apples, play in the corn pit (like a sandbox with corn kernels instead of sand), and run through the orchard. I love watching her explore new places and have fun.

Ava loved getting apples, but carrying the box was hard work.

Apples are one of Ava's favorite things to eat at the moment, so of course she had to sample them while we were picking.

She wanted her mom to sample them too. And of course I said yes - and they were Delicious!!

After a hard days work picking apples, Ava and her dad decided to play in the corn pit. Ava loved it and did not want to leave, and Joel had no complaints...he said it was like getting a foot massage.

We love greenbluff. I could not think of a better way to spend our Saturday.

Sunday Walks

2011-09-18T20:22:00.000-07:00

Sunday walks as a family are the best!!

We woke up to a cold, cloudy day, but as the day progressed the sun came out and it warmed up a little. Joel and I thought that we should take advantage of this weather and go on a walk since winter is probably right around the corner.

When we started the walk we had all intentions of going on a trail through the woods by our house, but Ava wanted to stay on the paved trails and throw rocks in the bushes along the sides.

Ava finding the perfect rocks. Her dad was trying to teach her not to pick up the really big ones. She listened occasionally.

Here is a picture of our fabulous little family.

I cannot imagine life without Ava. She totally completes our family, and brings us so many smiles each day.

Refinish

2011-09-08T12:33:00.000-07:00

I have wanted an entertainment/storage unit for our family room for a long time, but did not want it made out of flimsy wood and did not want to pay for a nice solid one at any furniture store. I decide that I was going to buy a used dresser and try to remake it. I had looked at several yard sales this summer, but every time I thought that I saw one that might work, it had a SOLD sign on it. Then we started looking on Craigslist. (This is what I learned about Spokane Craigslist…you have to be glued to the computer or really lucky to get anything in good condition for a great price. Frustrating!!) Joel was traveling to Pullman for work in August, so I began looking on their Craigslist site (much more promising) and found a dresser that looked like it might work. Joel checked it out his first day there and thought that it looked good, so we borrowed my brother’s truck and Joel picked it up the next day. Here is a before picture:

We took out the top middle drawer, and Joel built a box to set the DVD player on.

Then he put molding around the box to make it look cute (It has to be cute, right?).
Then it got several coats of black paint, because I am in love with black right now.

And here is the finished product. Joel did such a great job. The only problem is that he thinks we need to go buy a large flat screen TV for the top.

I love it!! Now I want to try to refinsh our piano and paint it black to match.

CAMPING -- kind-of FAIL

2011-09-02T16:32:00.000-07:00

When I asked Joel what I should title this post he said "Camping Fail". I don't think it was a complete fail because we had a good time too.

Ava did so well camping the last time we went this summer that we were really looking forward to taking her to Farragut State Park this week. She has been fighting a cold for several days now, so we probably should have known not to attempt camping overnight, but we did anyway. We arrived on Tuesday and had great weather. Joel and Ava set up the tent.

Then we attempted to feed Ava lunch, but she was not interested at all. She just wanted to play in the dirt and play on the swing set that they have in the middle of the camp ground.

We then took a bike ride down to the river (they have this cute little kids swimming area) and played in the water. Ava loved this part of camping too.

Then we headed back to our campsite to make a fire and cook dinner. Dinner was great! Food cooked over a camp fire always tastes ten times better than anywhere else.

After dinner we headed to the swing set for a few more minutes of playtime before bed. This last family picture (right before bed) was the end of the good camping trip. It kind-of turned down hill from there. It was a pretty cold night, and Ava woke up several times not very happy. Then in the morning she woke up early - not happy again - and was so noisy that Joel decided to put her in the car and let her cry in there (hoping to allow some campers a few more hours of sleep). He finally gave in and turned on the DVD player in the car so that she could watch Elmo's World. We decided that we were not going to camp in the car with the DVD player on, so we packed up camp and headed home. It probably was a good decision, because it poured for most of the day, and Ava was really not feeling well.

But even with the rough night and morning, we had fun for several hours the first day and enjoy the time we spent just as a family.

Maybe we will try camping again next year when Ava is older and feeling better.

Lady of the Lake

2011-08-26T22:23:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we headed to the lake and spent some time with my family. The weather was perfect and company was great. Ava was in heaven spending time doing two of her favorite things - playing in the water and sand.

Ava testing the water with dad.

She may have fell in the water unexpectedly... oops.

Playing in the sand. She could have done this for hours on end if we would have let her.

There were quite a few kids playing out in the water and Ava kept saying that she wanted to go out by them. She was not happy to wear her life jacket, but I was too scared to have Joel swim with her when it was going to be over his head too.

Ava thought the boat was pretty neat too.

Hopefully we will make it out there again soon.

Hop, Hop, Hop

2011-08-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went over to Joel's parents to visit, and while we were there a bunny that lives under their porch came out to play. This bunny is pretty tame and Joel's mom found out that it loves papaya pills. Ava watched her grandma feed one to the bunny and then wanted to try one herself. She thought it was the coolest thing ever to feed a rabbit and then have it stay still to pet it. Needless to say...it made her weekend.

Typical Summer Day

2011-07-29T21:44:00.000-07:00

Ava's typical summer day consists of the following:

Every day we have to go to the park down the street. Ava wakes up telling me she wants to go to the park, and she would honestly live there if we would let her. A neighbor girl came over the other day on her little princess bike, and was wearing a bike helmet. Ava wanted to keep the little girls helmet on all night and threw a fit when we made her give it back. So off to the store we went the next day to get Ava her own helmet. She loves it, and wants to wear it to the park everyday, even if I am not taking her in the bike trailer.
Safety first!!

Ava also wants to wear her parents shoes all the time. She looks hilarious and trips often, but continues to wear them. Lately her dad's indoor soccer shoes are her favorite choice.

Picking raspberries is also a daily ritual around here. Ava would eat these non stop if we would let her. The problem is she does not know which ones are ripe and ready to pick - she just grabs whatever she can pull off and tries them out. Her face is so funny when she eats the non-ripe berries.

It has been pretty warm lately, so we try to let Ava take a dip in her little pool each day.

She loves the water and making any water toy or ball splash.

I cannot believe that summer is almost half over. Where does the time go?

Bounce

2011-07-16T21:37:00.000-07:00

Ava's friend Kade turned 3 this month, and Ava was invited to attend his birthday party. He had his party at a Jump and Play center (which is basically a bunch a blown up bounce castles, obstacle courses and slides. I was not sure if Ava would like it because she was pretty little compared to the other kids there and the bounce toys were rather large, but she LOVED it. In fact she did not want to leave.

Looks like we will probably see more of this place in our future.

Look What I Have Been Doing...

2011-07-10T14:07:00.001-07:00

Ava is growing up way too fast these days. It seems like everyday she is trying something new and saying a new word in the correct tense and meaning. She is talking up a storm and it is fun to actually understand what she is saying.
If you ask her what her favorite color is - she will say green.
If you ask her what her favorite number is - she will say nine.
If you ask her what her favorite letter is - she will say the letter "O". And she means each statement - they truly are her favorite.
If you ask her a yes or no question, she will answer "no" for no and "K" for yes.
She loves to water any plant outside or in with her little watering can (our plants are seeing more water than they ever have...hopefully they survive), and she says water without the T sound -- Super cute to hear.
We honestly cannot get enough of this kid.

Ava learning that she is able to climb the banister (Her mother is not happy about this).

Decorating the window for the holiday.

Driving her friend Henry's tractors on their farm.

Ava, you light up our life, make us complete, and bring a smile to our face every single day.

We love you!!

Warm Holiday Fun

2011-07-10T13:48:00.001-07:00

This last 4th of July we spent the day at Joel's parents house for a BBQ and time with Ava's cousins. Ava loved splashing in the water, playing with her cousin Cole, watching grandma and grandpa's cows, and eating lots of yummy food!

Playing with cousin Cole.

Enjoying the water toys.

It was nice to spend time with family and enjoy the beautiful weather we had.

Maybe next year Ava will stay up to watch some fireworks.

Silly Hat

2011-07-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

Ava loves the song from Barney called "A Silly Hat". She loves to put hats on her head and dance around to the song. Whenever we put funny objects on our heads around the house we always say "silly hat, silly hat" and dance around with it on our head (I know...we are weird, but Ava loves it). The objects that are not hats usually are anything from books, blankets, and toys to anything else that we feel would look silly on our heads.

Recently, this practice has backfired. The other night this is what I found...

We have been EASING into the whole potty training thing. She is just getting use to sitting on her potty chair (she was afraid to sit on it for awhile), and has actually never gone potty in it yet.

Looks like we have some work on our hands. I definitely do not want her thinking the inside of her potty chair can be used as a silly hat.

Blast from the Past

2011-06-30T22:23:00.000-07:00

If only all weekends were like this last one...

We got to spend time with some of our closest friends. It was wonderful, and we really wished that it would have never ended. Most of them do not live in Spokane any more, so having us all together (with the exception of a few others that were not able to come into town this last weekend) is very rare -- it actually never happens.

Lex said it best when she said, "so lucky to have such a great group of friends...we just picked up right where we left off."

We are thankful that distance has not ruined our friendships.

Love these guys, and hope our next visit with everyone is sooner rather than later.

5K

2011-06-18T20:23:00.000-07:00

We got up early this morning and headed out to run in a local 5K race (All the proceeds go to a local drug rehabilitation center for teenagers). We were thinking about leaving Ava with our neighbors because the weather was not that great and it looked like it was going to rain any minute, but then decided to take Ava with us. She has ran (well - been pushed in a stroller) this race every year since she was born, so we decided we had to keep the tradition alive.

It rained the whole drive to the race and a little bit while we waited for the race to begin, but it let up and stayed dry for the whole time we were running. Hallelujah!!

It was a lot of fun running as a family again this year... and Ava looked just too cute in her finisher t-shirt. We just might have to get her a shirt every year now.

Oregon Coast or Bust

2011-06-13T21:20:00.000-07:00

This last week we took a family vacation to Portland and Seaside, Oregon. I will not lie... I was really nervous about the long drive, because lets be honest, Ava is a horrible traveler. Thankfully she did much better than expected. We used a DVD player with tons of Elmo and Barney, and made some stops visiting family in Tri-Cities, and Portland (no pictures --SAD), which made the driving portion of the trip a success.

After staying the night in Portland we headed to Seaside, Oregon for the rest of our trip.
The day we arrived was beautiful - warm and sunny - just perfect.
Remember this is the coast though...and weather wise...that was the only nice day.

We had a blast watching Ava touch sand for the first time, and running in the waves. She did not want to leave, and probably got a little too much sun that first day (I forgot the sunscreen).

Once in Seaside we met up with our great friends the Black's. (We love their family so much and wish they lived closer to Spokane.)

We took the kids to Cannon Beach at low tide to see the tide pools. It was fun to walk around the rocks and watch the kids get excited occasionally at the sea creatures.

Ava found a starfish that she found to be quite interesting.

One day we took a hike over a small mountain (more like a steep hill), to a gorgeous beach.

This was my favorite part of the trip. The scenery was breathtaking. The trail ended at this cute beach. We saw several locals surfing out in the waves.

Our final day on the coast we went south to a little beach called Hug Point. It would have been a great beach, but we got there at high tide. We only stayed for about 30 minutes before all the sand was nearly taken away by the ocean and we were left with only rocks to sit and play on (not a great scenario with little kids). At least we saw the sun for a few minutes though!!

Ava enjoyed playing in the sand for a few minutes before the tide took it away.

Ava loved, loved, LOVED the ocean, and would have been happy if we stayed there the rest of her life. She did not care if it was raining, windy, and 50 degrees out - she just wanted to be on the sand and in the water. Thank goodness her dad did not mind the cold as much as I did, and would get his feet wet with her several times a day.

This was definitely our favorite family vacation to date.

"Wing Wing"

2011-06-10T21:09:00.001-07:00

I have been trying to take Ava to the park down the street from our house at least once a day if the weather allows. It is by far the highlight of her day, and she would stay there all day if I would allow her to. Her latest new word is "Wing Wing" (meaning swing swing) - basically meaning - take me to the park please, so that I can swing.

Ava would tell you that in the last 17 months that she has been alive...this is the best present that she has ever received. I wish everyone could have seen the excitement on her face when Joel finally attached the swing, and Ava realized that what her dad was building was actually a swing set. Pure JOY!!

Here are a few pictures of Ava and Joel building the swing set.

We let Ava stay up a little past her bedtime to see the swing being added to the swing set.

Her dad could not connect the swing fast enough for Ava.

I think that Joel and I may not see the inside of our house during the day now.

Wing Wing!!

My Favorites

2011-05-18T09:22:00.000-07:00

These are my favorite people.

They make my life complete. I love that they enjoy spending time together.

Ava just adores her daddy, as do I.

Leadman 2011

2011-05-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

This last past weekend we traveled to Kellogg Idaho so that Joel could participate in a race called the 2011 Leadman. It consisted of a 1 mile ski, 8 mile bike, and a 4.8 mile run. It was snowing quite hard on the mountain during the ski and part of the bike, but Joel still did pretty well. He got 9th in his age group.

This is Joel and Trevor (a good friend of ours) before the race. Trevor got second place overall and first in his age group.

My brother Eric and his family traveled from the Tri-Cities for the weekend to participate in the Leadman race and then Bloomsday in Spokane. It was so much fun to spend the weekend with them and for Ava to play with her cousins.
Eric and Joel's times were just a few minutes apart. They both did awesome.

As you can see the race was pretty muddy.

Joel really enjoyed it. I think that we might make this an annual event.

Since the race was in Kellogg, we decided to stay the night at the resort. Tickets to the indoor waterpark come with your room fee, so that was a huge perk for our whole family to go.

Joel and I have been to the waterpark in the past and really enjoyed it but did not know how Ava would do. This was her first time in a pool, and she absolutely loved it.

We had to take Ava out occasionally because she was turning into a prune, and she did not like leaving the water. It was so cute to watch her play with the water toys.

This particular toy was her favorite.

Ava with her cousin Simon.

(We took our friends daughter Maddy with us. She is always so much fun to have around. We feel like she is part of the family. Ava loves her too.)

They also have a surf pool where you can belly board or surf. Joel and Maddy enjoyed this part of the waterpark. (Ava and I did not attempt it)

It really is a fun place to go as a family. Can't wait till next year!!

Sugar High

2011-04-23T13:00:00.001-07:00

I have a funny feeling that Ava might be on a sugar high all weekend. How can you resist giving her Easter candy when it is the first year that she is actually old enough to kind-of understand what is going on. (We had been playing with eggs and baskets at home the last few days so that she would know what to do at the egg hunt.) Today was Ava's first Easter Egg Hunt. Even though she did not really understand that she needed to run and get the eggs before the other children did, she had a blast looking at all the colored eggs and watching all the other children around her.

Of course she had to try some of the candy that she received in the eggs too.

She loved it!! I think next year she will love it even more.

I am glad that we got to do the egg hunt and candy part of Easter on Saturday, so that we can focus on the true - important - meaning of Easter tomorrow.

Family Stroll

2011-04-09T16:33:00.000-07:00

Ava is finally starting to feel better, and we all have severe cabin fever, so we thought we better go for a little family hike today. It was a little windy, but it was still wonderful to be outside. Ava was not thrilled about being in the backpack. She would prefer to walk constantly, but some of the trail was a little too rocky. Ava was so excited to see and pick flowers. I think the flowers were probably the highlight of her adventure today.

Following dad on the trail. I cannot believe how fast she has grown up. At this time last year she was just a few months old, not even crawling, and now she runs around everywhere. Where does the time go? I am glad that she is developing and becoming so independent, but at the same time I know that in the blink of an eye she will be heading off to school. Crazy how fast time flies.

Family time is the best time!! And being outside even makes it better.

Poor Baby

2011-04-03T12:51:00.000-07:00

Being a mom is such an amazing experience. I always knew that I wanted to be a mom, but not nearly as much as I have enjoyed with Ava. She brightens my days, makes me constantly smile and laugh, and allows me to have a deeper respect for all mothers, including my own. It is so much fun, but hard at the same time. These last few days have been slightly difficult because Ava has been so sick. Before now, she has had the occasional running nose, but never a serious cold. She was put on antibiotics for the first time, and has thrown-up (mostly from choking on her cough) more than I thought possible for a little kid. I hate to see her struggle and not feel well, especially since it is still so hard for her to communicate how she is feeling. As much as I hate having her sick, I am grateful that I can be here for her. I love that she wants to cuddle with me and knows that I am always here for her. I hope that she always knows that, especially when she hits her teenage years. I am grateful that she feels comfort in my arms. I would hold her and rock her all day (and night) long if it meant she would feel better. She and her dad are my best blessings. Can't wait for our little princess to feel better soon.

SPRING FEVER

2011-03-23T19:37:00.000-07:00

Ava wore a dress to church last Sunday that was very "Spring" looking in hopes that the weather would turn a little bit warmer. She stands at the living room window staring outside several times a day, wishing her parents would let her outside more often. (Her parents just wish that it was 10 degrees warmer most days.)

But today she got her wish and we went for a walk to the park. (The wind was a little bit colder than we would have liked, but it did not stop Ava from having a good time.)

There is a cute little tree house that has stairs up to it. I took Ava up inside, and she was not too sure about it at first. I think she might be a little scared of heights.
She did enjoy looking at another little girl running around on the grass below.

Hopefully the weather is turning and we will be able to venture to the park more often.
Ava sure loves it there.

Great Company

2011-03-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

The other night we were able to have dinner with our great friends Mark and Rhonda and their adorable son Henry. We always look forward to our time with them. Great food and always wonderful company.

I have known Rhonda since Middle School, and it is so much fun raising our children together.
We look forward to summer adventures together too.

And for those of you that need an Ava fix... Here are some cute recent pictures.

Ava just loves helping in the kitchen.

Ava moved all the oranges and grapefruit into the potato drawer. I guess she thought where we had placed them was not good enough.

Joel says this last photo makes Ava look like a werewolf.

She tends to look like this after she pulls her pigtails out.

I promise that we do clean her mouth off after eating.

Sleep is Over-Rated

2011-03-06T21:00:00.000-08:00

Ava seems to think that sleep is over-rated.

Ava has never been a great sleeper. Let's be honest...she is a horrible sleeper. I have friends that say that their child has been sleeping through the night since they were 6 weeks old...heck some that say they began sleeping through the night at 6 months old. Not our Ava. She is 14 months old and still does not sleep through the night. I have to admit that it is getting a little bit better. This week she has slept until 4 and sometimes 5 AM, but it has not become consistent yet. Until this last week she woke up at 1 AM to eat a bottle every night. Grrrr. I have been ready to have her cry it out for sometime now, but Joel says that if she is hungry she should eat. His argument is that he gets up to eat in the middle of the night if he is hungry (which he really does do), so she should be able to eat if she is hungry too.

Since I do not agree with the whole nightly feeding thing much anymore, Joel has decided that he will get up and feed her if she is hungry. Joel feeding her is nice, but her crying and waking us up every night is not. I hope that this phase is coming to an end soon, because I am getting a little sleep deprived (a little...who are we kidding. I feel like a zombie at times).

All I have to say is.... IT IS A GOOD THING THAT SHE IS SO STINKIN CUTE.

I love her even when I have had less than 4 hours of sleep a night for 5 days straight.

And even when I am exhausted, she still brings the biggest smile to my face each day.

Bed Head

2011-03-02T15:14:00.000-08:00

I love going to get Ava out of her crib after a long nap. First, because she is always so excited to see you, and second because she usually has the cutest bed head. This day's bed head was extremely cute...the picture does not do it justice. Ava has the most gorgeous curls, especially right after a bath (or in this case - after she sleeps on one side for a few hours). Hopefully her curls stay with her for a few years.

Reverent Books

2011-02-16T13:21:00.000-08:00

One of my jobs at church is called "Activity Day Leader". What that means is that I meet with the girls ages 8 to 12 twice a month to do activities and service projects. Tonight we are making reverent books. I made a sample one to take to the activity tonight, and will give it to Ava in 6 or 7 years.

I covered a 4x6 photo book with fabric and added a ribbon and flower to try to make it look cuter.

Then I printed the content at a photo shop here in town.

The first section contains pages about our church and what we believe. Basic principles mainly.

The the second portion talks about scripture stories.

I think that it turned out pretty cute, and hope that the girls enjoy making them tonight.

My Sweetheart

2011-02-13T23:31:00.000-08:00

Dear Jen,
I want to take a few minutes and tell you why I love you. I guess I will start off with the obvious; you're beautiful and smart and kind and funny and thoughtful and sexy and... Well, you get the point. You're everything I could ever ask for. And now the not so obvious:
I love you because you support me and love me through everything. Like the way you pick up the slack around the house when I am busy studying for an exam or when I am flat on my back with the flu for a week.
I love you because you allow me to be myself. I know I am a little immature at times and have a lot of different ideas, but you always listen to what I have to say no matter how much you disagree.
But, what I really love the most is the kind of Mother you are to Ava. The way you take care of her and teach her all day every day, I know what you do with her at home is far more important than what I am doing at work. The truth is, I get a little jealous of you sometimes because of all the time you two spend together without me, but at the same time am so greatful for the way you love her and take care of her. I know you love her more than anything and would do anything for her. I never imagined that I would be so lucky as to have someone like you to spend my life and eternity with. Every day I thank God that he allowed us to meet and fall in love.
I will always love you,
Joel

Sunday Activity

2011-01-30T14:56:00.000-08:00

Ava and I regularly bake cookies together. I give her a wooden spoon and she loves to stir the bowl as I put ingredients into it. A few weeks ago I got a few cans of oats for 30 cents at Albertson's during one of their sales and did not know what I was going to do with all of it. So today on the way home from church I asked Ava if she wanted to help me make cookies and she got excited (which means YES), so obviously we had to do it.

We made Oatmeal Raisin cookies, and they turned out great!!

I always say that we (I mean me) are going to go on a diet, but obviously not. Who can pass up good cookies.

I thought she hated PIGTAILS

2011-01-22T21:30:00.000-08:00

Joel and I decided to go to the temple today for our date this week, and had a sitter come over and watch Ava for a few hours. Ava would not take her morning nap, so I was a little nervous about leaving her with a sitter, but she had a great time playing dress up.

I try several times a week to put pigtails or barrettes in Ava's hair and she will not have anything to do with it. In fact, she fights it so much that I have pretty much given up.

When we came home today, this is what we found...

A cute little girl with pigtails. I asked the sitter how she got Ava to cooperate and sit still, and her response was she just sat in my lap while I did it. WHAT??? How does that happen??? I decided that I might have to hire the sitter just to do Ava's hair once in awhile.

Then later in the evening Joel and Ava decided to try to juice some leftover vegetables and fruit from our bountiful basket that we got last Saturday.

But as Joel started to juice the first carrot the motor blew. The bang scared Ava to death. She would not go near the counter for awhile. And the thought of throwing the juicer away almost brought Joel to tears (not really, but he loved that juicer and was sad to get rid of it). I am not entirely sad about it because the thing was terribly messy and noisy. I guess we will have to come up with something else to do with the fruit and veggies -- Maybe smoothies (with the fruit). Yum Yum.

Wishing She was Bigger

2011-01-12T16:25:00.000-08:00

There is a bus stop for the school district close to the front of our house. This afternoon Ava saw two kids that must have been around 3 or 4 years old dressed in their snow clothes waiting for their siblings bus to arrive after school, and Ava wanted to go outside so badly and play with them. She stood at the window pointing her finger at them, yelling at the top of her lungs in her baby jibberish. I knew just what she wanted, and asked her, "Ava do you want to go outside in the snow?" She got the biggest smile on her face.
So we got out her snow clothes and got her all dressed for the weather.
By the time we got outside the kids were all gone, but she was still excited to be outside in the snow.

She looked so dang cute that I had to take a few pictures!!

Hitting the Slopes

2011-01-09T14:36:00.000-08:00

Joel and I have not been skiing for a few years, since I was pregnant and then had Ava last winter. Therefore, we decided to go skiing yesterday for our date night. My mom lives pretty close to Mt. Spokane, so we were able to drop Ava off with her and then head up the mountain and ski for a few hours.

It was really cold and windy, but we had a blast together. Joel said it perfectly as we were riding up the chair lift...skiing is so relaxing. And it really is. You get to enjoy being outside in such a beautiful setting, and have tons of time to ponder life.

It was the best date we have had in awhile. Too much fun!! We might just have to do it again sometime soon.

Month in Review

2010-12-30T20:42:00.000-08:00

This month has been extremely busy for the Anderson household. Joel and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary, our baby turned one, Joel's bank got bought by an investment firm - which caused him to have to work extra hours, visiting family and friends, Christmas, and the list goes on and on. But even though it has been busy, it has been tons of fun too. We wouldn't change any of it.

We love the snow. Lucky us -- it has been snowing quite a bit lately. It is absolutely beautiful and looks magical as it falls from the sky. Today in particular was gorgeous. We got about 10 inches of new snow last night and it was sunny today. There is nothing more pretty than the bright sun shinning on fresh new snow. We only wish we were up on the mountain skiing in it!

We cannot wait to see what 2011 brings to our family. We hope to have many fun adventures and make wonderful memories. We feel so blessed for all that we have been given.

Our Little Lady

2010-12-24T08:38:00.000-08:00

Our "Little Lady" turns ONE today. I cannot believe how fast this last year has gone by. Ava has grown up so much and is constantly making us smile and laugh. I never thought anything could bring as much joy into our lives as she has.

Ava had a ladybug birthday party this year (pink and brown instead of red and black). She wore a cute pink dress with a ladybug on it, and definitely stole the show. Her ladybug cake was made by Grandma Tilton and her ladybug cookies were made by Grandma Anderson.

She didn't go crazy over her birthday cake like many kids do. I was hoping to get that really messing cake eating photo, but she went about eating it very lady like.

Her stats at her 12 month check up:

Height: 30.75 inches
Weight: 21.8 pounds

She says mama, dada, baba (bye bye), and lets us know what she wants by pointing to it.
She is walking everywhere, and loves to get into every kitchen drawer that she can.

She is growing too fast (I wish it would slow down a little sometimes), but we enjoy watching her learn new things. We cannot believe our baby is one today. She is really becoming such a little lady.

We love you Ava!!

On the Hunt

2010-12-13T20:47:00.000-08:00

This last weekend we went up north with some of our good friends, Rhonda, Mark and their little boy Henry, to look for the perfect Christmas tree. And we had success!! After a little hike through the woods, we finally found our cute tree.

I was a little worried about how Ava would do being out in the cold. This was her first time outside for a long period of time, but she seemed to enjoy it.

Our little family on the hunt for our Christmas tree.

Ava and I took a break to play in the snow while Joel cut down the tree. Ava loved touching the snow. She is always so curious about everything (she gets that from her dad - and it is a good thing).

And since she was so curious...Joel thought that she ought to taste it too.

This little adventure made for the perfect weekend, and our house is beginning to look alot like Christmas.

Ava's First Encounter With Santa

2010-12-11T07:46:00.000-08:00

Ava met Santa last night at our Church Christmas party for the first time. We did not know what to expect, because she totally has separation anxiety really bad. However, it went much better than we expected. She enjoyed herself the whole night...One, because she could walk around the whole gym with all the other children (which meant we were chasing her the whole time), and Two, because there were Christmas trees everywhere. She thought the trees were great. We are putting ours up tomorrow.

Then she met Santa. She was not too sure about him, but did not scream or cry (which was all we were asking for).

But she was sure excited to show us the candy cane she got from Santa when she was done sitting on his lap.

What's For Dinner

2010-12-06T07:40:00.000-08:00

This last weekend I had some of my favorite girlfriend's over for a craft day, but more importantly to celebrate Beth's birthday. We use to get together so much more and hang out, but life just keeps getting busier each year and finding time that we can all get together gets more difficult. It was nice to just sit and talk to each other, and we made a pretty cute craft too.

We made menu boards to go in our kitchens. They all turned out so cute, and each had their own personal touch and style. Here are some of the finished products.

I cannot wait to start using mine. Hopefully it will help me plan my meals and shopping trips better. I can't wait to have our next girl's day either.

I am a...

2010-11-05T19:13:00.000-07:00

WALKER!!!

Ava is officially a walker. She started crawling about 3 weeks ago and fought it the whole way. She wanted nothing to do with being on her hands and knees. The other day I was walking with her just holding onto one of my fingers (side-by-side), and I let go and she kept walking for a few steps. I thought that it might have just been lucky, but she will let go of anything that she is holding onto now and try to stand and balance or take a few steps. She has wanted to be on her feet since she was about 6 months old, but I never thought that I would have a walker at 10 months of age. Ava just turned 10 months old 11 days ago. Where did our baby go? She is growing up way too fast, but it is fun to watch her develop and learn new things.

Also, here is a picture of her in her pumpkin outfit for Halloween.

Little Miss Ava Claire

2010-10-27T16:01:00.000-07:00

Well we missed Ava's 9 month pictures, so she got pictures taken at 10 months old instead. She becomes more and more fun each day. I am always saying that I love this stage in her development the best, but right now is honestly my favorite. She is growing up way too fast though. Some fun facts about Ava right now are:

Crawls anywhere (but loves to crawl up the stairs the most)
Would rather walk, so she pulls herself up on everything and scales the walls and furniture
Loves to clap when she does something cute
Will eat anything she can get her hands on (she tried a baby wipe the other day - GROSS)
Fascinated with belts
Loves to read books (this is some of my favorite past-times with her)
Wears 12 month clothes and 18 month pajamas (where did my baby go?)
Has the cutest different face expressions

She is definitely our best and biggest blessing.

We love you Ava!

Fall Festival

2010-10-24T12:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we drove down to the Tri-Cities to visit my brother Eric's Family. We had planned to go to the fall festival outside of town but did not know if the weather would cooperate. We tried it even though it was cold and a little rainy, and I am glad that we did. We had a great time, and Ava enjoyed seeing her cousins. (I forgot Ava's hat and coat so she had to borrow some from Maveric)

Ava and Maveric hanging out while waiting to go into the festival.

We have a book that talks about scratchy straw. Ava thought it was great to actually play with real straw.

Here is Ava showing off how tall she is.

Daddy and Ava riding a tractor. Of course Ava wanted to take the wheel.

And a few family shots.

Spending time together is our favorite past time.

Ava cannot wait to play with her cousins again over Thanksgiving.
We love spending time with Family.

Kissin Youth Goodbye

2010-10-09T21:17:00.000-07:00

Today Joel and his siblings threw their mom a surprise Birthday Party. Her birthday is actually not until tomorrow. Joel has seven brothers and sisters who live all over the country from Alaska to Georgia, and they were all able to come home for this big event. It has been several years since they have all been together. Georgianna was extremely surprised!! It was fun to see her reaction.

The Anderson clan at the dinner table.

Ava finally got to meet her Uncle John that lives in Georgia.

One of Georgianna's friends made these to set at every place at the table.

Super cute...and funny too.

All of the Anderson children.

It is always fun to spend time with family.

Happy 60th Birthday Georgianna!!

9 Cents

2010-10-02T14:27:00.000-07:00

I finally had one of those amazing coupon shopping days. I hear of people buying stuff for pennies but have never actually done it…until yesterday night. I went to the grocery store after Ava went to bed to pick up a few things and decided to stop buy Rite-Aid and grab a few things because I have wellness dollars that are going to expire soon. $14 wellness dollars to be exact. I went in and got the items pictured and only paid 9 cents, and I did not even use any of my wellness dollars and got back two more dollars (now I have $16 to spend soon --- probably will go to a few free packs of diapers).
I am not a huge couponer because I do not have time to research all the deals and plan out my trips being a mom, working part-time, and teaching a few piano lessons a week. Also, because I do not buy things that I am not going to ever use or eat. I do not have the space and I hate when people buy everything that they can get for free-just because it is free- and then there is nothing left for those that actually want the product. Also, I am a snob about certain things and will only buy named brand products (like Tide, Huggies Pure and Natural Diapers, Adams Peanut Butter, and things like that), so I will never get products like that for free. So even though I might be able to get a different laundry detergent for free or really cheap, I am not going to waste my time finding the coupons to make the deal. However, I do look at a certain local site that maps out deals for the Spokane area, and if it seems like something that I might need and will not take too much time to try to find all the coupons needed, then I will do it. Last night was one of those trips.
If you do not have a wellness card at Rite-Aid, you should get one. They have practically been paying me to shop there the last few weeks. And it was fun only handing the cashier 9 cents!

Cannot Believe It

2010-09-25T18:05:00.001-07:00

I just cannot believe that Ava turned 9 months old yesterday. She has brought more joy into Joel and my lives than we ever could have expected. Her enthusiasm for life and being able to do new things is precious to watch. We are so blessed to be her parents and cannot wait to watch her continue to grow and develop. Some things that Ava enjoys right now are:

Feeding herself Cheerios
Talking (babbling...whatever you call it)
Making funny faces with her lips
Reading books with her parents
Standing up holding onto furniture (still to stubborn to crawl)

She is just too much fun. Everyday with her is a blessing.

We met some friends up at Greenbluff today to pick apples. The weather was beautiful and the company was great. I wish we could spend everyday like this. It was perfect!!

Attempt

2010-09-21T15:51:00.001-07:00

A few girls from church get together every other week and sew. I have been a bit intimidated by them because they make the cutest things, and I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to sewing. But, I decided that I wanted to try to make Ava a skirt. She is small, so I knew it would not take much fabric to make…so it had to be easy right? NO…not easy for a non-sewer. I am glad that I did it, so that I can say that I made Ava something, but I do not know if I will attempt clothes again in the near future.

Here are a few pictures of the finished product. Ava sure looks enthused to be wearing it. Oh well, I do not know if I would love wearing it either.

In the last picture…I left a section of the ribbon unconnected from the skirt so I could add flowers to it.

At least I attempted it, and maybe next time the finished product will look a little better.

Who Needs One Anyway...

2010-09-09T21:29:00.000-07:00

Joel had to have his appendix out today...not by choice. Last night he was in so much pain he could not sit still or get comfortable anywhere. Joel never complains when he is in pain, but this must have been some intense pain, because he said that he was not feeling well and hurting really bad for several hours. I told him that he had all the symptoms of a possible appendicitis, but he refused to go to the ER. We talk and I said if he started throwing up or the pain got worse within an hour we were going to the hospital. Sure enough both happened and he was out the door. At 4:30 AM this morning we got the news that he would be admitted and on the surgery schedule to have it removed. Joel would have killed me if I put a picture of him on this blog in the hospital, but just know that he looked hot in that blue stylish hospital gown. We are thankful he survived and is back home with us tonight.

Peach Festival Mishap

2010-09-03T21:07:00.000-07:00

I heard on the news that the Greenbluff Peach Festival was this weekend, so we decided to head up their once Joel got off of work on Friday. What we did not know was that the festival did not start until Saturday, and most of the farms closed at 5:00 PM. So after driving to several farms to see if we could pick some peaches...we realized that we were out of luck. One farm on the way home let us go through their apple orchard, but said that the apples were not quite ripe enough to pick yet. We decided to take a walk through the orchard since we were already there.

Ava just adores her daddy!!

Ava prefers to try to walk...maybe someday we will have a crawler.

While we were walking through the apples, we saw this cute little tricycle. Joel wanted to see if Ava would sit on it, and I am glad that he tried it, because it made for some great pictures. Our baby is getting so big.

Even though Joel was sad that we did not get any peaches this trip, we had fun just spending time outside as a family. Can't wait to take Ava back to pick out her Fall Pumpkin.

Much Needed Vacation

2010-08-07T11:04:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went for our first overnight vacation with Ava to Seattle. It was quite the experience, and made us think twice about going somewhere for a week this winter. We probably should have tried an extended overnight trip somewhere a little closer to home, because Ava hated sleeping in new locations – let’s be honest…Ava hardly slept at all. But we still had a great time, and got to see some of our favorite people!!

The first day we went to Wenatchee and saw my grandmother from my dad’s side of the family. She had not seen Ava yet, and it was nice for the two of them to have some time together.

Then we went to dinner with my Grandmother, Aunt Debbie, and two cousins – Rachel and Kristen. Kristen was actually visiting from California that week, so we were lucky to get to see her. We had a great time just catching up and enjoying a good meal with family.

Two of our favorite people – Ben and Kim – moved to Wenatchee recently, and we miss them really bad…so of course we needed to stay with them and catch up. Poor Ava had a rough night and did not sleep well at all, and Ben and Kim probably did not either, but they pretended like they slept fine and loved having us as visitors. (Thanks Ben and Kim)

The next day we were off to Seattle. Ava slept almost the whole way there, which never happens. We stopped at Snoqualmie Falls on the way and ate lunch. The west side of Washington is so pretty.

We spent some time with our good friends – Paul and Esther – while in Seattle. They just had a new addition to their family that we had to see, and he is adorable. They took us on this fun little hike by the University of Washington that was beautiful. We always have the best time when we go visit them.

On Saturday evening we went to Lake Samamish State Park and walked around before we headed home.

Ava was not to sure about the lake water.

We were supposed to stay until Sunday, but since Ava was not sleeping well in these new environments, we decided to drive home Saturday night while she was sleeping. She was so funny – when we got home she woke up to eat (she usually screams bloody murder while waiting for her nighttime bottle to be made) and she looked around, realized that she was home, and just smiled. Looks like we have a little home-body.

All-in-all, the trip was good and it was nice to get away as a family. The best part was just being able to sit and talk to Joel for hours while driving (when Ava was sleeping). We never have time like that together anymore with our busy schedules. Family time is definitely the BEST TIME!!

When Daddy Watches Me...

2010-08-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday's Joel watches Ava while I go to work. I am sure that Ava loves this, because she gets to do whatever she wants when she wants.

We planted a garden this year, and planted a few things specifically so that we could make Ava some fresh baby food - like peas. We planted carrots also to make baby food, but then read that you have to be really careful with carrots due to nitrates in the soil.

Well, yesterday when I got home from work, these pictures were up for me to see. Joel knew that I would get upset because babies are not suppose to have tomatoes, and we discussed that we were going to test our soil for nitrates before feeding the carrots to Ava. But Ava and Joel have minds of their own.

Ava enjoying herself. Joel assures me that she did not actually eat any of the tomato.

She did taste the carrots though. How can you get mad at a face this cute though???

Produce

2010-07-25T14:32:00.000-07:00

This morning Ava decided to get up even earlier than she usually does, so we decided to make breakfast while we let Joel sleep a little longer. I started making waffles, and realized that it looked like a few of our blueberries might be ripe. So I went outside and picked a few to throw into the batter. They turned out great and real tasty. And it even made Joel decide to wake up and come try some waffles with us.

It is so nice to finally get to eat/use some of the food that we have planted. Our summer started out really slow this year, and did not get warm until recently. Therefore, our garden and plants are a bit behind this year. Can't wait for the peas and tomatoes to get ripe!

Summer Days

2010-07-18T14:15:00.000-07:00

We love sunny summer days, especially when spent on a lake.

We had the opportunity to go on my brother Dave's boat with his wife Maria this last Saturday. The weather was perfect and the company was great. Now if we could just get Ava to enjoy wearing her life jacket so that we could stay on the boat for longer than 20 minutes. Oh well...it was fun anyway!

Thanks Dave and Maria for taking us out on the water.

We also decided to try out the bike trailer with Ava, because Joel and I love taking bike rides. We had to put pillows around Ava and under her (to make her taller), but once we hit the road and began moving she enjoyed it. Yea!! That means we will be going on lots of sunny summer bike rides.

Can't Believe That She is 6 Months Old

2010-07-03T12:15:00.000-07:00

Ava turned 6 months old on June 24th, 2010. She is growing up so fast. It makes me sad that she is not a little baby anymore, but I am excited to see her continue to develop and become a little girl. She brings more joy into our lives than we ever could have imagined.

A few fun things that Ava is doing lately are:

Wants to eat everything (But we feed her baby food and biscuits)
Trying to crawl (More successful at rolling to her destination)
Sits up by herself
Loves to laugh
Always wants to hold the cell phone
She is curious about anything and everything
But most of all she loves to make her Mom and Dad smile (Which is always)

Here are a few photos from her 6 month pictures.

We love our sweet pumpkin!!

She makes our family feel so much more complete.

Sportin Some Shades

2010-06-27T21:04:00.000-07:00

The other day, we ran downtown to do a little shopping. I told Joel that I wanted to run to Bath and Body, and Joel said that he would meet me at Baby Gap. We were planning on hitting the clearance rack there to check and see if there were any good deals, so I just thought that he would take his sweet time getting to the store and wait for me on a bench outside. Not at all the case...when I got to the Gap, Joel had bought Ava a swim suit, and she was wearing these shades.

I think that it is cute when Joel buys Ava clothes. Sometimes (most times) it is not something that I would have necessarily picked out, but I love that he wants to be involved. Plus Ava is cute in anything.

Here is Joel trying to get Ava to try out the pool that he bought her. She was not excited about it at all. Check out the cave woman swim suit. Joel says he bought it because she looked like Bam Bam from the Flintstones. Good thing she is cute and can pull off the orange suit.

Race Day

2010-06-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

OK...last Saturday Joel, Ava and I ran a 5K. I know that seems like nothing, but it is the first real exercise that I have done since I had Ava. 3.1 miles use to be nothing, but man am I out of shape. I probably should have trained for the race, because it was more difficult than I expected. It was a lot of hills. Had it been flat, I think it would have been no problem. Our time was horrible due to us (me) having to walk up the steep hills, but it was fun to get out as a family and do something active. We will need to practice running with Ava more, because she did not like be constricted to the stroller.

Made me realize I need to exercise more. All-in-all, it was a great day - Hanging out with my two favorite people.

What a Beautiful Day

2010-06-05T17:39:00.001-07:00

The sun finally decided to show itself after several rainy days. We decided to take advantage of the weather and go for a family walk. We were gone for 2 hours and Ava did great. I was worried that she would get restless being in the carrier, but she loved looking around.

This is what happens when you are out in the sun for a few hours. It was great to get outside and spend time as a family.

And this last picture is just Ava being cute...

Lessons

2010-06-05T17:26:00.000-07:00

Ava and I went to my mom's school classroom this last week to teach the children about how babies develop during their first few months of life. Ava was the prop for the lesson. The kids loved her.

Ava helped me play the piano the other day too. She had her first lesson. Her attention span is not great. She will have to wait a few years before she really start to learn. But she loves to bang on the keys.

Opa and Oma came to visit...

2010-05-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

My dad and his wife Diane came to Washington to visit this last weekend. It is always so good to see them. Now that they live in Florida we only get to see them every 1 ½ to 2 years. Hopefully we will be able to make a trip to Florida in the future and visit them there. It was nice that Ava got to meet her Opa and Oma too.

We already miss them!!

Peas Please...

2010-05-04T12:22:00.000-07:00

Ava will just stare at Joel and I as we eat our meals, and we both just feel horrible eating in-front of her. She is fairly stable sitting with light support too, so we thought that it was time to start her on some rice cereal. She is not extremely fond of the rice cereal, so at her four month appointment last week we asked her doctor if we should continuing trying the rice cereal or try a vegetable. Her doctor stated that we should try rice cereal for a few weeks until she got the swallowing technique down and then we could move to a veggie. Joel and I both thought that she was ready to try to eat, and she will not take the cereal, so last week we decided to try some peas. She LOVES peas. Even though she does not keep much of it in her mouth…she gets so sad when you stop feeding her. She loves the taste of them to say the least. I just cannot believe that we have a little eater. She is growing up way too fast, but it is so much fun to watch her learn new things.

We adore our little sweet pea!!

Maveric Turns Two!!

2010-04-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

My brother Eric's son Maveric turns two at the end of this month, so we headed to Tri-cities this last weekend to celebrate his birthday with family. He is such a happy, intelligent kid.

This pictures is of Ava and her two cousins - Maveric and Simon

It was great to spend time with family and get away from our busy lives and take a quick road trip together as a family.

Here are just a few random pictures of Joel and I with Ava.

She is such a blessing in our lives.

What you can get for $1.84...

2010-04-23T14:32:00.000-07:00

I am not a huge couponer, but with merchandise that I will use...I will totally take the time to do it. This is what I got today while I was out running errands with Ava. Two scrubbing bubble sprays, and 10 packs or 4 mini cream cheeses - All for $1.84. And to top it off - I got 3 catalina coupons totaling $8 off my next purchase. So it is kind-of like I made $6 on this order. Can't beat that.

Got to love the COUPONS!!

What do we do when the SUN decides to come out?

2010-04-20T12:43:00.000-07:00

This last weekend was absolutely gorgeous. It was sunny, warm, and Ava loved being outside (well...as long as the sun was not in her eyes). Therefore, Joel and I decided to use our new jogging stroller and go for a few walks over the weekend. We live in a little community outside of town that has tons of paved and non-paved walking trails that we love to go walking on. Here are some pictures of our fun adventures.

Hopefully we will have another sunny weekend in the near future so that we can hit the trails again.

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T22:15:00.000-07:00

Today was Ava's first Easter. She really had no clue that today was different than any other day, but man did she get spoiled. Everywhere she went she got treats and gifts.
It was a conference weekend at church, therefore we did not have a normal church service, but we still had her wear her special Easter dress over to families houses.

Easter is such a special time of year. We are so thankful for our Savior and for the Atonement. We are thankful to know that He died for us and loves us each individually.

We are excited to teach Ava about Jesus Christ as she gets older, and hope that she grows up loving her Savior and Heavenly Father.

We know that we post a lot about Ava lately...but she is the most exciting thing in our lives. I print my blog every year, so it acts as a picture journal for us as well, therefore some of these posts are more for us to read in years to come. But none-the-less, our family that is not here locally enjoy updated pictures of Ava.

We just cannot get enough of her.

We love you Ava!!

Babies and Birthdays

2010-03-23T13:47:00.001-07:00

This last weekend we traveled to the Tri-cities to visit my brother Eric and his family. They added a new addition to their family one week ago, and we wanted to go see baby Simon. Joel and I were quite nervous to drive a long distance with Ava, because she absolutely hates being in the car. She surprised us though and did quite well. She only screamed a few times, and we only had to stop a few times to let her out of her seat.

Simon was adorable. He weighed exactly the same amount as Ava when she was born, and I could not believe how small he looked and felt. It is amazing how fast our little baby is growing. I cannot believe she is not a newborn anymore.

Here is a picture of Baby Simon and Ava.

Maveric was not feeling well, so I did not get any great pictures of him. Hopefully next time we see him he will be feeling better.

Also, this last weekend we celebrated my mom and brother David's birthdays. Here are some pictures of Ava and the birthday boy and girl.

It was a busy weekend - to say the least. But we had tons of fun being with family and loved ones.

Our sweet 2 month old

2010-03-11T08:55:00.000-08:00

We took Ava in to get a few pictures taken on the day that she turned two months old (February 24, 2010). She hates the sound of cameras for some reason, so it is hard to catch her smile, or get her to smile if she can see the camera. But she is cute regardless if she is smiling or not. Here are just a few of her pictures. Joel and I think she is the cutest thing in the world. (We may be a little bias.)

What a Blessing...

2010-03-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

Ava is such a blessing in our lives, and we enjoy her more and more each day.

Today Ava was blessed in church. Joel was so nervous, but he did such a great job. Ava did good too. Church is not her favorite thing lately, and Joel and I were nervous that she would scream through the whole thing, but she was completely quiet through the blessing. It was nice to have family and friends there to support her and us as well.

We just feel so blessed and have so much to be thankful for.

Here are a few pictures of the day, and of her dress.

Family Time

2010-02-27T19:14:00.000-08:00

The weather was so nice today that we thought that we would go for a walk to one of the parks close to our house. We did not actually make it to the park because Ava was getting a little bit hungry and did not care to sit in the stroller and wait for us to get home to eat, so we turned around early. It was so nice just to get outside and breathe some fresh air. It made us all a little anxious for summer.

BE MY VALENTINE

2010-02-14T14:21:00.000-08:00

This Valentine's Day was a bit different than usual, but so much more special. Usually, Joel and I go on a date for Valentine's Day, but this year we have a little baby, so going out is a bit more difficult. Joel brought home a dozen roses and cooked an amazing meal for his two lucky girls (I was the only girl that ate it, but Ava enjoyed looking at it). I love when Joel cooks because one - I do not have to cook, and two - because he is an amazing cook. His meals always turn out fabulous. This was Ava's first Valentine's Day too which made it even more special, and Joel got her the cutest card. Ava got her dad some chocolates that he really enjoyed. I would not have wanted to spend Valentine's Day any other way.

Here are just a few new pictures of Ava. We sure do love having her in our family.

Too Cute!!

Trying to Catch a Smile

2010-02-03T20:23:00.000-08:00

Ava is just starting to smile at people. Catching one of her quick smiles is pretty much impossible. She hates the sound the camera makes when it takes a picture, so whenever I pull out the camera she instantly puts on a scowl as you can see in this picture.

However...every once in awhile I catch the tail end of one of her big grins. She is so much fun. Here are a few of my half-smile pictures.

Flowers in her hair...

2010-01-22T13:26:00.000-08:00

Joel just absolutely hates when people put huge flowers on baby girls heads, but I think that they can be pretty cute. I had my friend Beth pick me up some flowers when she was in Utah recently, and thought that I would try them out on Ava today. She is four weeks old and I thought that it would be fun to try to get some one month pictures of her. This is what she thinks of the hair flowers too...

Like father...like daughter. Maybe we will try again when she is in a better mood or sound asleep.

Ava meets cousin Maveric

2010-01-17T14:09:00.000-08:00

My brother Eric, his wife Jenny and Maveric came to visit this weekend and meet Ava. Maveric had called earlier and told us that he wanted to come visit and hold baby Ava. When they arrived Ava was sleeping and we let Maveric get up on the bed to see her. He was so cute, and said Ava - night, night.

Jenny is due in a few months with their second child, so this was good practice for Maveric. This picture is of Jenny and Maveric holding Ava.

Maveric is almost two, and was pointing out all of Ava's face features.

We had a great time visiting with family this weekend. My other brother Dave came over for dinner with his wife Maria. I could spend every day with my brothers if I could. I only wish we all lived closer together.

Dad's Princess and Mom's Pumpkin

2010-01-09T17:59:00.000-08:00

Ava is doing so much better. She was able to get off of the home light therapy last week, and her and her parents loved that. She is changing everyday, and we cannot believe that our little girl is already over two weeks old. She is starting to hold her head up more, and we are amazed at how strong her neck is getting. We cannot imagine our lives without her. She brings both Joel and I so much joy each day. We both just stare at her all the time and cannot get over how much we love her and how cute she is.

Our Little Trooper

2009-12-30T18:01:00.000-08:00

Ava has been such a little trooper lately. We had to stay an extra day in the hospital because her biliruben levels were high and she was jaundiced pretty bad. They put her under light therapy and we were only able to hold her during feedings. (Here is a picture of her in the hospital under the light therapy.)

Then we got her home and had to get her biliruben levels checked two days later and her values were high again. They said that we could try a home therapy for a few days and see if that worked, and if not ... back to the hospital.

The home therapy consists of Ava wearing a light band around her body at all times. It is attached to a machine and only has a three foot cord. It makes it difficult to feed, change, and hold her at times, but she is a trooper, and has tolerated it quite well. In fact, I think that she deals with it better than I do at times. Here is what she looks like wearing her lights.

We cover her in sleepers to keep her warm, and hold her constantly. It has allowed Joel and I to bond with her in a way that we probably would never had. She is such a good baby, and we can not complain at all. Hopefully this will all pass soon.

We love her so much!!

All I want for Christmas...

2009-12-25T14:42:00.000-08:00

Our little girl finally came to Joel and I on December 24th 2009. I was at home on December 23rd and lost my water around 12:00 noon. I called Joel and asked him to come home from work and we headed for my doctors office to confirm that my water had infact broken. Once there they said that it had and sent us to the hospital. After 21 hours of labor, we were blessed with a beautiful little girl at 2:02 PM on Christmas Eve Day. We named her Ava Claire Anderson. She weighed 7 lbs 7 ounces, and was 20 inches long. Joel and I both have just fallen in love with her, and could not ask for a better Christmas present this year.

Here are a few pictures of our favorite little girl.

(Jen and Ava right after birth)

(Precious Ava)

(Ava getting her first bath)

(Proud Papa Joel with his baby girl)

(Ava with the Christmas hat the hospital gave her)

(Our Family)

Final Countdown

2009-12-13T08:40:00.001-08:00

I can honestly say that I hope that this is the last post that I put up before our baby decides to come and join us. Oh, I hope that it is before Christmas, but she is now finally content inside of me. You would think that after contracting and being on partial bed rest for the last three months that she would want to come out early. Oh No...she is dragging it out to the end it looks like. But at least I can say that we should be in the final countdown stages.

Joel and I saw this cute little car seat cover at the doctors office and I thought that we could probably make it for way cheaper than you would be able to buy one. Yesterday we decided to attempt it, and I think that it turned out pretty cute. We still have the cover that zips up around their head too, underneath this, but it is so cold lately, that she will need this protection too I am sure.

Here is the last shot of my pregnancy pictures - this is a little over 36 weeks pregnant.

(Sorry about the showing of skin). I am not taking any more pictures because I feel like I have a Triple Chin now.

Well, now I guess we play the waiting came. The anticipation is a killer.

The Nursery

2009-12-02T13:30:00.000-08:00

I have had a few people ask me to post pictures of our nursery, but have just not gotten around to it. I took a few random pictures the other day of the nursery, that I will attached to this post, but her nursery still needs some work. I figure that she will be living in our room for the first few months any way, so I can work on making it more cute during that time. I just have no energy right now to do it. I have a big bare spot on one of the walls, that I want to put her name on it in vinyl letters, but I am going to wait, since we have not decided on a name for sure yet. I think that we will have to wait and see her, before we decide on the name. I have no idea why choosing a name is so hard for us, but it is. It is such a permanent thing, and we want to make sure that we like it and that it fits her.

Here are a few pictures of the nursery. As you can see, there is really no theme. It is just pink and brown, but we like it that way. I am not huge on specific themes.

Her crib

Her dresser / changing table - the changing pad is MIA at the moment, but will be there when needed.

Home for the Holiday

2009-11-27T12:25:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving Joel and I decided to stay home and celebrate just the two of us. I have been contracting pretty hard lately and did not want to be out traveling. My family was celebrating at the lake place, and I did not want to be that far away, and Joel's family had their Thanksgiving here, but with the baby sitting on my lungs (it feels like that anyway), and not being able to take my asthma medication due to this pregnancy, I decided not to go to his parents for dinner (due to the animals). Joel was able to go over and visit with his family for a few hours in the morning and see his siblings. When Joel got home we got our little chicken ready to roast, and then just relaxed and watched a movie. Joel's mom sent Joel home with a bunch of side dishes, so we did not have to cook much at all for our Thanksgiving dinner. It was actually nice just to have a lazy day together. I am so thankful for such a wonderful husband that supports me in everything.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Work Party!

2009-11-17T11:02:00.000-08:00

This last week my work had a little lunch for Joel and I to celebrate us being pregnant with our baby girl. I work in a pretty small office, so get-togethers like this are fun and intimate. I work with such great colleagues, and have a fantastic job. It was nice for Joel to meet everyone I work with as well. The food and conversation were great, and we got some amazing gifts. I feel like I am ready to have her now, and hope that she comes a little early instead of a little late.

Here are some pictures from the lunch party:

(The cute cake)

(Joel got the honors of cutting the cake)

(Us opening gifts)

Friend Shower

2009-11-08T10:16:00.000-08:00

This last weekend some of my close girlfriends threw me a baby shower. It was so much fun to spend time with some of the most fun, and special people in my life. Steph and Kim decorated and made all the food, and the place looked amazing.

Once everyone got there we played a few games, and ate some great food.

One of the games was that the participants had to draw a picture of a baby on the top of their heads on a paper plate, and then I got to choose the best one.

I tried really hard to pick the best one, there were a few that were pretty good.

In the end I narrowed it down to two babies, and Kristen won. Her baby picture was pretty good!

I got some really cute homemade gifts, like beautiful blankets, clothes and booties.

And we got tons of other amazing gifts. Our little girl is so excited to use all these fun things!!

This is a group picture of all my friends that were able to attend my shower.

My mom was able to make the shower too. It was nice to have her there.

And two of my piano students (Maddy and Kate) were able to come with there moms who are two of my close friends.

I have been looking forward to this shower for a few weeks, and it beat all my expectations. I am so thankful for such great friends. I truly do feel so blessed.

Halloween Outfit

2009-10-30T20:49:00.000-07:00

Joel and I went to a Halloween murder mystery party tonight, and were supposed to dress up. What is a pregnant lady supposed to dress up as??? And to top it off - I am not a huge fan of dressing up in costume anyway.

Well this is the outfit we came up with...

It worked well for me because I did not have to do much for my costume.

Finally hit 32 Weeks!!

2009-10-26T08:43:00.000-07:00

This last weekend I finally hit 32 weeks of being pregnant. This pregnancy is going so slow for me, probably because I want to see her so badly. On Saturday we had a break from the horrible rain that we have been having, and the sun actually came out for a few hours. Joel and I decided to go for a walk at the Finch Arboretum, and we took a few pictures.

Jen at 32 weeks Pregnant.

This picture of the two of us is kind-of funny because we were using the self timer on our camera, and it looks as if we are really slanted.

It turned out to be a fun day, and was just nice to have a few hours to walk and talk together!

We have one spoiled little girl...

2009-10-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had a baby shower with family and close family friends. It was so much fun to spend time with such important people in my life. Our little baby girl sure got a lot of really fun stuff, and has already become very spoiled. And even though she cannot communicate with the world yet, I know that she is very grateful for all that she received at the shower.

The shower was hosted by my mom and my two amazing sister-in-laws. This is a picture of me and my sister-in-laws (Jenny, Maria, and Me).

The cake... it was so yummy.

My mom and I.

This is the cutest diaper wreath that my sister-in-law Jenny made for a decoration at the shower. I loved it so much that I hung it in the nursery when I got home. Just too cute!

Here are a few random pictures of me opening some of our little girls presents.

Maveric sure enjoyed this little frog that made fun sounds.

The whole day was perfect. Thanks again to all that came and participated. We appreciated all that was given and done for us!

Baby Update

2009-10-06T10:57:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent ultrasound pictures of our little girl. I have been measuring a little small, so they wanted to make sure that she was growing properly inside of me.

This is a 3-D picture of her face. It is a little distorted due to the amniotic fluid in front of her face. But we think that she is pretty cute.

Here is a picture of me at 29 weeks pregnant.

Hopefully all will continue to go well and that she will continue to grow properly inside of me. We are getting anxious to meet her.

I heart COUPONS

2009-09-17T16:02:00.000-07:00

I am amazed at times what you can get and what you can save from a few coupons. Today I purchased the above items for only $3.49. Crazy!! I got 10 Johnson & Johnson Baby care items, 4 boxes of Ritz Crackers, 4 boxes of Ritz new cracker fulls, and a box of pasta. Pretty good deal I thought. Can't complain when you get a lot for practically nothing.

24 Weeks Pregnant

2009-08-31T10:33:00.000-07:00

Joel and I decided to take a picture before church on Sunday. I was exactly 24 weeks that day! December cannot come quick enough. We cannot wait to meet our little girl.

A Little Vacation...

2009-08-31T10:18:00.000-07:00

This last week Joel and I took off work and were planning to go to California for the week, but plans changed and we stayed home for most of the week. We got a ton done on our basement, and it is really starting to look great!. Joel is so handy and does a great job with projects around the house. We did head up to Swietzer for a few days with our good friends Beth and Wes and had a great time with them. The view is amazing up on the mountain. We were able to stay in the Meyer's condo (the condo is so much fun and right on the mountain) which is in the perfect location.

This is the view from their condo.

We went down to Sandpoint one evening and took a walk along the water at sunset. It was such a pretty night. We had a great little vacation, and really enjoyed being able to spend some time with good friends too.

Trying to Avoid the HEAT...

2009-08-19T08:42:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago, Joel and I headed out to the lake because some of my extended family was in town. It is always fun to be out on the water when the weather is so hot and dry. We only wish we took the time to head out there more often during the warm summer months, because the cabin is only about an hour drive from our house. The problem Joel and I have is that our weekends are always filled up way to far in advance.

Joel and a few of my cousins tried to sink and flip a wooden raft that is in the swimming area. They were successful, and seemed to enjoy themselves. The water was a little too cold for me to be in there for extended periods of time.

This is just a random picture of Joel and my cousin John floating on a surf board.

We had a great weekend visiting with family and enjoying the water. We hope to head out again for a day before the end of September.

We found out what we are having.....

2009-08-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

Today we went in for our anatomy ultrasound of our little baby, and we found out that we are having a GIRL! She looks great - bones and organs are growing appropriately. We are so thankful to have a healthy baby. She was sitting breech and they could not get a good picture of the whole heart so I get to have another ultrasound in 4 weeks. If they tell us it is a girl again at that time I will be content to start decorating. These pictures on this post are of pictures that they gave me, so they are not very clear --- but you can take our word for it --- she is pretty cute.

Sleepless in Seattle

2009-07-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

Joel and I headed to Seattle for the weekend. We needed to get away and we have not been to Seattle forever. The trip began with us staying the first night in Bellevue and visiting our friends Paul, Esther and cute little Leah, and also spending time with my cousin Christy that moved to the area recently. We got to Bellevue on Friday and headed over to Paul and Esther's house for some dinner, and then a walk through an art festival. We then headed to the Microsoft building in Bellevue and went to the top floor to look at the views of Seattle and the surrounding areas. It was beautiful. The first picture on this post of Seattle was taken at the top of this building.

Here are Joel, Jen, Paul, Esther, and Leah at the top of the building enjoying the views.

Then Joel and I headed downtown Seattle to the waterfront with my cousin Christy. The weather was perfect and the sunset was beautiful.

Jen and her cousin Christy on the Pier.

Joel and I

We all just had a great time hanging out downtown Seattle and chatting. It was fun to catch up with Christy. I have not seen her for awhile, and it was great to know that she is enjoying Seattle.

Then the next day Joel and I headed to Bow (outside of Bellingham), Washington for the annual Samish Bay Low Tide Mud Run and Bivalve Bash. This mud run and festival was held at one of the local oyster farms in the area. we met up with Erryn & Jake and Paul & Esther at the festival.

The festival had music, little shops, and tons of sea food. But the main event was the mud run.
Before the run, Joel and I walked around and found this cute little lighthouse made out of oyster shells.

In this next picture you can see the shells better. It was so cute. I have never seen anything like it, and it really had a light that worked in the top.

Here we all are before the race began.

The three race competitors were Joel, Erryn and Paul.

They had to duct tape their shoes on so that they would stay on their feet during the race. CRAZY!!

Joel is the one in the Pepsi shirt. He did very well and came in close to the front of the pack.

This is a picture of Joel after the race. He looks so nice and dirty.

Paul and Joel at the finish line.

The three racers after the race. They all got oyster medals for competing and completing the race. Joel said that is was so exhausting, that it felt like he had just ran a 1/2 marathon, when really he had only run 250 yards in 3 feet of mud. It was a good workout for them.

We then headed back to Bellingham and had dinner at a local hamburger shop. And then Joel and I headed home with Erryn and Jake and spent the night with them and their cute Jaida.

We had such a great time with everyone this weekend.

Hopefully we will be able to head back to the Seattle area again soon.

It was a blast!

Moose on the Loose

2009-07-17T09:20:00.001-07:00

This is what I saw just a few blocks from my house as I was driving home from work yesterday. The Moose was up in some trees, so I could not get a good picture, and when I called Joel to tell him about the Moose he stated that I could not get out of the car and get close to it.

It sure is fun to see some wildlife around our place every once in awhile. I wish the Moose would have stood up so I could show how big it was.

A Great 4th of July!

2009-07-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

We went to Joel’s parents’ house for the fourth of July this year. We had a great dinner with many members of his family. Joel’s family is spread out so much that it is hard to get all of his siblings together. Most of his family was able to make it, so we had a great time visiting with them and just playing with the nieces and nephews.

Jill's baby boy Gage at the pool

Jason's kids Jaxon and Atlas playing in the water

Jaxon and Erica just hanging out!

Once it started to get dark, we got out some sparklers for the kids to keep them entertained until we were able to light off some bigger fireworks. Joel and his friend Phil drove to the Indian Reservation on Saturday morning to buy some fireworks for the evening. They did a great job picking out fireworks and put on a good show that evening.

Erica and Jaxon playing with sparklers!!

Joel and his brother Justin enjoying a sparkler together.

Erica and Jen getting ready to watch some fireworks.

We really had a lot of fun with his family. Joel was sad to say good-bye to his brothers and sisters that live far away, and cannot wait until they all get together again.

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!

Hoopfest 2009

2009-06-29T10:55:00.000-07:00

You have got to love how every year Spokane shuts down almost their entire downtown area, and puts up over 6000+ basketball nets/courts for the world’s largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament. I absolutely LOVE basketball (love to play it, and love to watch it), so I totally enjoy Hoopfest every year. The only problem with Hoopfest is that everyone thinks that they are the best basketball player, and should have gone to a NCAA basketball tournament or to the NBA, so let’s just say…that there is some nice rat ball. But put all that aside and you can find some fun games to watch and great people watching. My brother Eric played this year with some friends, so we went down and watch several of his games. The picture above is his team - PJ, Eric, Phil and Russ. They had a good time and really play well together.

Here are some additional pictures from the weekend.

Eric getting ready to drive the ball

Eric playing defence.

(Jenny, Maveric, and I on the sidelines)

Maveric and Mom watching Eric play.

It is always fun spending time with Jenny, Eric and Maverick. We wish they lived closer so that we could see them more often.

Camping at Farragut State Park

2009-06-22T09:31:00.001-07:00

This last weekend we went camping with our great friends - Kim and Ben - and had such a fun time. The weather was a little colder and more wet than we would have liked, but we still had a great time together. Here are a few pictures of our quick little camp trip.

Joel and I on a bike ride.

The boys (Joel and Ben) trying to throw rocks at different targets across the swimming area.

Here we are sitting around the camp fire.

We will have to try it again later in the summer, when the weather is warmer!