Back and better than ever!

It has been far too long since our last post! With picture texts and video messaging I haven't taken time to blog. But all that is about to change!

This summer is sure to be filled with fun with Seven Peaks passes, sprinklers, sand boxes, and the other joys and craziness that come with small children, a small dog, and an over-ambitious mom. Dad gets thrown in the mix after work and on weekends, and is great at pitching in to help with the honey-do list that gets ever longer.

This morning was a primping party with Aunt Simone.  She is living with us for the summer and working to save money for college, so the kids love to spend time with her.  She painted the girls' fingernails and they are thrilled about it.  Hannah has purple with purple sparkles, and Abby has blue with blue sparkles.

Ethan spent the morning outside with me while I cleared out the smaller front flower bed and planted the flowers I got on Monday.  I started to work on the other flower bed this afternoon, but the girls decided not to go to sleep, so I am sitting here in their room waiting for them to go to sleep. Most days I need their naps more than they do!

My goal over the next few weeks is to address the meal-time drama that occurs every time I set something on the table in front of the girls.  There will be fewer fights and screaming matches and more peace and kids feeding themselves. It will be great to look forward to sitting down to eat with the kids, instead of dreading it (3 times a day!) like I am currently experiencing.

Abby's 1 Year Photos

Here are a few photos from the photo shoot. Shannon did a great job.

My two gorgeous little girls.

She is getting so big (tall).

I love my dolls.

Part of her schrunchy nose.

We are going to be best friends.

Kids Love Their Food

Thanks to Grandpa Jan, our kids love their food and make sure we know it. Yummy!!!

Grandpa Lee

Well, I might as well start sometime to catch up. By far, some of the best memories that I have of Grandpa has to be while hunting. Especially when I shot my deer. I remember pulling that deer out of the truck and Grandpa asking if I have my knife and getting things set up to skin the deer. Then he taught me what I need to do while skinning. It was hard to have many one-on-one experiences with Grandpa since we have so many cousins. There are many memories of being around him and watching him. I just remember always feeling comfortable around him. He was so willing to listen and play if we wanted. Now that he has passed, I wish I had spent more time with him. But even though he is gone, I still feel him around. He was a powerful man, and I am happy that I am a part of his legacy. I hope to carry that on.

Hannah's 2nd Birthday

We celebrated Hannah's 2nd Birthday on Saturday, the 3rd of October. It was so nice to have the family there with us (excluding those from WA.). She had a great time and loved every minute of it.

This was her reaction to seeing her present from Grandma and Grandpa Judd.

Yes, we are still alive.

Ok, Ok, Ok. I know we have been terrible about updating our blog. I would say that we are busy, but that just isn't a good enough excuse. So I am going to start adding some video's and pictures. I won't be saying much, but it will at least be something. So here goes.

Hannah Singing and Playing the "Drums"

Hannah and Abby Playing together.

Abby moving along.

Our New House

So we got a new house. I am not sure if you have heard about what we have done but we decided to put new siding on our house. We were kind of apprehensive about the timing, but decided that we ought to just do it. It is such a big difference. We love it. We still drive up to the house and wonder if we are pulling in to the right place. I notice lots of people as they drive by just stare, or do double-takes as they pass by. We have gotten lots of good comments on it. Now if we can just make the inside just as nice.

This is what it looked like at the beginning before we started.

This was the first round that was done that we didn't like so we had them make some changes.

And now our new home. We still have some work to do with the stairs and foundation, but we are well on our way.