The McGowan Foursome

Letters to Santa

2011-12-13T08:37:00.000-08:00

One of our "experiences" for our advent calendar was writing letters to Santa. The kids set them next to Jess for him to deliver them to Santa.

Jackson got right to the point.

Ellee took a different approach.

{Hey, at least she's honest.}

Ellee told me this is a map of our house that Jess needs to give to Santa.

Jess delivered the letters and even wrote something back!

Advent Calendars

2011-12-12T08:34:00.000-08:00

Ellee made this angel at preschool and it is connected to a calendar that she checks off everyday. It's her own little advent calendar. The kids have quite the routine each morning. Whoever wakes up first, wakes up the other, they go look for Jess, Ellee pulls down the note on the Family Advent Calendar, Jackson reads it, Ellee makes an X on her calendar and Jackson turns the "Days till Christmas" sign. It's a good little system with no arguing....We LOVE it!

The finished Family Advent Calendar. There is an "experience" behind every one. We are really enjoying this new family tradition.

JESS....Our Elf!

2011-12-11T08:33:00.000-08:00

Our Elf, Jess, really seems to be enjoying himself this year!

Ellee was appalled the morning she walked downstairs and saw this. She stood there staring at herself with her little hands on her hips.

The next morning Jess left a message with scrabble letters for Jackson and Ellee to let them know how he really feels! He was also hugging 2 new ornaments they got from Grandma recently.

One morning Jess was found sitting on the dining room table looking at a book I made about Camp Nanna. {The kids think he wants to go there too!}

A really bad (and I mean really bad) flu hit our house recently...We all got it, including Jess!

He lost his gusto that week, but we think it's back now!

Christmas Tree Hunting

2011-12-04T20:05:00.000-08:00

We went to our favorite Christmas Tree Farm, Red Barn, in search of our tree! This year Auntie Erin and Auntie Heidi came with us to get their tree as well. Auntie Erin bought a new, fancy camera recently and used my little darlings as her subjects....lucky me!!! I had fun editing all the bazillion pictures she took.

The weather here for December has been Ah-mazing!

Freezing cold, but sunny.

Love it!

Miss Ellee was happy to be here. She was waiting for the train and probably had about 20 pictures taken already!

Holding her Daddy's Hand

{He's her Prince that she is going to marry...it only takes a kiss and a dance according to Ellee}

Jackson's famous Charlie Brown Christmas Tree picture that he poses for every year! He loves those little trees!

I spy Jackson and Ellee!

Fun, little, closed down place we found on the tree farm as we walked around looking for our trees!

Auntie Erin took some really cute pictures.

LOVE.THIS.

We even saw SANTA!!!!!!

It was a very nice surprise!

{Merry Christmas}

Cinderella at the 5th Avenue

2011-11-27T20:09:00.000-08:00

My little Cinderellee and I getting ready to go see "Cinderella" at the 5th Avenue Theater! We had a fabulous time with Grandma McGowan, Auntie Tina and Marin! A perfect "girls" day!

Marin & Ellee at lunch

All of us girls!

Thank You Grandma!

We had a wonderful day and it will always be remembered...especially when we see the cute Cinderella ornament hanging on our Christmas Tree.

Cousin Pictures

2011-11-24T20:04:00.000-08:00

{tate, marin, jackson, thomas, ellee, kennedy, landon}

Grandma bought all the Grandkids matching jammies in hopes of getting a picture for her Christmas card.

{I think she has plenty :) to choose from}

I think these are really cute little elves!

This is my personal favorite that I really hope Grandma McGowan chooses!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T20:01:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving this year with the McGowan side of the Family at Ryan & Tina's new, beautiful home. The kids had a blast playing with all of their cousins! We truly have so much to be Thankful for! We are extremely blessed and Thankful for our wonderful families!!!

Ellee made this placemat at Preschool.
{Look at her name writing...love it!}

Apparently we are all green, sitting in Flying Butterfly's Canoe.

{happy thanksgiving}

Fall Preschool Work

2011-11-22T19:59:00.000-08:00

FORTS!

2011-11-20T19:55:00.000-08:00

Jackson and Ellee {mainly Ellee} build massive forts anytime, anywhere around the house.

Building is the easy part...cleaning, not so much!

{Advent Calendar}

2011-11-09T21:42:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by a few things on Pinterest recently and decided to combine two of the things I saw.
1. An Advent Calendar {We didn't have one. Unless you count the paper chains I have my kiddos do}
2. I saw an idea on pinterest to have your Advent days be experiences and not things.

I thought this board would be perfect to clip the experiences to for each day. Doing it this way would make me better organize our calendar and purposely plan some of the things we already do around the Holidays anyways.

Some of my ideas are:

going to see Christmas Lights {Fantasy Lights} go to a Christmas Program {or 2 or 3} read a Christmas Story, bake cookies, make teacher gifts, etc. etc.

I started off with a 46 in. pine board, because that's what I had on hand. If a shorter board were used, smaller numbers would need to be used as well.

First, I primed since I was working with a bare pine board.

Next, I painted it a blue color by Glidden. I have a few blue paint testers that I've been testing on a few walls and I really wanted to use what I already had. I also knew I wanted it to be blue and red, so it worked out perfect!

Now onto the really tedious part. I painted 2" cothespins white. ALL 24 OF THEM.

{note: anyone who may want to make this, look for and buy white clothespins, not sure if that's an option though}.

I painted the top and 2 sides of each clothespin. I also painted basically any part that would show once glued to the board.
I glued the side not painted to the board.

Since I knew I wanted to make this blue and red, I found some cute red polk a dot paper, measured and cut out 24 of them. Cutting 24 out was actually really easy, since I figured out that only 2 lines of polk a dots would fit onto a clothespin. I modge podged each of the papers to the top of each clothespin.

Next, I layed all 24 clothespins out and tried to figure out how far apart to space them. I measured "about" 2in. apart. Before I glued them down I drew a line using the level to ensure my clothespins stayed straight and level down the entire board.

I used E-6000 to glue the clothespins

Now the fun part, that didn't start off so fun for me. I originally bought red paint thinking I was going to paint all 24 numbers {what was I thinking}. Plan B, I thought I could buy a stencil and trace/paint the numbers{didn't find any stencils that I loved}. Plan C, use number rub-ons {couldn't find any big enough}. Plan D, wander around Ben Franklin aimlessy looking for something, anything really at this point. I asked a woman working if she had red vinyl or rub-on numbers, they didn't....urg! But, she did say you could di-cut your own if you buy a roll of vinyl. The only bummer was that they do sell some vinyl colors by the sheet, but not red. So I decided on this route, not realizing just how cool it was going to be. Di-cutting vinyl just opened up a whole new world for me {decorating and teaching wise...I'm a Kindergarten Teacher}.

I decided on di-cutting 1 1/2 in. numbers and cut a few extra of each just in case I made a mistake.

I layed out all the numbers on the board and had to figure out how to get them on straight and have good spacing. I figured my line worked well the first time for the clothespins, so I drew another one for the numbers. Next I peeled the backing off and rubbed them each on...easy peasy!

I love it and can't wait to work with vinyl and the di-cuts again.

I absolutely love the way my advent calendar turned out. Now I need to work on the experiences to clip on to each day.

I have a few places in mind of where to hang it for the month of December, but I think I need to pull out my other decorations before this gets hung.

Ellee thinks it's for her to learn her numbers. She has come up to it a few times and started pointing and counting each number. I'm excited for her and Jackson to take the paper off each day, we may have to alternate, so they each get turns....didn't think of that until now...oops:)

I think I want a cricuit or silhouette from Santa this year!!!

{Thankful Tree}

2011-11-08T15:31:00.000-08:00

We are very blessed and extremely Thankful!

We are starting a new tradition at our house...a Thankful Tree. We have circle notes to write what we are thankful for on and then hang it on the tree sitting on our kitchen table. It is a constant reminder that we see and talk about everyday. It will stay until we decorate for Christmas. Everyday after Ellee says grace for dinner we talk about what we are thankful for.

It's really cute to hear Ellee and Jackson talking and filling out the papers on their own.
Ellee has a few circles on the tree with her scibbles on them. I asked her what one of them said and she told me, "God's Love." Kids have a good way of reminding us what we should really be Thankful for!

Jackson has written his own things that he is Thankful for as well....Mommy and Daddy...melts my heart!

I read a sign on a church reader board the other day that really stuck in my head and I thought I would share it.

{Live in your Harvest}

{All I want for Christmas are my 2 front teeth!}

2011-11-07T16:46:00.000-08:00

Jackson's top tooth has been loose for quite awhile. He's not one to wiggle it all day everyday, so progress is slow...really, really slow. Daddy-O and I noticed that his permanent tooth was starting to come in behind the baby tooth, so we knew it HAD to go. Daddy-O gave Jackson 3 days to wiggle it on his own and pull it out. Yikes! Jackson has yet to pull out a tooth on his own. So the night before the 3rd day while Jackson was reading to me, I told him that we should get the tooth out and "surprise" Daddy-O!

Jackson started working on wiggling it like crazy and let me try a few times as well. {I never thought I would ever and I mean EVER pull one of my kid's teeth out. Kinda creeps me out, not sure why.} Well Jackson and I both faced a fear together! He wiggled, twisted, turned and pulled at that tooth like crazy and I asked to have a turn pulling it and made sure I got a really good grip and pulled! Seeing the shocked looked on Jackson's face when he realized I had pulled the tooth out, made me realize I must have had the same look on my face for actually going through with it and yanking it out myself!

Jackson marched downstairs to say goodnight to Daddy-O and gave him a big grin to surprise him!
I love our little toothless guy! So Cute!

Jackson is growing up soooo fast! Too fast, if you ask me!

I can't take a picture of Jackson without Miss Ellee Belly!

Halloween Preschool Work

2011-11-01T15:21:00.000-07:00

Bats!

Ellee has been working hard in Preschool!

ohhhh.....a scary spider and his web!

{Tricks or Treats?}

2011-10-31T11:47:00.000-07:00

I think TREATS!!!

{Mario & Cinderellee}

2011-10-31T11:45:00.000-07:00

{H a P p Y H a L L o W e e N}

They were really excited to go Trick-or-Treating and I was holding up the show taking all my pictures....Can you tell Ellee just wants to be done with the pictures!?!

Jackson was "breaking a ? box" like Mario does in his games! Ellee was trying to do the same!

We had a great night Trick-or-Treating around our neighborhood. After about 40 minutes of it, they decided they wanted to go home. I think they actually had more fun handing out candy to the kids that came to our house!

Nana & Papa's Halloween Party!!!!

2011-10-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

Nana and Papa had their annual Halloween Party for all their Grandkids. The kids LOVE this party and really look foward to it!

Parker: Storm Trooper, Jackson: Mario, Sophia: Princess Leia, Hilary: Lion and Ellee: Cinderellee!

The cardboard haunted house my parents have had since we were kids!

Our kids love it now!

Their craft this year was a bat they got to add glitter to.

This year Nana and Papa added a fun, new game- tossing bean bags into the Jack-o-lantern's eyes, nose and mouth....it was a hit!

Ellee's favorite thing at the party was, "playing in the haunted house."

Jackson's favorite thing was, "Everything!"

{Thank you Nana & Papa}

{Halloween Preschool Sing}

2011-10-27T12:43:00.000-07:00

Our precious Cinderella!

Ellee did an amazing job singing at her preschool performance. She knew all the words and motions to the songs and was so proud to be up on stage!

{not that I was worried}

Oh..........if they could just stay little!!!

What a Beautiful Princess we have!
We are so Blessed.

Costumes

2011-10-23T19:28:00.000-07:00

Jackson, Thomas, Marin, Tate and Ellee all dressed up!

This was Ellee's 4th or 5th costume change!

I don't think this is what she is going to be for Halloween, but we'll see!

Cute, Little Lion!

Pumpkin carving #1

2011-10-17T19:24:00.000-07:00

The kiddos love carving pumpkins!
This was day #1

Jackson wants the next pumpkin they carve to have a happy face.

{BOO}

Swimming with Cousins

2011-10-16T19:05:00.000-07:00

Thomas, Jackson, Ellee & Marin all had a blast swimming at the Hotel pool where the other McGowans are staying...their brand new house flooded:(
The kids sure enjoy the pool though!

The Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-15T14:04:00.000-07:00

We headed out to Spooner Farms in search of our pumpkins! We've been going here since Jackson was a baby....I can't believe how big both my kiddos are now!

It was a nice, crisp, fall morning.

Neither of them are too big for the wheelbarrow though!

My little "poser" Ellee!

Kinda creepy or kinda cute?

Creepy!

{Happy Fall}

Cider Squeeze

2011-10-08T20:48:00.000-07:00

We headed out with the Diseths to make our own cider. We were not sure what it was all about, since none of us had ever been, but walked away with the most delicious apple cider that our kiddos helped make!

Apparently it is an annual event that happens at The Meeker Mansion in Puyallup.
So many people volunteered their time and cider presses. All money raised went to the Mansion.

Making the cider. Each of the kids dropped apples into the cider press, even little Hilary who could barely reach. She took her job very seriously!

The lady who owns this cider press is a recess teacher at Jackson's school. We had a good time visiting with her while the kids made the cider.

Ellee really wanted to take a bite out of this apple!

Pretty impressive. That's 2 buckets of apples!

Each of the kids had a turn pressing the apples to make the cider

All of those apples made 2 gallons of cider for us to take home.

I boiled some tonight and tried it.....Yum!

Kennedy's Birthday at the Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Cousin Kennedy's 2nd Birthday at a Pumpkin Patch in Snohomish!

This was a hay maze in an old barn the kids went through.
The kids had so much fun doing all of the activities and spending time with their cousins!

There were even slides made out of tubes for the kids to go down.

Ellee and Jackson caught a bunny to hold.

They even got to hold a kitten! Ellee was right in her element. She loves animals!

"Cow" ride

Searching for the Great Pumpkin

We had a great time at Sweet, Baby Girl Kennedy Roo's Birthday Party!

Puzzlemania!

2011-09-28T20:24:00.000-07:00

These two love to put together puzzles.
They were trying to make a big long "train" of puzzles.

I made sure each puzzle was taken apart and put away one at a time...otherwise, what a nightmare!

They had quite the system and teamwork!

I am sorry to report that they didn't finish, they were called to dinner and lost interest shortly there after.

Missing Teeth

2011-09-17T19:57:00.000-07:00

I don't know who worked harder to get this tooth out....Jackson or Daddy-O. It has been loose for a few months now, but for the last few days has been REALLY loose. The 2 days before Daddy pulled it out, it was hanging by a thread!

Jackson was fine with wiggling it himself, but he did not like Daddy or I touching it. Shawn attempted many times to pull it out, but Jackson kept telling him it hurt. In the end, Shawn was wiggling the tooth from side to side and it finally came out!

Congratulations Buddy!
You are looking even more grown-up and quite handsome if I do say so myself!

The Fair!

2011-09-14T19:53:00.000-07:00

There is a long standing tradition in the Puyallup School District that they have "Fair Day". The entire district lets out early for one day during the fair and also gives each student a fair ticket. It was this way when I was in school here! We decided to take the kids to the fair this day. The weather was just right!

We saw the honey bees at work

Milking the cow

Parker joined us with Auntie Heidi

Jackson, Ellee & Parker waiting patiently for their turn.

This has been their favorite ride for the past few years.

Ellee was too short to go on the Ferris Wheel with Jackson, Parker and Auntie Heidi, so she got to go on some other rides all by herself!

Jackson talked about this ride for days. This is the one thing he wanted to make sure he did at the fair this year!

Yeehaw!

Ellee & Daddy-O

Goodbye Fair, we had a wonderful time!
See you next year!

My Little Preschooler

2011-09-13T21:14:00.000-07:00

Ellee had her first day of Preschool September 13th.

She was very excited to go and did a fabulous job!

It was very important to Jackson that he got in a few pictures with Ellee on her first day of school. He was so kind and supportive of her and even asked her how her first day of school went when he got home. So Sweet!

My little munchkins that I'm going to miss like crazy when they are both at school!!!! How did this happen so fast?

Ellee is in a class this year with a teacher Jackson never had. We are excited for Ellee to get to know a different teacher! According to Ellee, "I'm in the big kid class now!"

The famous preschool picture in front of the sign!

I didn't even have a chance to be sad or cry when I dropped her off because we were 10 minutes late! We had to drop Jackson off at school first and got stuck in traffic and hit every.single.red.light on the way to Ellee's school. She marched right into her class and found a bin of toys sat down at the carpet and got busy playing. Luckily I snuck my hug and kiss in the hallway before she walked in. When I picked her up, one of her teachers asked if she was always this quiet......

Go Rams!

2011-09-09T21:01:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to their First RHS Football Game!
They were playing one of their rivals...Emerald Ridge. We went with the Diseth's and Nasinec's and had a great time!

It was a great game and the team we wanted to win, did win!

Go Rams!

Sophia, Drew (in his Daddy's old HS football jersey), Hilary & Ellee
The kids all did great and had a blast playing together!

Cattle Drive & The Fair 2011

2011-09-09T16:52:00.000-07:00

Ellee enjoying the Cattle Drive!

It was a beautiful morning to enjoy the Parade that kicks off the start of the Fair. Ellee and I enjoyed our time together (Jackson was at school).

After the parade we headed to the fair and enjoyed some of our favorite treats! Ellee can't wait to go back with Jackson, so she can go on the rides!

Waiting her turn to "milk" the cow.

We Have a 1st Grader

2011-09-01T17:11:00.000-07:00

Ok, this year was by far the hardest year to send him to school! (Well considering he went to preschool for 2 years and then Kindergarten, but still, it was the hardest one yet). I actually cried! I tell the parents of my students to try not to cry until they reach the parking lot, I didn't make it past kissing Jackson goodbye when he was in line getting ready to walk into the school with his class! I don't think he saw my tears, I had my glasses on.

Jackson is growing up so fast!

If birth to 1st grade went this fast, I can't even begin to imagine how fast the rest of his schooling career will go!!!!

Jackson with his proud sister, with her "new" smile!

(Oh, Goodness!)

Ellee giving Jackson kisses!

We are so proud of you Jackson!

You are growing up to be such a fine young little man!

We know you will continue to make us proud!

Dream Big Buddy!

P.S. I'm really going to miss hanging out with you Jackson while you're at school.
You've been a good little side kick:)

Tate turns ONE!

2011-08-22T16:58:00.000-07:00

Ryan and Tina's youngest son, Tate, turned 1 August 23rd!

Ellee loves to play with him and make him laugh!

Katie's son, Landon. Ellee always insists on holding him! He's usually so laid back and chill that he doesn't seem to mind when Ellee holds him.

At this point in time, Ellee seems to be the only kid interested in the little guys!

Ahhhh......The cake! Tate loved it!

Tina, Tate and Ryan

Happy 1st Birthday Tate!

We Love You!

Swimming in the Sound

2011-08-12T16:51:00.000-07:00

This girl....I LOVE HER!

Whenever I would ask Ellee if she wanted to go down to the beach, she would say no and insist on not going. This picture was taken a few minutes after we got down to the water. She absolutely loves the water, gets right in and thoroughly enjoys herself. There were a few times she would go down in her clothes and strip down to her underwear to get in the water.

I love her enthusiasm, fearlessness and ability to truly enjoy herself every single second.

Ellee and Breyden

Ellee and Jackson

Little swimsuit buns

Jackson always gets right in the water too!

He and Cade had a blast swimming together.

Ellee started to go out pretty deep, so I had

her put her life jacket on.

We truly enjoy our days at the beach together at Camp Nanna!

Kiddo Dance Party

2011-08-11T16:39:00.000-07:00

These girls crack me up! They all like to sing, dance and dress-up. They put on quite the show!

Sophia, Hilary, Ellee, Breyden, Ella

Oh Ellee!!!!

Ellee taking center stage!

Ellee and Hilary

These 2 can be little stinkers together!

Costume change

Another costume change and still trying to steal the show!

Pool Fun at Camp Nanna

2011-08-09T16:32:00.000-07:00

We all enjoyed a new adventure at Camp Nanna this summer...The Olympia Country Club Pool!

It was amazing to watch each of the kids learn to swim and become more confident in the water. Some a little too confident at times. I would take Ellee's life jacket off when I held her in the water and she would want me to let her go, so she could "swim." She went under a few times, but it didn't scare her. She knew she had to get to the side of the pool to hang on.

Jackson and Breyden

Jackson put his life jacket on to swim to the deep end and took it off in the shallow end to dive under water and look for things. He actually started swimming on his own by the end of the summer!

Ellee and Sophia

Jackson started jumping off the the diving board our last day at the pool as well!

Some of the swimmers enjoying the pool.

Waterslide fun

2011-08-08T16:22:00.000-07:00

The waterslide made an appearance again this summer!

Ellee, Hilary, Sophia, Breyden, Cade, Parker, Jackson

They tried going down as a train!

Go Little Huskies!

2011-08-06T21:30:00.000-07:00

Jackson enjoyed playing his first season of flag football. It was great to see him improve and get a little more aggressive each game. He even played quarterback a few times this season and threw a pass to one of his players who ran for a touchdown. Jackson said he changed the play and passed the ball because the other team was running at him trying to get his flag. Good thinking Buddy!

Go Little Mariners

2011-08-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, we wear skirts in baseball!

I would like to say that Ellee really enjoyed her time playing T-ball, but she didn't. I think the time she enjoyed the most was sitting on her bucket and getting a snack at the end. Every game I had to play in the field with her and ~~run along side~~ drag her down to first base. By the last game she ran to 2nd, 3rd and straight to her bucket to sit down.

I would like to get this in writing .... Shawn wants me to sign Ellee up for some sort of dance class. Shawn admitted that Ellee is really into singing, dancing and dress-up. The skirt worked wonders to get her motivated to at least go to her baseball game!

Ellee and her buddy, Will...They are seriously CUTE!

Me playing in the outfield with Ellee.

Ellee on first next to the first base coach...Daddy!

Not sure what's going on here.

Untill next season......:)

Happy Birthday Breyden!

2011-08-02T08:56:00.000-07:00

Breyden turned 5 while she was out visiting from North Carolina! She is the only one out of all 9 kids that has a summer Birthday. Lucky Girl!

Her Mommy took her out for the day in this ride!!! Of course everyone had to go check it out and get in!

Breyden, Sophia, Ellee & Ella waiting to get Hello Kitty Tatoos from Morgan.

Ready for the PARTY!

Breyden's Daddy, Jayson and all the kids!

The girls patiently waiting for the pinata.

Hilary

Ellee

Breyden & Parker

Jackson & Breyden

CANDY!!!!

Uncle Jayson

Happy 5th Birthday, Sweet Girl!

Just Dance!

2011-08-01T08:51:00.000-07:00

Just Dance on the Wii is still a hit with the kids!

Something was really cracking Ellee up!

All the kids are so fun to watch! They are all quite the little dancers with many "moves."

Siblings

2011-07-30T08:49:00.000-07:00

Big Brother and Little Sister!

Jackson & Ellee

Caleb & Ella

Cade & Breyden

Campfire at Camp Nana

2011-07-30T08:48:00.000-07:00

We love roasting marshmellows and making smores!
YUM!

Sophia, Jackson & Uncle Jeremy

Cade and little sister Breyden

Parker

Ella

Ellee

Freeze Tag!

Poor Uncle John!

2011-07-30T08:46:00.000-07:00

Ellee and Hilary singing a little tune!

Poor Uncle John had a little accident! He tore a tendon and broke a bone in his foot from celebrating after making a shot playing basketball in his front yard. He said he jumped up and came down and landed on it wrong. Poor guy has to be in the cast for 3 weeks.

I grabbed a permanent marker for all the kids to use to sign his cast when he showed up at Camp Nana! Uncle John had to stand there for quite awhile.....it takes a long time for 9 kids to write their names!

Uncle John also had a drink waiting for him...in a vase! He was sure pampered that day!

Beach Time at Camp Nana

2011-07-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

New toys arrived at Camp Nana this year....blow up paddle boats! The kids have had so much fun playing with these!

Jackson really enjoyed this toy in the water!

Ella and Jackson paddling together

I think that's Ellee and Sophia's feet hanging out in the other boat.

Ellee and Hilary playing with the buckets

Parker and Jackson told me that they were digging and making crab traps.

Caleb bringing the kayak in.

We have really enjoyed our time on the beach together. Now that the kids are getting older, they are able to do so much more and on their own too!

The Gondola at Crystal Mountain

2011-07-27T08:41:00.000-07:00

We took a day trip up to Crystal Mountain and had a blast!

We all rode the gondolas up to the top, to play in the snow!!!

Aimee all bundled up and ready to go!

Ellee dancing!

Jackson & Caleb

What is so funny?

We drew numbers to see what gondola team each of us would be on. This is Team #1. They all rode up together.

Team #2

Team #3

3 Generations

Aimee, Ella and Nana

My Girl

The Top!

What a great view!

Diseth Family

The 9 cute munchkins playing in the snow!

My Sweet Guy

The whole gang

Cousins!!!!

Nanna herself with her Grandkids!

Ellee, Jackson, Ella & Sophia

Thank You for a fabulous, memorable day Nanna Lois!

Happy Birthday Marin & Thomas

2011-07-24T08:26:00.000-07:00

We headed up to Grandpa & Grandma McGowan's house to celebrate both Thomas and Marin's Birthdays!

All the kids had a blast playing in the neighbors pool! It was a really beautiful, hot day!

Kennedy & Marin

The Girl Cousins plus Thomas!

Kennedy & Ellee making silly faces!

Each kiddo has their own chair with their name on it.

Baby Landon is 4 months old already!

Auntie Katie made hamburger cupcakes for the kids...Yum!

Happy 5th Birthday Thomas & Happy 7th Birthday Marin!

Marin's Spa Birthday Party

2011-07-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

H a P p Y 7 th B i R t H d A y MARIN!!!

Marin had a fabulous Birthday Party! Our little princess was in her element! We were a little concerned at first that Ellee may still be a little too young for this, but she definently proved us wrong with her early Diva qualities....uh oh!

Party girls, ready for their day of pampering!

Marin, relaxing!

The girls getting pedicures and drinking apple juice in fancy glasses!

Ellee picked the blue nail polish all by herself. I thought her favorite color was pink?!?

Very cute!

Mask Time!

I love the finger choice to apply the mask!

AHHHHH.....Relaxation! Ellee really needed this after her stressful baseball game!

Applying more mask.

Ellee's pretty nails.....there's the pink!

Thank You for a great Birthday Party Marin!

Ellee's Baseball Game

2011-07-23T08:20:00.000-07:00

Here she is in her very first baseball game! ~~She~~ I did a great job out in the field! Ellee wouldn't go out onto the field without me. Maybe she will as the season continues!?! All the kids are lined up here waiting for their turn to bat.

Ellee was happy if she had her milk or water and was sitting on her bucket.

Her swing was really, I mean really delayed. If Ellee wanted any chance of making contact, she would have to swing just before the pitch was thrown! She was actually a trooper and tried to hit the ball. After 3 pitches the T was brought out and she was able to hit it off that. The desire to run to first base wasn't there though, so we would run to 1st together!

Go # 13

Ellee with her gear loaded and ready to go....Home!

The Zoo with Friends

2011-07-22T08:18:00.000-07:00

Ellee feeding a bird at the zoo!

It was a beautiful day to visit the animals with our good friends Jake & Ava!

Jackson was trying to get a bird to fly onto his bird seed stick.

I LOVE this picture!

Trying to get a bird to land.

Ahhhh.....he's back!

Jackson & Ava

Jake

SHARKS!!!!

Movie Night

2011-07-12T08:14:00.000-07:00

We had a make shift drive-in, jammie movie night in the Diseth's carport. We all enjoyed watching 101 Dalmations...not sure how that movie pick came about, but with 8 kids opinions, one can only imagine!

Popcorn and drinks were bottomless :)

Parker's spot. He thought it was the best seat! Doesn't look too comfy to me!

The movie was very clear and bright, it's just really hard to tell in this picture.

Uncle John serving the bottomless drinks.....water!

Picture Board

2011-07-11T08:13:00.000-07:00

I we made another picture board for my dear friend Lindsey! Shawn actually attaches some of the pieces with screws, the rest I glue on and then paint, sand, distress etc. Shawn also cut down the candle stick I found for the base. I really liked the color of this one!

Water Fun with Cousins!

2011-07-10T08:10:00.000-07:00

The giant waterslide was finally able to come out this summer!!!

All the kids had a blast playing on or around it together.

Ellee dancing around the little pool

Ellee and Hilary bouncing together. Hilary didn't want to waste any time putting her swimsuit on, so she just wore her leggings.

Cutie Patooties!!!

Flag Football

2011-07-09T11:10:00.000-07:00

Playing with the mouth guard...it's new to him!

Jackson is playing his first year of flag football! He had been asking for the last couple of months if he could play and I finally gave in when my friend Gina found a team and signed her little guy Drew up too!

Drew

Jackson running out for some passes. This was just a practice. Games start next week!

Go Seahawks!!!!!

Ellee's Baseball Team

2011-07-09T10:55:00.000-07:00

It's finally Ellee's turn to play baseball! She was so excited for ~~this~~ the idea of this!

Pink Glove.....Check

Pink Mariners Jersey......Check

Pink & Grey Baseball Hat....Check

Wanting to play for more than 2 minutes......not so much!

Ellee has a few friends on the team and even has Coach Tyce to help her out!

Daddy-O teaching Ellee how to throw the baseball. Step.Point.Throw.

After about 2 minutes of this and she was done. I tried to keep her playing and motivated, which ment I had to be out on the field with her!

Practicing running the bases. Luckily she did this one on her own. Daddy was at first base helping the kiddos out.

Ellee's little buddy, Will, running to second base.

Running Home!

Ellee was easily motivated to practice hitting, with a pink bat of course!

6 of the 9 at Camp Nanna!

2011-07-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

Enjoying a few days together at Camp Nanna! As well as waiting for the rest of the cousins to get here!

Caleb flew over here from Hawaii to spend time with his Nanna...All by himself!

All the kiddos are waiting to go the beach! It was a beautiful day in the 80's. Much needed and appreciated!

Yaaaaaa for Summertime!!!!

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

L e T F r E e d o M R i N g

Little League Awards BBQ

2011-06-20T21:12:00.000-07:00

Jackson's Little League Team, Thunder, had their awards BBQ at our neighborhood ball field. It was a perfect way to end the season. BBQ, Baseball and Buddies, doesn't really get any better than that, especially for my little 6 year old boy!

Daddy-O helped Coach and did an amazing job with the kids. I reminded him ALOT at the beginning of the season that...."most of the kids are Kindergartners"...need I say more?

Jackson accepting his 2nd PLACE TROPHIES and giving the coaches a high-five.

Jackson made great gains this season in fielding and batting and really enjoys playing. Look at that smile...His first trophy! He wants it displayed on the kitchen counter right now, so when people come over they can ~~admire it~~ see it! I am excited to see him play next year again!

We are so proud of you, Jackson!

First Official day of Summer Vacation

2011-06-17T20:57:00.000-07:00

Jackson & Ellee spent their first day of Summer Vacation running through the sprinkler. It was only around 70 degrees, not that warm. We will take what we can get though around here these days. We just keep waiting and waiting for it to finally feel and look like summer and the kiddos could take it no longer! Ellee even changed her outfit at least 4 times this day as well....Welcome Summer!

Jackson's Last Day of Kindergarten

2011-06-17T20:43:00.000-07:00

I can't believe an entire school year just went by. It seems like it was just yesterday that we were sending Jackson off to his first day of Kindergarten!

We are so proud of Jackson and everything he has accomplished this year! He learned how to READ, write sentences and cute little stories, solve number stories and so much more!
He truly enjoyed every minute of it and always wanted to go to school...I know this is greatly due to his Teacher, Mrs. Shore. She was fantastic! Jackson has said a number of times already over the past few days since school has been out that he really misses Mrs. Shore. So sweet!

Now off to 1st Grade!

But, we're going to enjoy our Summer together first!

Proud Sister!

Oh Ellee!

2011-06-14T14:39:00.000-07:00

Don't mess with a girl with a water gun and mid-drift!

First Painting Project

2011-06-11T21:41:00.000-07:00

So I gave painting a shot. I started out with a mirror.

I covered the entire mirror with newspaper.

I sanded all the edges first with a small hand sander. If I were to do it again, I would have sanded some of the areas completely by hand.

I then brushed on primer. I think spray primer would have been easier and quicker.

The primer dried quickly so I was able to start painting right away. I chose to paint the mirror white. I started off by painting it on with a foam brush. I didn't want to see any brush strokes, but realized that the foam brush was still leaving some, so I finished the last coat with spray paint. I liked it completely white, but I knew the edges of the mirror would look better distressed, so I began sanding again. After I was finished sanding, I went back and added walnut stain to all the bare wood edges.

Here is the finished product hanging on the wall.

For my first painting project I'm pretty happy with it. I will continue to try and experiment as I go though!

Last Day of Preschool

2011-06-10T21:45:00.000-07:00

Well here we are....The last day of Preschool. This year has gone by really fast! They seem to be going faster and faster these days!

Jackson was always there every morning we dropped Ellee off at Preschool, since he went to afternoon Kindergarten. I'm glad everything worked out the way it did this year. The mornings Ellee had Preschool and I didn't work, I spent the time with Jackson. The afternoons Jackson had school and I didn't work, I spent with Ellee. It was really nice having special time with each of them, especially since Jackson will be going to school all day everyday next year. I knew I had to cherish the time, one last year and boy am I glad I did! It all goes by so fast!

I love the pictures in front of the sign at school!

Look here, here and here for previous years!

Ellee has told me numerous times already that she wants to go to school because she is in the big kid class now....One of these days Summer will come Ellee!

Ellee's Wonderful Teachers!

Mrs. Brozick and Mrs. Papen

Cards for Teachers

2011-06-09T21:43:00.000-07:00

I told Ellee that it would be nice if she made cards for her Preschool Teachers to give to them the last day of school. This is what she came up with all on her own. This is when I realized for the first time that she could draw people!

She wrote her name all by herself!!!! I don't even care that the e's are upside down, they are one of the hardest letters for kids to make!

The Worker!

End of the Year Work

2011-06-08T21:39:00.000-07:00

Ellee did many fun projects the past few weeks at Preschool!

She did alot of work with "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and can even tell about it's life cycle.

Her plant had trouble growing in class, so we (Daddy-O) are helping it out at home.

Ellee said she made this painting with tracks.

Fire Chief

2011-06-06T21:38:00.000-07:00

The Pierce County Fire Dept. came to Ellee's preschool to teach the kids about fire safety.

It was really cute listening to Ellee tell what you should do in case of a fire. I did catch at the end of her 5 minute retell that you meet outside...phew! Glad we got that down!

Birthday Party at Sherman Valley Ranch

2011-06-05T08:29:00.000-07:00

Our little friend, Pearce, wanted to celebrate his 4th Birthday at his Nana's house. The kids were in heaven. What a beautiful piece of property! My friend, Shannon, grew up at this amazing place down in the Olympia area.

30+ acres down near Black Lake, Sherman Valley Ranch.

Sweet Ava

Jackson playing football with some of the boys.

Ellee getting a ride with Pearce and Jack's Nana, Nancy.

Ellee looks scared here, but she actually loved it!

Hmmmm???

Ellee surprises me when it comes to doing things. I don't think she would have gone down face first on a slide last year, but this year, not a problem. I don't think I could have even talked her into it last year. She has always done things in her own good time.

This is what happens when you play with mainly boys all day!

The Buns!!!

Kindergarten Field Trip!

2011-06-05T08:24:00.000-07:00

Jackson's Kindergarten class went on a field trip to a local park to look for plants and trees they have been studying. I know he was most excited about the bus ride though!

I am so thankful I was able to go as a parent chaperone. I had 3 little boys in my group including Jackson. I have to admit I was more tired on the parent end....funny how that happens!

Each student had their own plant journal and had to tally everytime they saw certain types of plants or trees. Jackson's favorite thing to find and tally were the stinging nettles.

Now everytime we are driving down the road, Jackson will shout out from the back, "Mom! There's a Maple Tree and I just saw a Douglas Fir!"

The Botanist!

End of Year Preschool Program

2011-06-01T21:48:00.000-07:00

Ellee sang her little heart out in her end of year Preschool Program! She has been practicing these songs all year, since the program was a year in review. It was nice to hear familiar songs that Ellee had been singing around the house for the past few weeks. It's always a relief to know they know what's going on at school!

This is a rain shaker....it was supposed to represent the month of March, but I found it very fitting for the months of March, April, May and June!

Jackson managed to find his way up to the front with his I-Pod and took about 50 pictures of Ellee, so cute! This was right after her name was announced, so Jackson went up to meet her on stage and walked her back to our seats.

We are so very proud of you Ellee!

You truly enjoyed your first year of Preschool and never once did you not want to go. You really liked both of your teachers, Mrs. Papen and Mrs. Brozick. Your favorite thing about school was being the "helper." You made many new friends and talked about them often. You knew everyone's name really early on in the year and you were able to tell me what you did that day and who you played with. You started to learn how to write your name and even started to draw people...it was a surprise to me!

These are truly great memories of you Ellee....I hope I never forget!

Ellee's Preschool Memory Book

2011-06-01T21:42:00.000-07:00

Ellee's Preschool Teachers made this fabulous memory book! I loved looking through it and seeing all the things she did at school that parents didn't always get to see. The teachers did a great job putting it all together....looks like a lot of work!

This was Ellee's first day of Preschool, which was also my first day of work and Jackson's first day of Kindergarten, boy were we busy! Shawn and Jackson took her to her little meet and greet
and Auntie Erin took her the same day to her very first field trip.

Ellee LOVES animals, maybe this is where it all started....

Ellee told me that this is her new smile!

Chalkboard Redo

2011-05-17T18:12:00.000-07:00

I found this beauty at goodwill and thought it would make a great chalkboard for Ellee and Jackson's playhouse...aka-Kidquarters! It use to be one of those things that held a calendar.

A few coats of aqua blue spray paint, chalkboard spray paint and heirloom white spray paint for the knobs and I was done!

I glued the little wooden knobs on with E6000. They are for decorative purposes and maybe to hold an eraser of some sort. Oh and I used walnut stain distress ink over my sanded edges.

Here's right before I put the chalkboard piece back in.

The chalkboard hanging in Kidquarters!

Miss Ellee ready to get to work. She was so excited!

She drew a face on it for the picture!

Daddy-O has to make some changes to Kidquarters....no more upstairs:( We need a peaked roof with all this darn rain we get! Hopefully this project will be checked off the list this summer. (It started last August)

Miss Ellee

2011-05-14T08:11:00.000-07:00

This little munchkin loves to dress up! It always makes me laugh when I see what she comes out in.

Preschool finger painting

Princess Birthday Party

2011-05-08T08:09:00.000-07:00

Ellee went to a princess birthday party for one of her friends and had a blast being a princess and most of all dancing!

Each princess had a turn to get up in front of everyone and show off their moves. No hesitation out of this one!

The Princesses enjoying a Tea Party

Dancing in the dance studio

Learning to sit like a lady.

and dancing again in front of everyone!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

I received some really special gifts for Mother's Day this year. Jackson did a great job keeping everything a surprise!

Jackson drew a picture of me at school and when I was there for a Mother's Day Tea, I had to guess which one was me (in 3 guesses).

I found this beauty on my 1st guess!

Ellee gave me this card and a cupcake she decorated at preschool.

It's always the little things that mean the most.

I am ONE LUCKY Mom!

Kinder"garden" Mother's Day Program

2011-05-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

This was such a sweet performance the Kindergartners put on for their Moms and other family members.

Jackson told me he wanted to wear a tie, he said his teacher told them to dress-up. Glad to know he's still following directions! He looked very handsome and was so proud to be singing for me. Notice in the picture above that something is "hiding" behind his tie. Each of the kids made their moms a butterfly necklace. It was a total suprise for me, Jackson hadn't mentioned a thing. They each got to come down to find their moms and give it to them. Jackson took his off and put it around my neck and gave me a hug and a kiss......instant tears obviously. My mind flashfowarded to highschool graduation for a split second in that moment. It's good to have the reminders to slow down and enjoy every.single.moment.with your kiddos.

They sang some really cute songs and even did a little dance.

LOVE.THIS.

Jackson and his Kindergarten Teacher, Mrs. Shore. She is a Fantastic Teacher!

Proud Sister and Mama!

I love this boy!

We are so proud of him!

Friends from school: Katelyn & Jacob

What a sweet little guy I have!

Jackson's Spring Artwork

2011-05-02T07:35:00.000-07:00

Ellee's Four!

2011-04-30T07:40:00.000-07:00

Our sweet "baby" girl is four!

She spent the morning of her Birthday at Toys'r'us picking out a present!

She had to be a very patient girl all month. Jackson got his Toys'r'us Birthday Card in the mail earlier in the month for his Birthday and poor little Ellee didn't quite understand why hers didn't come.

Well, it FINALLY did and she was excited!

She wanted this car, but we were able to talk her into a big girl bike. (We went in knowing we wanted to buy her a bike)

and the final bike she chose......

Pinkalicious of course!!!!

We are very blessed to have this little girl! She puts a smile on our faces each and everyday!

Here are some things about Ellee that we never want to forget.....

She has a mind of her own-likes to do certain things by herself-is very persistant in what she wants-LOVES her brother-LOVES her dog-LOVES to sing....she is always singing either songs from preschool or the radio-loves to play dress-up-is always dressing ALL her babies-asks for waffles every morning for breakfast-asks for peanut butter and cheese sandwiches for lunch (no I don't make it for her)-enjoys being the center of attention-is very good at riding her scooter-doesn't know how to pedal a bike-loves watching "Tom and Jerry" movies-loves going to preschool-says that Daddy is her prince and she is going to marry him-says her favorite weather is snow and rainbows-loves her entire family and asks to play with her cousins at least once a day!

I LOVE being this little girl's Mom....I am extremely blessed and Thank God everyday to have this little ray of sunshine.

Ellee, you truly brighten other's days by just being YOU!

Happy 4th Birthday!

I Love You!

At 4, Ellee is in the 10th percentile for height and 5oth for weight (she has been in those percentiles since she was about 3 months old).

Preschool Birthday Field Trip

2011-04-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

Ellee went on a field trip to a gym and even got to celebrate her Birthday with her classmates!

The whole preschool sang "Happy Birthday" to Ellee. She loved being in the spotlight!

Easter Part 2

2011-04-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

From Top to Bottom: Marin, Jackson, Thomas, Ellee, Kennedy & Tate (Just baby Landon is missing...Ellee was the only one that volunteered to hold Tate, so there was no chance to get any takers for Landon).

We went up to Grandpa & Grandma McGowan's for Easter Dinner and got to play and have an Easter Egg Hunt with all the Cousins!

Kennedy loves Jackson and he is really sweet with her.

She was trying to give him a kiss while he was watching a movie

and finally succeeded! So Cute!

Easter Morning

2011-04-28T19:22:00.000-07:00

The Easter Bunny came....

.....and left a trail of eggs all the way to the Easter baskets!

Ellee and Jackson had to collect the trail of eggs starting at their bedroom doors that led all the way downstairs to their baskets.

Ready for Church

Happy Easter......He is Risen!

At Church Easter Morning with the Cousins

Another photoshoot?

Easter Part 1

2011-04-28T18:52:00.000-07:00

We had an Easter Egg Hunt the day before Easter at Auntie Naomi and Uncle John's house! It was the nicest day we've had this year so far! What a blessing!

Ellee Parker Sophia Hilary Jackson

Our Sweet Girl

Our Sweet Boy

The Girls!

Just another phase of the photoshoot!

We told the kids if they wanted an Easter Egg Hunt they had to take some pictures first. A little bribery never hurt anyone, right?

Dinner

Parker Ellee Ayden (My cousin's little guy)

Let the Easter Egg Hunt Begin! Ellee was really into it this year and knew what she was doing!

An Old Pro

Checking the Loot!

We had a fabulous day with our Family.....OUTSIDE!!!!

Easter Treat...Peeps!

2011-04-22T22:05:00.000-07:00

The kids are giving their cousins some sweet tweets for Easter!

I printed this cute paper here

Picture Board for Baby Landon

2011-04-22T21:39:00.000-07:00

This is the second picture board thing that I made with much of Shawn's help this time. He drilled the holes to screw in the bottom pieces and the finial. I glued on the L, primed, painted, sanded and even added some distress ink (love this stuff) to the edges. I think it turned out pretty cute. Obviously the pictures can easily be traded out.

First, I purchased a 2x8x8 board from Lowes and had Shawn cut down a couple boards to 11". I also bought the finials at Lowes...this is the ONLY place I have seen them. (They come in a 2 pack with screws on the end.) I found the L at Michaels, but pretty much any craft store has things like that. Anything can be added to the front of the board or nothing at all. I used e6000 glue to adhere the L and the clip for the picture. Some of the blogs I have been reading strongly recommend this stuff, so I gave it a shot...pretty powerful stuff. I waited the full 24 hours for it to dry before I did anything else. For the base, Shawn cut down an old wooden candle stick that was attached to the base already and attached it with a screw.

He is risen!

2011-04-22T21:31:00.000-07:00

Ellee made this in Preschool and is able to tell about how Jesus Has Risen!

Coloring Easter Eggs

More of Ellee's Preschool work!

my latest projects

2011-04-20T20:24:00.000-07:00

These are a few of the things I have been working on lately....

Spray painting paper mache eggs and adding rub-on stickers. A big Thank You to my model in this picture!

I'm not sure what to call these....I got the idea from other blogs I have been reading. Picture/recipe holder??? I made this one for my teaching partner's Birthday. All the pieces on it are wood, so I had to prime, paint and sand the edges. The picture on it is of our new nephew, Landon. I just got his announcement in the mail today and had to try it out on the board. Isn't he cute? His Mommy, Katie, took the picture and her cousin Jami made the hat!

Sorry for the bad lighting and shadows.

I have a few other things I'm working on....just not quite finished yet!

Preschool Spring Sing

2011-04-17T21:50:00.000-07:00

The classes at Ellee's preschool sang at Church and were so adorable in the shirts their teacher's helped them make! Ellee knew all the words and even the motions to the songs...I was a proud Mama!

Trenton Thunder

2011-04-16T22:02:00.000-07:00

How is my Baby Boy old enough to be on a Little League Baseball Team?

Well he is and is absolutely loving it! Daddy-O is even one of the coaches.

The first couple weeks of baseball consisted of 2 days a week practice. The season kicked off with a Jamboree and this is one of the games the boys played in. Now the kids will have 2 games a week between now and the first week in June.

Jackson's first at bat!

He got a hit and made it to first base!!!!

The boys switch positions every inning and towards the end of the game Jackson asked to be catcher! How cute is he?!?!

Melts my heart!

A Trenton Thunder Groupie!

Since Jackson is in a 6/7 year old league, it's coach pitch, they keep score, can strike out and can win, lose or tie. He played baseball the last 2 summers where score wasn't kept and a kid couldn't strike out (the tee would be brought out) so we (Daddy-O) thought he was ready. After seeing him in his first game, I totally agree! He's having a blast!

oh and they won 5-0. Shawn said the kids ask if they won between every inning and he said all of their coaches respond with, "it doesn't matter, are we having fun?"

The Birthday Party Invite!

2011-04-16T21:49:00.000-07:00

Daffodil Parade 2011

2011-04-09T21:34:00.000-07:00

I am so glad going to the Parade has become a tradition for our Family! The kids always have a blast with their cousins and a few of their friends and it brings a little of that small town feeling to me. Ellee enjoyed seeing all the princesses and clowns this year and Jackson enjoyed the pirates along with the clowns. The rain held off this year (surprise, surprise....it's been a long cold, wet winter here) but it was still a little cold. I am not complaining. We considered this a "nice" day!

A Girl and Her Dog

2011-04-04T07:37:00.000-07:00

Ellee will not leave the dog alone....Secretly I think the dog likes it because she gets so much "attention." Ellee could spend an entire day chasing, hugging, laying on, disciplining (she tries to put her face in a corner if Rylee isn't following her directions), treating her like her baby, locking her in her bedroom, playing fetch and hiding under my bed with her!

It's pretty exhausting for ME!

Welcome Baseball Season!

2011-03-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

Jackson started his first year of Little League! He is so excited to be playing baseball again....it's been a long winter. I haven't heard one.single.complaint. from him-they have been practicing in the rain and it's still somewhat cold. At his 3rd practice, he caught his first "fly ball" (a little guy on his team hit a pop fly to 3rd base). He was soooo excited! We were all there to see it as well!

Way to go Bud!

PLAY BALL!

Welcome Baby Landon!

2011-03-23T20:09:00.000-07:00

We have a new Baby on the McGowan side of the Family!

Landon Henry Perasso

Shawn's Sister, Katie, had her 2nd Baby on March 19th

Landon was 8 lbs. 8 oz. & 21.7 inches long

We are very excited to see him again!

Welcome to the World little buddy!

New Puppy

2011-03-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

and no, it is NOT ours......even though this little munchkin would LOVE for it to be!

This is my sister and her Family's new puppy, Lyla. All the kids love to hold and argue over the puppy....ALL.DAY.LONG. The dog is really cute, just throws a new dimension into all the kids interacting. We are working REALLY hard on sharing these days. All good lessons for sure!

Pet Parade at Preschool

2011-03-17T19:57:00.000-07:00

Ellee had a pet parade at preschool and this is what she brought for it!

She has also been learning all about having a pet!

An Irish Fam

2011-03-17T19:43:00.000-07:00

Shawn made a yummy, Traditional, Irish meal for us on St. Patrick's Day....yep, you guessed it, Corned Beef & Cabbage. I love corned beef, just not a huge fan of cooked cabbage. (Shhhhh....don't let my kids know).

Thank You Daddy-O!

Since I had the next day off, I made the kids green crepes for breakfast. Jackson said that maybe the leprechauns made the food green! Cute!

Ellee's Leprechaun she made at Preschool.