four year olds do 2 great things in our family ...

pray for us ...

isn't he handsome in his new church threads!?

he's getting to be such a little man!

Happy Birthday Bud!

sleeping with the fishes ...

i'm not sure why i haven't posted about this before ... maybe i was keeping it a secret!?

cuz this is the 4th year we've been 'involved' ...

every september ann (andy's sister) gets to invite family and friends to spend the night here:

and for the past 3 years, andy has taken 2 and then 2 and then 3 kids with him ... and i have had a lovely night at home alone (virtually - once the baby is to bed)!!

but this year i was coerced into joining the crazy gang, cuz easton was finally old enough!

we arrived at almost 8:00pm (we almost didn't make it, since we left a little late {typical} and we were stopped behind a train crossing {not typical} but lucky for us we had a cell phone to call and tell the people we were with that we were 'on our way' {typical})

after we staked our claim on our very own 'camp-in' site (kids in the dome and us by the nearest plug for andy's cpap)

we got to see the aquarium after dark ... we even fed the urchins as well as the spikey sea creatures {wink, wink}

then, we ALL got our faces painted - some of us twice!

next, it was time to watch them feed the otters and seals - and to meet Mr. Otter

ammon wasn't scared this time ... but easton was!

then, it was time to see diver katie! after her presentation we were invited to give her a high 5 ... thru 12 inches of glass!

art time!! we painted, stapled and glued ... and had a snack too! {this was when we fed the urchins ... the ones we brought with us!}

easton took a ride on the duck for a minute - he's so cute!

and even cuter when he is fast asleep - except he tossed and turned and kept me awake all night ... that coupled with the fact that there was a random breeze blowing on me all night ... and i couldn't get warm and the idiotic kid that kept going back and forth the to bathroom 50 times ... and the not so comfortable bed i was laying on ... should i keep going?! {shoot - i'm a complainer, eh!} but even after all that ...

and even though i was

i'll be going again next september ... cuz, really, who would pass up this kind of fun!?!?

(come on ... tell the truth - you just yawned, didn't you?! ... cuz i did too!)

thister thuzie thittin' on a thistle

(i'm still doing a bit of catching up)

on sept. 16th abi blasted in from playing outside and announced that she had lost her other front tooth! it had been hanging on for quite a while and had finally given up!

now we've got 2 singin' a new tune

now if October 1st would just get here!!

(we {what i mean is I ... } start listening to Christmas Music on Oct. 1st and watching Christmas Movies on Nov. 1st!!! can't wait!!)

my blood sucking friend

for the past few weeks we've had a little buddy outside our front door. she doesn't have a name (yet) but we have spent many a night watching her catch dinner, wrap it up and devour the meal! it's been fascinating, entertaining, and educational ... all rolled into one fantastic (albeit frightening) friend!

back in august - playing catch-up a little ...

have you ever been finally going thru your old pictures and discovered that you neglected to share some pretty cute ones ... and then decided that you might as well since you're so totally behind in blogging!? that's what i did today ... well for a few minutes anyway!

on august 26th we met some friends at the grasslawn park in kirkland

it's a pretty fun park! lots to climb on and great swings! the big blue slide is only accessed by a rope web/climber thing that i got to help easton up a few times!

and nothing draws a crowd like 'worker mans'

(as ammon calls them)

how many worker mans does it take to fix a merry-go-round??

it doesn't really matter since they are entertainment for all the kids at the park!!

the end of single digit anniversaries

from here on out it's double digits, baby! and when we finally hit triple we might get the hang of this!!

thank you for 9 wonderful years, 4 great kids, 2 working vehicles, and 1 happy home!

you're my best friend and i love you!

ps. and thanks for letting me blog all the time,

i know you love it too!

nothin' like a little GNO

after watching my DVR'd BB10 (that's a lot of letters ... in lay-man's terms: i recorded Big Brother 10)

at 1:30 this morning ... i decided "i better blog - i'm up", why not, right?

so ... this wasn't vegas ... and therefore all bets are off for 'what happens at girl's night ...'

btw: it wasn't a Twilight party ... we watched 'Made of Honor'

(which, by the way[btw], is a darling movie - who doesn't love Patrick Dempsey?!?!)
we did, however, eat a lot of sweets,

talk a LOT,

laugh even more,

and made a bit of mischief (all in good fun,though)!!!

and now, girlfriends, it's 3:05 AM, i bid you, adieu ...

until next time!

snaps to you all!!

tra-la-la-la-la-la-la

tonight as abi was folding clothes

(she asked if she could do that instead of put away the towels)
she started singing - spontaneously and all by herself ...

when we're helping we're happy,

and we sing as we go,

for we like to help mother, cuz we all love her so!

i love primary songs!

ps ... the best part? ammon and elyssa chimed in

with a little tra-la-la-la-la-la-la

100 days ... and i'm totally counting!

but i'm not forgetting the real reason for celebrating!

out of the mouths of babes ... or kids that don't know what they're talking about!

we decided to go for a walk before dinner yesterday ... on our way home our neighbors were outside and the little girl came to say hello.
friend: hi guys, whachadoin'?
us: just went for a walk together.
friend: oh, [looking at me] your hair is all messy ...
me: yes it is ... all messy and lookin' good, huh!
friend: uh ... i guess

we came into have dinner and i was chuckling about her comment ...
andy: what's so funny?
me: did you hear what she said about my hair?
andy: no ...
me: she told me it was messy ...
andy: that mess sure took you a long time {smile} and it looks great too!

i was upstairs beautifying saturday before our date for about 45 minutes ... the longest i've ever spent getting ready ... and that included my shower!

here's what i looked like!

what say you - a jury of my peers!?!