Team Hartranft

he has a need for speed

2012-02-04T13:32:00.001-08:00

matt loves racing his cars. xbox 360? check. real car racing? not so much. so last valentines day i signed up for groupon to buy this deal for skycart indoor racetracks. 3 races for $20. it was totally worth every penny. and what's even more perfect? i gave this to him for his vday present last feb. and he just used this last night. so, i told him it was his vday present this year :D ok, i cheated a bit. nuttin wrong with that, you know you would have done the same thing. it's not like i made him wait a year to use it. quite the contrary. i reminded him and asked him several times if he wanted to go do it. well, right when it was over and we were getting in the car, he said he wanted to invite some friends and go do it again soon. he totally LOVED it. i told him he could go with his first paycheck. ha! that first paycheck better be big, cause we sure have big plans for it. anyhoo, that's also coming along right as it should be. not to mention another school acceptance this week. willamette university school of law. he's 5 for 6 so far.

he did really well the first 2 races. but on his 3rd and last race he blew everyone out of the water, or track. he dominated. big time. all that hand eye coordination from forza paying off i guess.

soup-er good

2012-02-01T23:23:00.000-08:00

just tried this soup yesterday! it was amazingly simple and so warm and delicious. guilt free comfort food at it's finest.

happy mid-winter everyone!!!

p.s. don't you just love a good soup?

a real snowman

2012-01-18T20:34:00.000-08:00

it snowed last night!!! this is all paisley and daddy's creation. love how when i came home this afternoon i had to do a double take at the shape of this snowman. i think it's matt's snow statue actually. he is very artistic. have i mentioned that before? anyway, i'm glad i married a guy who's willing to pick up my slack, i'm not a snow person. at all. i think it's missing from my taiwanese islander genes.

happy snow day!

i adore

2012-01-11T22:02:00.000-08:00

this little man BRIGHTENS my day. everyday! he is hilarious and so much fun when he is not whining. and even when he is whining, he is still hilarious. emmett, you are one loved little boy!

p.s. i tried to upload some vidoes that show his personality to a t, but it failed. for some reason i have a hard time with videos on here. maybe i'll put them on facebook instead.

snowmen

2012-01-11T21:49:00.000-08:00

today was such a beautiful day. paisley and i went for a stroller ride to the park. did i mention how much i LOVE having my husband work from home? we can hang out while emmett naps. we can go to the store or the mall together because daddy's home. it's amazing. anyway, after our stroll we sat down for some craft time. i stole this idea from the child watch at the y. paisley didn't get to make one so we did it together instead. they turned out pretty cute i think.

listen

2012-01-11T21:45:00.000-08:00

this year we are studying the book of mormon in sunday school. i love to read this book but have a hard time setting aside the time to do it. so we downloaded the mp3 version to our itunes from the lds webstite here. i have been listening to it for a week and a half. i listen to it while i cook, while i'm on the computer, while i set up for my senior class in the mornings and whenever there is quiet time. usually while emmett's naping. let me tell you, i am almost in mosiah and that includes having listened to some chapters more than once. it's amazing how much more i am getting out of it than just the chapter or two here and there i was reading before. what a great way to add the spirit to my days. i have noticed my spirit has been a lot more relaxed, happy and generally more at ease with life. i think i am more pleasant to be around when i've listened to my daily dose of the scriptures.

kenny gump sure is a runnin fool!

2012-01-04T22:27:00.000-08:00

this is my new blog. i made it to keep track of the fitness/nutrition side of my life. since it takes up quite a big chunk. matt thinks someone as passionate about fitness and health oughtta be making money from it. well, who has time to make money? just kidding. he just means since i love it and do so much maybe someday it will start paying off. we'll see. until then.......http://kennygump.blogspot.com/ check this out if you want to see what i do everyday! this has been going on since freshman year of college by the way and i have never gone more than a day or 2 without it. except the week after having babies. i impress myself sometimes :D

happy new year!

2012-01-04T22:22:00.000-08:00

we seriously tried to get a good family new year's picture. it just wasn't going to happen with the iphone in a dark cafe. we spent the day (well i ran and zumbaed in the am) but then i took the kiddos swimming while matt lifted in the afternoon. then we had a quiet naptime for little e. and then it was off to downtown portland to our favorite cheap mexican place "cha cha cha's". LOVE that place. and we had it all to ourselves too. i wanted to hit up h & m's to make my new year bright, but they were already closed for the night by 7:30 when we walked over. so we had a nice, very cold walk downtown and saw some interesting people along with some guys playing homemade but very real sounding bucket drums in front of pioneer place. we drove home and saw fireworks over the columbia and had some hot cocoa with the kids before we sent them off to bed. we watched a few episodes of lie to me. my new favorite show. and before long i was falling asleep. i did manage to stay awake for 12am, but should have went to bed when i was tired cause the fireworks were annoying come midnight. sorry if you lit some. i wanted to sleep. call me crazy!

anyway, i am excited for a new year. this year will bring lots of changes for our family and i am ready!

happy new year!

lunch menu

2012-01-04T22:11:00.000-08:00

who's lunch is who's?

matt's lunch:

(grilled ribeye steak with mushrooms, onions and broccoli, a loaded baked potato and baby carrots)

kenny's lunch:

enormous veggie salad and boiled egg.

sprouts are my new favorite ingredient. they've always been delicious i've just always forgotten to buy them.

and i still think sweet tomatoes could improve their menu by adding this delicious salad topper.

emmett's lunch:

milk!

or rather "ba ba". no he eats food, but he loves his milk.

what do you eat for lunch?

jumpin

2012-01-04T21:59:00.000-08:00

i had bought a jj jump sharing spree last summer, when we were still getting plenty of exercise outside and didn't need a jj jump pass. so noticing it expired the end of december, we took the kiddos last week. they had so much fun. what a genius place.

this was our first time here. it was awesome. so simple and so much fun. they even let us big people jump at no extra charge. makes me want a trampoline. someday. paisley was silly and spent almost 1/2 her time there playing with the kitchen set instead of jumping. we had to keep telling her to go jump, that's why we're here. she did love jumping, but new toys are always fun too. we'll have to go again. i'll keep my eyes peeled for more deals.

giddyup!

2012-01-04T21:49:00.000-08:00

here's emmett on his new horse. paisley has a hard time letting emmett ride his horse. she thinks everything belongs to her.

they should have been born on a farm!

skipping christmas

2012-01-04T21:45:00.000-08:00

no, we did not skip christmas. we had a lovely christmas and the kids are playing with their new toys everyday. it's wonderful how well they both have been entertaining themselves lately. my only complaint would be they fight over the toys, but i am NOT about to buy 2 of everything. they must learn to share and have patience. we celebrated christmas at my parents house. and have sort of started a new tradition (matt and i) of going shooting together. like a so unromantic it's romantic christmas date. we went out in the rain. there a places to shoot just a few miles from my parents house it's hard for matt not to go. and of course i am his partner of choice. anyway i posted with this title because i am tired and have not been eager to organize pictures and make label them so i have not put any posts up lately. boring me. i just get picture lazy. it's mentally exhausting for some reason. i will give you a few pictures though so don't worry. i know you all are just dying to see my cute kids opening their presents.

paise and andre

ahhhh

stockings

runts (candy not emmett)

big boy toys!

ball! his favorite word

she'll probably learn to sew before i do

bought this beautiful beaded skirt for mom on ebay.

muah.

t-ball set

paisley and emmett each received a horse for christmas. paisley got a radio flyer big bouncy one and emmett got a soft rocking one. paise quickly took them both over and is a cowgirl now. so we got her a cowgirl hat to wear while riding. she's such a hick.

my brotha, ya he thinks he's in westside. shhh, don't tell him but they kicked him out a long time ago :)

paise and jarekah

i LOVE this little face. he loves the idea of dogs but when there is a real one around, he freaks. rightfully so, they are sometimes bigger than him. i think i would be scared too. any way we had a nice break. all of us. ate a lot of good food (cookies) and relaxed most of the break away. now matt is back hard at building up his business and we are back to preschool and everything is normal again. so i didn't exactly skip the christmas post. hope everyone had a great christmas and here's to a prosperous new year!

oh christmas tree

2011-12-20T13:56:00.000-08:00

we have a fake tree. yes it's true, we are one of those families. mostly because matt is so thrifty (a little scroogish) that i might not get a tree every year if i hadn't bought this fake one a few years ago.

so here we are: christmas 2011, my husband is self employed but money is not coming in quite like we want it - yet. and i'm really glad we have this fake tree with hand-me-down ornaments and ornaments the kids have made/we've collected over our years together. both kiddos had a great time putting the ornaments up. and emmett with his mild obsession with balls loved the little glass ones so much he decided to see if they bounce. sorry e, not that kind of ball. we had a good laugh though.

i'm excited to see the kiddos this christmas. they are going to have so much fun at grandma and grandpa's!

heel, step

2011-12-04T15:34:00.000-08:00

i bought a groupon for vancouver elite gymnastics for paisley last summer. we just now cashed in on it. this class happened to be in camas because that was the time that worked best for us. but it was 6 weeks of ballet and tap. she absolutely loved going to this. so now that our 6 weeks are up, i am left wondering what to do. sign her up for more lessons somewhere else close by? let her try something else completely new? give it a break for a while? i paid almost what the classes cost just for her 2 pairs of shoes so i want her to be able to wear them somewhere. hmmm.

these pictures are not good quality at all, but it was dark and i was also trying to keep a very active curious boy from wandering through the studio. but you get the idea despite the red eyes and blurry limbs right?

what are your little ones involved in?

10...8...0...blast off

2011-12-03T14:15:00.000-08:00

rocket launching. one of matt's many hobbies. i mentioned paisley received 2 of the same exact presents for her birthday (go go my walking pup) from both sets of grandparents. my parents just couldn't help themselves. so we traded one of them in to toys r us. oh the possibilities are nearly endless for $50 at toys r us. i wanted her to get a toy that would be useful or educational or meaningful in some way. one we could get grandpas money worth. so leave it to matt to bring over a model rocket and pack of engines. "paisley and i can make this together" he says. ok, makes sense. so they spent an afternoon building the rocket and then we all spent another afternoon launching it.

we went to a field real close to our house on fourth plane. it was a perfect spot for the occasion. there was a road in between 2 fields. you'll note the name of the post. it was what paisley said in her countdown. we've mastered counting long ago, however counting backwards is another story. i videoed the launch but for some reason it did not want to upload. otherwise you could have heard the countdown for yourself!

paisley's little doll went for quite a ride!

this last picture is a remote control jet that we saw after we launched our rocket a few times. someone else had the same idea.

ever launch a model rocket?

one happy 4 year old

2011-11-13T14:59:00.000-08:00

she's 4. november 10th is her big day. we started the week's festivities with a small party with her close friends. we were sad a few couldn't make it, but we still had a great time.

then tuesday she had her preschool celebration and we took her to the zoo after school.

her actual birthday she finally could go to zumbatomic at the ymca. a little class for 4-7 year olds where they can learn basic dance movements and act like animals. uh, fun! then we took her to use her free birthday tokens at chuck e cheese. and she requested hot dogs for dinner. easy enough.

then friday her big surprise present came from grandma julie and grandpa frank (it actually came thursday while we were gone but we found it after she had gone to bed cause we hardly use our front door) which was perfect because it gave us time to wrap it. she opened it friday and has never been the same since. neither has emmett for that matter.

saturday we had my family over to celebrate. and surprise! my parents bought her the same exact go go walking dog. this little girl is blessed or spoiled. either way she is happy. i actually contemplated keeping it so emmett could play with one when paisley does not want to share. but these things are spendy, so i will exchange it for something else of her choice this week.

this orangutan was the life of the zoo that day. he was picking his nose and eating it just for the camera. what a character.

cookie, the newest member of our family.

happy 4th little red.

found this a few nights ago......

2011-11-13T14:56:00.001-08:00

does anyone have kids who sleep this soundly? or does anyone themselves? wow. girly probably should still be sleeping in a crib.

fall parties

2011-11-13T14:30:00.000-08:00

who doesn't love fall? the only thing that is wrong with this time of year is knowing that it will be winter soon. but in the northwest our winters are completely mild compared with most of the nation. so that's not even a real problem. anyway, fall is fun for us because there seems to always be something to do and dressing up makes it more fun!

little max, who's not so little anymore. a big 4 year old now.

emmett's first pinata experience at max's party.

my two little animals. paise is into a lot of things, but her absolute passion is for animals. i see us owning horses someday. and of course dogs too. and emmett is just following in her footsteps.

trick or treating!

harvest party at the ymca!

our friend's little boy keith was born on halloween (this is paisley's "i'm gonna marry" friend) he turned 5 this year and we always get to celebrate with them too.

and of course another fun part of fall is paisley's birthday. but that will get it's own post :D

beauty

2011-11-13T14:09:00.001-08:00

for those who do not know what a mormon temple is, among other things, it is a place where 2 people can be married for eternity. below is the mormon temple in hawaii. where my parents happened to be married back in 1974. they both attended brigham young university hawaii campus and were married in the neighboring temple. while we were on our trip we were able to visit there. what a beautiful place in every way. we toured the visitors center and walked the grounds. i can't help but think if i hadn't met matt just when i did, i probably would have been married there too. i was accepted to byu hawaii right after meeting matt. when i told him he obviously didn't like the thought of me dating polynesian surfers or something because here we are..... in washington..... 9 years later. oh well, at least he takes me to vacation there right?

this beautiful lady on the left is my aunt joan. my mom's sister. she lives on oahu and we were able to spend some quality time with her. she LOVES babies/kids and as a result my kids LOVED aunt joan! she was so good with them. she played puppy/pet shop with paisley every chance she was offered. they could't get enough of her. we are so blessed to have our aunt joan!

and another breath taking view from our backyard.

hawaii, you will be missed until we meet again. Aloha!

a kayaking misadventure

2011-10-25T14:40:00.000-07:00

one of the activities i really wanted to do while we were in hawaii was go kayaking. simple enough right? we were even lucky enough to have kayaks in the garage of the house we stayed in. or were we? yes, this house had it all. in addition to the crib and high chair, they also had a garage full of toys. boogie boards, snorkel gear, ping pong table, bikes, flippers, water shoes of all sizes, beach toys and even kayaks with paddles. oh man were we psyched. this was going to save us over $100 in rental costs.

one afternoon we had little going on and decided it was the perfect time to take out the kayaks. my mom was cooking dinner and my dad and emmett were hanging out on the front balcony. paisley overheard us and asked to come along. sure why not? we hauled those boats right across the street and made sure paisley had her life jacket and off we went. the first 150-200 yds of sea were calm. no big deal. but also not as fun right? we ventured out just a little further to the breakers and now the real fun began. surfing kayaks. super fun with the proper gear.

little did we know these kayaks both were malfunctioning. yes my friends they were filling with water more and more with each wave. the plug pushed right out and the kayaks started filling with water. lots and lots of water. it didn't take but a few waves for me to tip over. i was in the smaller kayak. matt and paisley tipped over too. that's when paisley started crying and matt took her back to shore. however, i was still tipped and couldn't get back into the smaller (green) kayak. matt came back for me and hopped out of the larger (orange) kayak to get me inside that one. i managed to get in and start paddling but as soon as a wave came, i tipped right back over. matt couldn't get into the green kayak either so we were both stuck. i kept trying to get back in and paddle as fast as i could out of the waves but it was no use for me. i just kept tipping over. by this time i saw a fire truck on the road ahead. i knew help must be on the way. matt managed to swim somehow with the green kayak to the reef and out of the waves, but he still didn't want to leave me. the orange kayak was quite large and i was just trying to keep a hold of it and the paddle while not letting it hit me in a wave. the waves were growing with each break. and the current was strong.

finally i spotted a rescue jet ski on the way. the happiest moment possibly of our whole trip. there was a guy on the back who got out and guided me over to the back of the jet ski. i climbed aboard but was hesitant to leave our gear out there. they assured me they would come back for it. matt was still out there and being the smart man he is, he immediately grabbed my paddle. riding into shore was such a relief. they went back for matt but he had climbing into the orange kayak and was paddling hard. after flipping 4 or 5 more times he managed to get out of the waves and paddle in. the rescue team did go back for the green kayak and hauled it back to shore for us. the green kayak probably weighed about 600-700 lbs. according to matt. he and my dad had to use all their might to tip the kayak to drain it. he looked at the problem and sure enough the plugs came right out with any pressure.

this was one of the scariest experiences i have ever had. i am in great shape and can swim hard if needs be. so ditching the boats and paddles to swim home would have been a last resort had my dad or the neighbor (who was actually the one to call rescue) not been watching us. however, there's no telling if the current would have taken us either. but i was determined to hold on to that worthless boat as long as possible. i do not have over $1000 to replace possibly 2 kayaks and paddles if we would have left them out there. and i wasn't sure what the homeowner would think.

we came out of this experience with quite a new outlook on the situation. kayaking 101: check plugs. matt said he just made sure they had plugs but he didn't wiggle or mess with them.

i am grateful my dad was watching us. he took all these pictures. the last one is of me already tipped over the first time and i had to swim over to find the kayak. my dad stopped photographing and came downstairs to watch closer. the neighbor must have been watching because he came out and suggested to my dad right away they call rescue. my dad said "no no matt is very smart and capable, let's see what he's able to do first". smart neighbor (a local) went in right then and called anyway. i'm so glad he did. because by the time the rescue showed up my arms were so tired of haning on to the kayak and i was so done being smashed into increasingly large waves. talk about exhaustion. i am also grateful i am in great shape and could do what i did for as long as i did it. (i guess i might not have kayaked if i wasn't) but who knows. i am grateful matt was able to get paisley to shore before anything bad happened or before she adopted a fear of water. and i am grateful i didn't cramp up or hit my head or any other limb. i came away with only a sore shoulder and a few cuts and bruises. nothing major. matt was fine.

what a shake up. a learning and unforgettable experience.

the funny part of this whole fiasco was that we had been hearing the fire and rescue trucks going off all week long. i mean several times a day we'd see them drive by or hear them coming. i thought, wow these guys sure are busy here. what could they possibly be doing all day. i mean are there really that many fires or accidents in such a small radius? well, we sure added to their rescue list that week.

i still love kayaking and probably always will, but in the future i will be more cautious and aware of the boat i am in and the water i'm playing in.

happy to be safe.

OAHU Baby!

2011-10-19T14:40:00.000-07:00

What an amazing way to spend part of our October. We traveled to Oahu with my mom and dad and also visited my aunt Joan last week. 9 memorable days in Hawaii. It was so great Matt is even applying to school there. He wants to master the extreme sport of surfing. A new top 10 goal for him I think. We did so much everyday.

The weekend started with a trip up the North Shore to check out some beaches. It started raining on us that first Saturday night. One of the only times it didn't matter if it was raining because we were already wet in the ocean.

the yard at our rental home and emmett of course

emmett found a sweeper even at church on sunday

ringing the bell at The Buddhist Valley of the Temples.

Polynesian Cultural Center

these 2 were the best beach buddies

Dole Pinneapple Plantation

train ride around the plantation

peacock came to join us for pinneapple ice cream

wicked cool rainbow eucalyptus tree

wild chickens and roosters were EVERYWHERE. this little momma had her chicks with her and they filled up on cookies. i hope that didn't make them sick :D

love birds

we were greeted in honolulu with a fight in the park.

so much to see in waikiki

hanauma bay-bies

little hula girl

matt and his surf board

paisley's horseland. a couple of horse rides made this little girl's dream come true.

uh, a little burned

train ride at the koneohe mall

saying aloha goodbye.

exhausted plane ride home.

The kids had a blast in Hawaii as did their adventurous parents. Stay tuned for our kayaking tale.

check it out.

2011-10-02T14:25:00.001-07:00

this weekend is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints General Conference. twice a year our prophet and leaders of our church speak to us and give us wonderful guidance and counsel. i am listening to it now.

portland pumpkin patch

2011-10-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

every year we go to bauman farms in woodburn. it is probably the biggest or at least most popular pumpkin patch in about 100 mile radius. but it is a good hour away. i found this one online last week and thought we should give it a try. we were not disappointed. it was still a drive, but i had never been to sauvie island before so it was a completely new experience all around.

happy harvest!

matt's adventure

2011-10-02T14:04:00.001-07:00

matt was able to go with a friend camping and boating. he was gone for 3 days and it was quite an adventure. lots of mishaps occured but he still managed a good time and brought home dinner too.

i'm glad he got away on a masculine adventure.
my turn right?

most of september looked like this.......

2011-10-02T13:51:00.000-07:00

matt has been so happy since leaving key bank. of course he's been able to participate in some of our weekday adventures. that makes my job look easy. but he's since seen the truth. having a 1 year old and a 3 year old is a full time job. we've certainly LOVED having him around more. this is a special time for our family for that reason.

new toys

2011-10-02T13:41:00.001-07:00

before matt quit key bank, he had earned a bonus which they gave him in the form of points to be redeemed on their website. picture a skymall magazine. everythiing you never knew you wanted but nothing you needed.

we ended up with a scooter for the kids which they LOVE and a bread machine for the adults which we LOVE. now, the bread machine is quite large in our small kitchen, but i don't have a kitchen aid or anything like that so this bread machine makes up for that. we've made 3 loaves in the last week. we're eating so much more bread now then we ever would have without it. it's so nice having homemade bread. super yum!

wicked cool

2011-10-02T13:34:00.000-07:00

spotted this toy at our favorite donut shop. crazy eh? the owner built it.

yup, i could ride on the back of this bad boy.

definitely my daughter.

and this little boy looks happy, don't ya think?

favorite foods

2011-10-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

i think i failed to mention that my handsome husband turned 30 on our minnesota trip. no, that wasn't a type-o. my husband is in his 30's now. holy moly i'm next. but i'm not focusing on that right now. one of matt's all time favorite desserts is strawberry rhubarb pie. so since he didn't really have a cake on his birthday (we were too busy boating with his family i think) i decided to make this pie when we came home. i actually have a ton of rhubarb from a friend in my freezer and there was a nice man selling strawberries by the side of the road near our house so it just made sense.

probably my favorite non dessert food to eat would be gyros. they are so simple but i absolutely LOVE them. i will order one every chance i get. and happily i have noticed their increasing popularity. well, last night at the pumpkin patch they were selling them for $6. and since i wasn't too hungry right then i thought, you know i bet matt and i could totally make those. ok, so we didn't have the traditional seasoned lamb meat, but we seasoned some chicken instead. matt made a sauce with some herbs, sour cream (although we had plain greek yogurt - he didn't know we had it and i was bus jammying up our kiddos for bed), thinly sliced cucumber, and red onion. and then all we needed were the whole wheat pitas, tomatoes, and romaine lettuce. ok, these were AMAZING but after i put my plate in the dishwasher and put the leftovers in the fridge, i noticed we totally forgot the feta and hummus. duh? next time. so now i can have me some chicken gyros any day anytime :D

preschool

2011-10-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

my sweet little paisley has completed her first month of her first school. she LOVES it. an understatement really. she can't get enough preschool. she is only enrolled for 2 days a week. so naturally she asks EVERYDAY if she gets to go to preschool tomorrow.

please keep up the enthusiasm for learning little one.

found this on the iphone

2011-10-02T12:09:00.000-07:00

oh wow.

farewell

2011-10-02T11:36:00.000-07:00

to key bank that is. matt quit his job of 3 years. it was a HUGE decision to make for both of us as it greatly affects our whole family. but really that's all key bank was for him, a job. not a career and especially not a life's work. while working there he learned a great deal about business, customer service/relations, real estate, law and much more. working for key bank was definitely something positive overall for matt, but he reached his capacity for learning there and it's time to move on.

now matt is a very special and unique man for too many reasons to name in one post, but one particular thing about matt is his up-kept friendship to chris from college. not every man has a friend like chris. he has been someone matt has always looked up to and kind of been like a mentor for matt. his friend is very ambitious, charismatic, successful, and a wonderful friend to matt. without going into too much detail, they are now working together on a few different business ventures. if they take off and gain the hoped for outcome within the next year then skies the limit for us. if they don't by the time fall of 2012 comes, then matt will be off to law school. somewhere. it's a little funny, maybe funny is not the right word, but hindsight's 2020 you know because matt applied to law school our senior year of college and didn't prepare for the lsat or anything. his score was low. he was accepted to his last choice of schools for their evening/weekend program so he decided not to accept. and just thought maybe it's not the right thing for him. but here we are some 7 years later with a greater understanding of what law school entails for all of us. with better preparation and a 10 point higher score trying our luck in round 2. after running a business and working as a banker for the past 5 years he is more confident and has realized how valuable a law degree will be in his life. it's such a versatile degree and he thinks and talks like a lawyer already. who knows where we'll be in 5 years or even next year, but i'm confident as matt's wife that he'll be successful in anything he touches.

this is my cute husband on his last day at the office. well, a key bank owned office anyway.

Minnesota 2011 - lots of pics

2011-09-04T23:41:00.001-07:00

what an unforgettable week! so perfect in every way. the kids did great on the 3 hour flight there and home. so that gives me hope for hawaii next month. we couldn't have asked for a better more therapeutic week. i'll just post the run down of events and then let the pictures do the talking.

we biked, ran, rode rides at the mall of america, boated, swam, ran some more, biked some more, boated and swam some more, visited the state zoo, ate out nearly every day, did i mention biked, ran, boated and swam? my favorite things to do! grandma julie was so wonderful and watched the kids everyday so we could do some fast paced activities. we visited with matt's extended family. the only thing we missed was seeing matt's sister who's away at byu. oh ya, and i even got to try heated yoga at corepower yoga with my jake! that was amazing. i wasn't sure what to think going into it. it was a whole other culture. but i loved the practice. it didn't seem as hard doing yoga in heat because your muscles stretch and relax so much easier. i'm a fan.

the kiddos had a hayday on these airport treadmills. hilarious.

yup, those are wild turkeys on the trail.

we ended our week with a tour of william mitchell and st. thomas school of law. they both have appealing attributes. it was interesting to see first hand what different feels for law schools are out there. skies the limit for my talented and hardworking husband. plus minnesota grows on you when you're there in the summer. we're already looking forward to next year!

weekend with new old friends

2011-09-04T23:20:00.000-07:00

a few weekends ago we were invited to tacoma to stay with matt's good friend and old college roommate chris and his sweet wife julie. they had been living in utah, but are giving the northwest a try as julie is from here. we hadn't seen them in years but it was fun to get the kids together to play and it was certainly fun to get to know chris and julie a bit better. matt and chris will be working together on various business ventures now so it was great to reconnect in person for that too. we had a very relaxing weekend. their home was secluded and surrounded with woods that matt and chris were able to mountain bike in. we went to the park, had a bon fire and walked the tacoma water front.

what a great family. hopefully we can get together more often while they are relatively so close.

restoration

2011-09-04T22:50:00.000-07:00

matt has been given a few bikes that to the general population would seem worthless. however, he has taken the time and effort to make them better than new again. this is his latest finish......

looks pretty sweet eh?

to be a kid.

2011-09-04T16:01:00.000-07:00

this is what it's all about.

a kiss......

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

......just because.

have an increeedible day!

2011-09-04T15:49:00.000-07:00

at john's incredible pizza that is. we went for the first time a few weeks ago with a groupon deal i had bought a while back. have i mentioned how much i love those website deals? we went with my sister and her family and had a - dare i say, incredible time. this place is like chuck e cheese on steroids. the best part was being able to do a grown up ride with paisley and jarekah. next time you need to go somewhere to cheer you up, check it out!

bathtime sucks

2011-09-04T14:29:00.000-07:00

maybe some people think it is gross to eat while bathing. but i personally feel it is killing 2 birds with one stone. i have fed my kids various sticky foods and messy meals while they are happily splashing away in the tub. to me it is a no brainer. besides, this way they are able to do amazing tricks like sticking suckers in their belly buttons.

shadows

2011-08-07T15:47:00.000-07:00

paisley got hold of the camera again and this is what i found.....

these innocent ice cream vendors probably wouldn't have guessed they would end up on the internet.

when we got to this picture of her shadow, matt and i couldn't help but to laugh. and then it made me think of this movie we watched recently. this man goes on a journey and part of his journey involves seeing windmills for the first time. the next shot is of him jumping to the windmill's shadow. it was the quirkiest scene of the movie.

do your kids play with shadows?

must try.

2011-08-07T15:39:00.000-07:00

found this on pinterest the other day. it was my first time there. very cool site.

doesn't this look amazing?

this made me smile today......

2011-08-07T15:37:00.000-07:00

matt must have taken this.

a boy and his mop

2011-08-07T15:13:00.000-07:00

have i mentioned emmett LOVES mops/brooms/vacuums??? if there is one in a room, he has radar for it.

it reminds me of this......

do ya'll know who i'm talking about? if not check this out!

oh emmett, you make us proud :D

up to's

2011-08-07T14:14:00.001-07:00

over the past few weeks we have been keeping busy i think. summer is fantastic because of all the things we get to do outdoors. we all love it. so here's what we've been up to.....
i had a birthday. that's right, one year older and wiser too. it was a good day. a few coworkers and friends took me to starbucks for smoothies. what a thoughtful guy that larry. if you ever make it over to the ymca he can be found almost any morning working the wellness floor. and of course my dear friend kelly. so nice. and my parent's had given me a costco membership a few days before. so of course i made that part of the fun. who doesn't love costco? very berry sunday took the place of a birthday cake :D my sweet husband bought me a nike + ipod sports kit that fits in my shoe and tracks my runs. and a bunch of beautiful flowers. flowers are something special (i can count the # of times i've received them). a very good day indeed.

we have spent time with friends having playdates, dinners/picnics, swimming, bowling, etc.

we attended our stake pioneer day. AMAZING. everyone involved did a wonderful job. paisley hung out with the animals for over an hour. she would have stayed there longer had i not urged her on to the bouncy slide. uh, can we say 4h???

we have been picking berries several times at a few places close by. YUM! i've been building our freezer supply one pickin trip at a time. and made a 5 fruit crisp the other day. LOVE summer!

we have been biking at least a few times a week. we usually pick a destination worth the trip, be it a park or somewhere with ice cream or doughnuts. :D

we hit up the washington county fair out in hillsboro. free :) we love free activities. we of course spent a little at the red barn. i thought i had to wait until the oregon state fair for that. delicious. it was hot hot hot and wanted to melt so we had to eat fast. the kiddos had fun doing all the free kid stuff.

and we have been to some fun summer birthday parties. yay for summer!!!

the pictures are not in the order i uploaded them. don't know why. but oh well.

it's official......

2011-07-17T21:03:00.000-07:00

come october we will be chillin in style in oahu!!! yes, that's right, hawaii here we come!

oh man it is going to be a fall to remember folks. i can't wait!

kayak. yes please!

2011-07-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

i LOVE groupon. and sharing spree and living social and any other site that offers incredible deals like that. a while ago i bought a groupon for kayaking. in my mind it was to be used for our anniversary date. you see when i buy big things unplanned i justify them in some way or another. anyway, this was money well spent for sure. this was hands down matt and my favorite day of 2011 thus far! the weather could not have been more perfect. blue sky, sunshine, a light breeze and not too hot. we started our day with a family run outside. then my wonderful parents came to watch the babes so we could venture down to portland for our kayaking experience. yes, we would like to buy kayaks someday when we can really get good use out of them. either when our kids are older or we have a much bigger babysitting fund. hehe. we finished our already amazing day at my sister's place for an evening of swimming and pizza.

i could easily do this day over and over and over and over ..........

4th weekend

2011-07-17T14:01:00.001-07:00

we spent the 4th weekend at can you guess??? yup, my parent's house. our weekend was full of trips to the lake, beach, and even a parade! we started off with a carousel ride in seaside of course. emmett is really starting to grow and become less and less like my little baby. he had a full couple of days for sure. we had never been to a 4th of july parade before and it was so much fun for all of us. i myself, enjoyed the classic cars and the horses. but i know paisley and emmett were all about the candy. matt was able to get in a few nice bike rides and fishing trips with my dad in his boat. he cought a few small trout the first morning. i took a few nice long runs along the bay in the beautiful welcomed sunshine and blue sky! what a beautiful weekend.

this is by far my most favorite time of year.

train wreck

2011-06-28T22:38:00.001-07:00

paisley loves to take pictures. hey, what kid doesn't love playing with mommy and daddy's technology right? so every now and then i indulge her.

she took these this afternoon.

yes, this is me post workout. not just post any workout, post jenny's bootcamp and core class workout. yes i know, i'm a train wreck. but i love it!

key picnic

2011-06-28T22:09:00.001-07:00

last sunday was matt's work picnic. wow i was surprised by how nice it was. they rented the jeld wen stadium downtown. they provided quite a nice lunch. chicken, burgers, hot dogs, chile, corn, cookies, ice cream, and all the drinks you could ever want. they even had boca and tofu dogs, for the vegetarians. thoughtful. anyway, they had potato sack races, facepainting, soccer, bounce houses, and a bungee run. it was a lot of fun.

bouncing away

the big key and paisley, drew, and abby

little emmett walking

emmett's prize, he rode on daddy's shoulders while we raced it up.

paisley racing

emmett declaring victory

paisley took this shot

the bungee run, it really snaps you if you're not careful

we spotted a fireman park on our way home and noticed there happened to be firemen there. it was an anniversary of a big portland fire decades ago so they were there all day paying their respects.

the bell that rang for the fire.

it was a long but fun day. emmett didn't have a nap because we went right after church, but he did great and handled himself like a big boy. i enjoyed the day because i didn't have to cook or clean or even spend any $$.

happy birthday to a dear friend

2011-06-28T22:02:00.001-07:00

last friday we helped our good friend ken celebrate his birthday. the nyholms were one of the first families we got to know when we moved to vancouver 5 years ago. they have remained good friends ever since. and it is easy to remember ken's birthday, june 28. what a great day!

happy birthday ken!

little emmett celebrates with a wheat bun. of course he helped me eat that delicious cake bethany's boys decorated too.

Zooooo

2011-06-28T21:48:00.000-07:00

we went to the zoo!!!! we LOVE going there any chance we get. and this particular chance was GREAT! not only did we get in for free, we got to spend our trip with our family the hansens! thanks for having us we had a fabulous day with you.

duckies

emmett was hanging on any wall or door he could grasp. funny little guy.

the giraffs are actually my favorite animal at the zoo. not because they are so exciting to watch, but because they are just such a fascinating creature.

hippos!!!

my beautiful little lady resting on the big fake lion.

pearson air museum

2011-06-28T21:36:00.000-07:00

several months ago i purchased a mamapedia deal for the pearson air museum here in vancouver. so the saturday before father's day, we cashed in on the deal. it was the perfect day to spend in doors since it literally poured non stop all day long! matt had a great time learning about and seeing all the planes there. and what's better, the lady actually gave us free tickets to go back because we just happened to be there until closing. matt was very happy about that.

paisley actually took this shot, not bad eh?

it was fun to learn a little about early vancouver aviation. i guess i didn't realize we were on the map in that way :)it was a great prelude to a happy father's day in our home.

8 years!

2011-06-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

today, june 28th 2011, marks 8 years of marraige to my wonderful husband. the best decision i have ever made. we have really grown together and grown up together. matt is a wonderful husband and father. he works so hard to provide for us and goes above and beyond any call of duty to ensure that we are happy and well taken care of. he makes me laugh in surprising ways and is the perfect person to help me grow into who i am suppose to be. what a perfect match we are! happy anniversary matt, i love you!

saturday we went to the temple to the place where it all started. what a beautiful and sacred place. i am happy to say we will continue to live up to the promises we made there years ago.

i ordered this shirt 2 weeks ago and was getting nervous thinking it would be late. but alas, it arrived this morning. hehe. he got a kick out of this.

we have a babysitter lined up for tonight. something we do like once a year. i am looking forward to a quiet, mess free dinner tonight.
we'll see where we end up.

why didn't i do this before?

2011-06-17T23:50:00.000-07:00

i use to mow the lawn when i was a teenager. i think everyone did right? i even did it a few times in college to be nice and help out my parents. i don't think i even minded it. but since i've been married i just have not been into it. kinda like driving. i use to love driving too. but now why would i drive when my husband does that for me?

anyway, matt has been so busy lately. no busy is an understatement. he would actually benefit greatly if there were more like 35 hours in a day. only because key bank insists on taking more than 1/3 of most days. so today he rode his bike to work because he knew that would be the only exercise he would be getting on this beautiful day. and "casually" mentioned that i could mow the lawn if i wanted to. i know matt. i know that this was his way of saying come on woman, help a guy out. how hard could it be really? i remembered how to use a lawn mower right? the only thing is what to do with a 12 month old while you mow. improvise. i know matt has used the kid pack before. and i don't work out everyday for nothing! i can do it too.

i would actually use the word fun minus the 25 lb pack. although hearing baby emmett noises over the lawn mower was up there. what a fun boy. emmett, someday you'll be behind the handle. until then...... i'll do my share honey.

look whose walking!

2011-06-17T16:22:00.000-07:00

blogger has not been my friend lately. but facebook has.

take a look here!

drive thru not ride thru

2011-06-17T16:03:00.000-07:00

last night i was at church and matt was home with the kids. he took them for a bike ride and in so doing also attempted to get an ice cream at mcdonalds. he ordered and even paid. however when the guy closed the window he came back with a lady (manager of some kind) and she informed him, robotically, they could not serve him unless he was in a motorized vehicle. matt being the smart a he is gave her a run for her money.
he told her he was in his vehicle with his trailer in tow. how do you know this bike doesn't have a motor in it? just by listening? no sir, i'm sorry sir, i cannot serve you on your bike. ok, well how am i suppose to get my food? well, you can come in and order sir. no i can't, one passenger doesn't walk and the other barely speaks english? nowhere in the drive thru does it say you have to be in a motorized vehicle. well sir that's our policy. i don't know what your policy is. that has always been our policy. again, i don't work here and it's not posted, i don't know what your policy is. am i dressed appropriately? is there also a dress code i should know about? how about ethnicity? my wife's chinese can she eat here too? no sir, there is no dress code, and yes your wife can eat here. but i'm sorry, you cannot be served unless you come in.
paisley: but daddy i want some ice cream! sorry paisley, apparently you have to go buy a car first. lady shuts the window and leaves. HA! i seriously couldn't stop laughing when matt told me this. what a character that husband of mine is. he lost his case but someday he will be a very good lawyer. at least he's persistent.
apparently mcdonalds does not serve the physically and mentally creative.

tikki tikki tembo

2011-06-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

i checked out this book for paisley today. does anyone remember this book. i didn't remember the story so much as the little boy's name. but that is the whole basis for the story. cute. paisley was not impressed though. she kept giving me weird looks. rightfully so my girl, rightfully so.

i needed to get away

2011-06-17T15:19:00.001-07:00

i have had trouble sleeping for a while. it began when i started working in april. at first it was just the nights i worked in the morning. i mean i have to be at work by 8:15am at the latest which by itself is not a big deal, but with a 3 year old and 1 year old in tow (who by the way is still nursing) getting out the door is no small task let alone so early. the job itself is wonderful. i teach an exercise class to a group of seniors at the ymca. i mean as far as jobs go, it doesn't get much better than that. but the anxiety comes from knowing i have committed to the position and it all rides on me and the little ones. it's getting more comfortable though. little by little.

anyway, the poor sleep somehow transferred over to any night. so the anxiety of no sleep just made it worse. when you think about it of course you cannot fall asleep. and so on and so on. so last weekend i went to the one place i know i can ALWAYS sleep. my parent's house. it was so therapeutic. knowing my parents are there to get the kids up. knowing they actually find joy in it too. it gave me a much needed relaxing break even if only for 2 days.

to report, this week has been a lot better. so maybe i'm finally getting in a groove again. here's some highlights of the weekend! oh and blogger has been jacking up the order of my pictures so they are all mixed up. oh well.

lunch @ big foot's in seaside. the halibut n' chips. i learned this is matt's favorite food. even more than the picture below. i always thought burgers were his fav. hmmm.

it wouldn't be a trip to seaside unless the carousel was involved at some point.

emmett meets the sand for the first real time. last summer at 2 months old doesn't count.

this is the famous big foot burger. fully equipped with 2 thick hamburger patties, ham, 2 cheeses, eggs, and all the fixins. yikes. the guys shared this one.

ta da!

working to create the picture above. told you they were mixed up.

it is always hard to leave there. matt and i are so lucky to have a place to take our kids to play and spend time with grandparents. why spend $ on therapy when your folks live in such a beautiful peaceful place? can't wait to go back. sleep was awesome. i was out both nights as soon as my head hit the pillow. ahhhh.

Emmett turns 1

2011-06-09T13:41:00.001-07:00

well, that year just flew by!
to kick off the festivities we had a family party on sunday before memorial day. all of my family were able to come and help us celebrate.

make a wish little man! i chose cheesecake because i knew i'd be making cupcakes for another party later in the week. and well, cheesecake is just awesome right?

jarek and finn and andre of course

grandma and grandpa wall

these 2 = mischief

hooray for new toys!!!

emmett's birthday was actually memorial day, so to celebrate as a family we went to yo cream. my favorite. well, everyone loves it. this is emmett in his new "big boy" car seat. although, i have been informed they are suppose to stay rear facing until they're 2. that's just too long. he is so much happier cruising around now that he can see.

well, most of the time. :)

yum!

i LOVE this one. they are starting to become friends now.

and i tell matt to smile and this is what i get. i should have known.
but...... he should have known it would end up here!

these were the under the sea cupcakes i made for emmett's other party.

on thursday i threw him a party with my friends and all their kiddos. we had it at a nearby park and with the weather all over the place i didn't know what to expect. it started raining 5 minutes before the party. but as soon as we pulled in it somehow stopped long enough for us to be there. ah, washington. we're not going to let a little rain get in our way. it was a good turn out and a lot of fun to see so many friends in one place.

enjoying his cake! it was yummy. i added juice from concentrate to the cake batter instead of 1/2 the water. it was a white cake mix with kiwi, strawberry, apple and lime juice and homemade lemon cream cheese frosting. i'm on a huge lime/lemon kick.

c'mon emmett take a step, i dare you.

more presents!

even though emmett probably won't remember any of this, it is still fun to celebrate a well earned year. it's hard to believe how fast time is flying lately. i hope i don't wake up middle aged, but it seems like life is seriously going that fast.

emmett i want you to know you are a good boy and well loved as evident by all your support. you have the sweetest little personality. we absolutely are so blessed to have you in our family.

1 year checkup for the record:
height: 31.25 in. 89%
weight: 20 lbs. 14 oz. 21%
head circumference: 47 cm 69%

you're tall and thin so far. not a bad combination i don't think.

you can say momma and dada, ball, ba (blankey), pa (paisley), and last night we heard dawge (doggie). you eat quite a variety of things now which is nice. not walking just yet. but it's only a matter of time. you LOVE to play and get into things. you have the same favorite drawer paisley had with all the kitchen towels and oversized spatulas. you don't like to sit still and read like i remember paisley doing, but i understand this world is too exciting for that just yet. it's so exciting watching you. i can just sit back and watch you all day. and some days when you wake up i can just tell you're smarter than the day before.

happy birthday little man!

alphabet complete

2011-05-16T14:57:00.000-07:00

a couple months ago i started working with paise on her letters. we did one letter each day (well not everyday - otherwise it would have only taken 26 days instead of about 2 months) anyway. she was very interested in this activity and and knew each time exactly what letter we were doing that day. we talked about the sounds the letter makes and words that begin with each letter. then i would cut out the upper and lower case letters for her to glue on construction paper and trace. if we had a snack that began with the letter, we would eat it too. all in all, time well spent. and now we may just be ready for "teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons" - a book i bought at the start of our alphabet extravaganza and was used with success by my friend julie and her daughter celia.

paisley has ALWAYS loved books. from day one i read to her everyday and would point out things like colors, animals, shapes, etc. even in the rambunctious toddler - can't sit still phase she would sit and listen to anything and everything until i wore out.

this girl is definitely ready for preschool next fall.

emmett - loves babies

2011-05-03T15:55:00.001-07:00

see for yourself.

i pushed them around in the laundry basket. talk about a good workout. she loved it, emmett - not so sure yet.

my favorite. he turned around and made this face randomly. i love this boy!

what do you do when......

2011-05-03T15:25:00.000-07:00

your husband has a random class on sunday and you want to go to your good friend's baby blessing, but your car won't start?

well, here's what we did...... bust out the walker and play in the front yard til daddy comes home.

we skipped church so we could go to my friend's church to be there for her new baby's blessing. as much as i enjoy church i was not about to go twice with 2 kids w/o matt. so we had a nice relaxing morning and emmett even had a full morning nap while we got cleaned and ready to go. then we are all loaded in the kia (matt took the scion to portland - better gas mileage) and i turn the key only to find not so much as even a click. after realizing it to be a dead battery and knowing that even if i asked my neighbor for a jump i would be late, i was completely bummed. i was looking forward to seeing them and visiting our old ward. oh well, make the best of it right? we hung out in the yard until matt came home about an hour later.

then we decided to spend the day as a family and go downtown to the park and fountain. it was the most beautiful warm sunny day. the park was packed. people everywhere. it was nice to get out of my usual 3 mile radius, even if it was only downtown.

emmett gets a kick out of going fast down the sloped driveway. sister was nice and pushed him back up. fyi (in case you're worried) we live at the end of a non busy residential road. no cars come in front of my house unless they are visiting us.

she's in her element. my little fish.

protesting the water a bit. not like paise

she even tries to swim in 2 inches of water.

she's a climber too.

and very social.

well, look who likes puppies!

these two kids are so much fun to watch. i was thoroughly entertained by them the whole afternoon. the afternoon started rough and disappointing, but we made up for that by evening.

easter

2011-04-28T15:30:00.001-07:00

we have 9 am church. so easter morning was more like easter afternoon. as soon as we walked in the door from church we ripped open grandma and grandpa julie and frank's easter package. what a box of fun. matt and i even got personalized adult eggs with crisp green paper:) the kiddos got toys, candy, and an egg dying kit. of course we were all over that. i boiled the eggs and we colored them while little man napped. i also busted out some strawberry freezer jam with the 4 lbs. of strawberries my dad gave us the day before. then it was filling the plastic eggs and hiding them in the living room (because after 2 whole sunny days - of course the rain wouldn't stay away any longer). it was a low key afternoon and we spent it just us at home. but it was a much needed much earned relaxing sunday after a very long week.

hope you all had a wonderful easter. remember our savior's sacrifice and love for us all.

1/2 marathon #2

2011-04-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

i figure i'll just number them, because i plan on making this at least an annual thing if not more frequent. i just wish they weren't so darn expensive. this one i ran last weekend was called ladies dragonfly 1/2 marathon. it was put together by some women in my stake and they did an amazing job. we got really nice dryfit shirts, cute handmade medals and yummy healthy snacks after. even parking was included. the route went down vancouver lake and back around to frenchman's bar and then back up to the lake. it was a BEAUTIFUL PERFECT day. couldn't ask for better.

this was the 2nd year they've done it and the first year there were only 20. this year there were 65 of us. i bet it will just keep growing and growing. i ran with my good friend kelly from my ward who actually just started running this year. she is in great shape from other exercises but still running isn't for sissy's. i was proud of her. and despite what she may think, i was keeping up with her. :) anyway, it was A LOT of fun and much easier this time, even though my last one was 2 years ago before emmett. i know long runs help to prepare, but i also think cross training and boot camp really helped too.

matt met us down there when i was finished. it was a busy day and we left before i was able to get pictures at the race (in my sweaty clothes) with kelly. i was a little bummed about that. we met some friends at frenchman's bar right after for a little while and these were the only pictures of me that i have. matt took them with his new toy. yes he caved and bought an iphone 4g. we used to make fun of those. but he says he needed a smart phone for a new business venture he's doing on the side. we'll see.

now i guess the question is.... is there a marathon in my future??? maybe someday.

p.s. this is bethany in the pictures with me. she just had baby #3 little logan. he's adorable.

keep olympia weird?

2011-04-28T14:50:00.000-07:00

they say "keep portland weird" but they need to add olympia to that. after my 1/2 marathon we went up to olympia for an earth day parade and my sister's reception. this first picture is my sister and her daughter's creation for a wedding cake. it's actually cheesecake. it was delicious, but the topper was sooo carrie, and now sence. poor guy. just kidding. anyway this parade was unlike any other. i guess they do it every year and every year there is a different theme. this year was animals and it seems like habitats were included. what an interesting hour. emmett was completely entertained.

totally goofy. people really get into it though. i guess if we lived there we would probably dress upthe kids and do it too. become one with your surroundings right?

mr. and mrs. gonzalez

2011-04-19T14:06:00.000-07:00

my sister tied the knot last saturday!!! we've felt like sence has been part of the family for quite some time. but now there's no turning back. it's official. they were made for each other. i don't ever remember a time in my sister's life when she has been this happy. we love sence and are so happy he's part of our family.

for the ceremony we hiked up to the top of the astotia column. it was quite the adventure with such a large group and with little paisley and max. but what a neat experience to witness. their good friend armin officiated and wrote what was said. it was beautiful.

these pictures capture a portion of the experience

jarek, claire and andre. can you see them all the way down there?

bath time after a long day.

all ready for church on sunday.

this was emmett's favorite activity of the weekend. what a great team these two.

what a wonderful weekend we had. i'm so happy for carrie and sence. they are going to have a beautiful and full life together, congratulations you two! welcome to our crazy family!

emily

2011-04-19T13:46:00.000-07:00

this is matt's little sister. not so little anymore. she will be off to byu in a few weeks. crazy. when we first got married she was 10. just a little girl. now she's graduating high school and heading off to college. we are so proud of all her accomplishments. she is very talented and always works hard. it's no wonder she of course got in to byu and with a scholarship no less. way to go. we also were able to spend spring break with her. it's been a tradition since we moved out here nearly 5 years ago.

having a sushi break. matt had to work the whole week plus started a prep course this week too. but we managed to still get out a little.

paise and emmett trying some new things.

matt took paise and emily fishing and brought back a portion of the river.

pretty big portion eh?

we wish emily the best possible byu experience. we know you'll do great!

emmett's frist horsey ride.

2011-04-07T13:53:00.001-07:00

he did it! as soon as the bell dinged he quickly grabbed the pole like a pro. then the music began and the rest is horsey ride history.

wife carrying championship

2011-04-07T13:42:00.000-07:00

this is totally silly. but would be totally fun too. but unfortunately we live no where near maine. bummer. we still had to give it a try.

paise of course had to give it a try too. i'm sure it was much easier to carry her anyway.

check it out.

click on bert's wife carrying tips. great stuff.

before....

2011-04-03T23:34:00.001-07:00

i had taken these pictures randomely before the events in the below post happened.

her beautiful face and mouth. despite funny face.

BROKEN!

2011-04-03T23:20:00.001-07:00

my little beautiful girl is broken! we were playing in seaside and daddy and paisley were having a littel too much fun and an accident occured. i really had to calm my mind from getting upset. i mean there was absolutely nothing i could do to fix it or take it back. so i had to get over the shock and just love her even more. my heart still aches when i see it. her upper lip is extremely swollen so talking sounds different and smiling obviously isn't the same. hopefully when the swelling goes down, she will look a little better.

of course this year we took a year off from dental insurance because we all just had cleanings just before christmas. but i will still be taking her to a recommended pediodontist this week. we want to make sure her permanent tooth isn't damaged.

my poor baby.

luckily my parent's home teacher and former bishop is their dentist and was in town. he lives less than a mile from them and came by to see it. paise was scared and didn't want to open her mouth. but i finally got her to open a little and from what he saw he said he wouldn't be worried. the children's dentist he refers his astorian patients too happens to be here in vancouver and since we don't have insurance anyway, we'll be heading that way soon.

so. sad.

that's what sisters are for.

2011-04-03T23:13:00.001-07:00

who's this little princess i mean prince waiting so patiently for lunch?

that's right emmett, there is nothing wrong with showing your feminine side. just don't let daddy see. hehe.

the guilty girl.

he likes it!

bling bling.

alfalfa on steroids

2011-04-03T23:07:00.001-07:00

mealtimes are getting messier and messier. he used to just sit and open his mouth like an angel baby. but he's at the point where he wants to help. so even after i safely and carefully get the food into his mouth, he has to put his fingers in there and feel the food. the end result is usually food in the hair in multiple spots and acts as a psuedo gel.

ahh emmett.

OMSI

2011-04-03T22:46:00.000-07:00

my sister has an omsi membership and can get 4 adults and 8 kids in free. very cool for us! she took us twice last month. the first trip was with my parents and the second trip was with my dear friend jaclyn and her beautiful kiddos. jaclyn is due with a little boy in june and last year when emmett was born she gave me a bunch of boy clothes thinking she would probably never need them again. hehe. we also made the baby clothes exchange since she lives in tillamook and we don't see each other as often as we'd like. and she always delivers early and i probably won't see her before baby is born. so the pictures are from the two trips.

the silly camel and only spot where you can take pictures in the egyptian exhibit. i tried.

emmett found an acorn to snack on.

in his element.

paise as an astronaut

kennedy as an astronaut

kennedy as a babysitter. i liked that. she's going to be a great big sister. again!

chaos at the camel.

a little more organized.

concentration.

teaching emmett?

me and jaclyn. we haven't had a picture taken together in a LONG time.

thanks tam for taking us. we'll definitely get your money's worth with you.

no electricity = no problem

2011-03-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

we have had quite a combination of weather the past few weeks. snow, warmth and heat, and yesterday add fierce wind and heavy rain to the mix. we lost power for i think about an hour and a half. i had started dinner (beef stew) but had only done the first 1/2, simmering the beef. i hadn't added the veggies yet. lucky for us (or rather just prepared) we have a nice compact little camp stove matt was able to finish cooking our stew on. it's so nice to be married to an eagle scout. :)

i don't know how that little face came into the picture.

i thought i'd let the kids play with things they don't normally play with.

they had a great time playing with potatoes and pots and pans. that is until emmett started eating the raw potatoes. yuck i just couldn't let him.

it was kinda fun having no power since it was just for a short time and during daylight hours. not that i want this to happen again or anything but i am glad we have supplies to help us through it.

we took a walk.....

2011-03-14T14:21:00.000-07:00

to the park for the first time in quite a while. it got me excited for the better weather ahead. i love spending time outside, but i only love to when i am not shivering, spitting hair out of my mouth (wind), or being showered upon.

under-dog anyone?

yea for spring to come!!!

p.s. i noticed little red buds on our big front yard tree. :D