Halloween . . . Finally!

I knew I had to get these on the blog before Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a great Halloween. Justin laughs at me for saying that it is one of my favorite holidays, but it just is. I love it! I love the costumes, the decorations, the trick or treating, the Snickers, all of it. We had a great one this year. The girls are still young enough to love trick or treating and old

enough for us not to have to remind them to say thank you after each house. Here are a few pictures from the big night.

My little witches getting ready for trick or treating

Me and the Wizard

Yes, the legs were a little short when he's sitting down but I mean really, have you ever seen a cuter little lion, I couldn't stop squishing his little face!

Yes, it's true, I do get to cuddle him all day!

So, I do realize looking at this picture that Davis looks a little out of place . . .

Hope you all had a good one!

A few recent gems . . .

I know I really should be posting Halloween pictures on here and I will get to that. But I wanted to share a few of the many crazy things that come out of Abby's mouth on a daily basis. That girl seriously cracks us up.

Abby: But Mom, you and Dad can just leave us here while you go out. We don't need a babysitter.

Justin: What would you do if we left you here alone? (don't worry, he wasn't really considering it, just curious what her answer would be)

Abby: (shrugging her shoulders) I dunno, probably just dance on the tables naked.

Okay, I must say here that she has never seen either of us do that or, to my knowledge, seen that in any movie or T.V. show. I don't know where she comes up with this stuff. We got a babysitter by the way!

Next one:

Lanie: Abby, I really want you to take it easy today so you can get better soon!

Abby: (looking at me with a bored look) Really Mom, I thought I was going to an Extreme Tree-Climbing Competition today.

Thanks for always making us laugh Abby!

The Little Big Man Turns 1 !!!!!

Our little guy turned one this past week. Wow, I know it's so cliche, but it went by so fast. He went from being the most cuddly, squishy, calm little thing to being a big crazy 1 year old with so much funny personality. We have had the best year with you Davis. You keep us busy and laughing all day long. We are so grateful to have you in our family - we love you Davey-doo! Happy Birthday!

Seattle Weekend

Okay, I am starting at the present and will work my way back (since I've missed about 5 months of blogging). I just realized I never even posted pictures of Abby's b-day in May. I'll get there, slowly but surely!

So, as for this past weekend . . . it was FANTASTIC! Justin had an Ophthalmology conference in Seattle so Davis and I tagged along. We left the girls with our dear friends (thanks again Cary and Matt) but don't feel bad for them for being left behind, they had a total party. I don't think they wanted us to come back.

Justin had meetings all day on Saturday so Davis and I literally hit the pavement for 8 hours straight. I love Seattle. What a great city! We went to the Public Library (I forgot my camera that day - but do go if you are ever in Seattle, it is worth seeing). We shopped and shopped - mostly window but it was fun anyway. We ate at fun cafes and we played on the grass at the waterfront. Davis proved himself to be a worthy shopping companion and didn't even fuss once during his 8 hour stroller imprisonment. The sun was shining and we had a great time.

The next day Justin had morning meeting but we got to walk around in the SUNSHINE (yes it does happen here in the northwest people!) all day again. We hit the Space Needle, the Pacific Science Center, the "cool fountain" (I don't know what it's called), Pike Place and some more walking. Thanks for a great weekend boys!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

I don't know how I'm ever going to catch up on all the summer activities, but I'm committed to try. . . at least right now I am. A few weeks ago we got to take the girls to a Portland Beavers vs. Salt Lake Bees game. The girls were so torn about who to root for but it didn't end up really mattering since it was about the lowest scoring baseball game in the history of the game. But we didn't care - we had hot dogs and ice cream sandwiches and that's what really matters, right? After the game they let everyone down on the field to watch Star Wars. The girls were more interested in practicing handstands and cartwheels than watching the movie. It was a fun night - the stuff summer is made of!

Dear Blog,

. . . We haven't visited you in a while. It is summer and we have been busy doing a lot of important things like riding bikes, picking berries, swimming, going for walks, eating popsicles, visiting the Portland sites, and learning to survive 108 degree weather without air conditioning. We're sorry we haven't had time for you but we will visit again soon. Don't give up on us but summer flies by too quickly and we don't want to miss it. See you soon.

The Wilkinsons

Blogging is like journaling, when you get so far behind it almost gets to a point where you don't know where to start again. We have been having a great summer so far. We were lucky enough to have both of our families come and visit and we had a blast - as we always do when they are here. We've been swimming, hanging out at the beach, trying to be a little productive and mostly enjoying the beautiful Portland summer (a little more sun would be nice please!). We hope you are all having a great summer and not working too hard :)

Just Another Day at the Park!

Sunday Evening Thoughts

So I usually don't use our blog as a venue for expressing my deeper thoughts. I seem to use it more as a photo journal instead. But, the house is quiet (Justin is camping with the girls this weekend) and the baby is sleeping and I am contemplating a few things. I seem to keep coming back to the same thought lately and I want to see if anyone can shed some light on it for me. Or maybe by writing it down, I can shed some light on it myself. Why do we insist on finding the negative aspects of each other and focusing on them. Why do we speak unkindly about others to our friends? Why is it easier to do that than to find nice things to say? Why are we intolerant of each other's flaws or actions? Why do we care? Why can't we just let people be? This sounds so negative. I know that there is much kindness and love in the world. But I am thinking right now about this "syndrome" of "speaking unkindly". I've noticed that it seems to start at an early age (I didn't know the "mean girl" syndrome hit as early as first grade, but apparently it does) and seems to continue throughout our lives. I've been really feeling a push lately to focus on kindness and tolerance. I think because my kids are at an age where I really am pushing this with them and I'm realizing that every thing I say in their presence affects the way they see the world. When they hear me being intolerant of flaws I seem to find in others, this gives them license to do the same. I want so much to be able to dismiss the negative and focus on the positive in my relationships with others. I want others to do this with me too because I know I have much to work on. Tell me how you do this, I want your thoughts!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

9 years of marriage! (How embarrassing, my mom just reminded me that it's actually only been 8 years of marriage - ha ha, sorry honey) I just can't believe how much we have packed into these short 9 (really 8) years that we have been married. This October I will have known Justin for 13 (really it has been 13) years. So much has happened in those 13 years. We had no idea how life would turn out for us but we couldn't be happier about where we are and what we are doing with our lives. There's so much more in store, we can't wait to see how life continues to unroll for our family. So far we've had (in no particular order): 3 kids, 3 graduations, 3 states of residence, 3 foreign countries visited, and countless wonderful memories. I love you JT - you are such a light in my life. Thank you for your amazing positive outlook, tireless work ethic, and for being the anchor and joy in my life. Happy Anniversary and here's to many more to come!

Pictures are from our bike ride (without children - thanks Marissa) last weekend along the Willamette River that runs right through downtown Portland. It was beautiful and we were reminded yet again how lucky we are to live in such a fabulous city!

Happy Spring!

Every year (okay, just the last 2 years since we've lived in Portland) we've gone to the Woodburn Tulip Festival. I love it! What could be better than acres and acres of beautiful tulips of every color you can imagine. This year I got to go with my mom which made it even better. Thanks for being a great date Mom! There's nothing like beautiful flowers to make everything seem new and beautiful and good in the world.

(This tractor one is for you Dad!)

They Know Too Much!

This is a conversation that went down in our home a few days ago:

Emma: Mom, can I have one of those orange drinks (referring to the orange cream sodas left over from our Spring Break trip)

Me: No Emma, we don't have any left.

Emma: Can we buy some at the store?

Me: Sure.

Emma: When?

Me: Sometime.

Emma: Okay.

At this point Emma walks in the bedroom and tells Abby in an excited tone of voice: "Guess what Abby, Mom says we can buy some orange drinks at the store sometime."

Abby lovingly puts her hand on Emma's shoulder, gives her a look of pity and shakes her head.

Abby: Emma, let me tell you something. When mom says "sometime", that means never.

Emma: Awwww.

Now this is not totally fair as I am sure that sometime I will buy them an orange cream soda, I just don't know when! 

Happy Easter!

We hope you had a great one!

Newport Spring Break Fun

March '09 - Spring Break Newport

So, we're thinking Davis likes to suck his fingers! It's always those middle two and sometimes he has to use the other hand to hold them in, just in case they try to fall out. It's cute right now, I'm sure we won't love it in a few years when he's still sucking on them. But it sure is useful in the middle of the night when he finds them and puts himself back to sleep.

Wicked!

To kick off our Spring Break vacation last week (more photos of that to come), we went and saw Wicked. I LOVED it. I am such a sucker for musicals and this one did not disappoint. The music was so catchy, the story was so clever. I just loved it, loved it. It made me want to do a little dance when it was over. Plus, dates sans children are few and far between these days and it's always nice to feel like I can sit through something without stopping every few minutes to dig for a distraction from the magical diaper bag. Thanks for another great date Justin! 

New Milestone - Davis is Sitting Up!

Something New to Look At

I needed something new to look at, I couldn't look at those pictures of me anymore. This is much cuter. We had to get Davis a hat and tie, I mean, what is cuter than a baby in a tie. Who says boys are no fun to dress!