Abby's 9th!

My oldest is 9! I can't believe it. It's gone by so so fast. Abby is such a light in my life. I am so grateful to have her. She is a huge help with Davis, a wonderful friend to Emma and such a good buddy to me. She makes us laugh all the time and I just couldn't love her more!

We had a pirate party at the park (thank goodness for the great weather). We switch off years between family and friend parties and this year was a family year. We celebrated with our fantastic cousins. It was a great night, thanks for a good party Abby. She planned the whole thing.

Davis and Thomas took to the pirate thing right away!

Here are all the pirates, aren't they scary? :)

Abby planned a scavenger hunt and hid the clues all around the park. These were the prizes at the end.

The cake! The girls decorated it themselves. It ended up with about 10 times more candy than if I would have done it. I'm sure that's why they volunteered!

The Harry Potter obsession continues!

The doll I made Abby for her birthday.

Another set to add to the collection!

Mother's Day

I love Mother's Day! Not only because I don't have to cook or clean and I get breakfast in bed, although those are nice perks, but because I love to have a day to celebrate the wonderful blessings of having a mother and being a mother. I have the most wonderful Mom in the world, really. She has always been my biggest supporter and best friend. We have always been close and even though we have lived in different states for quite a while now, I still consider her my best friend. And now my kids get to love her as their amazing grandmother. Thanks Mom!

I have said it a million times but have to say it again on Mother's Day, I absolutely consider myself the luckiest person to be able to be a mom and have the 3 wonderful kids I do. No, they are not perfect and I for sure won't pretend they are. But they are so perfect for our family and I love each of them so much just the way they are. They make me want to be a better person, they make me laugh and cry and I wouldn't trade them for the world!

Justin got called into the hospital early in the morning so the girls were on their own for breakfast in bed. This is the fantastic breakfast they came up with. So glad they didn't forget the Smarties and Tic Tacs, I never go without those first thing in the morning :)

Luckily Justin made it home in the afternoon and took over cooking and cleaning duty so I could sit on the couch and do what I love doing best . . . reading to my kiddos! Thanks Justin and kids for a great Mother's Day. I hope you all had a good one too!

Inspiration

What an amazing weekend of General Conference, family, food, and sunny Portland weather. I am feeling inspired by the uplifting messages from conference. I've been feeling the need to hug my husband and kids a little tighter, spend more time on the things that matter, and recognize all the blessings in my life. I can't say enough how grateful I am for my family, immediate and extended. What a gift!

Happy April Fool's Day!

Woke up to this in my bed this morning. I was glad that it wasn't the stuffed rat that Abby usually strategically places around the house to scare me. Still made me scream though. You better watch your back Abby :) I've got some plans!

Happiest Place on Earth!

Ahh, what a great week we had at Disneyland! It only could have been made better by a little bit more sun and a little less rain but all in all, it was perfect. I actually think our kids do better in the cool weather than they do in warm weather. They are products of San Francisco and Portland weather and don't handle the heat very well. So the weather was actually perfect for them. We drove down (17 hours) from Portland and spent 4 days in Disneyland. Justin's parents met us there and it was a blast to have them with us. Justin's dad had his fancy camera there so I left most of the picture taking to him but haven't gotten those pictures yet so I thought I would post some of mine.

Davis' souvenir was this amazing battery-operated bubble blower. I'm not kidding, it filled the street with bubbles in a matter of seconds. He LOVED it!

I've decided that the girls are at the perfect age for Disneyland. They are big enough to go on everything and are old enough not to want to wait in line for all the characters :) They were so much fun on this trip and loved every ride!

Does he look happy or what?!

I think the ears they picked out fit their personalities perfectly and it made me so happy to see them wearing them around.

Enjoying the sun on Tom Sawyers island.

Too tired to even change into pajamas . . . we wore them out!

Ferris wheel with grandma!

Oh Davis was so excited to see these guys!

Waiting for the Bug's Life 3D movie.

Yes, I do still carry around my 40 pound 2 year old. He's my baby, okay!

Davis loved this "pataliller" train.

Oh how I love these kids.

Finding Nemo submarine.

Waiting in line with Grandma. On the first day as we were walking up to the security line Davis said, "I said I didn't want to wait in any lines!" Too bad, buddy!

Have you had these corn dogs from Disneyland? They are unreal. I won't say how many I ate while we were there.

On the Disneyland train. This was the first ride we went on. As soon Davis saw it when we walked through the gates, there was no way we were going to make it past without going on it. On the last day, Justin rode it 3 times in a row with Davis while the girls and I rode some "big" rides. I think Davis would have sat on it all day if we let him.

Awww!

Enjoying some take out Chinese food in the hotel.

What I didn't get pictures of were: the amazing fireworks and light shows, Emma's priceless face on Tower of Terror, us drenched from the downpour, the "date night" Justin and I had in the park after Justin's parents took the kids back to bed, and all the squeals of joy from the kids!

Happy 33 Justin!

Happy Birthday Justin! (one day late :) We just want you to know that we LOVE you so much and are thankful beyond words to have you in our lives. You are an amazing dad and husband and you brighten our lives every day. Thank you for balancing your life so well so that we always feel like you put us first despite all of the other demands on your time. 33 sure looks good on you! Love you!

Lanie, Abby, Emma and Davis

Birthday Fun!

The day started out with breakfast with friends; crepes with strawberries and homemade cinnamon syrup before they headed off to school.

Then Davis and I met Emma at school and got to eat lunch with her and a few of her friends.

Then cake decorating at home for me. She wanted a flower garden cake this year.

After a birthday dinner of pesto penne and iceberg wedges with homemade ranch (Emma's request), we headed to Sky High to bounce the night away.

Here's Davis launching into the foam pit for about the hundredth time.

Then home for cake and ice cream (mint chocolate chip of course).

And we finished off the night with presents . . . does she look excited?

What can I say, they are obsessed!

Emma, we love you so much! We had a great day with you!

Happy Birthday Emma!

I can't believe my little girl is 7 today! What a great 7 years it has been with her in our lives. Emma you are such a joy in our home. You are sweet and helpful and a peacemaker; all we could ask for in a daughter. Here's a little bit about Emma at age 7:

Interests: Anything Harry Potter (books, movies, legos, wands), reading, drawing, riding bikes and scooters, playing with Abby

Favorite Foods: Iceberg wedges with homemade ranch, pasta, pizza, tomatoes, peppers

Looking forward to: going to Disneyland in a few weeks, swimming this summer

Loves: Being with family, watching America's Funniest Videos, reading with mom, playing outside, math, and reading

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA!

Portland Timbers

As you may have noticed, I've been a bit behind on blogging for the last . . . well, year or so. So, I might be posting some older pictures in an attempt to catch up a little bit. Last summer we went to a Portland Timbers game with the kiddos. It was so fun. The girls are really into soccer so they loved seeing a real soccer game on that "huge" field. It was the loudest event I think I've ever been to though (and I've been to some really loud things before). There were some drum players that never stopped playing the entire match. It was also "bring your dog" night so Davis was in heaven as well. A good night all around.

Ready to Start Again!

So I've taken a break from blogging. Not even an intentional break, just seems like time has gotten away from me but I've been missing blogging. I know that Facebook is the new way to keep in touch but I miss this more personal way of "photo journaling" what is going on in our lives. It seems like time keeps going by faster and faster and I find myself already feeling a bit melancholy for this time in my life when my kids are little and things are really simple and wonderful. So . . . that said, I am going to try to get back on the blogging bandwagon and whether anyone will read this anymore or not, I will have it for my own memory's sake.

I call this one "I'm such a boy but I have 2 older sister I idolize."

Being Grateful . . .

I am grateful for so many things this year! Here are just a few:

- of course, my wonderful family (immediate and extended)

- that Justin is done interviewing and won't be going out of town again any time soon

- to live in such a beautiful part of the country

- for the trucks and trains that keep Davis busy so I can have a little bit of peace in the day

- for the hugs and kisses from my children (and from Justin :)

- for down coats that keep us warm

- for snow (come soon please)

- for a knowledge of Jesus Christ and all that He means to us

- for good books to read and for kids that love to be read to

- for good food to eat and make

- for good health (except for the strep throat I have right now, but that will pass)

- for a warm place for my kids to sleep

- for chocolate (especially Lindt's sea salt dark)

- for parents who love us and our kids

- for good music and dance parties in our living room

- for wrestling matches

- for Sunday drives

- for mountains and beaches close by

Like I said, the list could go on and on. I'll save some for the next few days. What are you grateful for this year?

Chicago - Final Day

Okay, we're coming to a close on the Chicago trip. When I stretch it out like this it seems like it was a lot longer than a week. The last day we were there I took a double decker tour and ended up back at the Museum Campus where I had been the day before so I could go to the Field Museum. The bus tour was great, the guide was super knowledgable and since I was the only one on the tour, except for about 4 minutes of it, I could ask all the questions I wanted. And I did. Surprise, surprise, I know.

I may look lonely on this bus all by myself but I was actually having a blast!

More Sears Tower, that thing is seriously tall. If you look really closely on the left side of the building you can see those little glass boxes I was standing in in the previous post.

Picture of Soldier Stadium as we drove by, this one's for my Bears Fan brothers!

The Field Museum was pretty incredible. They had the largest collection of taxidermied animals you could imagine. I didn't think I was so into taxidermied animals in general, but this was really something. We're talking elephants, giraffes, every sort of bird imaginable, armadillos . . . really everything. Like the zoo but better because they didn't move so you could really look at them.

This here is Sue the T-Rex. Sue is famous apparently because she is the largest, most extensive, and best preserved t-rex ever found. She was also auctioned off for over 8 million dollars, the most money ever spent for a dinosaur. She ended up in Chicago and this is me hanging out with her. She is pretty sweet.

This ended our last day in Chicago. Oh and we ate to-die-for seafood at Shaw's Crab house that night. It was a great way to end our trip! We made it home to our babies just in time, I was so ready to squeeze them! I don't think they much noticed that we were gone because they had so much fun with Grandma. She did take them to Baja Fresh and Taco Bell after all and they will love her forever for it!