Family days!!

We had a family day together on Saturday!! We ran a few errands and then went to the park and played and also went for a little walk on the trails. The kokanee salmon are spawning right now and the kids loved to watch the fish in the creek. Then we came home for lunch and Jeff went mountain biking with his friend and I watched their little girl. I can hardly say "watched", because she sleep for 3 hours!!

That evening our friends came over for dinner and we had a great time!!

The kids just love being outside and the weather this week has been beautiful!! We are lovin' it. I can't believe that it will be October this week.

Sunday morning we went to church and then to over to our friends place for dinner and then to a meeting at church!! I actually have gone out twice this week in the evening...Jeff is always so great about staying home with the kids. But, he gets to go out biking and running, so we balance each other out!

Watching the fish in the creek...

Yesterday, I went on a field trip with Megan's kindergarten class. We went (again) to the Park to see the kokanee salmon spawning. Megan and many of the other kids had never been on a school bus, so it was really cute to watch them...they were so excited!!

This is how Marty likes to go on the teeter-totter...

Megan was so happy that I came along on the field trip. I think I mentioned it before, but she is having a bit of a hard time with school these days. She has been crying almost every day because she misses us. It just breaks my heart to see her sad, but I know I have to keep pushing her. Her teacher said that she is a little sad when she first comes to school, but a few minutes later she seems happy. She has made some new friends and I think that helps. I sat with her teacher on the bus on the field trip yesterday and we had a great chat. She is such a great lady!! She said that quite a few of the kids are having difficulty with the transition, especially with the full day kindergarten. I'm really not a fan of the full day kindergarten:(

Yesterday, Megan and Gabby started swimming lessons. I have them in a different program this time. It's called WETS swimming. It's supposed to really help them learn to swim, as apposed to just playing games and singing songs. There are only 4 kids in the class, the other 2 kids are a brother/sister. Megan and Gabby were both a little hesitant at the beginning. Gabby was SO stubborn...the teacher would ask her to do something and she would just sit on the step and say "no"!! But, by the end of the hour, both girls were in the water and having fun. Megan and Gabby were both blowing bubbles and almost putting their faces in the water. So, we'll see how next week goes. They are both still talking about it and saying how fun it was!!

A new women's bible study started this morning at our church! It's a Beth Moore study on Esther. We watched the first video today and it was awesome. She is very full of life and entertaining. I think it's going to be a great study. And it's been overwhelming with the growth of our church and there are about 50 women attending this bible study!! It's so exciting to see what God is doing....

Oh...and I want to wish my brother-in-law Curtis, a very happy birthday today!!!

Brothers, Birthdays & Bikes

My brother came up for the weekend and we had a great time with him!! The kids love to play and horse around with uncle!!

We had some friends and my brother over for dinner on Friday night and then we just spent the evening visiting away...

Friday night, I started to get a sore throat and had a horrible sleep. Megan had a runny nose last week and now Jeff, Gabby and I have the cold. It's not too bad, but it's never fun being sick.

Saturday morning, Jeff, the kids and I ran some errands and then Jeff bought himself a brand new mountain bike!! He is so excited about it. He has been looking for one and doing lots of research for a while now and finally he decided on one. It was on sale, but still expensive in my books! He hasn't had a chance to go for a ride yet, because the weather has been awful...SO wet and rainy:(

A close up...

Sunday morning we went to church and then we had to leave a little early to get to a birthday party at noon! It was at the Energyplex and the kids loved the gymnastics play time there. I had never been there before, but Jeff's mom takes the girls there probably once a month or so, so the girls knew exactly what to do! Then the kids had pizza and birthday cake and then played some more. The only downfall was that the place was PACKED, it was raining outside on a Sunday afternoon and I guess everyone had the same idea!

Megan is doing really well at school. She is in her second week of full days now. We miss her a lot in the days and we are all very excited to see each other at 2:30pm!! Every morning when we take Megs to school, Gabby asks to get too and she's a little sad when I tell her she can go to school when she is 5. I'm going to start taking Gabby to a parent/child preschool. I'm thinking about going once a week. It's a drop in preschool and it's open every day from 8:45 - 11:30am...and it's free!! I used to go when Megan was little, but we haven't been in a few years. I think Gabby will love it:)

Megan told me today when she got home from school, that she cried a little bit at school. I asked her why and she said because she missed us. She said the teacher sat and talked with her and then she felt better! I really think this full day kindergarten is a little much for a 5 year old. There have been several kids in Megan's class that have had real difficulty being away from their parents all day.

Gabby refused to smile for the picture...

I can not believe the weather we have been having this month. I was talking to my neighbour today and we said that it has rained every day since the kids started school. It felt like we had such a short summer this year:( There was quite a big storm her the other day and there was a beautiful rainbow, actually 2...

But, in this cooler weather, we have been enjoying the hot tub a lot!! The kids love being in there. The girls start swimming lessons next week and I think they are going to do great! They are in a class together and I hope that helps them to be brave in the water!

Firsts

I still can't believe that our Meggie is old enough to go to school! I still get a little choked up thinking about it. She started Kindergarten yesterday. She only went for one hour and I stayed with her for her first day.

Here's Megs on the morning of her first day of school. I asked her what she wanted for breakfast, I would make her anything she wanted. She said stuffed french toast...so that's what she got!!
Ohhh...my sweet girl goes to school!

She was a little nervous and excited to go. She has a really nice teacher and a great classroom, that looks really fun! Today, she goes by herself for 2 hours. And believe it or not, there are 2 other Megan's and one Maggie in her class this year!!

Walking her to school...

Next Wednesday will be her first full day of school, until then she goes a few hours every day.

Also, on Monday she learned to ride a 2 wheeler bike!! We are so excited and proud of her. We took the training wheels off her bike awhile ago, but she didn't seem confident to try it on her own. The whole family went outside on Monday morning and Jeff moved all the vehicles off our driveway and carport. So the kids had lots of space to ride around.

Megan just kept trying and trying and finally she got her balance and she was so happy. After that, she was confident and excited and everyday she practices riding and is getting better!! Pretty soon she will be able to go on a bike ride:)

Marty loved taking a turn on the "big" bike!

Gabby loves to ride her bike too!

Jeff got the hot tub up and running last week and the weather has been cooler, so we are enjoying it! We took Marty in for the first time on the weekend. He was a little unsure at first, but now he LOVES it. Jeff took the kids in the hot tub last night(while I was out) and he said Marty has no fear and will try to jump into the hot tub from the side!! We will definitely have to watch that little guy.

Hugs for Auntie Annie...

Uncle Curt and Auntie Annie came for a visit this past weekend and we spent lots of time with them!! On Saturday, Jeff's mom (thank you so much mom!) watched the kids and the rest of us went to some wineries in Oliver. It was lots of fun and a beautiful day...

Our first stop...

But, then on the way home, I was driving and I hit a deer with our van:( I felt awful about it. None of us saw the deer coming down the hill and then he ran right onto the road and I hit him. There was no time to react. He wasn't a very big deer, but the hood of our van has a big dent and our one head light is smashed and the front bumper has a crack in it.

The view from the top was amazing!

We always have fun with Curt and Annie and the kids absolutely adore them!! They bought the girls each a sticker book and Marty a little board book and it kept them entertained for a long time...so fun! They came over with mom yesterday to watch Marty and Gabby while I took Megs to school and they went in the hot tub with them and had a blast!! I am so thankful that our kids are so well loved by so many people:)

10 years!!

Ten years ago today, I married my best friend!! What a great day that was. God has blessed us and continues to bless us. I am overflowing with blessings and thankfulness for the past 10 years with Jeff and look forward to many more....I look back and think in some ways, it feels like much longer than 10 years and other times, if seems like it can't be that long! I could not ask for a better man for me. Jeff, thank you for always being there for me and loving me no matter what. Thank you for this incredible journey of being parents together. Thank you for working so hard to provide for our family. Thank you for the way you love me and our kids!! You make me a better person and I love you more than words can say.

A Marriage Prayer

Lord, be in this marriage

In a special way,

May we feel Your presence

Each and every day.

Grant us both good humor

To surpass our coming years;

May there always be much laughter,

May there always be less tears.

Give us strength and courage

To follow in Your will,

To trust You in the valley

As we do upon the hill.

Give us both the eyes of love

So we'll always see

The goodness in each other,

Secure us, Lord, in Thee.

Give us words of kindness,Lord,

Help us both to live

So our lips are ever quick

In saying, "I forgive."

Give us hearts that beat as one,

Bind us ever near;

May our love grow deeper,Lord,

With each passing year.

Lord, be in this marriage,

Keep our love brand new;

May we love each other, Lord,

The same way that *You* do.

Happy 10th Anniversary to you Jeff, I love you!!

Las Vegas!!

We came back home on Saturday night after an incredible vacation in Las Vegas!! We had an absolute blast with our friends and enjoyed every minute of our trip.

We had SO many pictures, so I'll try to pick my favorites to share!

We drove down to Bellingham on Tuesday morning. We left home about 6am(thanks SO much mom for coming that early to watch the kids!) and arrived in Belligham about 10am. We stopped at Wal-Mart to get a few things and then went to the Airport to check in. We arrived in Vegas at about 3:30pm. And it was HOT, HOT, HOT!!!

We checked into our hotel and the first room we had smelled like smoke, so we asked to be moved. The second room we had, someone was still staying in!! So...finally we got a room after that. We stayed at the MGM Grand hotel and it was great! We decided to check out the Strip and enjoy the evening! The boys went on the Rollercoaster at the New York New York hotel and then we stopped at a few other hotels.We had dinner at Caesar's Palace and then watched a few fountain shows at the Bellagio. The fountains were one of my favorite things about Vegas...they were just so beautiful!! We headed to bed at about 11:30pm that night and that was a earliest night of the whole trip.

The next morning we got up and had breakfast at the hotel buffet(we had free vouchers because of the inconvience of our room changes). Then we went to Tix for Tonight to see what we could get for shows tickets! We got tickets for Cirque de Soleil(Mystere) and Phantom of the Opera. Both shows were awesome, but my favorite was Phantom....seriously AMAZING!! Loved every minute of it. Jen and I did a little shopping at ROSS while the boys waited in line at the ticket place. Then we walked around a bit and then went back to our hotel and spent the afternoon at the pools.

I had an ice cream cone for dessert for breakfast...

Our hotel had 5 pools and a lazy river!! It was beautiful and felt so nice since the weather was so HOT. Every day was between 40-42 degrees!!!

It was my birthday that day and we went out to a nice little restaurant for appies before going to our Cirque show. Jeff gave me the best gift...he had video taped messages from the kids for my birthday. They talked and sang to me in the video. And he also gave me a card that the kids had written in. It was so special and I was crying like crazy...it really touched my heart and it made me really miss our kids. I think I have a pretty incredible and thoughtful husband:)

Here we are at the restaurant and I'm opening the card from Jeff and the kids...
We watched our Cirque show and then met up with Kristi and Basil back at the hotel, as they had just arrived. They hadn't eaten dinner yet, so we went to another restaurant. Then we just walked around the Strip again and made our way back to the hotel. The Strip is really long, probably 2 miles and we walked so much on the trip. We definitely got our exercise!!

The next day(Thursday) we all slept in...until 9:00am!!! Then we met for breakfast and then Jeff and us girls headed to the outlet mall for a day of shopping. Isaac and Basil went to the Stratosphere hotel to go on some rides. The outlet mall was great and Jeff got tons of clothes for great deals. I didn't get too much for the myself, but that's okay because Jeff needs clothes WAY more than I do.

We came back to the hotel after shopping and we all got dressed up and ready to go to Phantom of the Opera. It was so fun getting dressed up to go out every night!! The guys had brought along fancy dress clothes too, but we figured it would be torture for them to wear them in the smokin' hot temperatures!
Phantom of the Opera was AMAZING!!! We all loved it. The shows in Vegas are just incredible and there is so much talent there. After dinner, our wonderful friends took us out for dinner for our anniversary!! Seriously, we have the best friends ever:) Friday was our last full day in Vegas and we took a Taxi down to "Old Vegas"!! We walked around there for awhile and the boys played some black jack in one of the casinos. The gambling is cheaper in old Vegas then on the Strip. It was another hot day, so we went back to the hotel and went straight to the pool!!

Just being silly!
A photo with some "Vegas" ladies...
Awww...the beautiful pools!
Me and my honey...

That evening, we all decided to go our separate ways for dinner. We had a free voucher for the buffet, so Jeff and I went there for dinner. We all met up after dinner again and walked the Strip. Kristi and Basil had an early flight the next morning, so they went to bed. Jen, Isaac, Jeff and I went to watch the pirate show at Treasure Island, but it was cancelled because it was windy. So, we headed back up the Strip towards our hotel. We stopped to watch a few more fountain shows at the Bellagio.

Jen and I were so tired after walking most of the day and it was probably midnight by this time. Jeff and Isaac wanted to go back to "Old Vegas" to see the laser light show. They hopped in a taxi and got home about 2am and we were up by 7am to catch our flight back to Bellingham.

We were all tired and just rested and tried to sleep on the flight home, but we were in the back of the plane and it was SO loud:( We stopped at Walmart in Bellingham on the way home to get a few things and then made it home around 6pm that night. We were so excited to see the kids after 5 days away!! And I think they were excited to see us too.

It was an absolutely awesome vacation and a great way to celebrate my birthday and our 10th wedding anniversary!! We are incredibly thankful for our friends for making the trip with us. And we are incredibly thankful for our parents for looking after our kids while we were away. We couldn't have done it without you, we love you...THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! We are so blessed with amazing friends and family in our life...my heart is full:)