Thanks Aunt Michelle...

What do you do when you have 2 girls that scream and cry every time you pick up a brush to do their hair?

Have their favorite Aunt give them "magic" Princess brushes that have "special" powers and watch those tears disappear. Ever since the girls got these brushes we have not had any problems doing their hair each morning. I would have paid a thousand dollars for these brushes. Thank you Aunt Michelle!

Kyla's picks...

One of Kyla's favorite things about school is Library Day. She loves to be able to choose her books to check out. Even though we visit the local library weekly she still feels quite proud to be able to do this by herself at school. It gives her great pleasure to bring them home and share them with us. Today she decided she wanted to share her picks with everyone each week. So these are her picks for the week. Stay tuned for next week.

Taking the trail...

Today Jill and I walked to the school to pick up Kyla. They have just built a brand new trail from our neighborhood to the school. The walk is only about 10 minutes. It was fun taking the trail. Jill and I plan on taking the trail a few times a week. On the way home we stopped at our favorite tree for a few pics.

a few shots from the week...

Jill showing us her jumping jacks.

Kyla looking so happy with Dad.

Jill just chillin'.

Kyla showing off her soccer sweatshirt.

Jill hiding under the blanket at Kyla's soccer game. She was done.

Game night...

Tonight we had family game night and played a few hands of UNO. Kyla did a great job dealing and Jill even won a hand. Everyone was having fun until Maddie decided she was done and scattered the cards everywhere. Silly dog.

Jill received some new rain gear for her birthday. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa. It has come in handy for our trips to the bus stop. I have to say she looks pretty darn cute.

Patiently waiting....

Ted rarely gets to sleep in on the weekends and this is what happens when he does. Maddie patiently waits outside the bedroom until he gets up. On this morning she waited for almost an hour.

I usually never do these....

Here goes....

A- Attached or single: Attached
B- Best Friend: Ted
C-Cake or Pie: My mom’s Blueberry Pie
D- Day of Choice: Friday
E- Essential Item: Diet Soda
F- Favorite Color: Shades of brown
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: neither
H- Hometown: Bothell, WA
I- Indulgence(s): Chocolate
J- January or July: July
L-Life is incomplete without: Ted and my girls
M- Marriage Date: August 14th, 1999
N- Number of Siblings: 2 (+1+2) blended family
O- Oranges or Apples: Apples (only Fuji)
P- Phobias or Fears: Claustrophobia and Bears
Q- Quote(s): "Live, Laugh, Learn"
R- Reason To Smile: Ted singing the circular motion song
S- Season: Late Summer
T- Tag Three: anyone who reads this and has a blog
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I do not enjoy talking on the phone. Though a lot of you might already know that.
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: Meat please.
W- Worst Habit: Making lists? I make a list for everything...
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds
Y- Your Favorite Food:Thai
Z- Zodiac: Pisces (in every sense of the word...)

So I have been neglecting the blog for a while now. Our days are filled with school, soccer and tons of birthdays this month. I promise I will re-commit to the almost daily updates soon. We are finally getting into the swing of things since school started and falling into somewhat of a routine. I will get my creative juices flowing once again soon. Thanks!

Jill's Birthday Party

Saturday we celebrated Jill's 3rd birthday with a few friends. We had a scavenger hunt, played hullabaloo and colored Strawberry Shortcake pictures. It was a lot of fun. Thank you for everyone who came to help us celebrate. Jill had a blast!


Her friends...Hope, Emma & Hazel


Playing Hullabaloo

Eating Yummy Pizza.

Making a wish.

Check out my new Fancy Nancy hat!

Birthday Morning.

Listening to the phone call from Dora. Yes that's right. Dora actually called and wished Jill a Happy Birthday. It was so cute. Thanks Grandma Kay and Grandpa Bob!

Happy Birthday Jill!

Today Jill turns 3! I can't hardly believe it!

Here are just a few reasons we love you so...

• You are fiercly determined.


• You make us laugh with the silly things you say.


• You are a great sister and love to share. (Most of the time that is!)


• You are not afraid to be "just Jill"


• You love to start every sentence with ummm....But...


• You like to try new and exciting things.


• You give great big knock em down hugs.


• You bring us lots and lots of joy!


• You are wise beyond your years.
  
  Happy Birthday Spicy!

The other day Jill (almost 3 yrs) and I were out and about running some errands. She says to me, "Mom, the world is full of mysterious things." I have no idea where she got this one.

first week of school completed

We have finished our first full week of school. It was exciting, scary, and exhausting but we made it! Now that we are in full swing and love school we can talk about how crazy this first few days were. It took Kyla 4 days before she stepped off the school bus and stated "I had a GREAT day!" I had been anxiously awaiting some positive feedback from her and knew it would come in time. Lucky for us it only took a few days. I love Kyla's school and her teacher but would have to say that they did not adequately prepare us and the kids for the first day. There was no one waiting to show the kids were to go when they got off the bus, and the cafeteria was overwhelming and overstimulating but somehow they all survived. I ended up putting Kyla on the bus in the am and then rushing to the school each day to lead her and a handful of other kids to their classroom. By Thursday she was ready to handle it herself with a little help from her new friend Billy. (I think she is quite smitten but that will be an entirely different post I'm sure.) We are excited for the school year and can't wait to see what challenges and adventures it has in store for us!

So in the last week or so I have recieved over 250 hits on this blog. MOre than I would ever imagine. Tell me who you are out there reading this. I'd love to hear from you.

Jill's first day of preschool

Jill started her first drop off, no parent preschool today and she was thrilled. She has been begging for a school in Bellingham since last winter. When I got out of the car to walk her to school she turned to me with a disgusted look and said "You not staying are you?" I said no and her disgust turned to sheer joy! Jill had a great first day and is looking forward to next week. What on earth am I going to do with all my free time???

Happy Birthday Ted!

Today we celebrated Ted's Birthday. Ted let the girls plan the entire day and we started out the morning opening presents and then headed to Rocket donuts for breakfast picnic at the park.

Ted has always wanted a stove top pop corn popper.

Here is Kyla before she fell in the river.

Here is Kyla after Ted had to drag her out of the river by her foot. Ted and I were cracking up. She was never in any danger and it was pretty darn funny. Though Kyla said it was not funny to her! ;)

Happy Birthday Ted. We love you and feel so lucky to have you as part of our lives! You are the best!!!

More Birthday...

After lunch we had one last hurray running through the sprinkler. It turned out to be a beuatiful day. We also headed on a hike to the school to fly Kyla's mermaid kite. Not quite enough wind but we got it up for a bit.



Here is Kyla telling a story about her favorite show Peep.