1st Gardening attempt!

When we moved into our house, there were already some raised flower/garden beds on the south side. We'll, the first summer, it was too late by the time we moved in in July. Last summer I was WAY pregnant and didn't even want to think about adding more vegitation, that needed watering, to our yard. So, this summer, we did it. We planted 2 tomato plants, 2 green pepper plants, one Anaheim pepper, and one artichoke. The results are in. The Anaheim peppers were awesome, I put them in homemade guacamole. The green peppers are good. I had to chop & freeze some there were so many. The tomatoes, WOW! There are so many of them and they taste SOOOO good. Avery still loves tomatoes, so we put them in salads, burritos, even just eat them plain! I think next year, we will add a few things to the mix!

Catching up

A lot has been going on since I last blogged. Avery went to the beach with Nani & Popi a couple weeks ago. Brian, Blake & I just hung out and did some yard work.

On Saturday, we took the boat out to Lacamas Lake with a bunch of friends. There were 9 adults, 5 kids & 2 boats. We had a great time. That night, after Avery got home from the beach, we had 2 families over for a BBQ and a campfire, complete with S'mores!
Brian had some training for work on Sunday, so I took the kids to visit Mamu & Papa (my grandparent's). They live on a farm and Avery loves to ride the 3-wheeler with Papa and go fee the cows doughnuts. (Yes, he feed his cows old leftover doughnuts from the convenience store).

Last week was quieter. Nothing much going on. But this weekend was busy again. Blake's big 1 year birthday party, and Labor Day! More to post about tomorrow (or the next day).

High of 104!

Early last week Brian & I had a plan for our back yard. Well, of course we were out there doing the hard work when it was over 100 degrees, but, you gotta do what you gotta do! I "worked from home" so I could help a little. We ordered crushed rock for our fire pit and compost for our flower beds. Brian worked so hard in the heat, I am so thankful for his "get-er done" attitude, it turned out amazing!

Girls Getaway

Last weekend Amy, Shannon & I made a trip to Bellevue for some much needed "girl time". We had so much fun being together. We shopped, ate out, laughed, went to a chick flick, stayed up late, slept in late, and laughed some more! We had authentic frozen yogurt at Red Mango, that was yummy. I got some SUPER CUTE shoes. And we had some great, uninterrupted conversation! We decided that this definitely needs to become an annual, or even semi-annual event. Thanks girls, I love you!

Ya gotta love the Container Store
View from our Hyatt Regency hotel room
My cute shoes!
Self portrait
Our matching "green" water bottles. I didn't get the purple shirt memo.

The Mommy Tag

I saw this on a friend of a friend's blog, and since I've had nothing to blog about lately, I thought it looked like fun.

What time do your kids wake up? Between 7:15-8:00am
On a good night, what time do your kids go to sleep? 8:00-8:30pm
How long have you been a mom? 3 years, 9 months and 18 days
How old were you when you became a mom? 26 1/2
What is your favorite kid show? Curious George or Super Why
Least favorite kid TV show? Sponge Bob -- It does not get to be on at our house.
Favorite chore? What? How can you have a favorite chore?
Favorite meal to cook? Anything easy
What's the meal cooked most often? Meat, veggie, rice
What is the kids favorite meal? Avery = Macaroni & cheese, Blake = anything you put on his tray.
What are your favorite things that your husband does with the kids? Everything, he's a great Dad!
What are 5 things that make you smile while being a mom? 1) Avery's silly faces. 2) Blake's sweet smile. 3) Hugs & Kisses. 4) Avery's crazy stories. 5) Bed time!
Where do you want to take your kids someday? Disneyland
When was the last time you and your husband went out without the kids? On our anniversary, Aug. 7th.
One thing you said you'd never do as a mom? share food/drink with my kids
Favorite past time with your kids? Going for little walks, playing outside, reading books, baking.
Advice for a new mom: Enjoy every minute, don't wish them to grow up too fast, and once in awhile, hold them while they sleep.
What's a scary or heartbreaking moment you've had? When Avery cries when I drop her off at daycare.
When was the last time your kids said "I love you"? Today, of course!

TAG - Amy, Jenni, Jennie, Sheila & Courtney

Did I mention she likes animals?

This past weekend we were outside doing some much needed yard work, and Avery, like always, was on the hunt for a "pet". We'll, we had been outside for all of 5 minutes when Brian finds her a snake. She played with that thing for 2 hours! She loved it. She loved it so much, she kissed it! Thank goodness I'm not scared to death of them, I even held the thing (with my gloves on), but this girl is over the top crazy for animals. And I use the term loosely, she loves reptiles, fish, amphibians, rodents, insects, you get the picture. She said to me, about 30 minutes into playing with her snake, "Mom, you should take a picture of me an Snakey Poo. So, I did!

Avery voted most improved!

Well, in my book anyway.

Last Friday marked the end of a two week "Water Awareness" class for Avery. She went from crying for a towel to wipe her eyes, to a little FISH. By the end of the class she was jumping off the diving board and swimming to the bottom of the shallow end to pick items off the bottom. The last day of the session is "parents day" and so we get to go see what she's learned and swim with her if we want. Brian got in and Blake & I took pictures.

What a difference 2 weeks with professionals will make! We are so proud of you little swimmer!

Officially walking!

We'll, it's official, we have a full blown walker on our hands. Blake is pretty much walking all the time now. He still crawls if he's tired or wants to get somewhere really fast, but I'd say he is walking 80% of the time.

He is also getting more & more of an attitude! He lets you have it when you take something away from him or take him away from something. He just screams and waives his arms around like a little tantrum. I wonder who he learned that from??? :)

Heading right for my camera!

Must Love Dogs

For the past year, we've noticed that Avery has an obsession with animals. Animals and bugs and reptiles of any kind. Grasshopper & frog catching has been a summer tradition 2 years running now. Snakes, worms, butterflies, caterpillars, dogs, cats, bunnies, lizards, hamsters, even my Papa's cows. She loves them all. She has even been telling us for the past year that she is going to be a "little" veterinarian when she grows up. That means that she is going to take care of "little animals, like dogs & cats," "not big animals like cows & horses."

On Saturday we went down to the Dakota Memorial Dog Park Dedication. The VPD were there to show their support and since my aunt and her son were in town with their German Sheppard, we decided to go. Shortly after arriving, Avery found the tiniest little dog there and wouldn't leave his side. She was addicted. The owner even told Brian that she was planning on finding him a new home and that we could have him for free. Ah, no thanks. After a half second of consideration, I snapped myself out of it. I am so not ready for another pet. But Avery absolutely loved this little dog, so we got some cute pictures.

Everyone thought that Franny was Brian's K-9. It was pretty funny!

Blake is 11 Months Old

Blake is now officially a walker. For about the past month, he's been taking one, two, and three steps. Just in the last 2 weeks, he's gone to about 60% walking now. Today I think he realized that he likes walking better than crawling. I don't have too many good photos of it yet, but I will post some soon. He still only has 4 teeth, the two bottom ones and the "fangs" on top. Other than walking, his other new favorite thing is climbing. In the past week he has learned to climb the steps or the slide itself of the little plastic indoor slide and, that if you turn a box upside down, you can use it to get on the couch! I have a feeling that he is going to be climbing out of his crib WAY too early...

Blake can also say a handful of words.

Mama, Dada, Bye Bye, nana (banana), and num num for food.

Here is a link to his 11 month slide show. Enjoy!

"Surfing" the vacuum

Our "NEW" House

Well, not really, but it looks new! We decided that this summer, our big home improvement purchase would be to hire someone to paint our house. Our lovely, faded, green/teal/aqua paint job was going on 12 years old and had to go. I love the way that paint colors are named, they are just too fun. We went with Latte for the body, Chocolate Martini for the trim & shutters, and our front door is Sun Dried Tomato. Thanks 5 Star Painting, you did a great job!

Before/during
Half way done!

Beautiful!