Here it is..

I thought that this photo was on the website already, but it wasn't.

So here it is!!!

REALLY MOMMY? BATHTIME?!!!!

It's like he knows what is coming...lots of fresh clean, undrooled on skin...

My friend, Danielle, watched the kids Tuesday morning and this was a photo she sent me of Fin.
He is so sweet, and smiley!

Workout time with Mike

Mike was doing pushups last night and Ella decided that she could/should do some too. This was the tail end of a couple of minutes of working out with daddy. I had to recover from some giggling and grab the camera, otherwise we would have more, but this is a taste of her silliness!

Tulip Festival Video

The first part of this video is Ella and Chester running right for the mud puddles. How do they always know just the areas to get the messy? Unfortunately for Ella, she got caught before she saw much mudtime.
The second clip (all part of the same video, just different colored flowers), is showing how well Ella listens. She is really amazing when I need her to be. I love my kids!! Enjoy!

Tulip Festival

We had a great time at the Tulip festival in Skagit County on Friday. It was beautiful to see the huge fields of flowers. We were waiting for a good weather day that would make the trip worth it, and it was definitely worth the wait!!!! Danielle and Nathaniel and Alicia and Chester came with us, which made the trip even more fun. I absolutely loved watching Chester splashing around in the mud puddles, especially when I realized he didn't have to go home in our car! Haha! Sorry Alicia! True though...

Ella was really funny, she kept posing with weird faces that she thought were cute and smelling the flowers. She really thought the tulips smelled, "mmmmm". Haha! Fin and I were photographers for the day, until Danielle got a couple of shots for me of the family! Enjoy, and we will look forward to next year as well!

Here are some pictures from Ella's Birthday weekend Celebration. Her party was complete with both cupcakes and a cookie cake. Toby, Anthony, and Kesi were the only guests under 3 feet tall, but that was the perfect breakdown of adults to kids. Ella opened presents from family that night and got to test out her new soccer set and trike Monday afternoon when we had beautiful sun again!

Ella's Birthday Party Prep

Aunt Sarah got to play the fun game of chase the toddler in the cold on Friday night. Ella may be small, but she can MOVE!!!

Luckily, Sarah's long legs came in handy and she caught up to her quickly...






The giggles are the best part of this game!
Thanks for being a good sport Sarah and playing in the snow, IN APRIL. Who would have thought? Oh wait, that's right, my curse continues. Don't worry WA residents, it generally only messes up weather patterns for 1 calendar year, so you are 5 months from normalcy again.


While Sarah played with the birthday girl, the guys set to work to put the grill together. LOTS of cardboard and boxes within boxes!!! They did a great job, or at least I will say they did since the grill worked great for the party.




















The Finished Product!!!!
Complete with melted hail on it.

Some pictures to tide you over..

Sorry the blog has been light on content lately. In the midst of training, keeping up with housework and the rest life offers can be tough. Saturday, while Mike was in his exam, the kids and I had a fun day at the park in the sunshine. Mike's exam went better than he expected and we should hear results in a couple of months. Will write more soon! But all is well here, JUST BUSY!!!

Cure for the blahs...

The next time you are feeling down or like you can't accomplish anything, get on youtube and look up graduation speeches by your favorite celebrities. Some of my favorites include Conan O'Brian, Stephen Colbert...

After you feel all warm and fuzzy, pumped up, ready to tackle the world just don't get cynical and think, "Man, I graduated 10 years ago?!!! What have I done since then?". Like Stephen has said in a past speech, "cynicism is a self imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt or disappoint us". Instead, open your eyes, keep moving forward and laugh...

I almost forgot again, Happy Belated Birthday Sally!

Updates on the week

Unfortunately no pictures yet, I am still waiting to hear the ok from some other mommies before I post pictures from a playdate. I like to check and make sure they are comfortable with their children being on the internet. I am also waiting for some photos from the zoo playdate to be uploaded too since I was silly and didn't check the camera for batteries before leaving...needless to say, it didn't have any. So sad, but all the more reason to go back to the zoo. Next time with help!

Over all the zoo trip was fun, but exhausting. It is amazing how sometimes 2 kids is a breeze and others it is a tornado of activity. We had a great time, but Ella was tired, and Fin kept pooping (always when we are out!), and wrangling 2 kids in a public place with thousands of other kids is not easy! I was so worn out after an hour of wearing Fin, pushing Ella in the stroller, and lifting her to see all the displays. Oh yes, while a baby is strapped to my front I had to lift my daughter over the heads of middle and high school aged kids who were there on a field trip. Did they offer to move for the tiny little girl, oh no... Were we as self absorbed and unaware as these kids were? I just don't remember that stage. Maybe I am blocking it out because I know I will be on the other end this time and don't want to consider it yet!!! Oh geez, so many fun times to look forward to.

This week will be light on the blogging to warn fans...Mike has an 8 hour exam on Saturday that he is studying for as much as possible, and I will be in training from 8-5 everyday this week. Oh joy of all joys!! Hopefully it will offer some divine inspiration as to how to be successful in Real Estate (maybe without even trying, hehe, I had to say it CYHS theater geeks!). A busy week here, but come next Saturday night, we will all be celebrating a productive week!

Thanks for reading! We'll talk again soon!

Playdate Last week

Cute Indy was only visible by his feet under the curtain when we walked in...but we heard the giggling of 3 little ones. We pulled back the curtain to find the 2 precious girls, Ava and Ella, IN THE TUB!!! You can dress Ella up, but apparently you can't take her out! Haha! The three had a great time playing, despite all missing their normal naps.

SUCH AN EXCITING DAY!!!

My precious baby!
All smiles for mommy...

Ella
Here's lookin' at you kid!
Almost 2, I can't believe how big she is, or how much she resembles Elton John at times...

We are off to the zoo!!! I promise not to leave Ella or Fin there!

Today, Wednesday, we are going to the Woodland Park Zoo with some friends.













I can't wait to post pictures tonight! Until then, I am posting the photo of Fin smiling. It was almost as elusive as a photo of BigFoot, but I finally got a few of his cuteness!

Easter Sunday

Ella opening an Easter present on the way to Claire and Brian's house. How fun!!! A book with bumps... She loves to play with it and the book entertained today during church. You have to appreciate any quiet activity that keeps a 2 yr old quiet!

Ella showing off her reading skills. We were on our way to Claire (formerly Coates) and Brian Capobianco's house for Easter dinner. Mike and I got to catch up with Claire and Brian while eating a fantastic and tender meal of lamb, Rosemary potatoes and grilled carrots that was fragrant and delicious. Brian is quite the cook! Lately everyone seems to be showing off their culinary skills, looks like I may have to learn to do something other than open box, add water!

We let her out of the cage for Easter...
Just kidding, this is Stella's (Claire's puppy) home.

Ella loved everything puppy related, even all the toys that were preloved (and chewed) by Stella. Ah, gross kids! You have to love them!

Here is Fin in all his wonder on Easter. He spent the entire time at Claire and Brian's showing off his amazing sleeping ability. But as soon as we got home, he was all muscle again as he loves the tummy time. He really looks masculine in comparison to Ella at this age.

Even though he is packing on the pounds
and looking like a baby, it just isn't the soft, rolly-poly giggly cuteness that Ella presented. Fin seems to be poised in all situations and have a serenity about him. As one of my friends put it, he has an old soul it seems. We will look forward to seeing if that remains true in the future!

Almost caught up!!!

Ok, so we are almost caught up on Blog photos...There still are photos from Easter day to add, a couple more playdates-with Ella bathroom antics, and some Fin photos of his amazing skills (drooling, looking cute). So be sure to check back next week for those that check at work. We will have everything up to date by then. For now, enjoy a glimpse of our activities for the past 2 weeks!

Posey BBQ

After a fun day of Easter Egg hunting and catching up with Rachelle, Toby, and Ted, we ended the day at the Posey house for an impromptu BBQ. Oh my gosh, fantastic food, but before we get to that...

Ella is even sporting the hairstyle
to make her popular
with the rockstar crowd.
How many more years
do we have before we trade in
Doodlebops songs for
something a little more edgy?
And is that a good thing?

Ah, don't you love when sliding glass doors become a source of entertainment? Good times!

Anyway, Dan is an excellent cook!!
The BBQ was amazing and probably would have made a vegetarian salivate (Tollie, I mean you!).

We had a great time playing Guitarhero or some game like that, playing with Hayden, Dora, and Toby, and spending time with other adults with kids! A great family event.
Thanks Posey family!

Literally, stepping into Dad's shoes!
Guess Hayden can't wait to be the
BBQing wonder that his father, Dan, is...