I'm Going to the Zoo Zoo Zoo...

This weekend was a complete whirlwind. Friday and Saturday I ran a food booth for an Ebenezer Fundraiser at the Tractor Pull which meant I didn't get to see my cute little munchkins very much. Sunday I was supposed to go to a baby shower for a friend in Seattle however I wasn't very excited about leaving my little family behind so after a quick family meeting Sunday morning we decided we would all get in the car and kill two birds with one stone. I took Grace to the baby shower for two hours and Elliot and Brian went to the lego store at Bellevue Square. Afterwords the boys picked us back up and we went to the zoo. It was so fun to have a family day to ourselves. This was our first trip to the zoo without a stroller (I know shocking because some of you know how I am about my stroller.) and I must say the kids were great. I did miss having the stroller for carrying cargo but other than that it was nice to not have to move it through crowds of people. Brian and I thought we would go to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner if the kids were behaving themselves but had a realistic goal of stopping at McDonalds on the way home. I guess our kids are getting older though because they were more than game to go to a restaurant where they had impeccable manners and no one was jumping around like the monkeys we had seen earlier in the day. I am happy to say we are at a point where we can be gone all day and not experience a single fit or meltdown or scene in which I feel the need to hide under rock. I am sure we will have more of the latter described days at some point but we are getting there people. Bottom line is I love my little family and I love enjoying these two little blessings that God has given us!

My Baby Boy is a 6....

I don't know about all of you other moms out there but birthdays are emotional for me. Don't get me wrong every stage is my favorite when I am in it and watching them grow is truly amazing. But every year when we come upon a birthday it is hard for me not to think back to the very first day I had them and the very first year i spent being their mom. Elliot was such a hidden blessing we had been married for four months when I realized I may not have a flu bug I may actually be pregnant, and seeing as we didn't think we could have babies it was a real surprise. We were elated. Elliot brings so much to our family dynamic he is funny, smart, always the first one to give you a hug if you get hurt or you're having a rough day, and he doesn't forget a thing, if you lose something he can find it. Recently he went to basketball camp and his coach said he was the only one willing to talk about Jesus and what he meant to him. We are so happy to have Elliot in our family I wouldn't trade him for the world!!
This year we celebrated Elliots birthday with a surprise party with a few of our favorite friends. Elliot was truly surprised so much so that I think we overwhelmed him a bit. We had so much fun playing with balloons, catching tadpoles, and chasing each other around the playground! We asked him to tell us what he learned when he was five and boy did this past year bring a lot for him. Learning to ride a bike, subtraction, reading, rowing a boat and casting his fishing pole by himself were among the many things he learned last year. He informed us he is Hot Stuff now(I guess teaching him what being humble is might be for year 6;) Happy 6th Birthday Elliot we love you and being your mom is the best job ever!
Here are some of my favorite pictures of Elliots first year as well as his first birthday and some form his party this year!

Spring Recital

Many of you know that Grace came down with Pneumonia this week. They also think she might be suffering from asthma. Friday morning Grace had a very bad attack and stopped breathing which was quite scary so I scheduled an appointment and took her in. I brought her in for what I thought was just an extreme reaction to her allergies and left the office with pneumonia. Thankfully I took her because things could have gotten much worse. Anyway we had recital also this weekend and she was so looking forward to it. So I spoke with the Dr. about the possibility if her still participating and he said as long as we made it an in and out experience she should be able to perform. We got there just in time to put her on stage and took her home directly after. I am so glad that she was able to participate because she really has improved since the beginning of the year. Sh is no longer the little ballerina that provides the laughter she really understands what she is supposed to do and is becoming quite graceful which is hard to believe because she is my daughter:) Anyway here is a picture of our beautiful purple ballerina with her flowers.

Fishing Derby

Brian has been anticipating taking Elliot to the Fishing Derby since he was born. Every year he checks the schedule to make sure that the entrance age is five just in case there is a younger age bracket. Well this was the big year. They missed it by just a week last year so they were both pumped. They started out the morning like any Daddy Son day should with doughnuts and made there way down to registration. I don't know who was more excited but they both had their matching seahawks hats on and shorts and away they went. Elliot caught has limit within 3 minutes and they came home with actually two very nice size trout which we ate for dinner. I was having a garage sale with the neighbors so all of the kids were here when Elliot got back to show them his catch. The majority of them are boys so the air was filled with "wow look at the blood awesome!" I will never understand boys and their excitement over the gross things but they were happy! Anyway I think it was a great day for both parties involved and just the start of the participation in the fishing derby!

North Lake Samish...Summer Has Begun!

We kicked off summer vacation with the McMurtrys last week with a trip to North Lake Samish. It was so much fun!! We had a picnic and spent 3 hours playing in the water and the sand:) The kids were super good and we didn't have any meltdowns or fights to speak of...Mommy gives this a two thumbs up! Elliot spent most of his time building a very intricate and working reservoir. And Grace helped by collecting whatever he needed. I love days like this where our only concern is fun!

Dress Rehearsal for Spring Recital

Tonight was dress rehearsal for spring recital which is on Saturday. Grace did great and her costume is adorable. Getting her out of the door proved to be challenging though because she is a hot mess of allergies right now. Her eyes are puffy and swollen her cough is horrible and her nose is runny! Poor thing:( We will just pray that on Saturday she feels better.

My Grandpa

My kids are so fortunate to be able to have two sets of great-grandparents that love them to the moon and back. Both sets spoil them rotten and enjoy all of their antics for more than their parents do. Recently Gracie has taken an extreme liking to my grandpa and I think it is just what the Dr. has ordered for him at this point. She would sit with him in his chair for hours if she was able to and I think he would let her. I to am a Grandpas girl and although I can no longer curl up in his chair with him there was a time that that was one of my favorite places in the world as well. So the pictures are of my grandpa and two of his girls that love him to the moon and back as well!

Clams Beware!

On Sunday we packed up the car with our shovels and buckets and headed out to Birch Bay to dig up some clams. The Bajemas joined us of course and we were quite successful in our venture. The kids always have fun at the beach because they can go quite far without me minding ad get wet and dirty with no consequences:) We had a blast and what a beautiful day it was!

Heritage Days Parade.

Grace was in the Heritage Days parade for Gift of Dance this year. It was a lot of fun riding with her and watching the other girls enjoy their time in their cute costumes. Brian and Elliot rode in the ruck towing the float with our good friend Mike.

Fashion Alert

This is just a quick update of Graces latest fashion statements. You all know that it has been very hot out and that requires very little clothing but a bathing suit is mandatory. Here are some pics of how Grace has chosen to accessorize her suit!

Our Amazing Hotel Room

Brian I recently celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. Normally we go camping which is one of our favorite pastimes, however this year with my surgery we decided to spoil ourselves and stay in a nice hotel downtown Seattle. Well we got a surprise when we arrived because they upgraded us to a suite for free because we were celebrating our anniversary. Now I have stayed in a lot of nice places but this hotel was the nicest I have ever experienced. The bathtub filled from the ceiling that was nuts and we had a view of the water from all of the windows. Needless to say we had a great time that weekend and the room was just the icing on the cake!