All Things Mapes

Week 33

2012-02-03T11:44:00.001-08:00

We've had some trouble getting Davis to cooperate lately....

Snow!

2012-02-03T11:32:00.000-08:00

We had all kinds of fun when the 3 inches of snow we got pretty much shut down the city. Davis is a big fan of eating snow, and she was excited to have an opportunity to wear her dragon hat again.

We don't often see icicles in these parts, but it was sort of warm during the days and then really cold at night. That and the freezing rain we got one day ALL day.....and here we go!

It's hard to tell, but this tree has a full coat of ice all over it.

Douglas was gone for most of the weekend so Davis and I had a fun girls weekend. We were stuck at home for the most part, so we did a lot of arts and crafts. Davis was excited to be able to paint in the house. We usually only do paints outside.

Little Gym!

2012-02-03T11:25:00.000-08:00

We finally got Davis back in to Little Gym and she is LOVING it! She is in Super Beasts this year and she adores Teacher Birgitte. She is really good about trying things on her own and is one of the few kids that will go through all of opening warmup without needing us to get involved. She gets a little more distracted when they work on a skill as a group and she has to wait in line....but hey, she's 2 1/2.

Davis can now do a forward roll all by herself.

She is a little monkey when it comes to swinging. It's amazing to me the grip she can manage with such tiny little hands.

Belly

2012-01-20T20:49:00.000-08:00

Alright, I give.....I did NOT get any better. I've been terrible about taking pictures in general. I think it's winter. I'm gonna go with that. I even got a new camera, hoping it would inspire me. But so far, I guess it hasn't.

Introducing.....

2012-01-20T20:46:00.000-08:00

Leeila Winn Secrest

Adorable bundle of Christmas joy.

We Mapes are all completely smitten.

And so it begins.....

2012-01-20T20:40:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!!

2012-01-02T15:04:00.000-08:00

We hope 2012 is as much fun as a twisty slide!

Snow!

2012-01-02T14:54:00.000-08:00

Well, with me 7 months pregnant and Douglas working part time in a bar, we've known for awhile we wouldn't have New Years together. So, we decided to celebrate early and take the kids sledding. We even got Avery to come along. Davis absolutely loved it. She loved the snow and she loved going fast on the sled. Avery was excited about snow ball fights and Douglas was acting like he was 8 years old again. I even went down the hill with Davis once. And Layne got big sister of the year for patiently tramping up the hill over and over with the kids. We had a great time!

Christmas Day

2012-01-02T14:32:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning we had to wake Davis up before she was ready so that she could find her Santa gifts before church. She wasn't thrilled at first, but she perked up before too long.

Santa brought her a new robe like mama's, and a new Tinkerbell pillow for her big girl bed.

On our way to Bremerton, we stopped in at the Tilton's. They were still working their way through their Christmas presents.....it was like a toy store in there!

Davis was quite taken with Rachel's new vanity. It cracked me up that she's never even seen a curling iron, but she knew exactly what to do with it.

Then we made it to Grandma and Grandpa's and got a quick shot in front of the tree.

Davis got to get in some good playtime with Nolan and Milo while Frank was napping. There was a lot of running involved. And a lot of Davis being Little Miss Bossy Face. She meant well, but we'll have to work on her tone.

Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa Mapes is always fun and low key. Exactly what I need.....especially this year!

Our little photog

2012-01-02T14:26:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the first shots from Davis' new camera:

Christmas Eve

2012-01-02T14:01:00.000-08:00

We celebrate Christmas mostly on Christmas Eve, since that is the day we get Layne. This year we had her for most of the day, so it was pretty great. We spent a lot of time just goofing off and watching Christmas movies, waiting for dinner time.

Here is our little tinsel tree. I'd love to have a real tree again, but it's just a little too tight in our house. This makes it so much simpler.

We always start with stockings, and this year Amy filled some for us too, so it was super fun!

Then we busted into the bigger presents. Douglas and I did a slipper swap this year.

Awesome galoshes from Amy....

....and a rad "pirate" sweater from Sam!

Crazy guitar light from the Sharkeys....it's neon!

My dad and brothers all chipped in to get Davis a digital cameral and InnoTab. She couldn't be happier. She spent the whole rest of the evening playing with the tablet and trying to take pictures of all of us. She doesn't quite get it yet, but it was an endless source of amusement for the rest of us.

Merry Christmas!

Random Christmas good times!

2011-12-26T17:42:00.000-08:00

Caroling with the youth.

Potty training.

Loving on Mila Wellnitz.

Watching the new Muppets movie.

Goofing off with Dad.

Downtown Christmas fun with Amy and Sam.

Breaking in a new sleeping bag from Auntie Andra.

Checking out Christmas lights!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-26T17:38:00.000-08:00

This years Santa photo was actually a whole lot of fun. Davis and I had plenty of time to talk about everything that was going to happen while we were waiting in line, so she was fully prepared and ready to roll by the time we got up to the big guy. She was even waving and saying hi from the sidelines while other kids were up there. We talked a little bit about what she wanted to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas, which spawned this PERFECT memory of her first real conversation with Santa:

Santa: What do you want for Christmas, little girl?

Davis: A camera like momma......NOT baby Harper!!

Now that we are referring to Harper as a present that comes after Christmas that we all get to share, she is perfectly happy. She just didn't want to waste her only request to Saint Nick on a baby brother. Totally understandable.

Catching up and a Marriage Sealing

2011-12-26T17:25:00.000-08:00

Recently Davis and I headed to Bremerton to catch up with our friend Marie and her two adorable girls, Alyssa and Annabelle. Alyssa is 4 and Annabelle is 2, so the three of them got along splendidly. We just hung around the play area at the Kitsap Mall, but they were perfectly content.

Afterwards, we met up with the rest of the Mapes clan at Jen and Zac's house to celebrate their temple sealing. Unfortunately, I have been INCREDIBLY lame about taking pictures, so this is all I've got. I'll try to do better....

Girls Weekend!

2011-12-12T17:03:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, Douglas and Layne were at Disneyland with some of the Mapes family. They had an awesome time!

Due to that, Davis and I had the weekend on our own. Unfortunately, Saturday I was booked at a craft fair, so she luckily she was able to spend the day with Sam. They went to Seattle Center and the Science Museum and had a great time!

That evening, we drove down to Beach Drive to check out the Menashe family Christmas lights. Man, these guys know how it's done! Davis was super excited. Every time she saw lights, or Santa, or a snowman she'd say "Christmas!" and laugh.

Monday we got dressed up and went to see Santa. More on that later, but here she is posing for me in front of the house. She's such a ham, I wanted to get her giggles out before the big photo.

We also spent as much of the weekend as I could manage working on potty training. Man, that is a process. She's doing pretty good considering how inconsistent we've been. I think she knows what she is supposed to do, she just doesn't want to take the time out of her playing to do it. But we are definitely getting there. The promise of Disneyland next year if she can get it down seems to be helping!

More belly...

2011-12-12T16:56:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, I'm terrible. I'll try to be better!

Thanksgiving

2011-12-04T21:25:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was really nice. We decided to have Turkey Day at Sam's. It was great to be with friends, and we had a great time, and excellent food. I think, for me, the greatest part though was that while Douglas and Sam were in the kitchen:

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

I was doing this......

Totally crappy friend, aren't I? I'd like to say I was watching Davis, but really, she was pretty content watching Harry Potter. And honestly, Sam and Douglas LIKE to cook. So Amy and I didn't feel too bad leaving it to them.

It was a good thing that I rested up, too, because the rest of the weekend was pretty busy. On Friday we drove to Bremerton to stay the night. That evening we all headed to Jacob and Christina's for a fantastic evening of desserts. Saturday afternoon, we left Davis in Bremerton and headed back to Seattle to take Layne to the final Visqueen show. Sunday Douglas headed back to Bremerton to pick up Davis and then we had my sister over for dinner. Actually, now that it's in writing, it doesn't seem like all that much, but at 6 months pregnant it definitely wore me out!

She's so proud

2011-12-04T21:21:00.000-08:00

The other night I was in my bedroom folding clothes and I heard "Hey mama, whatcha my do!" (which means, "watch what I can do!"). I went in to the bathroom to find Davis chillin' on her back in the bath. She's usually not a huge fan of laying back like this in the water, so it was kind of a big moment for her. Despite the fact that she looks completely nonchalant in these photos.

***Disclaimer: Our bedroom is about 3 1/2 steps away from the bathroom......so no, I am NOT that bad of a parent. Just in case you were wondering.

Amy's Birthday

2011-12-04T21:20:00.000-08:00

Bucca di Beppo style. Happy Birthday Ames!

Who'd have thunk?

2011-12-04T21:14:00.000-08:00

Davis would wear a hat. Over and over and over again. One night she even slept in it.

Yoooooooo.......Gabba Gabba!!!!!

2011-11-27T19:27:00.000-08:00

Big happenings at the Mapes house this month. We surprised Davis with a trip to see Yo Gabba Gabba live. We didn't tell her about it until the day before, but I don't think she really realized what was going on anyway. At least until we got there and they came out on stage. The show did not disappoint at all, especially since we only had to spend $15 on Travel Zoo.

Big time owie.....

2011-11-27T19:23:00.000-08:00

Davis decided to explore a bike trailer at REI when we weren't watching.....unfortunately it kicked her right out the other side. When forehead fights cement floor, floor always wins. She was a trooper though, and let me ice it and she was very brave. Poor kid. Even worse, when we were driving to Rite Aid to get her a real ice pack, we got hit by some dumb woman. Luckily it was a minor accident, but it was a little more than we needed in one day.

Leaf piles!

2011-11-27T18:01:00.000-08:00

Halloween

2011-11-19T20:00:00.000-08:00

Davis was busy this Halloween, with THREE parties to go to! It was also her first year of actual trick or treating, so it was kind of a big deal. We decided on Tinkerbell for her costume. It was a little cobbled together (a few old props, a Goodwill find, and some awesome new shoes), but here is the end result:

Our first party was at the community center down the street. Davis spent most of her time jumping in the bouncy house, but she also did some coloring and played a few games.

This also just happened to be the weekend that we decided to get her haircut. It was long past time. It's pretty adorable....I wish we had done it sooner.

Next up was a party at the church. Davis had a grand old time running around with her friends and getting "scared" in the haunted house. She did decide to be shy when she was supposed to introduce herself onstage. Oh well.

Our last party of the night was the annual Ghouldcrest party. I'm bummed that I didn't get a picture of Karen. She is about 8 months pregnant, and she went as the Magic Eight Ball. She even had different messages to add to her back. She and Matt really know how to do Halloween.

Davis had an absolute blast Trick or Treating. She picked it up right away. We met up with her friend Taryn from down the street and the two of them ended up with more candy than they could ever possibly eat (mom and dad helped with that!).

Our last stop of the night was to go say Trick or Treat to Sam and Amy.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Pumpkin Carving

2011-11-08T20:43:00.000-08:00

Pumpkin Patch

2011-11-08T20:39:00.000-08:00

Some belly shots.....

2011-10-30T19:04:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it's second baby syndrome, lack of time and energy, or just the simple fact that I am blown away by how much bigger I am this time around, but we haven't been quite as good at getting belly shots this time. We just found out that we are having a boy, so I'm blaming my size on that. Although if little brother is bigger than Davis (8 pounds 13 ounces), we're going to have some issues!

Las Vegas

2011-10-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

Davis and I spent the second half of our trip visiting my dad in Las Vegas. Uncle Spencer and Aunt Andra were also there, but Uncle Wes had to go on a last minute trip to San Francisco for work. Davis got in a bunch of cuddle time with her Poppa.

Our first full night there, we headed downtown to Fremont. Uncle Wes insisted we go to the Harley store and get a picture for him. So here it is.

And Uncle Spencer got suckered into tipping so Davis could get her picture with Spongebob and Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

On Wednesday we braved the heat and took Davis to the park. Luckily most of the playgrounds in Las Vegas are covered. It wasn't SO warm, I guess, just not what we were used to in October. Davis didn't seemed too trouble by it.

Thursday we spent most of the morning at The Excalibur, which Davis kept calling "the Queen's house". She was disappointed that she never saw the Queen, but she DID get to see Spongebob again, so she was satisfied.

Thursday evening we just played in the driveway, taking more motorcycle pictures and playing with bubbles.

Davis had a great time! She sure loves her Poppa.....even with the itchy itchy beard.

Albuquerque

2011-10-15T18:31:00.000-07:00

A confluence of events occurred that made me think that a little trip with me and Davis would be a good idea: some one on one time with the two of us was needed, a visit to Poppa was due, my friend Elysa moved back to Albuquerque to go to law school, and I've been craving New Mexican food like crazy! I decided we could do it all in one trip, Seattle to Albuquerque to Las Vegas and then home. I was overachieving just a bit....the trip just about wore me out.....but we had a really good time.

The first thing we did in Albuquerque was meet up with Elysa, who was nice enough to let us crash at her place and use her car even though she was madly studying for mid terms. Next up was a trip to the Frontier Restaurant, because their hash browns with cheese were calling my name. So, so delicious!

The next day was a little grey, so Davis and I drove around town checking out all my old haunts in the morning. We also played at the park near Elysa's house, which just happened to be my neighborhood park when we first moved there. It was weird to be hanging out in the park where I had my 15th birthday party, but it was nice.

Davis was NOT super excited about visiting my old high school.

That afternoon we took a trip to the BioPark where I was pleasantly surprised. They've built it since I left and it is pretty impressive. It's a combination aquarium and botanical garden. There were so pretty large tanks with big fish and sharks, and an awesome pool full of stingrays where the kids could get right up close.

The botanical garden was pretty fun too, it was really, really big. They had a section for model trains, a working farm, duck pond and a number of other interesting areas.

Saturday we headed back to the park in the morning for almost 2 hours. Then I was going to take her to the little amusement park in town, but it was closed for the season. We happened across a place called Itz which is an arcade with a few small indoor rides and also a buffet. Davis LOVED it! Oddly enough, her favorite game was the Jurassic Park Lost World game. I thought she might get a little freaked by it, but she just kept asking for more.

That evening we headed out to Rio Rancho to visit with some friends of my mom's. Davis made herself right at home, made new friend's with Debbie's grand-nephew, and buttered up Jean's husband Jim. My girl is NOT shy.

On Sunday, we met up with my friend Tim and his kids for a trip to the zoo. Davis just about fell in love with Nikki. She wanted to do everything she did. We had a really good time, and a nice lunch, but spending the day with three kids made me realize that Douglas and I should really call it quits after this next one! All three were super well behaved, but I think the one parent : one child ratio is just about perfect.

We had some colorful visitors at lunch!

Davis and Nikki consulting their maps.

Making sure Tim didn't overheat...

Monday morning we had a quick visit with my friend Toby and his new baby boy Ben. I wish we'd had more time to catch up, it's been probably 10 years since I've seen him, but we had a good chat and Davis nicely kept herself entertained.

One last stop at the Frontier on Monday morning.

And a big thank you and good bye to Elysa at the airport. As you can tell, these two became fast friends. I'm glad Davis was finally able to meet some of Momma's buddies.

Layne's Homecoming

2011-10-15T17:38:00.000-07:00

Kind of scary to be step-mom to a 15 year old, especially a beautiful 15 year old. But she is so good, it's hard to complain. Layne is doing really well in school, loving Japanese still and hoping to do begin Running Start maybe as early as next year. We are so proud of her!

Davis + Ava + Trampoline = Love

2011-10-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

Let me just say, we ALWAYS have a good time at the Bruggeman's. Adorable kids, good food, fun games, HUGE dog, hilarious Alan and Ashley......

And then they went and got a trampoline.

They always say they are willing to come to West Seattle, instead of making us drive to Sammamish, but why would we ever let them do that?

What a goofball....

2011-10-04T19:55:00.000-07:00

Nolan turns 3!

2011-10-04T19:50:00.000-07:00

Nolan's party was super fun this year, as always. This year was a baseball theme and the food was AWESOME!! Hot dogs, nachos, Cracker Jack.....yum!

Playtime and Parks!!

2011-10-03T20:09:00.000-07:00

Mom's birthday weekend!!

2011-10-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

This birthday was possibly the best I've had yet. It was a busy, fun filled weekend. The only downer is that we were missing Amy, but she made up for it later!

First, we went roller skating. I was so excited when they re-opened the Southgate Roller Rink by our house but we hadn't managed to make it over until now. Davis was pretty excited and at first, did really well.

And then this happened. Not sure what set her off, but she was NOT having it any longer.

So she ended up doing a lot of this....

We still had fun though, and we managed to get her back out there one last time.

That evening we went to a barbecue to celebrate the wedding of our friends Joe and Therese. I didn't take too many pictures, there was a lot of visiting and eating going on, but we had a really good time.

On Sunday we made a quick walk through the Farmer's Market in West Seattle before dropping Davis off with Samantha so Douglas could take me on a picnic.

It was an awesome surprise. We drove out to Rattlesnake Lake and he had a great picnic lunch all ready for me. The weather was perfect, and the food was delicious and I had my baby with me. It was pretty rad.

We stopped at the outlet mall for some chocolate covered frozen treats and Douglas realized he might have over done it.

To cap it all off, Sam came over and made us an awesome dinner. You can tell that Douglas was taking the pictures, because his is the only one that isn't ridiculous.

Sweet, sweet Sam even made me a homemade carrot cake. It was delicious! It's possible I ate it for breakfast for a few days after...

Reading with my girl was the perfect way to wind down the weekend.

And for those of you who sometimes wonder why I married this crazy guy, here it is:

Babies!!!

2011-10-03T19:37:00.000-07:00

Davis got to welcome some new friends in August

Annabelle Renee Caruso at about a week old

Elsa Elton, pretty much fresh out of the oven

Hawaii Day 6

2011-09-27T20:55:00.001-07:00

Day 6 was volcano day! We drove up to Volcanoes National Park and did a lot of exploring.

This was our guide, Ed. He was pretty awesome.

Walking around, it felt like we were on Mars. Here is were lava had pretty much just melted back into the earth.

Here is a lava tree, where the flow was cooled by a tree. The crazy thing is, we saw the whole where the tree used to be and it was only a few inches wide.

We took the road down as far as we could before lava made it impassable. Douglas was able to get a shot of this cave that was formed by lava flows.

Then we hiked around some of the lava tubes. It was a little bit creepy in there.

Joel, Douglas and Layne hiked down to a crater that was still steaming. For Davis' sake, we stayed up top. It's not like I was freaked out or anything.

On our way out, we drove to the observatory and we were able to see the steam coming off Kilauea with a rainbow just to the side. It was pretty incredible.

On the way back to the house we stopped at Lava Tree Park.

All in all, we had a fabulous trip. A big thank you to John and Susan for so graciously letting us take over their gorgeous home. We can't wait to go back!

Hawaii Day 5

2011-09-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

On Day 5, Joel and Lisa gave me full reign of our schedule. So I pulled out all my faves from my online research. First we drove north to Akaka Falls State Park. It's one of the tallest falls on the island. Unfortunately Davis fell asleep on the drive up so I carried her most of the way.

And just as we finally got to the falls, she woke up!

We drove back through Hilo and decided to go to the zoo.

Davis was more than willing to welcome us. She was thrilled that it was raining.

This white tiger was, without a doubt, the highlight of the zoo. He was so close it was almost creepy. We even got to walk up to the feeding area where we were so close we could hear the chicken bones crunch.

Here's a lovely shot of Davis displaying her displeasure when I finally got too hot and sticky and exhausted to hold her any longer. This really shows how close we got.

Last but not least, we headed over to the Mauna Loa Macadamia Factory. Unfortunately it was closed that day, so we couldn't take advantage of peeking through the windows to watch the process. But we more than made up for our disappointment in the gift shop!

Hawaii Day 4

2011-09-15T21:46:00.000-07:00

Friday was a busy, busy day. In the morning we went to the neighborhood fruit stand to restock our supply. There was some CRAZY looking fruit out there!

This was the weirdest. It's called a Jack Fruit and it tastes like bubble gum. Totally bizarre.

Then Lisa took Layne and Davis back to the house and Douglas, Joel and I climbed the "mountain" behind the fruit stand. It was more of an access road than a trail, so it was pretty easy going. But that was fine by me! There was a pretty sweet view from the top.

This tree was enormous!

After the hike, Douglas and Joel did some boogie boarding....

...and Lisa did some snorkeling.

I stayed home with Davis and was amazed that this idea of napping in the living room actually panned out. She must have been pretty exhausted.

After nap time we headed out to take a look at one of the more recent lava flows. I think it was from January of this year. It was incredible to see just how devastated the area was.

It was also crazy to see how greenery was already starting to come back in.

Most shocking of all was the fact that, not only did some homes survive the flow and people were still living out there, but home had actually been rebuilt right on top of the lava!! Douglas had a really hard time wrapping his head around that one.

And, as always, back to the house for some more down time.

Hawaii Day 3

2011-09-13T20:46:00.000-07:00

On Thursday we left our condo in Kona and drove around the northern tip of the island to Hilo. I somehow managed to convince Layne to look at a camera. It was a big moment.

We stopped at an old village and walked around. It was really hot, and I think we all started our sunburns that day.

For lunch we stopped at Tex. Susan told us that we absolutely had to stop here. It was easy to tell why. They had a gazillion things on the menu and the malasadas were to die for!

We got to Pahoa just in time to gawk at the gorgeous house, take a walk around the neighborhood, eat some dinner and call it a night.

This little guy was our roommate for the whole trip. We decided to name him Stallone. You know, because he was so tough looking.

Hawaii Day 2

2011-08-30T18:58:00.001-07:00

Our first full day in Hawaii was pretty packed. We started in the morning with a visit to the Painted Church. It was amazing to see how they'd covered every inch of the place. The pillars were painted to look like palm trees, and the stations of the cross were on the walls.

Next up was kayaking and snorkeling at Captain Cook's Cove. Davis was a total trooper in the kayak. But for some reason the sight of me in a snorkel mask just freaked her out. So she and I just played around in the water and enjoyed the sunshine.

Cheesy lunchtime pictures.

I'd requested a special stop at this playground that I'd read about online. I was not at all prepared for how awesome it actually was. Hawaiians know how to build a park!

In the evening we explored downtown Kona and did a little window shopping before calling it a day.

Hawaii Day 1

2011-08-30T18:05:00.000-07:00

Hawaii was pretty much awesome. It was the perfect combination of relaxation and activity. The flight wasn't so hot, we actually got about 20 minutes out when they said we'd have to turn around because of some "electrical problem". Not really something that a girl who doesn't like to fly really wants to hear, but apparently it wasn't that big of a deal.

The airport was even awesome, totally outdoor and beautiful. Davis really enjoyed the artwork.

It's really too bad that these two don't like each other.

Beautiful island girl.....

Checking out our condo in Kona. We got in pretty late, so we just goofed off in the ocean for awhile and had a nice dinner in.

Plants of Hawaii

2011-08-07T20:26:00.000-07:00

I am at a complete loss as to how to arrange my Hawaii posts, so I thought I would start things off with some Hawaii fauna to buy me some time. We saw some amazing flowers and even more amazing fruits. Mangos and avocados galore.....I was in heaven.

Lincoln Park with Sammie

2011-08-04T21:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Baby Dash!

2011-08-04T21:21:00.001-07:00

Davis loves her some Baby Dash. She was very excited to go to his birthday party and find out if he still had his owie. She noticed it at her party and she's regularly asked about it since. Luckily the owie was all better. What a cutie pie!

Finn is trying, but it looks like Davis is having none of his action.

Davis loves giving "zerberts" and she doesn't care who she gives them too.

Pat is the lucky winner this day!

Ballard Locks

2011-08-04T21:18:00.001-07:00

We squeezed in a quick visit with Finn before Veronika had her sweet baby girl. We headed over to the locks to check out the fish. These two kids are awfully cute together. Despite the fact that Finn is a younger man (by three months) we'd all love to bring the families together someday. We'll see......

More Random Fun!

2011-08-04T21:14:00.000-07:00

Hanging with Myrna

2011-08-04T21:12:00.001-07:00

Christopher, Kelly and Myrna were in town for a month while Kelly was in between university gigs. Lucky for us! So we rolled over to the Eastside to spend an afternoon together.

Here is Davis doing her best "TRON" pose.

Davis and Myrna getting some quality time in.

We think they look alot alike, but of course Myrna is skinny like her parents and Davis looks sketchy like her dad. But these two get along famously.

Ride that horse kiddos!

Portland

2011-08-04T21:03:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally got back to Portland! It's been way too long. We'd been thinking about it for awhile and when we found out that one of our favorite bands was playing down there, we decided to make a child free weekend of it. I finally got to try out my friend Jim's food cart, the Pepper Box, and it was more than worth the wait. Totally delicious southwestern food with a Pac NW flair. We also had an incredible southern dinner at Miss Delta. I've never been so full in my life. The Rosebuds were amazing, as always. Their marriage has broken up, but they are still going strong musically and I am thankful for that. They work their butts off to make sure their fans have a good time. We always have fun in Portland, but unfortunately we realized that show goers down there are really kind of obnoxious. It was the only damper on the weekend. Well, that and missing my girl.

Fourth of July

2011-08-04T20:57:00.000-07:00

We took it pretty easy for the 4th this year, it kind of snuck up on us a little bit. We had Sam and Amy over for some barbeque and then we walked to a park to try and see the fireworks. We had a lot of fun goofing off at the park, and Davis learned to roll down a hill. We finished up with our traditional Pop-It party in front of the house. Good times.

Kimberly's Angels?

We had some time to kill before the fireworks, so Sam tried some one handed cartwheels.

AWESOME!!

This is how Davis uses Pop-Its. She smashes them into the ground with her feet.

Davis SMASH!!

Random Catching Up.....

2011-08-04T20:47:00.000-07:00

Davis has been quite the ham lately. She's wanting to dress up and she's experimenting with her "cheese" face. It makes for some good entertainment.

Here she is in front of the tree we planted for her. It's not gotten very big, but it flowered up nicely this year.

My pretty princess....

Heading to the pool. It's so nice to have it so close by. We'll have to get her into another class soon now that we're done with Little Gym.

We got to help celebrate Great Grandma's birthday.

And finally enjoy some warm weather.

Davis has gotten really into puzzles lately. She's pretty good at them now, she just needs a little help now and then. This is also a good shot of the new snarl face she's been doing all the time. It looks like she's mad even when she's having fun.

Elder/Snow Wedding

2011-08-04T17:56:00.000-07:00

The Maldives at Harbor Steps

2011-07-23T22:06:00.000-07:00

One nice thing about not working on Fridays is that I can hang out with the family and feel like I'm playing hookie. We went to see our friends the Maldives play the lunch hour at Harbor Steps. We were able to meet up with Christopher, Kelly and Myrna and get some play time in.

There was a little belly comparison.....

Hugs for all!!

Trike!

2011-07-23T22:03:00.000-07:00

Beaching with the Bruggeman's

2011-07-15T20:33:00.000-07:00

We arranged to meet up with Ashley and the kids while Alan ran a marathon that ended at Alki. The kids had a ton of fun playing in the sand, and the weather was perfect. After Alan finished his run we had fish and chips for lunch and it was delicious! It was the perfect summer day.

Layne's Birthday Dinner

2011-07-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

Well, Layne is now 15 years old. Pretty insane. And being 15, she and her friends spent most of dinner hiding from the camera.

She did sit still for a few shots, though.

Super cute!

Happy birthday Layne!! Thanks for being such an awesome kid!

Bubbles

2011-07-15T20:25:00.000-07:00

Davis was pretty excited about this particular birthday present. We spent HOURS blowing bubbles. Thanks to the Gilmore's for so much entertainment!

Remodel

2011-07-15T20:19:00.001-07:00

We have been pretty busy around here, what with Sasquatch and Davis' birthday. We thought we'd give ourselves a challenge and work some remodeling in too. You know, just for fun. We finally pulled out the old carpets from the living room. Why did so many people put carpet over beautiful hardwood floors? They are a little beat up, but they look great. We also completely re-did our bathroom. It DESPERATELY needed it. Next up is the back panty area and a minor facelift in the kitchen, including pulling up the hideous carpet in there. I can't wait to get rid of that!

Davis is 2!

2011-07-11T18:32:00.000-07:00

Davis' 2nd birthday was a huge success. We had good weather, good food, and lots of good friends. Davis wasn't quite as into her cupcake this year, but she still did a pretty good job on it. It was decorated to look like Elmo's pet fish Dorothy.

There were a LOT of kids at the party this year, which Davis was super excited about. She had plenty of friends to run around the yard with.

She was WAY more into opening her presents this year. And I could see why, because she got a ton of them!

The big surprise was that my dad brought her first tricycle. She LOVES this thing.

Sasquatch Day 1

2011-06-07T21:24:00.000-07:00

When I told people we were taking Davis to Sasquatch, they thought I was crazy, but man, did she have a good time!

Here she is gearing up for the day:

We took a lot of little breaks in this little spot the first part of the day.

Some girls ready to get down!

We were so excited to support our friends The Head and the Heart for their first Sasquatch appearance. It is incredible how far they have come in the last year, and I can't think of another band that deserves it more. They work their butts off and they sound amazing.

This shot is actually from NPR.org. Davis was VERY popular with the photographers.

Wolf Parade is always a good time.

Goofing off with Sammie.

This duck was a huge bonus. Whenever Davis got bored she would ask to go back to it. She'd spend about 15 minutes running up and down a ramp and straight into this thing so hard she'd bounce off of it. Better than any of the entertainment WE brought, that's for sure.

I can't help it, I love me some Jenny Lewis.

The only low in the day was that Davis took a REALLY late nap. She wasn't too happy when she finally woke up. But I was just thrilled that she slept at all.

Come on....we HAD to!

Matt & Kim were super super fun. I have never seen anyone smile as much as Kim. Ever.

We have no night time pictures, they never work out. Robyn was intense, but she came on 30 minutes later than scheduled and Davis' patience was wearing thin at that point. It was about 9:30 and I was taking her to the car. Right next to the stage was a display of Hondas and she ended up running around for almost 45 minutes. I got to catch more of the show and Davis got to burn off a little more energy. Sam and Douglas tried to catch some of Sleigh Bells, but it was on an indoor staged and packed to the gills.

All in all, Day 1 was a success.

Sasquatch Day 2

2011-06-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

One Day 2, Davis woke up ready to rock!

Early in the day we caught up with Fitz and the Tantrums. We'd taken Davis to see them play an in-store at Sonic Boom and she loves their music. They put so much into their live show, it was really fun to see them on a big stage.

Davis decided to scoot all the way down this hill on her bottom. It took awhile.

Douglas takes extreme pleasure in tormenting his children.

Total rock star.

Most of the bands that we wanted to see on Sunday were on the main stage so we made camp on the hill and took it easy.

Take a look at that crowd!! And this is just the hillside. By this point in the day, the pit area was completely full as well.

We scored entrance into an "acoustic" set by Fitz and the Tantrums in the evening. Davis had just woken up from a good long nap (EXACTLY when I was hoping she'd take one) so she just wanted me to hold her the whole time. Didn't stop me from dancing, of course.

Every time we'd walk up the hill, Davis would wave to everyone and say hello. She made a lot of friends that day.....some of them were even sober. Lots of people blew bubbles for her, and our neighbor on the hill even gave her a little bracelet.

We did our best to keep Davis entertained between sets.

The Flaming Lips was a huge hit with little D. It helped that there were balloons, Teletubbies, and a dude in a giant inflatable ball.....

It was exhausting, I missed some stuff I would have liked to see, and I was on alert pretty much all the time, but I am SO glad that we did it. She may not remember it, but I'll never forget watching her clap and dance and cheer and make so many people smile.

A Party with Horses!!

2011-06-07T19:21:00.000-07:00

We went to our friend Ava's 7th birthday a few weeks ago and they had PONIES!! I wasn't sure how Davis would react. She's definitely been more hesitant about certain things and I figured she could go either way. Luckily she was super excited, jumped up immediately when they asked who wanted to go first with the birthday girl, and even fed one a carrot. She was a pro too, I didn't even half to walk around with her. Towards the end, they were having the ponies trot with the bigger kids. Not one to be left out, she asked to "run" too. I DID hold on to her for that one. It was a pretty awesome party.

Relay for Life

2011-05-31T15:22:00.001-07:00

This month we took part in the Everett Relay for Life with a bunch of a people from my office. I figured Davis would love the opportunity to run and run and run....and I was right! I think we probably walked about 3 miles, and I am pretty sure that Davis did two miles running on her own. That girl is a machine!

There were themed laps, and this was the 'Redneck' Lap.

Notice the bunny ears....

We were also there for a 'Sports Team' Lap.

And a 'Pirate' Lap. This crew taught Davis how to sword fight.

Davis really got involved in the 'Purple' Lap.....

Even when we didn't have to be running, she was running!

Playing catch up...

2011-05-31T15:04:00.000-07:00

Yikes, I just realized I was a whole month behind on my posting. May has been ridiculously crazy for us. Early in the month, we went to a park opening in the neighborhood. Davis had a ton of fun exploring this fire truck.

She also made her first Fruit Loop necklace. We didn't make it very long though, she immediately wanted to start eating it!

And Douglas agreed to let me get her face painted. I wasn't sure she would sit still for it, but she did.

What's been taking up the majority of our time this month is a little remodel we've been working on. We totally redid the bathroom and pulled the carpeting up in the living room. We'll have the full result shots in some other post.

And really big news! Davis is no longer in a crib, we turned it to a day bed a few weeks ago and she has been doing really well in it. She isn't the biggest fan of going to sleep, so I figured she would just get out of bed whenever she wanted, but so far so good. She'll still lay there and cry until she falls asleep, but she stays put.

Crocodile Rock

2011-05-20T17:56:00.000-07:00

Daddy Daughter Night

2011-05-19T21:56:00.000-07:00

Oh, Daddy Daughter Nights. What fun. Quizzes about how well you know each other. A cake decorating contest. Ice Cream Push Ups. Speed Nail Polish. Three Legged Race. Bubble Blowing Contest. And Marshmallow Stuffing Contest. What fun.

I think they changed their minds a few times, but apparently this is supposed to be a Narwal.

Layne managed to stuff more marshmallows in her mouth than any of the girls, and only one of the dads was able to top it!

Layne and Douglas took home the prestigious award for "Loudest Team". I was told it was because of all the trash talking they did before each activity, and the fact that somehow Layne managed to talk four of the cake judges into voting for that hideous Narwal. I'm so proud.

Oh, and I should point out that Douglas and Layne were the team with the most right answers on the "How well do you know your daddy/daughter" quiz....even though Douglas somehow managed to get Layne's birthday wrong.

Easter 2011

2011-05-08T21:59:00.000-07:00

We hosted Easter this year and, while it may have been a little crowded, I think we all had fun. Davis was VERY excited about finding eggs, which was fun for me. I wasn't sure if she'd get into it, but she had a great time and she picked it up really fast. I thought we'd be outside for awhile waiting for her to find everything, but she just rolled right on through. Besides the three of us, we also had Joel, Lisa, Jen, Zac, Andra, Sam and Amy. Dinner was good and Davis kept us all entertained. She's better than a trained monkey. And she doesn't fling her doo.

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

2011-05-08T21:40:00.000-07:00

Yeah....it was a pretty awesome day!