Fall in Bothell includes...

...the Canyon Creek Walk-a-thon

...some serious leaf jumping

 ...naps after church

...fall colors in the backyard

...and three birthdays!

Part of growing up....

Hannah has dreamed of this day and is thrilled that it has finally come......

She got to choose the design of her new retainer that she has to wear ALL THE TIME except while eating and brushing her teeth!   Her bands are purple and gold to support the Huskies!!

There was no sugar coating on Alan's and my part.  We told her how much they would hurt and how much we didn't like them and it did nothing to discourage her!  She came out grinning from ear to ear. 

She will need to relearn how to talk with her mouth full. It's funny to listen and to watch her try to talk!  So fun, all part of growing up!  I wonder how long this honeymoon stage will last?

12 years ago.....

12 years ago my life changed forever.....never to go back to the way it was.  It was a day that my sweet baby girl came into my life.  She was adorable and perfect!  Alan and I had never experienced that depth of love until that day.

Hannah is smart, funny, happy, talented, kind, thoughtful, loving, helpful, beautiful and is blossoming into such a lovely women.  What a joy she has been to our lives! 

I love you Hannah!  You have given my life meaning and purpose....Thank you for sharing your light with me and everyone you meet!

First Day of School

Eden and Miriam wanted in on the action too!

 My school kids are growing up!  Joseph is in 2nd, Peter in 4th, Hannah in 6th!  And yes I cut Peter's hair....yes it is a mohawk....yes it will be cut before church on Sunday!

 Taking our secret gate!!  Thanks Alan for installing it....so much time has been saved by having it!

 This year Hannah is old enough to be a crossing guard and she couldn't be more thrilled!  She takes her job very seriously!

Home again....home again...jiggity jig!!

Mt Saint Helens

This was such a fun experience to be able to go to Mount St. Helens and see how it has changed.  I went when I was living in WA as a kid and it looks so different.  When I went before there were little trees that now have 20 years growth to them.  Over 8 million trees were planted after the eruption.  This is all Hannah wanted to do this summer so we made it our last summer fling!  Well worth the trip!

 This Picture has a really funny story associated with it that caused Rebecca a huge bruise and a funny limp because she forgot how gravity worked!!  We have Mt. Rainier in the background of this beautiful farm scape.

 The trees that you see were all wiped out when Mount St. Helens blew in 1980.  Crazy to think of the destruction that such a beautiful majestic place can have in a matter of minutes!

 You can see the path the landslide took.

 We are a happy family!  Look at Alan's hat....I LOVE it!  It looks fabulous on him, and fits his personality perfectly!

 Closer to the mountain you can still see where the trees were just blown over and still lay there in neat rows.

 Had to get this picture with the fallen tree and the mountain in the background!

The forest is kind of fake looking because everything is the same size and so uniform instead of the diversity of an old forest that once was here.

CRABS!!

Today we got to go crabbing in the Pudget Sound. It was a cold but beautiful day! Our plan was to go clamming again with a friend, but since it was just her and I with our kids, her parents offered to take us crabbing instead! I was thrilled. Alan watched Eden and Miriam, I didn't think they would last for 4 hours on a boat, plus it would have been very crowded. There are many people who have wanted to have this experience but have never had the opportunity. You can crabbing off a dock but you won't get much, you really need a boat. Her dad was so patient with the kids and did a great job explaining and involving us. The kids got to drive the boat as well, which is always exciting for for anyone!

This sea lion was not to happy to have us around!
One of our catches.....the ones we could keep had to be male and 6 1/4" long. All the rest got thrown back. We had a great clamming day....we caught 31 clams and our limit was 35! We had 5 pots out, the one closest to shore was never touched by anything. The other 4 looked like this every time we brought it up!

We also had to test for softness so we all took turns holding them. You want the crabs to be hard. While checking once Joseph got snapped. I hurt really bad, I felt bad for him. It made everyone very cautious!

While waiting for our second batch of crabs to be ready to lift up we did a little bit of fishing!

The kids got bored of it quickly until Peter got one! Then everyone was really excited!! Peter was a natural and caught 3 or 4 of them!

Joseph was never patient enough to actually catch one but he did enjoy playing with them! This one was to little and was going to be thrown back!

I was a great catch too! I got a couple pretty good size ones! These are the fish that have both eyes on one side with a dark side and a white side. They hide in the sand at the bottom of the ocean. They are featured on "Finding Nemo"!! The sun also decided to come out which we were so grateful for!

In one of our crab cages we caught a sunfish. It was quite prickly but it was fun to hold the slimy side and see the tentacles move.

I love this picture of Peter! It sums up our morning! What a treat it was to be able to do this. We had so much fun!

Loved this picture of the dock! With the barnacles and mussels that are attached. The ocean is a marvel to me with all of the living things and how the tides work!

Close up of the pole.

What a fantastic day!! I loved being out on the ocean enjoying it's beauty!

Peter's Birthday

Happy Birthday Peter!

Peter, who has never wanted a friends birthday party, asked me a little over a week before had if he could have a birthday party! I was completely and totally shocked, but pleased. Looking at our crazy calendar really the only day it would work was on his birthday. Alan was scheduled to be gone, but as the old saying goes, "The party must go on!"

We decided to keep it simple so we just played capture the flag with pizza and cake. We had the kids come over right after school and stay until right after dinner. It was a huge hit! All the boys had a great time running around and the weather could not have been better! It was perfect, because it was simple and little prep work and with little time it couldn't have been better!

Old Composers

During lunch today Hannah (11) was explaining that they don't use 1/16th notes in music anymore.

"So if you hear one, you are probably listening to really old music by Beethoven, Mozart ... or Shakespeare."

Firsts / Lasts

Truly I am getting sentimental in my old age! Knowing that Miriam is my last baby I have started having those moments where it is a first for her but a last for me. I am split. I am happy, happier than I should be. But there is the tiniest part of me that is sad that wants to hold on to my little babies. You know the babies that are hard to hold because they don't fit on your lap anymore! The sadness isn't enough for me to want to have another one. I would rather be sad then crazy! Oh wait, I already am!!
Any who back to the latest news......

My baby girl had her first Sunday in Nursery!!

She loved it and had Zero problems and no tears!! Hooray for Nursery!!

Hooray for Mee-um!!

It feels good to go to church to attend my classes instead of just walking around!!

Happy Birthday ME!!

What an old women I am turning out to be.......

today I turned 32.

I couldn't ask for more than the many many blessings that I already have. Not a day goes by that I don't think about how blessed I am. For my five beautiful children, my husband that loves his job, my beautiful home, the cars that we have to drive, the ladies that are willing to carpool to far places, the food we have to eat, that I can take a hot shower anytime day or night, for a washer and dryer and I couldn't forget a dishwasher. I feel so blessed to have a relationship with my Savior Jesus Christ and for his willingness to die for me. I am so grateful for his love as well as the love of family, and friends.
It was a quiet, perfect day.....a day for reflextion. Alan took me to lunch and we then had dinner with the kids and opened presents. Alan gave me the perfect gift.......he gave me an airplane ticket and a week off!! Can't get better than that!! It will be fun!

Go Tornado's

Joe had his first soccer game today! He played great and was able to make some great kicks and a couple of blocks. I was surprised that they only played 3 on 3, but I think that's all the other team had. They play 10 min. quarters.

I could not have planned this great of a shot!! Joseph loves to be by the goal protecting it from goals, he is pretty good at it. The only problem is that at his age they don't have goalies. :(

Go TORNADO'S!!

funny side note: Eden kept yelling, "GO mato's!!"