A Birthday

Just wanted to pop in and wish a very

HAPPY 59th BIRTHDAY, DAD!!

We love you and wish we could be with you today!

Lotsa hugs,

Keith, Anita, Jordan, Jaeden & Brooklyn

Randomness

Just wanted to show some pics of spring up here in the Pacific NW! These were taken Wednesday morning before it started to snow.

Tulips that will probably decide to POP before we get back from the cruise.

Won't these be pretty?

And of course, daffodils!
A gorgeous weeping cherry tree by our front fence.

It's beautiful in full bloom!
You're welcome to come play horseshoes with us!

We got enough snow to create a mini snowman Wednesday. When we woke up Thursday morning, we had a bunch more. It couldn't make up it's mind the rest of the day whether it wanted to rain or snow.

It rained all night last night so the snow melted. But guess what it's doing again this morning? Snowing! Guess we'll be ready to see some sunshine tomorrow. Florida or bust! The house is clean and most of the packing is done - a good feeling. Just hoping the snow doesn't mess with our flights. We'll be touching down in Michigan, too. Yikes! Better check their weather out...
It might look like a mess, but it's an organized mess! Packing for a cruise isn't as easy as packing for a camping trip, in my opinion. It'll be worth it, though. We're hoping we can blog from the ship, but if not we'll see you when we get back! Enjoy your Spring Break if you haven't had it already. (Oh yeah, that's not our only dining table. We really do have a place to sit down and eat.)

Hugs,

Let It Snow

Wow! Two posts in one day...but I couldn't let this opportunity pass. It really is snowing right now. This is the view out the window as I'm typing this post. And I'm wondering why it's hard to think about what to take on a cruise in the Caribbean.

The snow is pretty wet still, but it's starting to accumulate. Hard to believe I was out this morning taking pics of everything in bloom or budding (which I'll post tomorrow)! But I do have to say it was C O L D - Brrrrr! When I came in, my hands were like icicles. Jordan can attest to that. I put them down the back of his shirt to warm up.

edited to add: See?? It really is sticking now. Just when I thought we were done with our snow clothes for the season (It is supposed to be Spring ya know!). The kiddos are getting into their snowsuits/boots as I'm typing. One last hurrah for snow?!?

Going, Going...

Gone!

Yup, the mop of curls are gone for now. Told Jordan he needed a haircut before the cruise. Going for a summer look. For some reason, he has such a hard time parting with his curls. We always have to DRAG him to the barber. He always likes the "after" look, though. We tease him about these being his haircut "mug shots". He doesn't like smiling for the camera.

Our 3 Monkeys

Could someone tell us why it's so hard to get three little human beings to cooperate just once simultaneously??? All I wanted was ONE good picture. Is that too much to ask? Anyway, here is our brood in their best Sunday clothes, if not their best poses.

Dining Alfresco

Nothing like dining alfresco, even if it's a bit chilly out. The kids decided to take advantage of the sunnier weather outside Saturday to eat their lunch. Glad they did because it sure beat today's weather! Today is wet and windy. I know it's putting a damper on all the egg hunts today!

Yippee for Jordan and Keith! They passed their hunting/gun safety course yesterday with 74/75 points. Congratulations boys!! They both really enjoyed the classes and would recommend them.

We're waiting on a friend to join us for lunch - a baked ham, steamed asparagus, Hubbard squash, mashed potatoes, warm biscuits, a green salad and lots of chocolate for dessert (wanted to bake lemon bars, but our guest can't have flour). Wish you could join us!

Hugs all 'round -

Cruising

This is where we're headed one week from today. Can't wait to see the beautiful blue water, sunny skies, beaches and spend quality time with the Hansen family!

One week of bliss....ahhhh.

A Day Off

This is what we do on a day off from school.

We drink hot cocoa with BUNNY marshmallows.

Hope you're having just as sweet a week!

Fruit Tarts

Jaeden brought a book home from the library that was filled with easy recipes for kids. We decided to do the jam tarts only we were out of jam! So instead, we spooned in frozen mixed berries and sprinkled with sugar. They turned out good according to kid standards! Mom thinks we need to find a new recipe for the dough though.

The missing tarts prove that we taste tested them! Mmmmm....good.

A fun after-school project while Jordan and Dad are off taking a gun safety course.

We hope you're enjoying your week so far!

Another Week Gone By

Our Miss Boo never stops in the middle of the day let alone falls asleep. Obviously she wasn't feeling well. She was sick with a cold last weekend as I mentioned in the last post. So she stayed home from school Monday, and it took a lot of persuasion to send her Tuesday. This picture was taken on Thursday. At least she went to school. But she came home and said she'd fallen asleep on the bus (could this be Brooklyn?) and she immediately crawled up into the rocking chair. I gave her a couple of pillows, and she was out. (The first picture is blurry because I was trying not to wake her with the flash.) Anyway, I'm happy to report that she's MUCH better!

Brooklyn and Jaeden went to Olympia for a field trip on Friday. They saw a laser show and came home telling us all about it. I'd forgotten how much we used to look forward to those grade school field trips! So much excitement in packing lunches, wearing the appropriate clothes (raincoats here in WA), etc.

Yummy cupcakes we made Friday afternoon.

Jordan has student-led conferences this next week (I'm sure it'll be good news in that category) so that means half-days all week for him. He's still loving every minute of his welding classes.

No school for all the kids on Friday, either. What is up with that?? It seems every time we turn around, the kids are off for some reason or another. Do kids ever go to school anymore? Monday off here, Friday off there, half-days this week, Christmas Break, Mid-Winter Break, Spring Break, teacher planning days, state planning days, holidays, snow make-up unused days... To complicate matters further, the high school isn't on the same schedule/routine as the grade schools. I do wonder how working mom's manage sometimes between all the days off school, sick days, etc. It's quite a juggling act. I admire each and every one of you working mother's out there!

We're counting down the days till we go on our Caribbean cruise during Spring Break. We'll be sure to take lots of pictures to share with you! Meanwhile, we're busy packing and figuring out what to take/not take. Thanks to Laurie (my cousin) and Erika (my sis-in-law) for their advice so far! Each little bit has helped immensely. We're really starting to look forward to this cruise.

Hugs to all of you and hope you enjoy what's left of your weekend!

Lighthouses

We decided that since Keith worked last Saturday and will work again this next Saturday, we were going to take advantage of this Saturday to do something as a family. It's been a while, 7 1/2 years to be exact, when we last went to see the two lighthouses on the far southwest corner of Washington State where the mouth of the Columbia River empties into the Pacific Ocean.

This picture of the foursome shows the bridge leading from WA to Astoria, OR in the background. We were watching a seal swimming around and peeking his head up every now and then to check us out. Click on the colored words if you're interested in seeing more facts, etc.

*note: carrots in, or I should say partially in, Jaeden's mouth, not what his lips actually look like.

Hiking the little trail to the North Head Lighthouse built in 1898.

We couldn't have asked for better weather - it was overcast all the way to the coast.

The kids were getting tired of Mom asking them to stop for a picture. Isn't that what a mom is for??

Doesn't this lighthouse volunteer look just like an old lighthouse keeper? He was great! The boarded up window to the left was intact all these years until our HUGE storm this last December.

We climbed the steep 69 steps up to the lantern room at the top of the lighthouse. Whew! Clammy hands and pounding heart (Anita doesn't do well with heights).

The north view below the lighthouse from the lantern room.

Two miles further south, we hiked up to the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. Normally, you don't find lighthouses only two miles apart. Ships coming from the north couldn't see it, so North Head Lighthouse was built a few years later.

Daffodils on the bluff. Detail at the top of the lighthouse. Taken from Waikiki Beach (WA not HI) at Cape Disappointment State Park. So that was basically our getaway on Saturday where fun was had by all! Brooklyn started getting a cold and it progressed throughout the day, but she was quite a trooper in spite of it.

Testing

Landscaping

Oh, how I wish I'd taken a before picture of this space in front of our house! It was downright scary. Just a big jumble of plants - overgrown rose bushes, rosemary, daffodils, and whatnot. It pays to be married to a landscaper. Every time I looked at that space, I would have nightmares. I'd have no idea where to start! But Keith got in there and took out anything we didn't want, moved rosemary to some pots for kitchen use, transplanted a rhododendron that was lost in the yard elsewhere, made order out of the daffodils, etc. All within a few hours this last Saturday. It doesn't look like much yet especially when you can't see a before picture (sorry-wasn't thinking!), but believe me - it's a total turnaround. Okay, ignore that big orange/rusty spot on the wall. We're getting to that...

Make note of those daffodil's already in bloom! Yay!! Spring really is just around the corner...17 days to be exact. Those round white things - Brooklyn's handprints. She made one for Mom on Mother's Day and one for Dad on Father's Day last year. So we had to use them. We left them in the tins for now otherwise I'm afraid they'd break up too easily.

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Oh, I just found some before shots! From before we even moved in a year ago. You can maybe get an idea of how jumbled and messy the yard was. We have a ways to go, but so much improvement already. The prior owners loved a hodgepodge of everything with no rhyme nor reason to placement of things. It was a pain to mow. You'd come across tulips smack in the middle of nowhere. Remember, we're still renting so we don't want to put a ton of $$ into this. But we do like living in a nice place, too. The landlord wants us to buy, we'll see. When we first moved in, we hauled a ton of garbage away including an old stove and other filth sitting on the front porch.

While Keith was working on the front there, I was busy rearranging and cleaning the porch. An early spring cleaning. The boys went to a Sportsman's Show at the fairgrounds earlier in the day and won two $25 gift certificates to our local hardware store. They were sweet enough to gift me with one so I can go pick out some pretty flowers to perk up my pots. I'll take pics to post later.

The little ones were so excited about school this morning. It's Dr. Seuss Day and they got to wear pajamas to school as well as take their slippers, teddy bears, etc. So fun!

Enjoy your week!