I'm Back!

Finally back to blogging after a brief break due to a broken camera!  Lots to catch up on though!

Back in the beginning of September two of my sister's children got to stay with us for 8 days.  What a fun time for us!

We went shopping, out for ice cream, to the American Girl Doll store, lots of trips to the park, and on a ferry ride.

Below are some pictures from our ferry ride!  We had such amazing weather!

 My six little explorers!

 Sweet Malaya

 At the beach we found this huge jelly fish (at least that is what I think it is).  

Annalise and Asha....best buddies and cousins! 

Trip to Indiana

Last month we took a trip to see Matt's family in West Lafayette, IN.  We made some wonderful memories with them.  Badminton & volleyball in the back yard, lots of games of ping pong, BBQ's, making friends with neighbor kids, movies out, swimming, early morning runs with my hubby, fresh corn, and visiting where Matt went to college.  These were just a few of the many fun memories! So very thankful for this time!!! 

Jeffrey keeping cool in shade of their big backyard tree. 

We got to spend two days with Matt's sister, her husband and their two children.
What great cousin time!! 

Luke giving Grandma lots of love!  She certainly deserved it!  

To keep cool (there were some very hot days...reaching close to 100), we went to a very fun water park.

Luke went down the water slide at least 30 times!!  He was in heaven! 

We finally got Jeffrey to go down the lazy river!  This was my personal favorite thing at the water park!  How relaxing! 

Lots of fun times!!!

Thanks to Grandpa & Grandma for making this trip possible!!!  

Matt's Bike Adventure

On July 14th Matt rode his bike in the STP (Seattle to Portland).  This is over 200 miles in one day!!   This was his second time doing this, and I know he would say he enjoyed it even more!  We were all so proud of him!!  The kids and I drove down to Portland, and then with my sister's family we all waited eagerly for him to arrive at the finish line.  

Way to go Matt!!!

4th of July

It's a tradition of ours to go to the Edmonds 4th of July parade, and we were excited that a few of our friends from church joined us this year.  Here all the kids sit eagerly in the street waiting for the parade to start.  

 Jeffrey and his friend waiting for any candy that might be thrown their way. 

After the parade we went to a near by park where the local firefighters had a water ball competition.  Lots of sun and water were involved!!  

Love these boys....and my sweet girls! 

 Jeffrey enjoyed getting wet and wild! 

Luke got a turn using the firefighter's hose.  

What a fun day!  We also took the kids to the firework show in the evening.  This is the first time they have ever seen fireworks live!  

Summer Fun

Summer has begun here in Seattle!  We have many fun things planned this summer.  One of the first things we did was go strawberry picking with a few of our friends.  The strawberries were amazing!  Big and juicy!!  The kids were all very helpful and only got a "little" muddy! 

 Here is Lana and her friend. 

 Sweet Jeffrey who did more eating then picking! 

 Luke and his friend enjoying their time together!

 Asha and her friend....I think they picked more than me!  Good job girls! 

All the kiddos!!  What a great start to our summer fun! 

Sister Time

My sister came to Seattle with her four youngest children for a few days at the end of June.  We made some fun memories!  One was taking Annalise to the American Girl Doll store and cafe for her 11th birthday.  

Here we are eating lunch at the cafe (each with their dolls). 

 Cousins and friends!

My beautiful sister!!   Can you believe she has 7 children?  No way! 

Special times with sweet Aunika!  We decided that she can NOT grow up anymore!!  What a fun age!

 Love this girl! 

Jeffrey also really enjoyed his littlest cousin!  Asking often if he could hold her.  So thankful for these times we share as a family!!  

Treasures! 

EXPO 2012

The home school resource center that we are involved with has an end of the year expo where the kids can showcase some of the things they have learned or done throughout the year.  This was such a fun time of being with friends and enjoying the many talents of all of these kids!  Wow!  

 Here Asha is enjoying some time with her friends. 

Luke and Lana did a recorder performance with their music class.  I was so proud of both of them and the time they put into practicing their recorders!  Luke is in the above picture, and Lana is below.  These pics did not turn out well because I was sitting quite a distance away.  boohoo! 

 Asha made her first quilt in her sewing class.  

Asha was also involved in a fashion show that showed the different clothing items that the students in the sewing class made throughout the year.  Asha made and designed the shirt that she is wearing here. She has become quite a seamstress.  She certainly didn't pick up this talent from me!  =)