Cortney's Trip

We have been counting down the days until my niece, Cortney, came to visit us. She graduated high school and we got to provide her a vacation after graduation. She flew into Seattle early one morning. Bryan and I were able to go and pick her up (thanks to mom and dad...Bryan's parents for watching the girls).
We first took her to Pikes Market. She got to see the huge fish being thrown and see all the fun sights. Next stop, the pier to visit Ye Olde Curiosity Shop and then we walked around the pier. The next stop was the Seattle Aquarium. We had a lot of fun.

The next stop on our day of fun was to take her to see the space needle. She really wanted to do this. She was so excited to shop and a little upset when I told her she didn't get to shop as soon as we got there. We surprised her with lunch at the Sky City to celebrate her High School Graduation. Then she got to shop her heart out.

After shopping we walked around and saw things we could around the space needle. Then we took Cortney on a Ride the Duck tour. It wasn't as amazing as the first tour we had was better, but this one was still a lot of fun. Then we got in the car and left Seattle. We spent about 5 or 6 hours in the car and we drove to Coeur d'Alene Idaho and spent the night. After a fabulous breakfast we headed off to Silverwood. We had so much fun despite the colder temperatures and it being a day full of school kids.

Finally we were back home. After two days packed full of fun we took a few days off and just relaxed. Then Claire showed Cortney how to do the zip-line at Uncle Dale's and Aunt Rachel. We are so glad they let us play on the zip-line. It provides so much fun...

...Yes that is Claire with her feet pretty much above her head. Then of course we had to swim at Perry's Party Palace Pool...once again we are grateful for Uncle Dale an Aunt Rachel for sharing their beautiful pool with us.

We had such a great time with Cort visiting. My two girls had so much fun with her. I think she saved me so much stress. So much happened with moving, preparing for our family reunion, ward boundaries changing, callings, and so many other things. Thanks Cortney for making the past two weeks the best ever! We love you!!!

Just Fun

We have been having a lot of fun since preschool got over. We kept packing and packing...the girls loved to play on the boxes as we kept stacking them up.

In the midst of our packing we helped another friend move from one house to another too. The girls had a lot of fun playing with the other kids while we moved boxes.

Claire finished up her swim lessons until the Fall. She has had a great time. We are so proud of how good of a swimmer she has and is becoming.

The girls took advantage of a nice day and had one more picnic on our back porch...before it is no longer our back porch.

We moved into the in-laws and Mia has found herself a new job for herself.

Graduation

It was such a fun day for Claire today. We spoiled her and took her to Janelle to get her hair done before she went to her school graduation. She was just so thrilled to have her hair done and to have so many people to support her! Thanks to everyone who came and supported her in this special day.

We loved this past year at young years preschool. We loved each and every teacher. Claire loved going to school and learning from each one of these amazing ladies. She will miss them. Here she is with Mrs. Rains.

This is Claire with Mrs.Yaden. Mia couldn't let all these pictures get taken and not get in at least one of them.

Then Claire with Mrs. Lee. Thanks again to all three of these amazing ladies!

It is official now....Claire is a preschool graduate!!

We are all so proud of you Claire!!!

Just Hungry?

We are either really hungry and really love our cereal...or the packing as has begun.

I guess it means we have begun packing. I was sick of people asking me if I have started packing so I did it...I started...so stop asking me!!! LOL!!! We have sold our house and now we have to move. I am a bit overwhelmed with all that needs to get done, but happy to move on to a new adventure.

Easter and More!

Shortly after we got home from our trip to Virginia, it was Easter. The girls were so fun to watch. I loved every minute of it. Here they are with their Easter baskets just so excited to hunt for eggs.

We also colored Easter Eggs. Here is Claire working on an egg.

Here is Mia coloring her egg.

Here is Claire and Mia finding Easter Eggs.

Since Claire learned how to ride a two wheeler, we promised Claire a brand new big girl bike. Here she is with her daddy...so proud of my little girl for learning how to ride a bike and so grateful for a hubby who is willing to put the bike together.

After a family bike ride we got to teach the girls about the ice cream truck. They loved it!!

Mia helped me get the garden ready to plant. She loved playing in the dirt!!

This is one of my favorite moments from the past few weeks. Claire was being an amazing big sister and having Mia watch (and occasionally play) her play her leapster. Mia loved it so much she fell asleep!! Actually Mia did enjoy it, but she was so tired from the busy day we had that she fell asleep cuddled up to Claire. It was so cute!!

Spring Break

We flew out to see my sister in Virginia for Spring Break. We had such a great time. We loved it. The first day we got there we just hung out and enjoyed being with family. My sister's house has the following historical marker.
On our drive home from the airport we saw the following sign outside a church parking lot. I thought it was funny!
The next day we spent the morning walking the grounds of Mount Vernon. It was so great! It was fun to walk around where George Washington did. Then home to watch conference.
On Sunday morning we went and saw the Washington DC temple and went to the visitor center. Then back to my sister's to watch conference and have the yummy annual conference rolls.
On Monday we went to the Air and Space Museum and then walked around and saw most of the memorials. I am proud of all the kids (Claire and my sister's kids...Mia just got to ride in the stroller) because we walked over 5 miles that day. Here we are at the Lincoln Memorial. I couldn't believe how big it was.
On Monday, we also went to the Washington Monument, Vietnam wall, Korean war memorial, the World War II memorial and we saw the Capital.
On Tuesday we went and saw the Natural History Museum, the Museum of American History (I loved this one...we got to see the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the Star Spangled Banner) and the Holocaust Museum. That night my sister watched the kids and my brother-in-law took Bryan and I to see the The Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial. Once again I was amazed at the size of this memorial.
My brother-in-law also took us by the White House. Here we are with the back side of the White House in the background. Once again it was awesome to see these things that I have read and learned about.
Then on Wednesday we went and saw the Marine Memorial (Iwo Jima statue). We went and saw Arlington National Cemetery (we got to see JFK's grave, the tomb of the unknown soldier...we got to see the changing of the guards.) and then Bryan and I got dropped off at the Pentagon. My brother-in-law is in the Air Force and he had arranged for us to be able to go in the Pentagon with him. He got to learn about the building and see some of it. We ended our time there seeing the September 11th Pentagon Memorial. That night we went to a park for a picnic dinner and got to watch airplanes take off right over our heads. It was another fabulous day!
On our last day we went to the Washington DC National Zoo. Once again it was so fun and the kids had a blast seeing the elephants, butterflies, orangutans, Panda Bear, Red Pandas, and so many other fun animals.
We had a great time at the zoo! We loved spending time in our Nation's Capital and of course spending time with family. Claire and Mia are going through with-drawls...I am too!!!
This picture just sums up how we all felt when we got home (although this picture was taken in Virginia). Thanks Zach, Ginet, Wyatt, Bode, Summer and Addie for such an amazing Spring Break!!

Fun Times!!

I have been wanting to post these pictures in a while, but never have. For Christmas Claire got a camera. She absolutely loves it (even Mia enjoys it). Here are some of the pictures she has taken with her camera. The camera lens rotates so she can take pictures of herself. She can also add fun things to the pictures; which is one of her favorite things to do. She had added piggie tails to her hair.
In this pictures she added a binkie to Mia. Which is so funny cause I think Mia had a binkie in her mouth when Claire took the picture.
Here is our big lipped big smiles girl. This is one of her favorites to add on to the photos. We do get a lot of blurry and and random photos too. She loves taking pictures of her feet for some reason.
I can't believe this is happening already!! Mia has started to try and climb out of her crib. Luckily this is as far as she has gotten. I hope and pray she doesn't learn how to climb all the way out of it. I am not sure I am ready for her to be in a big girl bed.
We were able to go support Bryan's sister Terin in her role as Joy (a stepsister) in Rogers & Hammerstein's Cinderella. The girls both had so much fun. We were able to get a picture taken with both stepsisters, Cinderella and the Prince. Claire of course was her silly self as always!
Our last big news is...Claire can now ride a two wheeler. She is no longer in need of training wheels. She is so proud of herself. Now to get her a bike she fits. This one is a bit too small for her.