We miss you Huggy Bear!

Spring Break!

I can not tell you what a HUGE blessing this trip was. During the time of the year when you cannot bear another cold, wet, cloudy day....going to sunny Cancun Mexico is just pure delight! My parents & brother have a time share in Mexico, & with the Christmas gift of my parents paying for airline travel, we squealed w/ excitement knowing we would all be getting some serious vitamin D come March.
Some pix of the trip....Wilson reaching for sand to plow Noah, Noah attempting to buggy board some waves, my mom & Lucy, me attempting to get a together photo of my very uncooperative children, and finally Annie-Grace getting braids on the beach.
Thanks again mom & dad, we had a wonderful time!!!!!

Backtracking Part III

New Year new template....finally, in all my computer expertise, changed the blogs backdrop. Hope you likes:)
Daniel had his second year of dressing up as 'ol St. Nick. His hair is much longer this year, and it called for more hair paint. Here he is w/ Andru, Madrid, and Bernice (his sister Debra's kids). They live here too, as most of you know. We wish we could see them more- life just gets busy.
Daniel and I had a night out for our 16th year wedding anniversary. We love sushi, and tried a new place in Seattle, it was yummy!
Finally, the last pictures are of Christmas family breakfast we had together. Lovely to have "L" back from Iraq, safe and sound. He's back after his 3rd tour over seas.
Hugs to all! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I think Im fairly caught up on our happenings!!!

Backtracking Part 2 December 2010

The Seattle Marathon was November 28th. I still look back on that day & find it hard to believe we ran 26.2 miles, but we sure did. Funny, the things I worried about during the run I didnt need to worry about @ all; like fueling properly- that wasn't an issue. I found an "espresso love" gel that worked great. However I did have a knee pain that suddenly arose @ mile 10 that required 6 Ibuproffin to get me through the race. Argh. The kids, an Dan cheered me into the finish line, it was very emotional. All those training miles logged and here we were finally finishing. Erika is my sweat sister who gets me through on these long runs, a dear friend to run side by side with.

Here is Annie-Grace celebrating moving up from Brownies to Girl Scouts. My dad & brother were in for a visit too, which was great "eating" fun. We visited all our favorite restaurants and even found a new one in China town, called Hong Kong Bistro....yummmm!!! Nothing like Asian noodles. We ate good!

Backtracking November 2010

Im still here!!! I've been in a blogging "funk" lately, but am determined to find my way back. I can't believe its been since last October since I wrote. Between extra work stuff and training for the marathon, I ran out of steam in many areas. So here is my measly attempt @ catching up.


Noah made a apple pie this year for Thanksgiving....amazing how he can't remember where shoes are, clothes, clean his room, but when it comes to food, his brain is suddenly clear. I've never even made an apple pie! It was delicious. Way to go Noah!


Daniel turned 44 this year. He is officially in school full time. We are determined to finish sooner than later- God willing. He's doing amazing, & is finally getting recognition for his amazing mind. He also plays Mr. Mom on his off days. I don't know any other guy who has gotten more of a taste of what its like to play this difficult roll. BTW most know this but the beard is for playing St. Nick @ some Christmas parties in December...the kids love him!

And, completely out of order...is Halloween. Im sad to say this is the first Halloween we were not all together. My older kids went in different directions w/ their friends and I didn't get any pictures of them. Only my sweet angel Annie-Grace.

Bloedel Reserve

There is this place on the Island that is so amazingly beautiful. It is a 150 acre nature preserve and garden. It has a lovely 2 mile walk through a Japanese garden, Moss garden and water pools etc. I cant wait to see it in the fall, its supposed to be gorgeous.
So, just trying to entice any visitors.....The place gives a whole new meaning to the color green!!!!
Hope "ya'll" are settling into fall, school, and sports schedules. Dan is in school full time this semester, Im still training for a marathon and the kids....well the kids are great. Some are taking a break from activities and just playing:)
Blessings to all of you! We miss ya!

Summer Birthday Mania!

Its still amazing to me that Dan & I have four kids w/ their birthdays all with in 6 weeks of each other. Annie-Grace is 9, Lucy 11, Wilson 13, and Noah turned 15 this year. Their birthdays were a blast. Lucy got a bike, which she loves and has been riding everywhere- even on my training runs. Annie-Grace got new shoes, clothes and earrings. Wilson, an new phone and Noah a guitar. The boys also received baseball gloves. Just a quick THANKS to grandma and grandpa Wilson for all the great birthday clothes and gift cards. Aunt Courtney & Uncle Kory, the girls loved, loved their bracelets. And thanks to Pa-Paw for Noah's guitar- great gifts and thank you so much!!!

Time is flying by, they are all growing so fast. I have to brag and say they are amazing kids. Lucy spent many summer mornings selling lemonaide to golfers, Wilson did yard work, washed cars to earn all his money for Young Life camp. Noah walks dogs for extra money. So proud of all of them. Dan and I are some blessed parents.