Strawberries

We are so lucky to have strawberry plants in our backyard garden, thanks Lisa and Ryan! Our family LOVES fresh strawberries. No more words sn

Flag Day

I took my girls to the Fairfield Flag Day Parade for the first time this year, and it was so much fun! Molly had stayed at my house Friday night, so she went with me, because Ryan had a couple other obligations. So, we got all our supplies, snacks, water, stroller, diapers, etc. and loaded up the car and went on out. Of course we were a little late, so I was pleased with the parking spot we got, just on the other side of the park. We walked over to main street and found an empty spot towards the end of the parade and got to see almost all of it, we just missed the Liberty High School band.

When I was growing up, they always threw candy at the parade, but I wasn't sure if they still did, so I didn't say anything to Callie, I just told her that we were going to a parade to see all the beautiful princesses. Well, sure enough, they started throwing candy and she was so excited. The people in the parade thought her and Peyton were super cute, so they got a lot of candy thrown just to Callie, because she was the only kid in our little area.

The sweet older couple next to us were scooping up the candy and giving it to Callie too. So, I of course, forgot to bring a bag for her loot, but that same couple pulled out a Fred Meyer bag for us. Thanks! We were able to see lots of princesses, fire trucks, horses, a couple of floats and a lot of old cars! Callie kept picking up the candy, playing "catch" is what she called it. About three quarters of the way through the parade, another little girl came and was taking all of the candy that got thrown, and so Callie was getting upset, because she wasn't as fast as this other girl, who was probably about 6. So, our sweet friend next to us was scurrying around getting all the candy he could to give to Callie, it was cute. After the parade we played on the playground in the park for awhile. Callie's favorite thing to do at this park was the carousel thing. They climb on and then someone pushes it around in a circle. Yuck. Those things make me sick, but Callie sat on there for 20-30 minutes and then when I made her finally get off, she just hopped off and ran on like no big deal. After that, we got ice cream to try and cool off from the HOT day. We had a great time and I am so glad that we could go this year. We can't wait to go next year!

Callie showing off some of her candy, the licorice, her favorite!


Peyton in the stroller.

Oooh, pretty!

The candy stash.

Molly and Peyton.

The Fairfield Flag float.

Callie covered in ice cream being a little grumpy.

Peyton covered in Molly's shebert. She LOVES ice cream.

Molly with her ice cream. Yum!

The Great Project

Ok, so I can't move the above picture, so it stays.

Alright, my mom decided to change up their house quite a bit, so I wanted to post some pictures so everyone could see the changes, its amazing! The above picture is the carpet. Needless to say, they are getting new carpet put in, well deserved too! All the paneling got taken down and drywall put up on all the walls. The ceilings were retextured, old carpet pulled up and everything PAINTED. That is what I helped with, the painting.


This was the gigantic load of garbage that we hauled out of the house. Oh, and this was just from the painting, that isn't even all the old paneling.

Just a quick photo of the living half way through the project. Yes, we forgot to take before pictures.
This is a view down the hall to the back door. Previously, wall paper, now, painted a light blue, can't remember the shade now, but they are going to put up bead board, I think it is going to look amazing!
View from Kitchen into the Living Room. Again, note the furniture. The fam was basically living in the kitchen and the upstairs.

View from the bathroom hallway into the former TV Room and Beau's room. Note the bare wood floors. We ripped up the carpet, LOTS of staples to remove. That was my job. yuck.

Mom's accent wall. Yes, it is purple, but much calmer than the purple she picked out first. The other one was more a royal purple, like UW purple. Yikes. But this looks really nice, the lighter color is also a light shade of purple, but it actually goes awesome together.

Another view of the bathroom hallway.

The new back door. It's an awesome door, Mom is especially excited about the shade inside the window. Neat.

Another view of the door from the outside. With my reflection.

Beau and I in the former TV room. He threw himself on me very unannounced. Love my lil bro. Ok, not so little, maybe just younger bro.

The TV room is now the piano room. Hmmm, with Jane gone who is going to play the piano? I guess just Callie.

The living room view into the kitchen. Also down to barewood waiting for the carpet.

Again, the living room.

And Beau's room. Wow, is that blue? It's a little bright, but when you are in there, it feels like you are on the beach looking at the ocean.

Well, a very time consuming project that isn't quite done yet, but the house is looking awesome and my mom is really excited!

Who's Feeding the Baby?

I made the mistake of leaving the applesauce and a spoon on the kitchen table with Peyton in the high chair.  I was moving around the kitchen, getting it all cleaned up and I noticed some laughing and talking at the table and I looked over and what did I see?

Callie figured Peyton was hungry and fed her the rest of the applesauce!  She is such a good big sister and always wants to help me with her.  She like to feed her and lately enjoys trying to dress her.  Peyton doesn't enjoy that activity as much as Callie, so I am sure you can all guess what I am going to hunt for to get for Callie for her birthday!  

First Teeth!

Peyton is finally getting some teeth, at 9 1/2 months!  Ok, I took these pictures a few days ago, they are way more visible now, but she is getting a top eye tooth and a bottom front tooth.  I hope some more come soon because if she just has those two, she is going to look a little lopsided.

Aunts Come to Visit.

Last weekend my Aunt Tracie and Aunt Karley came to visit and we had a lot of fun.  It is always fun to see my aunts, I am so blessed to have so many!  The girls and I were able to visit with Karley and Kammi a couple of times (Karley is the maker of my girls bracelets!) and then Tracie saw my house for the first time and finally got to see Peyton in person for the first time.  It was fantastic to see them again and I hope it happens again soon!

Aunt Karley with Peyton and Grandma Hansen in the background.

Aunt Tracie and Callie.  Tracie knew what to do to try and warm up to Callie, so she was reading her stories.  Callie started rather far away from Tracie, but scooted closer and closer the longer she sat there.  We can't wait to see you again Tracie!

The Tricycle Episode.

Last summer we bought Callie a tricycle at a garage sale for $2.50.  A bargain, right?  Well, she really didn't know how to ride it last summer, so it mostly sat in our garage.  Then a couple of weeks ago, she discovered it again and hopped on for a ride.  Ryan and Callie cruised down the street and back for a very short ride which took a very long time.  So, the next morning we decided to go for a walk to Sam's house to visit.  Well, we were going to go in the stroller until Callie spotted her tricycle, which she calls a bicycle.  She insisted upon riding it, refusing to get into the stroller.  So, we started walking, me pushing the stroller, Peyton riding in the stroller and Callie on her tricycle which she just figured out the night before how to ride.  Sam's house is about 3/4 mile away and we were progressing very slowly.  So, after 20-30 minutes, Pines was in sight.  I set my goal to make it there and then we were calling it quits!  Callie would hardly push the pedals, so imagine this picture.  I am bent over pushing Callie on her tricycle with one hand and pushing the double stroller with the other hand with Peyton in it.  I was wearing a bit of a low cut shirt, since when I got dressed, I had no idea I would be hunched over showing the world everything.  I looked absolutely ridiculous!  We finally made it to Pines and Skyview and I told Callie if she wanted to see Sam, she had to get in the stroller.  Well, she was tired too, so she climbed in the stroller and I ditched the trike in someone's yard, then crossed my fingers that it would still be there when we got back.  We walked to Sam's house and the girls got to play for a while, then we walked back.  The whole time I am just hoping the stroller is still there, because it was such a bargain and I really didn't want to have to buy a new one.  Thankfully, it was still sitting there.  So, Callie promptly climbed out of the stroller to begin the long trek home.  Yup, it's about 4 blocks, but it feels so much further.  Anyway, we are moving along and one of the neighbors is outside doing a little yard work and Callie just stares at her.  She waved at Callie and Callie just sat there and stared back at her while she was riding along.  Oh my goodness.  We finally made it home, which in and of itself was a miracle.  

Since then, with all the practicing she has gotten on the tricycle, she has become quite adept at riding along.  A couple of days ago she managed to ride about 3 blocks all on her own, without stopping and managing to steer while still pushing the pedals, a real multi-tasker!  She looks really cute riding along and is having a lot of fun!  

Hanging in the Kitchen

The girls and I hang in the kitchen a lot.  We are upstairs, so we are away from the computer and TV and I just clean up and we play around.  Callie loves this nursery rhyme book that Grandma Mary gave her and it has a CD that goes with it, so she sits on the counter listening to the CD and reading along.  It is amazing, she knows so many rhymes.  Some of her favorites are Baa, Baa Black Sheep, Old MacDonald, Oats Peas Beans and Barley Grow and Three Blind Mice. 

Pey is just a happy sweet baby and she loves to crawl around the floor and dig into the cupboards, or sit in her high chair and EAT!

Such a cute smile!