Just the Girls!

It was lots of fun to get to spend some time with my friend Rachelle and her newest addition (and only girl) Lauren! We (at the last minute) decided to leave all of our boys at home (and Ava) and go spend the night in Bellevue! We had lots of fun hanging out, shopping, and of course eating at the Cheesecake Factory! We took a few pics of Ava and Cameron holding baby Lauren when we got home. Thanks for a fun time Rachelle...sometimes it is so nice to get away, even if its just for a night!

Merry Christmas 2008!

Here are a few shots of Christmas morning....every year we seem to go a little overboard on gifts, but the kids sure had fun! What a great time to keep the real meaning of Christmas in check though...we had to explain it to our children several times and hopefully it stuck!

Oh Christmas Tree...Oh Christmas Tree...

We finally made it to the tree farm!

Daddy and Jake in search of the perfect tree

Jake and Ava having lots of fun!

This is the one!

Jake, Mommy, & Ava

On the train ride back!

The caboose with all the trees!

All ready for the car ride home!

This year we had very good intentions to go as a family up into the mountains (like the good 'ol days) and pick out a perfect Christmas tree. Our crazy schedules didn't really allow for that this year however, so we just went to one of the tree farms in the area and picked one out. It started off kind of rocky though....we drove 20 minutes and got there only to look back and see Ava sleeping and that is also when we realized we forgot to bring a coat for Jake. What?? We drove all the way home (allowing Ava to sleep a little longer), grabbed Jake's coat, and headed back to the tree farm. It actually ended up being a great day because we found this fantastic tree farm that lets you pick out your tree, then you take it to the "train stop" and they haul it (and your family) back to the entrance. The kids LOVED the train ride and were so excited to pick out their tree.

Hunting with Daddy

Jake has been so excited to go hunting with Daddy this year. They had a great time at the "Farm" with Uncle Josh, Ty, U. Ed, Justin, & Bryce. They (meaning Josh/Eric/Justin) shot several ducks and pheasants and we had a little feast when they all got home. The boys were real troopers and surprisingly kept up with all the dads, but were really exhausted by the time they left. Here are a couple of photos they took.

Happy Harvest!

All ready to go!

Ava & her buddy Ellee at their big brothers' costume parade at school.

Trick or Treating at Grandma Barbara's with cousins

Jake at the party at church...completely pumped about all the candy they gave him!


Funny Face Smile from little miss Tinkerbe11!

This October was lots of fun with Jake & Ava since Ava was a little bit older and really was excited to dress up (of course, taking after her big brother)! She really wanted to be Cindere11a, but T1nkerbell was what she ended up being after a long quest for a cute costume. She played the part well and loved her wings! Jake had 3 costumes to choose from: A police officer, Darth Vader, and an Army guy. He ended up choosing to be the Army guy so he could match his cousin Ty. He will get lots of use out of all three of them.

I think a bird landed on my head...

Happy 30th Melly...hope you had a great birthday!

I must say, you take the cake for the best mask!

Ryan, Eric, & Josh...I think this is one of my all time favorites!
Eric, Kelsy, Josh, Mom, & Dad (a little blurry, but my best attempt at a group photo)

Um....wow....who is that?

This was actually my first photo of the night...where were all the girls from bunco? I thought I'd for sure run into Kathy out there!

The Jacobs' girls and their bird friends

Nice!

Josh...is that you?

Mom & Becca

Kelsy...finally wore her mask! Cute pic!

We had a blast this past weekend celebrating Mel's 30th at her Masquerade Party. It was quite the party with a fantastic DJ (um...ok...there were many moments in the evening when I was the only one on the dance floor), as well as lots of yummy food and fun! We all had a great time...happy 30th Melly!

Girls Only! Paradise in Palm Springs...

Shan, Beck, Sara, Miss, & Linds at Tommy Bahama

Love those self portraits!

Relaxing in the pool...our favorite!

These girls were troopers riding in the back of the rental car for two hours in 133 degree weather....wait...was it really that hot?

Can't wait to go again soon girls! Let's get it on the calendar!