Anniversary Date!

Crazy excited!
Space Needle=SEATTLE!!
The restaurant I've wanted to try since we moved here-Wild Ginger! It was fabulous!
My dinner=Wild Ginger Duck with a peppercorn rub, plum sauce and steamed buns! Delicious!
A nice passerby offered to take a picture of both of us-and it turned out great!
Love this dress-it's like the kind I wanted when I was little, lots of spinny fabric!;)
A handsome man overlooking the water.
Bray was awed over the presence of a Bentley Rolls Royce, and had to take a picture.
My twirly dress-Bray wanted a parking garage-twirling picture...Fun!

A 1st for everything...

A few days ago, I was driving into our apt. complex and I saw a blue piece of furniture sitting next to the cardboard dumpster. I was just going to ignore it, but then decided I would go and see if it was in any salvageable condition. Bray and I both looked at it, and besides missing the big cushions, it was in pretty good condition! So, I cleaned and vacuumed the whole chair, went and found a cushion at Pier 1 and some pillows at Walmart, and successfully got our 1st dumpster-diving-piece of furniture! It's definitely nice to have some more seating in our little apartment-and for only about $20!

Bunk Beds!

I have been looking for bunk beds (reasonably priced!) for the kiddos for quite awhile now. We took the front of Madeline's crib off at Christmastime, so she has been able to get in and out by herself since then. I found some nice, light metal bunk beds at IKEA that I thought would be perfect for how much we move, etc, but they were $200 for just the frame! I have looked on Craigslist periodically for the exact bunk beds, but have always been too late, and someone else has gotten them. Last Thursday, though, I saw an ad for some for $60, and they looked in great condition! We called up the people, went out and saw them, and loaded them into our litle car (in 2 trips) and brought them back here! We already had 1 mattress from Hobbes' bed, and we went and found another one at IKEA for only $80! So altogether, the bunk beds cost $140-the same price as a twin mattress from Goodwill! The kiddos love them, Hobbes feels like a big boy, and they have way more space to play! At the beginning of building the beds...sitting sweetly in the rocking chair. This lasted about 5 minutes.:)
Watching Daddy work-they could hardly wait!
Dancing in the middle of the beds-soo excited!
Playing on the slats...
Look at all that space to play in!
The finished product.

Bray and Kajsa's 5th Anniversary

I had mentioned to Kathryn yesterday that I wanted to do a slideshow medley of Bray and I's 5 years of marriage...but I ran out of time! This morning, she surprised me with this on her blog, and I had to share it with all of you! The song playing behind it is the one I walked down the aisle to for our wedding...and I have to admit, it brought tears to my eyes. So thank you, Kathryn, what a blessing to have such loving, fun and crazy family to celebrate with!

5 Years ago...

The things you see in the city...

This 'pig-van' was selling bbq sandwiches...we thought it was pretty cool!

Family Camp

This past weekend, our church here in Seattle held a family camp out past Issaquah. We had not planned on going to the actual camp part ( I had to close at work both evenings) but on Friday, they called and offfered us a spot. Since Steve was the speaker for the weekend, we gladly accepted, knowing that we'd get to see a lot more of him! Although it was pretty close to actual camping (no bathrooms, sheets, etc.) we roughed it, and the kids enjoyed playing in the dirt, water and sun! It was really pretty out there, and we loved seeing Bop for a few days! He stayed till Monday, and got to spend the night at our place Sunday evening. Since I wasn't out at the camp as much, I didn't get as many pics, so these will have to do!
(oh, and Hobbes busted his lip right away, so his pictures will have a swollen lip in them!)
Throwing rocks in the lake, bright and early in the morning!
Madeline and her follow-through.We see lots of ducks at our lake, but never white ones! Pretty!
View from our cabin window...
Water fight down at the lake!
Bray was the biggest competitor...and the kiddos loved it!
Hanging out with my girl down by the water.:)
Sitting in the big tire swing!
Filthy, tired and happy.
When George and Jennie walked in for church, Hobbes ran over to give George a 'Sabbath hug.' He then took George's hand, looked back at me as if to say, "Yes, Mom, I AM a big boy. I can sit with friends for church." He then went and politely sat in the chair next to George and folded his hands in his lap...cute, but I don't think they're quite old enough to sit minus adults!
Driving cars with George after church.
Eating breakfast at Denny's with Bop!

Birthday Pics!

Waking up to an apt. filled with birthday balloons...Happy Birthday, Hobbes!!
He's growing "up!"
Someone else had to join in on the balloon fun!

Conducting the singing of Happy Birthday over breakfast French Toast.

Opening his new, big-boy soccer ball!

Playing with his new awesome army truck from Ama and Ampa-for hours!
Gege and Bop's present came in the afternoon! What fun toys were in it-and even something for Madeline!:)
Riding their new friend, Lucy's trike on their balcony in Queen Anne...you can see the Space Needle and the waterfront!
Lucy and her baby brother Oscar gave Hobbes this cool CAT tractor that you can take apart and put back together!
Waiting for the 'Happy Birthday' singing to be over...
Blowing out the candle!
Playing cowboy with his new guns!
Eating his last piece of birthday cake the next day...some of it ended up being "dirt" for the tractor to dig up.
What a great birthday!

The Birthday Cake!

The Epitome of Hobbes

This video was taken right after Hobbes' 1st birthday-it totally depicts his personality! Crazy, fun and sweet!

Happy 4th Birthday, Hobbes!

It has been 4 wonderful years-what a sweet, crazy, thoughtful, brave boy you have become! We love you!!!

Happy 4th of July!

All ready to go to the park festivities across the street-Hobbes and Bray played some real baseball at the park yesterday, so Hobbes came equipped with his mini-bat and ball today.:)

I don't know about you all, but we had a fabulous 4th today! Since we live right across the street from a major park/lake, we got to enjoy all the festivities minus the terrible traffic! They started having free bouncy castles, face painting, food booths,etc. at about noon, so we let the kids wear themselves out on the bouncy slides, and then put them down for naps while I went to work (holiday pay!:)). When I came hom at 7:30, Bray and I broiled burgers, and we all ate ice cream outside on our little patio. Then, at 9:45, we walked across the street with our lawn chairs, and watched the wonderful fireworks show over the water! It was great-the kiddos were home and in bed by 10:30, and even though the finale ended with a Michael Jackson song being played in the background, it was a great evening! Hobbes kept shooting all the fireworks, and saying BA-BOOM, BAA-BOOOMM! So, until next year, Happy 4th of July!

Madeline chose these hair things on her own-she went and got them out of her hairbag! And the cute part is, I wore these in my hair when I was little!
Wouldn't it be nice...to have this sailboat on the 4th of July?
Walking at the park/lake across the street.
They had free bouncy slides/castles and obstacle courses-FREE! YES!
Bray and the monkeys going down the big slide!
At the bottom of the HUGE bouncy slide-it was fun!
After his 20th go or so...
Happy 4th of JULY!
What a great day!!
Flying down the bouncy slide-this lasted for at least a half an hour!! He was red-cheeked and sweaty by the end!
Cheering for Hobbes on the bouncy slide!
4th of July ice cream, with 4th of July sprinkles!!
ICE CREAM!!!