The Tooth

From THIS:

to THIS:
In case you can't tell, Rob's trying not to wince and Erica's laughing. Julie the Wuss was actually the one who pulled it out in the end. I just worked my fingernail in between the stubborn tooth and the gum before Erica knew what was happening...are you squirming yet?

Erica knows there is no tooth fairy -- she just figured it out. And then in all sincerity, she told me that she'd rather have a goodbye note from dad than money! (He's headed to BYU today.) Isn't that sweet?

The Bear, The Witch, and Darth Vader

Although in our house, he's often referred to as Darth Mater (some confusion as the kids have seen Cars, but never Star Wars)

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!! I LOVE CANDY EVEN MORE!!!

Soccer Star

Erica has really excelled during her first year of soccer. We've enjoyed watching her - she's fast and aggressive (in a nice way :) She's not afraid of anything!

This is a photo of her team after they played in a deluge today (different game than the rest of these photos). They were drenched within 30 seconds of playing!

Here are three of her biggest fans!

Here is Jacob trying his hand (or foot). Doesn't he look grown up?

Robby's turn! He will play next year and is looking forward to it.

Robby being a good sport. Jacob loves to wrestle -- I wonder about the day when he's bigger than the rest of us!

Amazing Banana Crumb Muffins

I made these last night (thanks, Lachelle!) and they are INCREDIBLE. Plus they look just like the picture. :) Click here for the recipe.

First Day of School!

Here are a few photos from the first day of school for our Kindergartener and 2nd Grader. I was worried Jacob would get bored without all the comotion in our house, but he's really enjoying having the place to himself. Our kids are really growing up! It's exciting and nostalgic all at once.

We got there early enough for a friendly game of tetherball:

Robby wasn't nervous at all. Both our kids ran inside and never looked back. Is that a sign of good or bad parenting? ;)

Day Out With Jacob and Thomas!

It's not very often Jacob gets to do something special...all by himself! In July, I took him to go for a ride on Thomas the train in Snoqualmie, Washington. Jacob has always loved trains and is fascinated by anything that moves!

I was sad he wasn't old enough to appreciate the view from the train!

Unfortunately, this is the day we also discovered lice in our house...such a rotten ending to a fun day! So here is the little man getting a buzz. He held still in an extrodinary un-Jacob like fashion.

Looking back at these pictures, Jacob has really grown up in the last 3 months. He is thinning out and his hair has grown back quite nicely (although I miss the buzz). I'll post recent pictures as soon as I recharge my camera batteries.

July Adventures

Apparantly, Rob has missed our blog...so I thought I'd update it. Enjoy! :)

These pictures are from some of our summer adventures -- My mom flew to Seattle with my oldest neice, Adia. It was so wonderful to get to know Adia so well - she was dependable, fun, kind to my kids, and very helpful! Of course, they came the week of the hottest temperatures our un-airconditioned city has ever seen, so we escaped to Oregon (thank you to the Kenyons and Adia's aunt Steph!) and Sequim on the Olympic Pennisula (thank you to Arrow for letting us use your timeshare!). Here are a ton of pictures to share.

I normally wouldn't start with these because they aren't "cute" pictures, but it takes too long to reorder them in blogger. :) Plus, this was probably the most memorable thing we did. These photos are from the Olympic Game Farm in Sequim. You can feed zebras, buffalos, elk, yaks, deer, and more I'm forgetting. They come right up to your car. I thought it was awesome while taking pictures of my mom trying to drive and roll up her window before the animals licked her! THEN, the zebra poked it's nose in my window and I was terrified! The kids loved it. My mom and I are still getting over the big yellow teeth right in your face and the slimy drool marks inside the van!

This picture is for my mom, who was nick-named Nanny Goat in elementary school (not a nickname she was fond of!):

This goat kept staring me in the face:

We hiked down to the Dungeoness Spit, which stretches out five miles and ends with a lighthouse. We did not go the five miles. :) We barely made it back up as it was!

We did not wear matching shirts on purpose!

Adia acting a little like her mom and dad...

On one very hot day we set out to find some shade - we stumbled upon Railroad Bridge Park and played in the river (wishing for our swim suits!)

We drove out to Port Angeles, where they had just finished a sand sculpture contest. It was incredible!

The ferry ride home was my favorite part. Check out those smiles!

We went to the Portland Zoo where we watched an awesome bird/raptor show:

On the way home, we took a pretty big detour and headed to the Oregon Coast for a few hours. It was pretty COLD!

The temperature couldn't keep those girls away from the water!

He was happier before he got wet!

We braved Tillamook ice cream...brrrrrr!

What visit to Seattle is complete without a Mariner Game? Now we were back in the HEAT!

THANKS FOR A FABULOUS TIME, MOM & ADIA!! :)