First Grade!

Today was Luke's first day of 1st GRADE.  He has been waiting for this day for a loooooonnnnnggg time!

Here is Luke on his first day of 3 year old preschool.  I love his enthusiasm for school and new adventures.  I'm posting this picture because Luke was around 3 years old when he started asking when he would get to go to "big school."  He has been WAITING for this day to come....and his excitement for school really hasn't changed!

The big day was finally here.  He was most thrilled about getting to go to school for 6 hours, getting to have recess, and the biggie....getting to take his lunch to school!  He has a new Darth Vader backpack and matching lunch bag...which I've been told are "super cool."

After school, we headed to the coffee shop for a sweet treat!  He told me EVERYTHING about the first day...which I loved!  My two favorite quotes from today are, "1st Grade is the coolest thing EVER."  and "We had P.E. today!  P.E. is awesome...do you know what it stands for?  Fun and Games...yep, that's what P.E. stands for."

Backyard Pictures

Here are just a few backyard pictures that we took the other day.


Luke took these pictures....and, I edited them a little.   I think he did a pretty good job!

Here's a few that I took...

And just in case you're thinking, "what about Luke?"  Here's what Luke...I mean Captain Red Beard... was wearing on this particular afternoon.

I'm in LOVE....again!

I'm totally, completely, 100%, in LOVE...again!  How does this keep happening?  Wait....don't answer that.

Last week we had our 20 week ultrasound to see how baby #4 is doing, and to see if we might get a peek at what this baby is.  Well, we got WAY more than a peek (typical) and we were able to see that we are expecting a baby boy in January!  I'll save you the embarrassment of the photo "proof."  But will gladly show off the profile of our sweet little guy...who insisted on having his hand by his face the whole time.  Isn't he adorable? And, if you look closely, it kind of looks like he's giving us the thumbs up.

Everything looked great...you know, 2 arms, 2 legs, 4 chambers of the heart, all parts of the brain, spine, good measurements, etc.  He was moving like crazy the whole time, which is no surprise to me!  This my 4th baby, and this is the first time I can remember a 20 week old baby that can kick hard enough to feel on the OUTSIDE.  The next 20 weeks could be very painful...for me!  

And, so here we go again!  Getting ready for the arrival of our next son!

Aaron and I have a tradition of going to the ultrasound, and then going to Starbucks afterward to discuss names, make phone calls, etc.  So,  there we were, in Starbucks, celebrating, and we started the name "discussion."  I use the term "discussion" loosely, because mostly it's just one of us saying a name and the other one cringing and saying "NOOOOO!"    We have a hard time deciding on boy names...to say the very least!  After 6 + years Aaron let me know that he is still voting for "Thor" which of course will NEVER happen, and then (in all seriousness) he suggested Jack.  Which I agree is an adorable name, but I had to remind him that we have a 1-yr old nephew named Jackson.  He briefly tried to argue that they are different names, but quickly conceded.  So, that's where we're at with the naming game.  Although, I do have high hopes that we may be able to decide on something prior to birth, because I brilliantly went on Aaron's iphone and downloaded a baby-naming app.  I  totally know how to speak his love-language.  Naming your baby...there's an App for that!  What would we do with the iphone???

So, precious Baby Boy...without a name...we love you, and can't wait to meet you in January (or the very end of December, if you are feeling generous.)

Vashon for the day...

With Aaron in Iowa for 2 weeks, we have been looking for fun ways to fill our days.  So, today Saza and I took the kiddos to Vashon.

The kids' first time on a ferry....they loved it!

Saza is a good sport...who are these crazy boys???

This is KVI beach...an excellent place to spend the day. Can you see the mountain in the background?

Lots of time spent splashing...

And looking for treasures....

And soaking up the sun...

And finding treasures....

And discovering....

And just having a great day!

Sweet curls

Love this picture, and this boy!

Tattoos...

For her 2nd birthday, Natalie was begging for a tattoo.  We told her "No way!  You have to be at least 5 to get a tattoo."  So, she settled for ballpoint pen instead!

Little girls!

This is my cousin, Jessica, who lives in Alaska. She's great and I ALWAYS wish that we lived closer together.   We are 6 months apart in age and grew up together as great friends.  She is married to a pastor....so am I!  She has two boys (6 and 4)....so do I!  Now we both have little blonde-headed, round-faced little girls.  Here's a picture from last summer....

Look at our girls now!  Oh how I wish**wish**wish that we lived closer to Linea (and Jessica of course)!

4th of July....a little late

I realize that it is now August, but I was just looking back over a few pictures from the 4th of July and just HAD to post them...because I love them!

Here are the people I adore...

We had a brilliant idea to tie-dye our own t-shirts for 4th of July this year.  Some turned out better than others, and I continue to apologize to Aaron for making him a super ugly shirt.  

Of course we didn't do this alone...

I'll have to get the whole group picture from my mom, because even Bubby and Papa tie-dyed!

This looks like some sort of scene from the Hogwarts Kindergarten class....

What can I say, this little girl captures my heart!

Cousins...

This precious little guy is turning ONE today!  So I might be late in posting pictures for the 4th of July, but I'm right on time for Jackson's birthday!