29 July 2010

Easily Entertained

Kennedy entertained herself for a good 30 minutes today.
Who needs toys when you can just pull things out of drawers for fun?

26 July 2010

Roderick's Birthday Weekend

It is hard to believe our sweet little nephew, Roderick, is already one years old! Click here for a flashback to last July when we first met this special boy.

Amy and Harv threw a great birthday bash for him on Saturday. Unfortunately, my camera battery was dead on arrival ... it spent most of the party charging so I only got a few mediocre photos at the tail-end of the party. The highlight of the party was, of course, celebrating Roderick! But, we were also excited when Amy and Harv announced that Roderick will become a big brother in March 2011! That's right, the Harvie's are adding onto their family- Amy is 8 weeks pregnant! We are sooo excited for them! These two babies are going to be 20 months apart... their parents are going to be busy, busy! But, it will be so fun for Roderick to have a little brother or sister so close in age.

Congratulations Harvie family! We can't wait to meet the newest addition!

And, that's the end of my birthday pics! Darn...


Sunday was Roderick's actual birthday so a few of us spent the day at the pool at grandma LeeAnn's house. It was a fun, relaxing day. Kennedy loved the pool! Note to self: enroll Kennedy in swimming lessons.


Harv lounging on his pink floatie. Looks comfy huh? ;)

Sean and his friend Mike

A little birthday singing and cake...
And, this was a treat. Dale is a relative of Sean's. He, his wife Tara and their daughter Sojo are visiting from Thailand. They came to visit LeeAnn yesterday so we were able to see them too! Dale and Tara are both teachers and Tara is a fellow blogger (a wonderful blogger!) so there is always lots to talk about :) Since I read their blog all the time, I feel like I know their little Sojo so well!
 It was really fun to actually see her in person. She has grown so much since last summer and I can tell she has a very unique and special personality.

25 July 2010

Little Blessings

Linda and the girls came down for Roderick's birthday and spent the weekend with us. It was great having them here! Rachael spent the night on Friday, the girls get along so well! I was able to snap a few photos of the kids in our backyard. Such sweet, wonderful kids... they are little but the blessings they have brought to  our lives are huge!

For those of you who don't know, Sean's mom adopted Jessica (age 7) and Rachel (age 5) from China. They are beautiful girls! It is pretty funny that both Sean and I would have such young sisters! My Rachael just turned 6 so the three girls have a blast playing together. And running right behind them, you will usually find Kennedy, desperately trying to keep up. :)

23 July 2010

Friday Photo

"A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

 

21 July 2010

Summer Lovin'...

Since returning home from our trip to Montana, we have been enjoying lazy summer days and relaxing summer evenings. We love it!

Kennedy and I wake up a bit later in the morning and we are going to bed a bit later in the evenings... that's what summer is for right?

We have spent a lot of time outside... we go on morning jogs, meet friends for walks, and spend a lot of time in our backyard.

Kennedy loves her ladybug table...


Her new water play table (please take a moment to notice Sean's super-cool socks/slipper combo in the background)...


Smelling honeysuckle flowers with daddy...


Playing the guitar with daddy...


Spending time with her cousin Roderick... they are good buddies!


And, evening baths to wash away our daily application of sunscreen!


When I decided to become a teacher (oh so many moons ago), it was because I love kids and I love teaching (which is of course, still true). However, now that I am older and and I have a baby, I am realizing how fortunate I am to have these summers off. What a perk!

16 July 2010

Friday Photo

"A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

I got this idea from a friend from high school. She does this on her blog, daily.
She is a far better photographer than I am, but I loved the idea so much that I wanted to give it a try.

12 July 2010

Montana Vacation

We spent a week at my family's cabin on Canyon Ferry Lake outside of Helena, MT. I have been going to the cabin for over 20 years- many of my greatest childhood memories are at this wonderful place. It is so fun to take Kennedy there now! Prepare yourself for a whole slew of photos. I took over 300 so this is actually me, downsizing!

We always see lots of family at the cabin and this year, we were joined by Becky and Jim and their kids, Erin and Connor. My mom and Becky are lifelong friends ... it was great having them with us for the week! Highlights of this week included beautiful weather, the water trampoline, paddle boat rides, campfires, making s'mores, good wine, Montana sky, family, friends, laughter, ice cream cones, tents, yahtzee, baby sunhats, birthday party, water balloons, and sunset boat rides.

Ok, here we go!


Here they are... the "artsy" photos... you know I can't resist!


We celebrated Rachael's 6th birthday on our trip. I can't believe she is 6 already.
You are a joy Rachael Renee! I love you!

Before heading back to Washington, Sean, Kennedy and I drove to Kalispell, MT.
Much of my dad's side of the family lives there.
Kennedy met her grandpa for the first time as well as her great-grandma.
She also got to meet three great-aunts and several cousins.