Napa Valley

Mama & Daddy enjoyed a weekend away in Napa Valley.

Napa Album

Haloween 2008

Halloween 2008 Album

We've been enjoying fall. We went to the pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins, we raked leaves, we made pie. Best of all, we dressed up like cats and went Trick-or-Treating! Now we ask Mama everyday if we can have CANDY!

Landry's 4th Birthday

Our buddy, Landry, celebrated his 4th birthday. We had a blast at his Little Gym Party! Then we took Landry & his big sister, Lillian, to go see the Backyardigans.

Landry's Birthday 2008 Album

Senna's Christening

Senna's Christening

Mama headed back East for some girlfriend & baby-holding time. She had dinner with Nanny & Papa, hung out with Auntie Deena, and went to baby Senna's christening. She caught up with some other high school friends and the McGarrys. Congratulations to Erin & Ray for two beautiful, sweet children.

Growing Girls

Here are some extra pictures from the summer. Piper's now the age Audrey was when Piper was born! Time goes by fast.

Tutu!

Tutu, Colin, and their friend, Bill, came to the mainland for a visit. We had a great time visiting with them. Here's a picture of us having lunch with Tutu after a visit to the Children's Museum.

64 Degrees, Cloudy

Annual Oregon Pilgrimage

Black Butte 2008 Album

We hit the road for our annual pilgrimage to Oregon. We started our visit in Central Oregon with dinner with Great Great Aunt Irene, Great Aunt Hollye & Great Uncle Duane, and Grandpa & Mimi. Then we settled into our cabin at Black Butte Ranch. This year we rented a separate cabin from the Burk/Ellis' but we were only a block away. The kids had a great time riding their bikes back and forth between houses. We had a great time with Lillian and Landry swimming, playing on the golf course after hours, and much, much more. A highlight was watching the horses in the meadow and feeding them carrots. Although, Audrey got a little scared and said, "I don't want them to eat me!" We toured of the fire station...a perfect activity for a rainy day.

Eugene/Florence Album

After a week in Black Butte, we headed to Eugene and Florence. We hung out with Mimi, Uncle Chris, and Uncle Parker in Eugene and visited with Great Grandma Egan. Grandpa was teaching tracking school in Minnesota. Then we headed out to the beach to visit with Grandpa Bing and Norma. They made us a wonderful beach picnic and we had fun digging in the sand. By coincidence, Daddy's friend Mark was also at the beach. We stayed overnight at their cabin on Mercer Lake. We got to meet Baby Annabelle and hang out with Jack, and their two dogs. Again, Audrey was scared that they would eat her! Finally, on our way back home, we stopped in to see Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Koehn and strip their blueberry bushes of berries!

We had such a great time catching up with everyone and can't wait to see you all again soon.

Chong Family Visit

The Chong's decended on our house for a week long visit. It was nice to have grandparents, nieces, aunt and uncle in our house. But, they kept us so busy! We went to the beach at Golden Gardens, picked blueberries at the Mercer Slough, rode the rides at Seattle Center, and visited the Pacific Science Center. Audrey & Piper had Bi-Bim-Bap for the first time (A didn't care for it, P loved it) and, we had cupcakes for Mama's birthday. Thank you Chong's!

Chong Family visit Album

Tino & Sue's Wedding

Tino & Sue's Wedding Album

Our friends Tino & Sue got married this past weekend. It was the most kid friendly wedding we've ever been to. First, a ceremony at the Rose Garden at Woodland Park. Then, a reception at Bell Harbor Pier. There were kid's meals and a play room. Audrey & Piper had a blast...we had to drag them off the dance floor at 10pm!

Leavenworth

Leavenworth 2008 Album

We headed back to Leavenworth for a long 4th of July weekend. This time we stayed in a nice house on the Icicle River just a few minutes from town. Supposedly, there is some decent fishing from the backyard of this house. The owners dropped by a couple of fillets from a fish they had just caught a couple of days earlier! It was a little tough but had great flavor.

Again, we were joined by the DeVadders and Gardners (4.5 kids). The Landretti/Radus sadly missed this year's get away opting for a family reunion in Kauai, Hawaii (we were sad they were not with us, but I'm sure they were not sad as they basked in the island sun and surf!).

It's amazing that all these vacation rentals now have wireless Internet connections. It allowed both Johan and Eriko to come out a day earlier by working remotely while on vacation.

The kids had a great time together. Piper held her own with the big kids and slept in as a result (thank goodness, she had been getting up at 6am!). Audrey & Miya loved directing the play in the "Airplane" which actually was a sauna. And, Jules was a brave soul playing in the pool filled with ice-cold water. I have to say that vacationing with friends with kids is pretty sweet: zone parenting, having someone different cook you dinner each night, the kids have playmates from dawn to dusk, adult conversation with people who don't mind that you mostly talk about your kids, etc. I think the only frustration we had was trying to have all the adults sit down for dinner at the same time. We found that Popsicles could buy us five minutes of peace and quiet. Maybe next year we need to get bigger Popsicles.

Juneberry

Juneberry Album

Ah, finally summer! And, just to prove it we went strawberry picking about an hour north of Seattle. It was a blast! The girls endured the car ride and learned quickly to pick only the red berries. Once they figured out that they could eat the berries, watch out! I think they each ate their weight's worth. Thank goodness Grandpa and Mimi were in town the next day. Mimi and Audrey made strawberry pies. Otherwise, I don't thing we could have eaten all the berries we picked.

Junuary

So, the end of May and beginning of June continued to be on the cool side. I just had to laugh when the cashier at the grocery store said, "It's always cold in JUNUARY!" My kids were wearing coats to the playground. I (Mama) escaped to Dallas for some time with friends and the heat. It as 100 degrees the day I left. Hopefully, summer will get here soon.

Other milestones for June were:
We finally complete enclosed Piper's crib with a tent. She was having a hard time staying asleep and would get our attention by throwing all of her pacifiers out of bed. Now, nothing gets out and she's waking up less. She has, however, now taken to waking up at 6am. That's just too early for Mama! Daddy graciously packs her up in the jog stroller and takes her for a run. THANK YOU!
The girls are starting to play together more. Audrey's so cute, trying to explain how things work. And, Piper's so eager to do everything that Audrey does. She even threw her sippy cup back at Daddy because she wanted a cup like Audrey!
Audrey got a big girl bike with training wheels. Mama scored it a the consignment store for $35! Keep your fingers crossed, no wipe outs yet.

Junuary Album

Won't you take me to Busytown

Busytown Album

Audrey & Mama had a date with Miya and Eriko on Saturday night. We went out for pizza and the evening showing of Busytown at the Seattle Children's Theatre. I don't know who had more fun, Mama or Audrey. The Richard Scarey books were Mama's favorites when she was a little girl. Audrey said her favorite part was the singing and dancing. The girls also got a kick out of the folding seats at the theatre...mostly folding themselves into the seats! As you can see from the pictures, Audrey & Miya are great buddies.

Congratulations, Aunt Cassie & Uncle David

Aunt Cassie & Uncle David Wedding Album

Aunt Cassie & Uncle David tied the knot Friday night. The girl's looked smashing in their matching dresses. They did great through the pictures and ceremony. Congrats, to the happy couple!

Welcome, Summer!

Ok, summer's not officially here (especially here in Seattle), but school is out and we have had a few days where the temp has gotten over 65 degrees. It was a great year of preschool for both of the kids. Here are some pictures of the girls at school.

Piper Preschool Album

Audrey Preschool Album

Friday, we rode the carousel at Seattle Center and visited the Children's Museum. We finished off the weekend by setting up Audrey's big girl bed! She woke up the next morning saying "I like my big girl bed." The next night she fell out of it in the middle of the night :( but she still loves her Big Girl Bed :).

05-26-08 Album

Audrey's Big Three

Happy Birthday, Audrey! Three days of birthday celebration.

Audrey's Birthday Party Album

Day One, Sunday: We had our friend come play with us at the Ravenna Eckstein Community Center.

Day Two, Monday: Audrey got her birthday crown from Teacher Karen and Barney Bear at preschool.

Audrey's Birthday @ Preschool Album

Day Three, Tuesday: The actual birth day. Aunt Cassie and Uncle David came over for a dinner of fish and chips (Audrey's choice) and icecream.

Audrey's 3rd Birthday Album

Phew! We're so proud of our Big Girl!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Easter 2008 Album

Happy Easter! Teddy colored eggs with the girls and Jules came over to help hunt them in the basement (it was raining).

Mexico

We had a great vacation! Grandpa & Mimi Koehn met us in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico for some fun and relaxation in the sun. Both the girls had fun in the water. Audrey loved having Mimi take her into "the deep". And, Piper finally got brave and also wanted to swim in the deep. Only problem with that was that she really thought she could swim and was constantly trying to squirm away. Audrey discovered the joy of the strawberry smoothie. She kept saying, "This is really good." Piper got the nickmame "Scarface"...another vacation, another scrape on her face :(.

Mexico 2008 Album

Happy 5th Anniversary, Mama & Daddy!