august 25

today was brooke's last day of preschool and her last day at SRELC.  sigh.  in the past week it has finally hit her that she won't be going into Pre-K with all of her friends.  she's been looking forward to Pre-K all year long, so it's a little sad for her.  we've been talking a lot about her new school, and i've been praying that she likes it.  i'm sure she will.  as long as they tell her it's Pre-K :)

kevin came home from cincinnati today, and we took a family walk to pick brooke up from school.  the weather this week has been gorgeous, and we're doing our best to enjoy every bit of it.  tonight i went out for my last wine night with the preschool moms.  i was out entirely too late, but it was great to sit and talk with many of the women i've become close with over the past 2 years.  i'm doing my best to gear up for all of the goodbyes we have ahead.  i've never been very good at them.

august 24

today we hosted our last play date with brooke and her little buddies, cole and drew.  they have been good friends since the start, and they've spent the last 2 years in school together.  they are starting to get to the age though where they don't have much in common when it comes to their interests and playing together.  i think gavin had much more fun today than brooke did!  gavin had boys to play chase with and sword fight with, and he was in heaven.  i can't wait for him to be able to play with his cousins, jackson and joey, in cincinnati!  he's going to love it.

august 23

i am really going to miss the gorgeous views from my bathroom window in the mornings.  it's a great way to start the day.

august 22

after a very busy weekend it was nice to stay home and relax with the kids today.  kevin is in cincinnati again this week, so it's just us.  we invited anna over to play, and the kids had a good time with her.  i got out our new teepee, and they pretended to go camping.  they were content, and i was able to get a few things done.  tonight was brooke's last gym class at the little gym.  she did a pull-over for the first time and walked across the balance beam all by herself.  i am really proud of her, and more importantly, she is proud of herself.

august 21

we attended our 3rd and final calvary chapel outdoor service and celebration at centennial park today.  every year our neighbors invite us, and every year we go.  i usually enjoy listening to walt's sermon, and kevin usually oversees the kids playing in the kids' group.  today kevin golfed first thing in the morning so the kids and i headed to the service, and i ended up at the playground instead of the service.  kevin surprised us by meeting up with us there and we were all able to enjoy a nice picnic lunch together.  the kids rode the water slide this year for the first time and loved it.  it took brooke 3 years to get comfortable with the idea, but she finally did it :)

my sweet neighbor jolene is 2 weeks overdue with her 6th! baby, and i learned today that her brother just passed away.  such terrible news.  i offered to help in any way i can, and it turned out that i was able to babysit their kids tonight so walt and jolene could have some time alone before the baby comes.  i took brooke and gavin next door with me, and gavin had so much fun playing with their 3 boys (age 6, 4 and 2).  i have always loved to see the way their boys interact and play with each other, and gavin fit in perfectly.  i was happy to have the time with their kids tonight.  they are a very special family.

august 20

we attended our 3rd annual Railroad Days today.  we've been looking forward to the pancake breakfast (served with krispy kreme donuts :) at the fire station, and it did not disappoint.  this year gavin was super excited to be at the fire station and to "drive" the big fire trucks.  brooke enjoyed climbing into an ambulance and listening to a talk from one of the EMTs.  we had a yummy breakfast and then headed into old snoqualmie for the parade.  brooke really wanted to be a part of the parade this year, so she walked with her dance academy and loved every second of it.  she had the biggest smile plastered on her face and she waved at all the people lining the street.  she was a natural :)  gavin had a great time watching the parade with us and scoring some candy and special little treats.  the heat wore us all out pretty quickly so we headed home after the parade to relax and refuel.

august 19

the kids and i had a great morning in bellevue.  we parked on main street and started with cupcakes at cupcake royale and then shopped along main street until we ended up at a deli i've been wanting to try for lunch.  it was warm and sunny so we sat outside and enjoyed a delicious lunch.  we rarely have lunch out so it felt like a special treat.

in the afternoon we had SRELC's end of school picnic.  every year they throw a great party for the kids and their families.  there was good food, a bouncy house, games, face painting, sno cones, live music and dizzy's tumble bus was even there for the kids to play in.  we all had a great time and the kids had tons of fun.  brooke was so happy to run around with her little girlfriends, and gavin was just as happy to tag along.  it was a beautiful evening and a special way to say goodbye to a great school that has meant so much to us during our time in snoqualmie.

august 18

this morning we awakened to the aftermath of a bear in our neighborhood.  there are constantly bear sightings in and around our community, so it's always something that's in the back of my mind.  last night the kids and i took the trash out, and i very intentionally used the bungee cord to strap down the lid on the garbage can "just in case" bears came by.  it's never happened before, but sure enough, i awakened this morning to something white out on our lawn.  i looked closer and immediately knew a bear had been here.  it knocked down only the garbage can and opened the lid despite the bungee cord still being in place.  it took every bag of garbage out of the can, tore into them and clearly ate some of the food.  i looked down the street, and i could see 3-4 other garbage cans knocked down with bags torn open.  such a smart animal to only knock over the "garbage" can with the food in it and find a way to get the lid off and all the bags out even with something in its way to prevent just that.  i think that bear sure was hungry, and i sure am glad i was not around when he came by.  the kids were so taken with the story of the bear, and they shouted the news to everyone they saw including the first garbage man to roll through :)  a bear got into our garbage! a bear got into our garbage!

august 17

i had a good day with the kids today.  we relaxed at home, played outside and then took a spur-of-the-moment trip to the movies this afternoon to see the smurfs.  i think it was definitely aimed at an older audience, but brooke and gavin still liked it a lot.  it sure did take me back many, many years to my childhood.  we even made the ever so rare trip to mcdonald's for a happy meal, and brooke was delighted to receive smurfette (the girl!) in the happy meal.  gavin wasn't as delighted :)

august 16

it's a gorgeous week here in snoqualmie.  gavin and i enjoyed the outdoors today while brooke was at school, and then the three of us went to the baker's for fun in the sprinklers and a little pizza for dinner.  hanna is in portland with her nana for the week so it wasn't quite the same, but we all still managed to have fun.

august 15

kevin left on the red-eye last night to start his new job in cincinnati this week so it's just me and the kiddos.  i'm happy to report that gavin is fully potty-trained :)  what is it about boys thinking it's funny to put their underwear on their head?  gavin just instinctively did this today, and he thought it was hilarious.    all i could do was shake my head and smile knowing that i am blessed to raise a little boy in all his glory :)

august 14

brooke and i needed a little retail therapy today.  these beautiful shoes are pretty much all we bought, but they were enough to make us both happy :)

august 13

we had a great morning at mt. si festival.  we ran into ryan, hanna and hudson, and all of the kids had a great time in the numerous bouncy houses they had at the festival.  after lunch at george's we headed home for gavin's nap and a low-key afternoon.  brooke was eager to help kevin cook dinner, and i loved seeing the two of them huddled over the sink together.  looking at this photo now, it strikes me how tall brooke is!  everything about her in this pic looks so grown up.

august 12

i took the kids to the toy store today.  i promised each of them a special toy at the end of the week since gavin has done an amazing job with potty training and since brooke has been such a big helper and supporter.  it's so fun to just go in and roam around this toy store.  they have anything a kid could possibly want.  brooke picked out little bunk beds for her dollhouse - something she's been wanting for a while.  gavin picked out a viking helmet and light saber.  he cannot get enough of swords and sabers these days!  he is soooo cute in his viking helmet, but his light saber might be the most annoying toy in our house.  it makes a terrible noise that drives me and brooke nuts.  i think that makes it even more fun for gavin :)

august 11

brooke came home from school today with her face painted beautifully.  she said she asked to be painted like a princess, and boy did she look like one :)

august 10

it was a fun, busy day.  brooke's preschool class threw a surprise baby shower for their teacher, ms. maxine.  maxine is one of the sweetest, most compassionate persons i know.  it's no wonder that all of the kids love her the way they do.  it was special to be there today and see the look of surprise on her face.  it brought her to tears.  i made a keepsake gift for maxine from all of the kids.  i secretly asked each child "what makes a baby happy?" and then i recorded their answers on paper leaves that together made up a "preschool wisdom tree.".  the "wisdom" from the 4 year-olds was as special as could be, and i think maxine will treasure it for many years to come.

tonight i was able to step out of the house for one last wine night with the ladies in my neighborhood.  a host of things went wrong for a couple of the ladies, so it ended up just being 3 of us.  it was intimate, and i liked it that way.  we went to salish for "women who wine" and were lucky enough to score a window seat and even luckier to see a beautiful sunset.  i was glad i brought my camera along :)

it felt very special sitting at salish tonight.  i shared with my friends that if ever something was my destiny, living in snoqualmie was it.  i told them the story of how i traveled to seattle in june of 1998 with a guy i was dating and his family.  we drove to snoqualmie falls on a beautiful evening and looked at the falls from down below.  it made such an impression on me.  then we hiked up the path to salish lodge perched on the top of the falls.  i vividly remember saying to myself, "i will come back here one day."  i took a matchbox from salish, and i kept it.  when kevin and i decided to purchase this house, i went looking through the matchboxes i've collected over the years, and i found the one from salish from all those years ago.  for the past 2 years, we have lived just 2 minutes from salish and snoqualmie falls. sometimes the world works in beautiful ways...

august 9

my life revolves completely around potty training right now, but we had absolutely no food in the house so i had to get to the grocery store today.  i gave gavin the choice of big boy underwear or a pull-up diaper - both totally new to him - and he chose the superman underwear.  of course he did :)  so out we went with the portable potty loaded in the car.  3 potty stops and 2 visits to the grocery store restrooms, and we were home, accident-free.  phew.

i feel like i must have said the word potty about a million times today.  every 2 minutes i'm either asking gavin if he needs to go or talking to him about it.  i'm tired of hearing myself so i know he must be, too.  while potty training is hard work, it is also such a precious time... seeing your little one accomplish something that is so grown up.  i love the way gavin is surprised every time he goes to the potty.  he consistently exclaims, "my pee pee/poopy came out!"  when he sits down and nothing comes out he says, "not working."  cracks. me. up.

august 8

i started potty training gavin today.  i used the same method i used for brooke - potty boot camp - and it's working just as well the 2nd time around.  gavin did such a great job today!  he started off with one little accident this morning but then went pee pee in the potty 4 times and even pooped in the potty.  i couldn't believe it!  i am so proud of him.  hopefully a couple more days, and we're done!

august 7

we had a picnic lunch at the park today, and it was so yummy.  we even saw 2 blue angels fly overhead on their way to seafair.  it was a beautiful day, and it was nice for the 4 of us to relax and enjoy our surroundings.

this afternoon we went to fisher's 4th birthday bbq and had so much fun.  it was such an effortless party, yet probably one of the best i've been to.  the kids had a ball.  they got to see the train passing by, take their turn at striking the pinata, play with an awesome wooden digger, jump off climbing rocks and sneak peeks at the chickens in the pens in the backyard.  brooke enjoyed playing with her friends, and gavin was right in the mix as usual :)  he does such a great job keeping up with the big kids.

august 6

we're packing as much into our last days in seattle as possible!  this morning i awoke at 6:00am to sounds coming from brooke's room.  i peeked my head in and found brooke and hanna happily playing together on the floor.  what fun for them to be able to wake up together and immediately start playing :)

brooke and i spent the afternoon in queen anne with hanna and anastasia.  it was my first time exploring queen anne since our house hunting trip!  we had a great lunch at makrina bakery, which makes the best bread i have ever tasted.  then we shopped along queen anne and made a quick stop at kerry park for gorgeous views of the city.  it was a great girls' day out.  it was also seafair, and it's so neat to drive across i-90 and see all of the boats in lake washington.

we arrived home only to have to quickly make an appetizer and rush back out again for our dinner club.  we've met so many great families through brooke's school, and we've become very good friends with several of the couples.  we always have a great time when we get together and so do all of the kids.  tonight was no exception.  we sure are going to miss the friends we have made here.

august 5

tonight brooke hosted her first sleep over :)  we made it a special event complete with pizza, a movie (Rio), popcorn and ice cream!  gavin and hudson even got to hang around for the fun until it was time for bed.  the girls went to bed so easily - it was as if they do this all the time.

august 4

nothing says "summer" like a juicy burger piled high with fresh toppings.  yuuuuuuumy.

august 3

it seems like summer is finally here to stay, and today we made the most of it with a trip to the cougar mountain zoo and an al fresco happy hour and dinner for kevin's farewell to the costco team.  i was really touched to see all of the people who turned out for the happy hour, particularly since it was planned at the last minute.  kevin's coworkers had the nicest things to say about him, and it was very special for me and the kids to be a part of it.

august 2

these two sure are growing up fast.  hanna starts kindergarten in a few weeks, and i found out today that there is an opening for brooke in the 5-day morning preschool program.  it's basically like she's going to 1/2 day kindergarten only without the bus.  i can't help but think, "how did we get HERE?"  these past 2 years have gone by so, so quickly.  we're about to enter a new stage in life in so many different ways.  it's a little scary...

august 1

hudson and hanna came over to play for a while today while anastasia went to the doctor.  previous experience tells me not to trust hudson alone with gavin, so i stuck close to them all morning.  but i had to leave them for 2 minutes to throw away a dirty diaper, and when i heard screaming i went running.  i was too late.  i was horrified to see that hudson had bitten gavin right on the arm with his entire mouth.  you could see the deep imprint of every one of his teeth.  it was so sad, and i was so mad.  hudson got a very stern talking to from me and was forced to sit on our couch until his mom arrived.  brooke and hanna swooped in and mended gavin's spirits by bringing him into brooke's room to play.  it was sweet the way they took care of him.  after about 5 minutes you wouldn't have even known anything had happened if it weren't for the big mark on gavin's arm.

july 31

kevin and ryan took a 30 mile bike ride this morning from snoqualmie pass down to mt. si golf course.  we met them for breakfast after their ride.  kevin was totally spent.  i was so proud of him for riding 30 miles!  it's not like he's even been working out, let alone training for a pretty major bike ride.  it blows me away that he can do things like this.

the rest of our day was pretty low key.  we enjoyed the sunshine and set up the easel outside so the kids could be artists for the day.