Finally made a decision

And it only took me two weeks!

Which I consider pretty good for a decision of this magnitude. It sometimes will take me a week to decide to buy a pair of shoes I like.





2008 Hyundai Sonata

Happy Independence Day!

This morning, we went to a bike parade. Since Katie is obviously too young for a bicycle, I decorated her pink pony with tissue paper flowers, curling ribbon, and raffia sparklers. She had a great time being part of such a big group of kids!

















A highlight for my was reconnecting with one of my mom's friends, Laura. It was wonderful to be wrapped up in a hug like that!

Tacoma visit

Dinner with Marc and Rachel


Visiting with Aileen, Mike, and Aunt LoRene




Dinner at Aileen's with Rocky and Caesar


And we made some time to go to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. Here's Katie looking at the meerkat.


Watching the show


My little monkey


At the aquarium




The petting zoo


This monkey was putting on quite a show, climbing around and sliding down poles. Jared also like the porcupines.


Just checking to see if Katie is as big as a 2 year old polar bear


Reindeer trying to pretend it's not hot out


Katie liked the seals. They were swimming all around.


Jared really liked the eagle. This was part of the show, and he got some great pictures of it.


I really liked the elephants!


I hope we get to go again soon!

Someone to watch over me

This was not the way I planned to end our vacation to Tacoma.

We had a great trip there. I'll post pics, if I get the cord to the camera out of the car. Coming home, however, was not good.

The front passenger tire blew just south of Benton City. I think it just shredded. I was driving, and tried to take the car to the shoulder, but I lost control pretty badly. We hit the dirt on the shoulder and rolled twice. Everyone is doing pretty well, considering the circumstances. They took the three of us (me, Jared and Katie) by ambulance to Kadlec. Jared and I both had neck/back pain, so we were strapped down to get x-rays, but everything is fine. Probably just some pulled muscles. Katie was strapped into her Britax and just has a couple of bruises from the straps and a cut on her finger, probably from the shattered windshield. She is spending tonight at her cousin's house, so Jared and I can get some good rest tonight. I miss my baby, though! This is her first night away from us!

I can't believe everyone was able to walk away from it. The car looks terrible, but we are all ok. I know there are a couple of angels looking out for us!

Happy Father's Day

Reasons Jared is a fabulous father:
1. He decided to leave his job to stay home with our daughter.
2. He likes to wrassle.
3. He has a good tummy for blowing baby raspberries on.
4. He is very patient.
5. He likes to take walks with the baby in the backpack, so she can see everything there is to see.
6. He makes up funny games with a Nuk to make Katie giggle like crazy.
7. He has brilliant ideas to keep Katie in bed.
8. He know instinctively when it's time for a cup of milk and a nap.
9. He also likes WALL-E.
10. He loves our Katie more than anything else in the world, and I love him for that.

Another year down!

The last day of school! Looking back, it was not a bad year at all. I was really fortunate to have a great group of kids overall, and even taking on the extra class wasn't that bad. I didn't really hit my wall until about four weeks ago, which was awesome, considering all the extra work I had this year! I decided to take the building coordinator position next year. I have mixed feelings about it, but I think it'll be ok.



And right now, I'm looking forward to a pretty lazy summer!

In the lazy summertime...

Come over and play!