Some shots from the fair and Laurel's first day at preschool.

Just a couple different snapshots. Laurel had fun baking with Miranda when they came to visit for a day. The other two are from the Fair Parade - Laurel was practicing her Miss America Wave and she really liked her lollipop.

These are the photos from our trip to Bremerton for Stef's wedding reception on August 12th. Laurel and Will enjoyed the ferry ride acrosst the sound. Laurel especially liked it when the wind blew her hood off her head - we spent quite a while playing on the front deck of the ferry doing just that. We went down to the car a bit early to avoid the rush and they got to play around in the car - Will likes to think he can drive already. It was a beautiful day and we're ready to go back for another visit!

Two extreme pictures of the Laurel Bee:

First - after digging in the garden with her Papa, she decided that licking the dirt off would be a good idea - she got hosed down pretty well after this photo was taken.

Second - all dolled up in her twirly skirt and what she calls her tap dancing shoes atop her own little red motorcycle.

We finally got their little pool set up late one afternoon and we had a splashing good time!



Will loved the sprinkler - he kept grabbing it and holding it.

Watermelon!

Watermelon party at our house!

Reader girl and Rockstar boy

As gorgeous as it is outside and she's sitting on her bed reading books - must get that from her mom!
Will loves his guitar - he's a rock star!

Loves his baths in the sink - especially the running water.

Cool new hat!

What a great helper my Laurel Bee is! I fixed up some mangos and cereal for William, but I was busy doing other things in the kitchen. She announced to me that she was going to feed the baby, pulled a chair right in front of him and proceeded to shovel it in his mouth. It was so funny, watching her make faces at him to get him to open his mouth. I think her best technique was to get him to laugh - that works for me! It ended up on the high chair tray mostly, but they both had a good time and I got a good laugh out of it. That's what kids are for, right?

We went on a little mini-hike to test out our new-to-us Kelty Kid Carrier - I love craigslist for used baby stuff! It worked great and Will loved being up where he could see things. Laurel was a little trooper and was busy finding treasures along the way - we found flowers and rocks and pinecones, big and small. We went to Discovery Park, which is right in the middle of Seattle, and tried to hike all the way to the beach but it was a bit far for Laurel - well, we'll blame it on her short legs instead of my out-of-shape ones! We stopped at a bluff and had snacks and then headed back to the car.
We're getting excited for our camping trip in July with my parents - Mt. Rainier! This will be William's first, so it should be exciting. He's such a happy little man that I'm not worried. He's doing really well - scooting around, but not crawling. He can sit up by himself for a few seconds before he topples over - he does well when he is concentrating, but he nose-dive if he gets too excited about something. And if Laurel walks by, you can guarantee he'll get excited. He LOVES his big sister and we have giggle-fests on a regular basis with these two.
We're getting packed up to move - oh how I hate to move! But this will be for a while - Aaron is full of ambition to get done with school for good now! Mom and Dad are busy getting the basement ready for our invasion, with the help of Ehren, Erich and Scott. We're packing and organizing and deciding what can go to goodwill and what we can't live without - sometimes Aaron and I have different ideas on what we can't live without, but we're working through it all. We're sad to say good-bye to our friends here - we wish we could have stayed longer, but this is the perfect opportunity and we're not goign to let it pass us by. Aaron will be taking three classes online this summer and then it's full speed ahead in the fall. He's been working on a job search, but it is so hard to do long distance that we think we'll be more successful once we get to Kennewick. Laurel is so excited to spend her summer in Opa's garden - won't have to worry about strawberries going to rot - she'll take care of them!
We feel really blessed that we've had so much support from our family and friends. It was a tough decision to make and we have faith that it was the right one for us all. Laurel will have more little friends at church in Kennewick and I've got plenty there as well. And there is Bunco! Hooray!

Cookie Boy

The first cookie experience! My dad (Opa) was visiting for the evening and we had to have a cookie party. So Will got to gnaw on his first cookie and he had quite a good time. I guess he's just like his Opa - that's why we named him after Opa!

6 Months old!

William is on the move these days - hasn't quite figured out how to crawl, but he scoots and rolls his way around. Nothing is safe again - we're busy picking things up all the time now. We bought a bank for Laurel to use to keep her money in - she's in charge of making sure all the loose change is picked up. If she finds it, she gets to keep it. Pretty good deal for her.


6 months old and so cute!

William is growing up so fast - we've just started him on solid foods and he likes his sweet potatoes the best - just like his Mama! It's that Southern blood coming out in him.

The three of us in the tulips - Will decided to pick one while we were out there.
Will was trying to catch them, but the wind would blow them out of his fingers each time. Once he got ahold, he wouldn't let go.

I love this one!
Aaron took the day off to take us all to the tulip festival. It was sunny but windy but we didn't mind - Laurel destroyed her shoes in the mud - good thing she's grown out of them! We went to a farm that had cows you could feed potatoes too - Laurel loved that, but wouldn't dare let them eat out of her hand, so she'd huck it at them. There was also a chick who thought it was part of a bunny family.

We like to go to Seward Park, which is close to our house, after Aaron gets home from work. It's a peninsula on Lake Washington and it is beautiful. You can walk around the lake part, or go up in the "deep, dark woods" as Laurel calls them. We got to feed the ducks this time around, which was fun. Just a few shots from the park.