kate is eight.

(so what? i wanted something rhymey, but "katie turns eighty" didn't work!)


a still-groggy katie eating her b-day breakfast.


katie with her birthday posse.


the cake.


making a wish.


opening presents.


austin and megs.


hard to believe, but this may have been the last party that these guys will be the "babies" at.

this year katie decided to raise money for PAWS of bremerton, a local animal welfare organization. this is also the organization that helped us re-home our kitty, mosely, shortly after moving to WA. she raised $61.00 to donate to this deserving organization. i am so pleased with the fact that she has a cause she is passionate about (that happens to be the same as her mama's!)

wow it's been over a month since my last blog post. sorry to all 3 or so of you regular readers out there LOL as always, thanks for reading! (and if you REALLY want to make my day, feel free to comment!)

celebrating sammy.

sunday was my baby's 4th birthday. he is the sweetest, funniest, cutest boy ever. (i may be slightly biased, though.) we celebrated with family and a couple friends at what sam probably considers the "funnest place on earth", chuck e. cheese :)


big bro, little bro.


gabs and sam, lovin' the ride.


i thought this was *adorable*....austin leading preston around. preston grabbed his finger and wouldn't let go :)


feeding the ticket-muncher.


grammy/sammy.


sam opening a present and ignoring the giant mouse, while ella gives him a high-five.


sweet card from gabby (sophie helped her with it!)


modeling his new jacket.


gettin' some benji-lovin'.


cuppy-cake time!


lovely pic, i know, but somehow it was the only one i managed to get with katie and soph-ball in it.


the littlest party-goers, enjoying their cupcakes (or frosting, in benji's case).


sam and mommy ♥

thanks for looking!

halloween 2011.

sam's preschool class. they had a party and then paraded around the Y, stopping at the different departments to trick-or-treat!


a few of the *wonderful* preschool teachers: bozo, harry, and wonder woman :)


makin' the neighborhood rounds.


campfire girls.


this is a combo of being high on candy and deliriously tired.


happy birthday steve!! if i were going by the candles on your cake, you're 7 now? (P.S. loved the captain america steven!)


L to R:cheetah, dimi, texas longhorn, tigger, cow, austin, cowgirl.

hope everyone had a wonderfully frightening halloween!

thanks for looking!

seattle: our anniversary in pics.

a couple weekends ago nathan and i went to seattle for the weekend for our anniversary. our anniversary is in february but nathan was in guam at the time, so here are some pics from our belated 12-year celebration.


a cherry blossom on alaskan way.


my husband banging his head on a tree because i ALREADY stopped to take a pic. and he's got a backpack on cause we hiked it this weekend with no car.


after dropping off our stuff at the hotel, we went about exploring Queen Anne. we've driven through it before, and seen the TV towers on top of it from the Space Needle, but i wanted to walk around and explore. i've got a back issue of "Sunset" that talked about the stair climb, and there are stair cases allll over Queen Anne to explore.


Queen Ann high school sits at the top of the hill and was built in 1908. it was converted into condos in 2007.


a really cool, ornate house in Queen Ann.


their front yard was gorgeous too.


TV tower at the top of Queen Ann.


we ended up hiking over to lake union, and followed that for awhile.


houseboats. we ended up at a little place right by the fremont bridge called the Nickerson Street Saloon, where we enjoyed a late lunch.


we hiked back to our hotel on the other side of Queen Ann, this is on an urban hiking trail in Kinnear Park.


we stopped back by our hotel to freshen up a little and then headed over to the underworld tour. it was a hoot and our tour guide (a girl named "Forrest") was a stitch. i'm glad i finally crossed this off of my bucket list after living here for 6 years.


the state hotel. you could rent a room here for 75¢ (per hour LOL) it was utilized by many of seattle's early "seamstresses". ahem.


after the tour we stopped for a midnight bite at local 360, who had THE most delish macaroni and cheese. it was YUM. (i snapped this shot the next day while walking around.) then we headed back to our hotel where we both COLLAPSED. i had worn my running watch around on friday just to see how far we went and we ended up putting in over 13 miles. good training, if nothing else.


the next morning after enjoying a yummy breakfast buffet at the hotel, we took a cab to nathan's favorite store, the REI flagship store. (i'd had enough hiking by this point.) here he is standing in the front of it. afterwards we went to the retail district and walked around Pacific Place and Westlake Center. we saw the movie "Paul" (okay, not quite as funny as i'd hoped for) and then just strolled around the streets of seattle for a bit, before going back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.


we had reservations at the Metropolitan Grill, which several people had recommended to us. it did not disappoint. the atmosphere was outstanding, and the food (however pricey) was fabulous. the best part? the ONION RINGS. they were HUGE.


sunday before heading home we stopped by Pike Place, where nathan got his "daily dozen" donuts and i got some gorgeous flowers.


one of the many flower stands in the market.


then we hopped back on the ferry and back into real life. though it was nice to get away for a bit, it's always nice to come home, too.

thanks for looking!

lucky number 7.

last month my middle babe turned 7. having a birthday so close to christmas (just over a month after) results in having a pretty hard time shopping for her sometimes. being a minimalist-at-heart, i hate having to buy "stuff" for the sake of giving SOMETHING. this post gave me an idea, that i suggested to katie: "how 'bout we ask your friends to bring donations for the animal shelter instead of presents to your party?" honestly, i fully expected for her to shoot down that idea, but instead she loved it. at first she was a little hesitant ("i REALLY want to....but i also like getting presents".....i reassured her that she would still be getting presents from mommy and daddy.) so we celebrated with a ton of her friends at Chuck E. Cheese and everyone brought donations in her honor for the Kitsap Humane Society.




waiting at the desk for her donation receipt.


saying hi to some of the residents.


visiting a kitty in their new "cattery".

she raised $115.13 in the end. quite an accomplishment for a 7-year-old!

thanks for looking!

happy 1.1.11.

some pics from last night....we headed over to heidi's house with a few other friends for a lil' low-key celebration close to home.


girls. (moi.heather.heidi.wendy.tiff.)


boys. (andrew.steve.nathan.jeff.)


this is a bunch of FUN couples, folks ;)


heather. hovering several hundred feet above the seattle skyline LOL


it's like i was RIGHT THERE!!


heidi's kitchen floor....she LOVES confetti!


i love her ♥


sober heather rockin' the pink snuggie.


and the best for last :) my fave pic of the night LOL

best wishes for a happy.fulfilling.joyful.splendiferous. 2011!! thanks for looking!