We're tired

I posted this picture for a couple reasons. For one, Lucy never falls asleep in the car so I had to document. She hasn't fallen asleep in the car for almost 2 years, so you must realize the state of exhaustion she had reached to actually fall into slumber. Secondly, this picture represents my state right now- no, I'm not sleeping, but I wish I could- I'm tired. We've been going here and there for a while now and- I'm tired. Tomorrow I'll have more energy- but right now- I'm tired.

Gardening with Grandma

5 down- many to go

Happy Anniversary to us! Our anniversary was July 13th (Friday the 13th), but we just celebrated it this past weekend. We had so much fun together while the kids spent the night with Nate's parents. We went to the park, played Frisbee, went out to dinner at Anthony's on a deck over looking Lake Washington, stayed the night at the Red Lion, played tennis, went to an arts and crafts fair, and went to Ratatouille. We felt like we were dating again- it was so fun to just enjoy each other and do all the things we don't do all that much anymore.

My mom and dad got us the gift card to Anthony's and my dad picked out a special bottle of wine for us to enjoy. The wine was scrumptous- below we are enjoying the rare treat of good wine.
The arts and crafts fair was great. It was fun place to play around with my new camera. Below are some shots I took.

My book list

We've been doing a lot of reading. Going to the library has opened my eyes to the fact that there are some really bad children's books out there. However, I have stumbled across some that I think are beautifully written and have really enjoyed reading. On a quest for good reading I have decided to make links to my favorites. Let me know if there are any you would add to the list.

Santa Barbara

We had such a great family vacation in Santa Barbara. Vacations are different now. I wasn't sure if the new sleeping arrangement, family chaos, and complete new environment would lend itself to a nice relaxing vacation, or a countdown to departure day. We were pleasantly surprised with a wonderful and relaxing time away. I mean really, check out our sleeping quarters, not too shabby. This house was so exquisite and easily slept 15 people.

Almost every afternoon was spent at the beach with the cousins. We found a great beach that wasn't too crowded and even had dolphins swimming with us (not quite like Sea World style, but still very cool). Lucy was petrified of the water, which we were a little happy about, but by the last day would actually put her feet in the water.

William on the other hand had no fear of the water. He loved playing in the waves, and after falling in the water once became a little more hesitant.

Just love this picture of Nancy and Luke. I didn't have a camera, so I owe Chris a big thank you for taking a lot of the pics- he's a great photographer.

OH yes! The hot tub was great great great! Here we are with Chris and Nancy after our first day there.

One of my favorite parts of the house was the immaculate garden. This garden had orange trees, plum trees (the best plums I have ever had), almost any veggie you could think of and the most amazing flowers. There were also chickens that Lucy would visit to fetch their eggs for breakfast to accompany our fresh squeezed orange juice.

Emma and Maddy were soon named "my girls" by Lucy. Lucy was in heaven with her cousins around all the time for constant playmates. Here we are at the Santa Barbara zoo. Below is Maddy feeding a giraffe (if you couldn't tell)- Lucy didn't want to get too close to it-

Thanks to Maz and Papa for making this trip possible- what a great gift. Here they are holding baby Luke.
Lucy and daddy going on a walk through the garden.
The infamous family picture!

A baby was born

How'd she do? Lucy drew a picture of what she thought the new baby would look like? Thankfully, she was wrong.



There she is, sweet little Abigail Faith. She is a beautiful baby. I think Nate said it best in the delivery room, "she looks like a baby, not an alien." Jodi delivered a whopping 16 days past her due date and had a grand finale of a 26 hour labor. She deserves a Margartita (or two, or three). Abby was 7 lbs. 6 oz and 19 inches. We are in amazement over this beautiful addition to our family and are so thankful we could be here to welcome her into the world.