Dr. Suess and Abigail Day

This is our sweet friend, Abigail, who spent a few Mondays with us this winter while her parents went to work.  Our favorite is how she says, "Some? Some?" when she wants a bite.  "Do you want some?"  At almost two, she has won our hearts with her hugs, her baby crouch (when talking to Micah) and her ability to say all of our names!

Preschool and Dr. Seuss' birthday means...

...this CAT in the HAT.

Brooklyn Girl

We had a play date with little Brooklyn since we were missing her like crazy!  The kids are used to seeing her each week at G'ma Dianne's, so when she came over here we had a blast!  They play so well together--and I got so much done while they were busy playing--that we wondered why we didn't do this a dozen times over the summer!  :)

Brock and Colleen are Married!!!

Jeff was quite honored to be part of his friend Brock's wedding last weekend.  We are thrilled for them!  It is so fun when two great people find each other...

Buddy Kai

In all the June craziness, the two teacher-mamas got their kids together for a fun morning.  We love this Kai boy!  C'mon, Kalei and Alea--when does school get out?  We're ready to play!

SLETH (Schneringer / Lochhead / Edmondson / Templin / Huggins) Reunion

The first weekend in August, the Schneringers came to town and we all rendezvoused in Spokane--Greenbluff was at the top of our list!

This is Lydia--she was so interested in the chickens.  She kept trying to get them to come to her like a puppy.  :)

Troy and Ali

We were watching the Punkin'-Chuckin--the huge cannon that hurls pumpkins through the air.  We love Knapps!

Joshy wanting up.

We all gathered for calzones that night--we remember when WE were the ones who filled the table...and now look at all of the offspring! :)  Parents, in order, from L to R:  Josh--Robert/Megan, Lydia--Johnny/Rachel, Ali--Troy/Lauren, Gracie--us, Zoe--Troy/Lauren, Joshy--us, Anna--Johnny/Rachel, Caleb--Troy/Lauren.

Scroll is the Calzone King.

Lydia and Baby Josh

Sweet Lydia, girl.

Ali and Gracie were thick as thieves--even sharing a chair for dinner.

Baby Zoe, sitting next to Josh

Caleb, caught in a delicious blink.

The guys organizing in the kitchen.

Rachel and Sarabeth with Baby Anna.

It was such a fun weekend!  We loved our time visiting with these precious families!

Jodie-Odie...and Elmo

This is Jodie, my very first best friend!  In grade school we wore the little half-heart necklaces:  I wore "BE FRI" and she wore "ST ENDS."  We were built-in school bus seat partners, and on many a ride you would've heard us singing Starship's, "Nothin's Gonna Stop Us" or playing the slapping hand game, "Eenie, Meanie, Gypsaleeni..."  And now, we live in the same town!

Jodie met the kids and I at the Little Garden Cafe and we had a great time reconnecting over bagels and coffee.  Afterwards, she was up for hanging out at Audubon Park so the kids could run through the splash pad.  Jodie's new job may have her traveling north occasionally, so we're hopeful for more shared time together.

Jodie's nieces call her "Auntie Jo-Jo," which I think fits her personality to a T.  (I remember a childhood conversation when Jodie said she didn't think she'd ever be a grandma, because "who's ever heard of a 'G'ma Jodie'"?!?)  Later that night, as we were saying prayers, Gracie said, "Wasn't that so nice of Auntie Jo-Jo to spend time with us today?"  Yes, it was!

California Girls' Trip

At the end of June, Cassie and I got to fly down to see our dear friend, Debbie.  What a great girl's trip! Jeff graciously stayed home with the wee tots while the three of us chit-chatted and lazed around the house in the mornings and adventured to the beach, saw the Redwoods, and shopped and dined!  It was so great to spend time with these ladies, whom I love so deeply, and so great to see Debbie and Randy in their new place in Santa Rosa.

Our Roommate, Linnea

We were blessed to have our friend, Linnea, stay with us for a couple of weeks after Whitworth got out for the summer.  Linnea's apartment wasn't available until the end of May, so we begged her to stay in our basement room while she waited.  :)  We had two fun weeks of living everyday life with her...learning what gluten-free foods she liked, listening to her fun stories, and learning to give guests a little personal space.  Ha!  Gracie was constantly asking, "Is Linnea still asleep?" or "Do you think Linnea's home?" or "I wonder if Linnea's up by now?" On one stay-home day Gracie and I were going over "the plan" while snuggling in bed one morning and after hearing that we were staying home, Gracie said, "Oh good.  Then I can see Linnea ALL DAY!"

We are missing her, already.  She's been gone two nights and the house seems a lot emptier without her smile and bounce.  We know just where her apartment is, though, so we will be visiting her quite often.  The Lochheads are kind of like head bugs:  You can't get rid of us, once we get in your hair.  :)  Love this girl!

Do you think Kyle can come over to play?

 Meet Kyle.  He's our neighbor up the street.  He and Grace are ALMOST birthday buddies, though he's turning FIVE on the 28th and she's FOUR on the 27th.

His resemblance to Dennis the Menace is uncanny.  We just LOVE HIM.

Patricia and the Girls

Here are some of our newest friends!  Steve and Patricia have two girls about our kids' ages:  Emma and Ashlan.  In fact, we'd seen each other at church and story times at the library for the last couple of years, but when Emma and Gracie started going to preschool together, Patricia and I started hanging out (with Ashlan and Josh) during preschool.  We've had many a park/mall/store playdate this year!  We took Patricia and the girls to The Little Garden Cafe for Patricia's birthday last week.  The sun was shining and I couldn't resist getting a couple pics...

Fancy Nachos

Fancy nachos are what we ate for dinner, but that title seems to fit

this pile of kids in a wagon with all their "toppings"...

Lochheads, Van Sickles, and Nelsons all in one spot!

Look closely to see Jacob reaching to pull happy Kai's hair...

Kai didn't like it...

...not one bit.

Jacob in his trendy black Seattle-wear.

Kai riding the bike.

Hmmm...this duo looks to have some serious trouble potential...

So sad to have to say goodbye.

We had such a great time with the Nelsons!

More Jacob

I was so excited to take pictures of a baby that stayed in one spot! I could've taken pictures of this cute guy all day!

Baby Jacob Comes to Visit!

We were THRILLED to have my college roommate, Susannah, and her husband Marc and their sweet, sweet boy, Jacob, come to visit last week! Jacob was born last August, and we have been aching to meet him. When our Spring Break plans to go visit them in Seattle fell through, they came to visit us on their Spring Break!

Our family fell in love with Jacob--and all the things that came with him: his toys, highchair, jammies, and his parents! Grace and Josh inspected him and kept him entertained for two days on the floor of our living room. Josh tried his best to teach Jake to crawl--he's so close!

LOVE the hair comparison shot from this angle. Josh is 13 months, Jacob is 8 months.

Seriously, folks. Those eyes and that hair and those cheeks...this Jacob boy is irresistable!

I realize that I took no pictures of Sooz or Marc--or us together! It's pretty much about the kids, now. We had a few fun outings--we went for a stroll around Whitworth on Friday and the weather cooperated! Marc let Sooz and I go to a kids' clothes consignment shop during nap time, the Van Sickles came over for fancy nachos, and Marc got to experience Didier's for the THIRD time in his life. He SAYS he went to Whitworth... We had a great visit with them.

Thank you so much for traveling to spend time with us, Nelsons!

Girls' (and wee babes') Weekend in CDA

We did it! Julie, Rachel, Heidi and I said we were going to have a girls' weekend at a time share in CDA and we finally did--the weekend before Thanksgiving! What a fun time! We ended up leaving the bigger kids at home with dads and we took with us the little tykes who are still dependent on moms. You should've seen the GEAR we took to take care of 4 women and 3 babies! Julie has a great picture of a stuffed elevator that I may post later... :) These first few pictures we took when we went shopping for the afternoon in downtown CDA. We got the funniest comments from on-lookers. My favorite was, "Hey--it's the Baby Club!" (I love how Josh and Kai are checking each other out in this picture!)

Joshy and Auntie Julz

Pooped out Lydia! Look at all of her HAIR and those gorgeous EYELASHES! This girl is so sweet! She entertained us with her early love for books (hmmm...who's her mother?) and her "clip-clop" horse noises.

Kai Guy and Heidi--this little guy is a MOVER! He is so close to crawling and is so determined to get things. My favorite thing about Kai is that when he gets excited he grunts while all four limbs are moving. Wait until you see him in the pool!

Playtime. I told you we brought a lot of gear...

Auntie Julz was in her heaven with THREE BABIES to love. Kai couldn't stay awake a minute longer in her arms.

Sweet Lydia getting her hair done. A perfect hair chair. :)

Good thing she couldn't turn on the faucet yet.

After our afternoon of shopping we took the little sprouts to the pool. They LOVED it.

Joshy kicking away with Auntie Rachel

Look at Kai go! He was a little fish.

Lydia is so good at blowing kisses. Here she was trying to use Heidi's hand to blow one.

And even though the pictures only show BABIES, there was a lot more to our weekend...ChocoVine, calendar scrapbooking, peppermint chocolate kisses, exploring great shops in CDA, starting movies but then letting them sit on pause because we started talking and didn't stop, going to bed at midnight and then regretting it when the kids woke up at six...

We had such a great time. We left already planning for next year...imagining the fun we may have when we're kid-less!