Happy 5th Birthday Taylor!

Wow...Taylor is 5! I cannot believe it! We decided that since it was a big milestone birthday for her that we would do something extra special for her this year. We surprised her by taking she and Maddie to the Children's Theater in Seattle to see Good Night Moon. When Taylor woke up in the morning she got to opened up a very fancy dress with matching gloves with an explanation of what we were doing. I don't think she fully understood what was going on because after we had been in the car for 10 minutes or so and she was giving me all kinds of grief that this wasn't her choice to be driving far away on her birthday. Once we got to the theater though she started to change her tune on the whole thing. The play was amazing and the girls loved every minute of it!

Should we be concerned that at age 5 she requested "kid wine" in the bath tub at 8 am?

The girls getting ready to go and see Good Night Moon.

The whole family ready to enjoy Good Night Moon!

After the play we got back into the car and headed to Chuck E Cheeses...yes, I did say Chuck E Cheeses. Taylor a few months ago got it into her head that she really wanted to go there. We actually haven't been to Chuck E Cheeses since she was one- and if you remember it ended in her first trip to the emergency room for stitches! So, she was very excited to be going! And you know what? We had a blast! Since it was 90 degrees outside no one was inside and so we had the place to ourselves! We ended the night by coming home and having Jamoca Almond Fudge ice cream and homemade sugar cookies! It was a very fun day!

It's Chuck E Cheese Time!!

It's Taylor...wait, no, it's Hannah Montana! A favorite gift!

Low Tide!

Over Memorial Day Weekend we got to witness the lowest tide of the year! It was absolutely amazing! Boats motors were sunk into the sand and where we would normally be floating on a dock we weren't. The best part was that the kids got to look at crabs- both big and small, jelly fish, star fish and sand dollars up close! It was a perfect way to spend our day!

Taylor and Ellie finding star fish together! Taylor wouldn't touch them though :)

Taylor looking for treasures!

A star fish!

This is as close as Maddie got to the star fish!

Ah...this is the life! Picking sand out of her toes!

Campfire's!

The girls have discovered a new love....a campfire! Last year at the end of the summer season we purchased a new fire pit with 4 chairs for our back yard. We didn't get to use it very much and we now have it all pulled out and any night that it is sunny and warm and we are playing outside the girls insist on having a campfire! On this one particular evening the girls decided that they wanted to "camp" and put down a mattress with blankets next to the campfire. It was fun to watch them interact and I was thankful that this is about as close to "camping" as we are going to get this summer :) I especially love that they also insist on having Smores at every campfire yet they don't eat them! Neither girl likes marshmallows or graham crackers- they only eat the chocoloate. Silly girls!

Mother's Day!

I had an absolutely wonderful Mother's Day! We did basically nothing which is what I had requested! We are constantly on the go and I simply wanted to putz around the house and enjoy the day with Dave and the girls. My favorite part was that I got to take a nap- by myself! Dave took the girls out for a while so the house was completely quiet and I must have been tired! 2 hours later I woke with a start but I sure felt refreshed! The girls made me a new plate that I could display with their names written on it. It is so cute! They painted all around it in my favorite colors. I do love these little treasures! I was spoiled by my hubby as well- I have been begging for an IPOD for when I go and work out and was very surprised when he presented me with one! I am loving my workouts that much more now! We had barbecued hamburgers for dinner and built a fire and roasted marshmallows to end our evening.

Computer Breakdown!

I know.....it has been entirely WAY to long! About 4 weeks ago our computer decided to just go ahead and break on us. We have been so busy that we finally were able to schedule to have someone come out and take a look at it. Dave met the guy today and it was fixed within an hour. I don't have access to the BLOG at work so I haven't been able to communicate with anyone. I AM SO SORRY! We are all doing great! I won't post pictures now but will briefly update you on life!

Taylor- is counting down the days until her 5th birthday (4 more!) and informed me today that she would really like to have a half Princess, half Hannah Montana party. I quickly informed her that her mommy had already invested a lot of time into a princess party and that was the end of the conversation! We have a fun day planned for her on Saturday and then she has her kid party on Sunday. Pictures to come soon! She has started playing soccer and she had a blast at her first practice last week. She is of course about a foot taller than everyone!

Maddie- is our very opinionated little girl these days! She makes up her mind and you can't convince her otherwise! I have no idea who she gets that from! She too is playing soccer and had a good 10 minute practice before she got shy and decided to have Dave hold her for the rest of the practice. She firmly believes that she has a "loose" tooth and that she will be heading to Kindergarten with Taylor in the fall! She makes us laugh!

Heather- is doing well! 6 weeks ago I joined a new gym and even got a personal trainer for 4 days. I decided it was high time to lose my "muffin top" and spend some time making myself feel a bit better. It has not been an easy time but I am very excited to announce that I have lost 8.5 pounds and that I am back to my pre-Taylor weight....I still have some work to do- it appears that my muffin top just might be with me for life :) I have 3 more weeks of a strict diet and exercise routine and then I am going to head into a maintenance program. School is almost over (19 days) and I am getting excited to pack up my classroom and head to my new school!

Dave- is so busy with work right now it is insane! He is having to do double duty with both the high school and the middle school right now so he has something almost every night. He is most definitely counting down the days until summer vacation! He is recovering very nicely from his knee surgery and he was oh so bummed when the doctor informed him that he could no longer run long distance- HA!

We had an amazing Memorial Day Weekend which included BBQ's, good friends, Smores and the marina!

I promise to catch everyone up with life soon!