10 years!

On July 28th we celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary!
Holy cow! 10 years! REALLY?
How can that be?
We are going to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in November (minus the littles) for some real celebrating.....but we had a nice date night out in honor of the occasion.
We left the kiddos with auntie sarah...they have WAY too much fun with her :)
We had coffee, got a pedicure, went to happy hour at Ivar's in Seattle, drove around the U-District, went to the UW bookstore, went to SPU, took a picture of the house we lived in when we first got married, went to Golden Gardens Beach, went out for Mexican food, sat on the grass at Greenlake and exchanged cards and small gifts. It was a fun date. One that had many special memories from our early years together.
I am a lucky girl. Troy is such a wonderful husband and I love him with all of my heart. I am so thankful I married my best friend.
Marriage is not easy....but with alot of hard work and dedication....it is wonderful!
Can't wait to see what the next 10 years holds for us.


Our toes at Golden Gardens Beach


Ode to our slanty little house at SPU :)



Ivar's Happy Hour




Troy got me flowers



10 years ago...we were so young!

Oregon Coast

For our last family vacation of the summer we loaded the Minivan and headed to the Oregon Coast. We stayed in Newport, OR. It was fun! But cold. Auntie Sarah came with us. She was freezing...since she is used to Thailand weather. The boys had lots of fun on the beach. Kaden ate at least a cup of sand. We made sand castles...which Kyle liked to stomp on. We went to the Newport Aquarium which was really cool! The boys played in the water and played frisbee and dug holes in the sand and got really dirty! What a fun way to wrap up the summer!
Here are some photos from our adventure:

Mommy hugs on the beach


Auntie Sarah made a sand castle and Kyle was trying to stomp on it



Kaden flying....who needs a kite?




Sandy little buddy!





Not sure if he ate more or got more on his clothes




Kyle looking at the kites....I just love his face in this photo

I could not get him to sit by his name...he is too fast

I could not get him to look at the camera....oh well.

Daddy and Kyle carrying water buckets back to the sand to make a castle

Mr. K-man loves the beach!

Small Group Vacation

We are in a "small group" that meets twice a month to share life together. All together...there are 10 adults and 10 kids.
We had our 2nd annual small group vacation. This year we went to Lake Wapato (near Lake Chelan)
The Barstad's generously offered us their "cabin" for free! It was amazing.
We had so much fun! (I was terrible at taking photos....because we were so busy having fun)
Here are some highlights:
*swimming in the lake
*going to the water slides in chelan
*wine tasting-the mommies :)
*playing basketball- the daddies
*inner tubing! SO MUCH FUN!
*sharing meals together
*watching the kids play together and have so much fun!
*hanging out by the fire pit after the kids went to bed
*just being together...all 20 of us!

I wish I would have taken more photos to capture the amazing week that we had!
oh well.

the house, the fire pit
amazing!


Kelli reading stories to some of the kiddos



Kyle in his "bad guy" get up





Kelli, Christy, and Lori floating the lake....so relaxing!



Kaden's "play pen"

Thank you so much Dan and Michelle for allowing us to enjoy your house for the week!

Deer Harbor

Troy's parents (MiMi and PaPa) have a boat. It is a 36 foot Uniflite. We enjoy going out in the boat with them. We went to Deer Harbor in the San Juan Islands at the end of July with them. This was Kaden's first boat trip in the PharmSea boat (it is called the PharmaSea because PaPa used to be a pharmacist)
It was a great time. We spent two nights on the boat. The kids did great! Kyle loved sleeping on the top bunk in the "bunk room" and PaPa made a crib bed rail for Kaden on the bottom bunk. The kids slept great on the boat...it must have been the gentle rocking of the water.
It was "Family Weekend" with the Bellingham boating club that MiMi and PaPa are in. They organized fun games for all the kids with lots of prizes too. Kyle won a big squirt gun!
We went crabbing, went in the "Fast Boat", went swimming at the pool, looked for fish with Kyle's "long net", and just enjoyed time with family on the boat. Auntie Tara (8 months pregnant) and Uncle Nando came for the day. It was alot of fun! We are lucky to live is such a beautiful area and have parents with a boat for us to enjoy the beautiful San Juan Islands!


Kyle ready to go swimming with his noodles and his squirt gun





Kyle fishing with his 'long net'



our little fisherman




crab!





Kyle tying the boat to the dock


riding in the "Fast Boat" with Tara and Nando


Kyle and Daddy driving the little boat



Kyle in his bunk bed with his flashlight


Kyle and Daddy on the fly bridge




Kaden napping in his "bunk bed crib"



Kyle is looking for whales with MiMi

My New Ride

* I wish I could figure out how to place the photos in the order that I want....Oh well.

Lots of room for everyone.


Kaden is a good car-sleeper



Kyle reading in his new seat....surrounded by all of our "Stuff"
We took a trip to Ocean Shores in our new van. It held everything! Amazingly enough!


Kaden is trying out the power steering



There it is! A beauty!




I am officially a Mini-van Mom!
And proud of it!
We got a 2006 Kia Sedona.
It is gold....so we are calling to "the Dawg van" -- since Troy is such a HUGE Husky fan. We are still looking for purple UW stickers to put on the windows
We got the van in Wenatchee when we were on vacation in Leavenworth.
Troy put HOURS of research into the purchase of our minivan. I am so thankful to have a husband that does all that stuff for me! We are pleased with our decision and are really enjoying the space it provides for our family.

Summer!

Summer is in full-swing around here. And we are loving every minute of it!
Troy has been teaching summer school but it is really not that bad. He leaves the house around 7am and gets home around noon-ish. So we have all afternoon to hang out as a family and enjoy the summer! Plus...he only has 1 more week and then has all of August off!
We have been busy! Here are some photos of what we have been up to lately!

We have organic produce delivered every other Thursday from Klesick Family Farm. It is so fun to see what we get and make yummy food from the plentiful bounty


Kaden LOVES water. He is a splashing fool! We put the "kiddie" pool up in our backyard almost every day for the boys to play in


The "summer deck" Troy built this deck 3 years ago and we are really enjoying it. I love the pots that I made in the spring. Troy power washed and stained the deck a few weeks ago and it looks brand new!


Troy and Kyle brought these home for me to enjoy (Kyle's favorite color--pink)


Troy doing what he loves....spraying the shore line
He is SO CUTE when he water skis


We went to Biringer farm and picked 17 pounds of strawberries and almost as many raspberries. We made 43 jars of jam....and still have MORE to make! That should last us through December...maybe


Kaden playing in the rocks at Lake Cavanaugh


Kaden riding "a big boy truck" on the beach


Kyle enjoyed being the "flagger" when daddy was water skiing....but daddy never fell in so he did not have a job to do


Kaden floating in his flotilla


Kyle is really into "combat play" So squirt guns are right up his alley


purple lips....time to snuggle in a towel

Welcome Home Sarah!

After 10 months of living overseas in Thailand....my long-lost travelling sister is finally home!
We missed her so much!
Sarah, we are so proud of you! What an amazing journey you have been on.
It was hard for us to have you gone for that long...especially through holidays and Kaden's birth.
What a joy it was to see you hold Kaden for the first time.
Kyle missed you alot and always pretended to go to the airport to fly to Thailand.
Thank you for sharing your experiences with us through your blog, Skype, e-mail, photos, and occasional phone calls.
We love you very much and we are SO HAPPY that you are HOME!


Sarah and her sign and flowers


Sarah meeting Kaden for the first time (Kaden screamed because it was overwhelming)



Kyle fell asleep and held on to Sarah's flowers


Then we made him hold the sign...too funny!


Me and my boys anxiously waiting for Sarah to come up the stairs at the airport


Kaden gave Sarah a "Welcome" balloon....but he chewed it all up before she arrived


The balloon and flowers (all pretty) before the kids got their hands on them


Red, White, and Blue "Welcome Home" cake