A post from the blog slacker!

It's been a long winter/spring.  I quit my job in February and have been staying home, so there's really no reason to not be caught up on my blog!  Here is my attempt to catch up with a few photos.

 Tommy had his first band concert in December.  The 6th grade band did a wonderful job and I think that Tommy looked handsome!

Eric and my sister-in-law, Jenn, were phototgraphers for my cousin, Becky's, wedding the weekend before Christmas.  I did get a chance to have Jenn get a photo of Eric and I.  It was a beautiful wedding!!!

 The kids had a really great time at the wedding reception, as indicated here by Josh.

LOVE this photo of my parents.  They're so cute!

We love the COUGARS!!!  We got to attend several games this season.  Cassie got to dance with her dance team at 2 games.  Next year we are getting season tickets!  GO COUGS!!!

The boys had fun at the games too. Josh played basketball this winter and Tommy took the winter off to get ready for Track and Soccer season.

 The girls made me breakfast in bed one morning, just because.  I'm the luckiest mom in the whole world!

 We went to Bellingham for President's Day weekend. We got to celebrate my niece, Ella's birthday.  Here, Cassie is helping her hide from doll house that was being brought in cause it was too big to be wrapped.

 Sure was fun sharing Ella's birthday with her.  Here she is with Grammie and her best friend, Avery. 

This and That to end 2010

Here are just a few photos to finish off 2010.  We were pretty busy during November and December and I guess we didn't capture that many photos.   We'll do better next year!

On our way home from the coast in October, we had to stop at the Tillamook factory to try some cheese and ice cream.  The kids were most excited about smashing their pennies!

Here's Cassie the cow and Megan the farmer

It was a cold, fall morning, but we made them pose anyway.  I guess if we were good parents, they'd have coats on!

We spent Thanksgiving in Pomeroy and went to the annual parade the day after Thanksgiving when Santa comes to town on the fire truck.  We walked down to the Maple Hall after the parade and the cousins got their picture taken with Santa.  

Eric is the photo editor so I have to put on this blog what he chooses. . .well, we usually select them together, but he snuck this one in.  I do love that hat!

 We didn't have the kids all together for Christmas until December 27.  So, when they got in the car, their Christmas presents were sitting on their seats.  They each got an iPod Touch. (not sure why Megan isn't holding up hers) They were pretty excited and now they won't ask Eric and I to play our iPhones all the time.  We decided we are a pretty geeky family!  There are worse things, right?

 We've been to a few Cougar basketball games this season and here are the girls at one of those.

Tommy always dodges the camera, so here he is posing outside our house in the snow and freezing cold for a photo.  Eric would say, "That'll teach him."

 Here's a great photo that Eric took by Wally's Welding in Pomeroy.

 Anyone from Pomeroy know what the back of this building is?

Again, Pomeroy people. . .where's this door?

10/10/10: WEDDING DAY (will he forget our anniversary, ever?)

 

Who would've thought that a girl from "podunk" would re-connect with a boy from "podunk" and they'd live happily ever after?  It kind of sounds like a fairy tale, maybe not as eloquent, but I'm still pinching myself everyday that I get to be married to this amazing man.  It was a very special day. . .just how we hoped it would be.  

Our adorable niece and nephew, otherwise known as Ella and Yale, started the wedding procession.  Could they be any cuter?

Look at my beautiful girls!  Anyone who knows me well, knows that I have always wanted 4 kids.  Well, my wish came true!  Megan is such an amazing little girl and I'm so glad that I get to be part of her life.  All 4 of the kids get along so well. . .most of the time.  When you're around them you can tell they all really love each other. 

My handsome men. . .
enough said.

 My adorable parents

 Eric and his adorable parents :)

 My Sissy and I.  She was my maid of honor.

 Everyone that attended our wedding weekend.  Gotta love a tripod to capture a moment like this. 

 This is one of our favorite photos from our wedding day. 

 This is our very favorite.  Soon to be on our dining room wall :)

 Beautiful sunset

October 2010: Lincoln City, OR

Our New Year's Resolution is to post once a month.  I'm going to play catch-up for a few posts and then starting in February we'll have new photos from 2011.  On October 8, we packed up for a mini-vacation, including a wedding,  in Lincoln City, OR.  It was one of the best weekends ever! 



 



 All of the kids(Tommy, Josh, Megan, Cassie, Yale & Ella) had a great time on the beach and we couldn't keep them out of the water.  Here's Megan posing for a photo and then digging in the sand.  Thank goodness there was a washer and dryer in the house.  We did a lot of loads of laundry!

We had a few kites and the kids really enjoyed flying those.  There's always plenty of wind on the Oregon Coast for kite flying!  Josh is ready :)









The house we rented was beautiful and a perfect fit for the 18 of us that stayed there.  We spent most of our time on this main floor, well duh, that's where the fabulous food was!  Every family that was there was in charge of a meal.  It was a great way to do the food and everyone did a great job!

Here is the deck off the main floor where we spent a lot of time. We had steps right down to the beach. The weather was really rainy until Sunday morning when we got married out on this deck. :)

Jenn and Eric were our photographers for the weekend.  Jenn did our wedding photos and we were thrilled!  Here, Eric caught a photo of Jenn doing what she loves.  That's Jenn and Collin's daughter, Ella (our niece), watching her.

 

 Everyone loves Grandpa Ron (Eric's dad)!  These two are nothing but trouble when they're together! 

All of the kids get along so well.  It makes our time together that much more special.  Josh and Yale have always had a special connection.  Can you see it?

Love this photo of Jenn and I.  We call each other "Seester."  My brother, Collin, couldn't have found a better woman in the world to marry. I love her to pieces.  We did some shopping therapy together at the outlet mall and decided it's going to happen every year!  My brother, the accountant, is still talking about the money we "saved."  hee hee hee

Cassie loved her time on the beach and in the water!

The only child missing in this photo is Ella, but she wasn't far behind.  Collin had a great time in the water, too.

Eric and Collin got up one morning and took all 6 kids to the tidepools.  Everyone had lots of fun exploring. . .Here's the backside of Tommy and the girl cousins having a great time!

SEPTEMBER 2010: Birthday, Football and Fall!

It's November 8 and I'm finally getting the September post done.  Is that a problem? 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMMY! Our oldest turned 12 on September 11.  Can't believe it!!!  Why does it seem like everyone around me gets older, but I don't.  Kids will humble you, huh?  

 Tommy had a great time unwrapping presents while our friend, Dexter watched.

 We had a big family party on September 12 and Tommy was spoiled, as usual

 GO COUGS!!!  He's been wanting a new Cougar hoodie. Thanks Grammie Sue and Papa J.D. You can never have too much COUG gear!

 These photos are a little out of order. This was the morning of his birthday and he was THRILLED to get an Ecowell water bottle from Grandma Mary and Grandpa Ron.  For a full narrative on the Ecowell, just call Tommy and he'll tell you all about it or go to www.drinkecowell.com. It's the greatest thing about middle school in his opinion.

 New cell phone. I'm not sure, but the look on his face seems to say he's excited.

 Family photo before going to the first home football game of the season. WSU won!  WOOHOO!!!

 My friends, Shelly and Pam, drove up from Richland to wish Tommy a Happy Birthday and cheer on the COUGS with us.  It was a really fun day! 

It was a gorgeous day for football!

 Meg and dad