The grass grows greener...

We came home from dinner tonight and this is what we saw:
Maddie, Taylor, and I have been praying every night for God to give us rain so our grass will grow. God, being as good as He is, has blessed us ABUNDANTLY with 5 days of straight rain! Maddie said today in the car, "Mom, I know I asked God for rain, but did we really need THIS much?" We actually got worried that the grass might drown. But He was good, and we were blessed tonight with the sight of our first sprouts!
Maddie was so happy she yelled "I KNEW God would make it grow!" Hard work rewarded!

A girl and a horse

Maddie had a "girl day" with her Grammie yesterday, and what better way to spend it than riding horses! Maddie is a little girl who loves horses. She loves animals, in general, but she really loves dogs and horses. She continues to ask when she gets to have her own horse. Anyone have a good response to that question?
Yesterday was like a dream day for Maddie. One day, she will learn to ride one. And just maybe, one day, she might get to have one of her own. Thanks Grammie for the wonderful day!

Our summer project

Today, we began (and finished) a HUGE project - we put in a new yard! Front AND back! Watch the event unfold....

First, you need a yard in desperate need of help...

The weeds outgrew Maddie

One truck load of dirt...

One yard ready to go...

Two huge piles of bark dust and beauty bark...

Two guys playing on big boy toys....

And finally, two little helpers!

Let the FUN begin!

The finished product!! With a little help from A LOT of water, there should be little sprouts popping up in about 7 days.... stay tuned!

My sweet little flower mound. I am SO excited about this. It is so pretty.

This was a CRAZY undertaking that took a better part of 12 hours, but we are excited to have a yard for the kids to play in next spring... Yeah!

MAJOR thanks goes out to my brother-in-law, Mike, and my father-in-law, Jim. Thank you both for ALL your help today!

Laughable conversation

This was the conversation spilling out from Maddie's room this morning while they are playing tic-tac-toe:


Taylor: MADDIE! That's not fair! I want to "x" you out!

Maddie: NO! I don't want you to!

Taylor: (shouting) FINE! I'm going to tell momma on you.

Maddie: (shouting from her room) MOOOMMMM! Taylor's going to tell on me!


Yeah, I laughed too.

She's BAAA-aaccckkk...

Our dog, Cede (short for Mercedes), had been living on my parent's farm for the last four years... she wasn't able to live with us since we were renting a house that didn't allow pets. But as fortune would have it, our new house allowed us to have her! So last weekend, we went to Olympia to pick up our Cede-girl.
She had a wonderful life at Nani and Poppa's farm (Thanks momma and poppa). Actually it was dog paradise! I felt bad taking her away from her friends (mom's other dogs), but since bringing her to our new house, she's remained happy! The kids shower her with attention, but at the end of the day, she just wants to hang out with me... I missed her a lot.

She's back home with us now, and none of us could be happier! Welcome home, Cede-girl.

Our new nephew, Slade

This is Slade Henok Kaiser. He is our new nephew. Lisa and Chris just got home on Friday from Ethiopia with him. He is SO adorable. He has the biggest brown eyes I've ever seen. He is adjusting well to being here... please pray for a smooth transition for their family.

He was pretty content with Uncle Rick. He really liked the beat box Rick does.

Welcome home, Slade!

Josh and Bethany's Wedding

We went down to Olympia last weekend for the wonderful wedding of my childhood friend, Bethany. Bethany and I grew up together doing children's theater. She is one of the most funny, lovable, and happy people I know.
They were married in Sylvester Park in downtown Olympia. It was so fun afterwards as we marched and paraded New Orleans-style to the reception. It was complete with ribbons, signs, and band music!

The flowers were stunning, as was the cupcake tower!!

I had to catch to moment... so pretty!

This is Bethany, her new husband Josh, my childhood friend, Jeremy, and I. Bethany, Jeremy and I were all part of Creative Theatre Experience (a children's theatre program in Olympia). It was so great to see Jeremy... he flew in from NY just for the event!

This is Shannon, me and Katie (and Katie's husband). We were all in CTE together as well. I loved everything about this wedding! It was so full of love and fun... just like Bethany! Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Sano!!

Summer in the Country

The kids are enjoying living in the country. They are climbing dirt hills, riding their bikes and scooters, running around with our dog, Cede. They love summer. Too bad for them... school starts in two weeks!


We went to the Lynden City Park while my dad was here. The kids loved the creek that flows through the park. Maddie would have rather stayed in the creek than go play on the toys! Taylor loved the climbing wall!

We decided to go blueberry picking last week... it was really hot, but the kids were troopers!

13 pounds of wholesome goodness!

We stopped at Edaleen's Dairy for ice cream cones afterwards, then home to make a fresh blueberry cobbler!

Dad's visit

My dad came up from California for his annual summer visit. We had a wonderful time! We did a lot of relaxing, some traveling, some winery hopping. It was great!





Thanks for the wonderful visit, dad!

Moved... at last!

For the last month, we have been busy packing, moving, and unpacking. We decided to move to a different home. We loved our view of the bay in the other house (of course), we loved the location, but that was about ALL we loved. We were given a great opportunity of live in a house that belongs to some missionary friends for the next couple years. We love the school district, the house works much better than the other, and the kids have their own room again! We are out in the "county" now, so we have to get used to that. Otherwise it is a great move!

The old living room in transition...

The new house....
the yard outside isn't really a yard right now, but that will all be changing in two weeks. I feel a blog coming on about it...

These are Maddie and Taylor's shoes on top of "Mt. Norris" - a big dirt hill out in our driveway

Atop Mt. Norris.

M & T always play here, then end up incredibly dirty. It is something that drives me crazy, but what are you gonna do...

We are excited to be here in the new house! Please click here for our new address!