The Norris Clan

Merry Christmas...

2011-12-19T11:50:00.000-08:00

Halloween!!

2011-11-02T09:17:00.001-07:00

They made the cutest Vikings... Meet Hiccup and Astrid!

Paris...? Yes please!

2011-06-11T21:10:00.000-07:00

Here is a romantic contest I just entered... ah, to dream...

Oh Happy Day... goes to Paris!

Christmas...

2010-12-05T23:24:00.001-08:00

Lights are up outside... Decorations are up in the house... it feels like Christmastime. I am in my happy place.

Pure Bliss Desserts

2010-10-27T16:53:00.001-07:00

My friend, Andi, had a dream to bake delicious desserts, cakes, scones, cupcakes.... You get it. She has been running her business out of a rented kitchen and her home... Until now. She opened her BEAUTIFUL store front in Bellingham yesterday.

If you need a new date night place, girlfriend talk session, or just to fix your sweet tooth craving, go! You won't be sorry...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

It's that time of year...

2010-10-27T16:20:00.000-07:00

My kids have been begging me to carve pumpkins.... So here they are!

Let's give it a shot...

2010-10-26T18:35:00.000-07:00

Facebook has taken over my cyberlife. Ugh! I hate it, but it's true. I love blogging, I love talking about my family and keeping up with everyone. But it seems so easy just to post a quick "status update" on Facebook rather than a long blog about the day/trip/event....
While reading a friend’s blog she mentioned how she was going to become a five minute blogger (an idea she got from her friend). I love this idea!
So.... I am going to give it a shot... I want to keep this blog if only for myself. Hope I can keep it going... miss you all!

Sam...

2009-07-31T14:18:00.000-07:00

Well, since I haven't properly introduced our newest edition, allow me to now:

This is America Samuel Danzig Norris, more commonly known as "Sam."

This is Sam at 3 weeks old.
Sam is a South African Mastiff, also known as a Boerboel.

4 weeks old...

6 weeks old...

8 weeks old... our first meeting!

Certainly love at first sight, that's for sure.

He was calm and confident right from the beginning.

He immediately took to Rick. He knew right way who Daddy was.

We flew down to LA to pick him up. There are not many reputable breeders in the US, and the one we chose was in California. So we flew out EARLY Friday morning, picked him up at 11 am, and headed to Hermosa Beach for a few hours of bonding time. As you can see, there was not issues with bonding at all!
He seems SO small in Rick's arms. When we brought him home, he was around 18 pounds at 8 weeks old.

Yes, he actually used to fit in Rick's lap

9 weeks old... and helping me with my homework

Sam went to Ski to Sea with us, and met an English Mastiff along the way. He was right at home with him!

10 weeks old...

12 weeks old...

13 weeks old... He loves the kids and they love him... if you can't tell

16 weeks old... first time out on the boat!

17 weeks old... loves to play with Rick!

18 weeks old...

19 weeks old...

He is already 56 pounds!!

Well... that is our boy! We love him... I am sure there are going to be more posts on him. I certainly have enough pictures of him :-)

4th of July Boating

2009-07-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

We took the boat our for it's (second) maiden voyage this weekend for the 4th of July. We headed out to Sucia Island in the San Juans. It is a beautiful island right on the US/Canadian border. We had SUCH a great time! Rick and I loved being out there with our family. The kids were especially excited about being on the boat! Jim and Joanne joined us for the weekend. We can't wait to go again!

Here are some of the pictures from our weekend:

Click here to view more photos from the weekend! Thank you, husband, for the wonderful weekend. Can't wait for the next...

Graduation

2009-06-24T15:03:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it.

I finally finished Nursing School. It is no secret that it hasn't been an easy two years (four if you count the prereqs). Going to school when you have a husband AND kids is a HUGE task! On top of all that, our church closed, we moved, and life happened.

But after all of that was said and done, I still graduated. And I am glad. Glad to have accomplished this, glad it's over, glad my family walked along side with me, glad we are all better for it.

I am so thankful to everyone who supported me throughout this whole process. We would NEVER have made it without all of your love and support.
Here are the girls I lovingly call the nurses... I truly would not have finished school if it weren't for your encouragement, support, late night study sessions and dance parties, fun weekends "off", and shoulders to cry on. Thank you ladies. (Chelsea wasn't in the picture, darn it!).
Jennay... I love you! You are my person. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

To Momma and Poppa, Dad, Jim and Joanne, Christine and Mike, Lisa and Chris... thank you is not enough. Through my ups and downs, laughter and tears, you stood by me when I needed you the most. We can NEVER thank you enough, but we'll say thank you anyway and we love you.

To Maddie and Taylor, thank you for understanding that mommy had to study, couldn't watch movies all the time or color whenever you wanted, thank you for loving me despite my grumpiness and frustration. Thank you for all your hugs, kisses, and prayers. They worked miracles. I hope that my endurance and perseverance showed you how hard work can really pay off. I love you both.

To my wonderful husband... You ran, walked, and crawled this journey with me. I know God has truly blessed us for walking thorough this together. I cannot imagine my world without you, and I am so thankful to have you in my life. I am so excited about the next chapter in our life. Boating... no studying... spontaneity... time together. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for us. Thank you... I love you. Oh, and I won't tell anyone that you got choked up with tears in your eyes as you pinned me... that just wouldn't be cool :-)

Father's Day/Weekend...

2009-06-24T14:47:00.001-07:00

Well, better late than never!

This year, we celebrated Father's Day with 3 of the 4 fathers in our lives ~ my dad (Eric) was up from California, my dad (Gary) was up from Olympia, and Rick. Rick's dad (Jim) was out of town, unfortunately. We missed you, Jim.

We had a lot of fun with my dads while they were here! The kids were SO excited to have their grandpas here.

On Father's Day, we spent the day with just the six of us... Rick, Me, Maddie, Taylor, Cede, and Sam. We started with chocolate chip pancakes (made my Maddie), picnic lunch (courtesy of Wendy's) at Cornwall Park, then filet mignon (grilled by Taylor, sort of) and garlic mashed potatoes for dinner, and DQ ice cream for dessert. It was the perfect day. Rick was so happy to be able to relax the ENTIRE day... Here is a little snapshot of what his day consisted of:
Wonderful day.

Thank you to all the dads who love and care for us. We love you!

Playing with the Cousins

2009-06-24T14:36:00.001-07:00

Spencer, Mason, and Slade are here for an overnighter! Here is how WE like to have fun!

Little too close, Maddie...

Slade made quick friends with Sam.

Sam was helping to keep an eye on Slade. Very helpful little puppy...

Taylor begged to help feed Slade. He's a good helper too.

A little DS time doesn't hurt anyone...
Well... it might make them a little crazy!

Here is Sam being the protective cousin... actually, since Sam is from South Africa and Slade is from Ethiopia, then they are African Brothers!!

SYTYCD

2009-06-12T18:41:00.000-07:00

So... my favorite show is So You Think You Can Dance. Hands down. Amazing talent! I DREAM of being as good a dancer as those kids... ah... it's nice to dream.

While watching this week's elimination episode, Taylor asked if he could hang out with me and watch too. Me being the artist I am was happy to enrich his mind and open him to the world of dance. Here is some of his commentary:

(During the tango) "Mommy, is one of those people a man? I can't tell which one!" (me) "He's the one with the ponytail." (Taylor) "Really?"

(watching Tony the hiphop dancer) "Now THAT is dancing."

(during Asuka's routine) "She's cute." (I completely disagree.. she is not my fav)

(during Jonathan's routine) "That was WOW WOW."

Take that Nigel Lythgoe.

Missing in Action

2009-06-09T07:58:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. I realized it has been six months (or more) since I last posted... well NO MORE of that! It is time to celebrate. I graduate from nursing school in one week! So, there is time on my horizon... I promise to catch you up on the year so far...

Until then, here are a few pictures that I love that mark 2009 :

Winter Weather

2008-12-13T14:39:00.000-08:00

We are bracing for a storm this week... the weatherman says it is supposed to be the coldest weather the county has had in 20 years. It is so windy that this is what we walked out to this afternoon:
Looks like we need a chainsaw!

A chapter closing...

2008-12-08T21:03:00.001-08:00

It has been a very difficult time for us lately... we closed our church at the beginning of December. Rick and I started it almost 10 years ago with some friends. Over the last couple years, it has been slowly dwindling in numbers. The Spirit was still very much alive, but we were not growing. God pruned us until we felt like we could be pruned no more. So, we threw out a fleece to God asking Him to bring a couple specific things to us as a "sign," if you will, that we were to stay open. Nothing happened. So we prayed hard, and decided that we felt the Lord was asking us to give it over to Him. So we feel like this was sort of an Abraham & Issac story... we offered the sacrifice. We raised the dagger. We prayed he would stop us from plunging, but knew if He didn't, it was His will. Unfortunately, we had to plunge.

We are incredibly sad and overwhelmed with having to find a new direction. Rick was faced with having to look for a new career. This is a horrible time to be looking for work, but we are confident God will provide everything we need. Of that I am sure. Our prayers were answered only one week after the church closed with a job in the Title Insurance industry as the business Rick worked for before full time ministry. What a blessing. We are so thankful for God's provision. We are uncertain of what the future holds as this position is temporary, but we know God is in control, and we look forward to seeing Him reveal His plan daily.
Thank you for your prayers. They are deeply appreciated. Please continue to pray for us and for our church family.

What if...

2008-12-08T10:07:00.000-08:00

Thank you, Diana, for posting this on your blog. It was just what I needed to see this morning...

Maddie

2008-11-29T11:57:00.001-08:00

My Maddie girl is growing up right before my eyes. She has LOVED being in 1st grade. Her teacher is wonderful. Maddie loves her friends, and especially loves to TALK. Can you believe that? At her parent/teacher conference last week, Mrs. Evans had only good things to say about her academics, but had to admit Maddie's biggest downfall is her socializing. I don't know where she gets that from.

Maddie chose this year to try playing basketball. The district has teams for every grade, so she is going to actually be on a team. I think she may not be playing much this first year, as she has not had much practice, let's see, dribbling, shooting, or even PLAYING basketball. She has been to a couple practices, and the coach already gave her homework - dribble 10-20 minutes a day. She has her work cut out for her.

Go Maddie!

I am so proud of the little lady she is becoming.

Taylor

2008-11-29T10:54:00.000-08:00

Well... it's been awhile since I last blogged. School is life right now. But I thought I'd post a few of the happenings over the last couple months to play catch up. This is Taylor's blog.

Taylor and his preschool class went on a field trip last month to Stoney Ridge Pumpkin Patch. It is a wonderful family-run farm that has pumpkins, christmas trees, hay rides, a dessert cafe, and a wonderful festive atmosphere. It is pricey if you go with your family ($10 just to get in), but with the school, it's better. It was a gorgeous day! Blues skies, 60-degree weather... perfect Fall day!

Each child gets to pick their own mini pumpkin. Taylor looks so tall in this picture.

They have the best desserts at this place. HUGE pumpkin pie pieces, fresh apple pie al-a-mode, caramel apples... so good.

They also have a huge apple orchard, so we decided to take a few home with us.

This is Audrey. She is Taylor's best friend at school. They really are pals. They are very similar in personality - introverted - so they get each other. They really are a cute pair, no?

Taylor is a big help around the house. Not a day goes by that he doesn't ask me I am going to vacuum. I got so tired of him asking me if I was going to vacuum, that I finally asked him if he was going to vacuum. So he did. And he does. He loves it. He has an affinity for vacuums. I can't explain it, but he loves them. More power to him.

He is also quite the mathematician. Here is a video of him playing his video game. He is kind of freaking me out! Should 4-year-olds be able to do this?

Update on our Summer Project

2008-09-18T20:14:00.002-07:00

If you will remember, last month our "Summer Project" started out like this:

And now it looks like this:
Can you even believe how beautiful it is?! It is so full and feathery. I actually mowed it for the first time this week. I am so impressed with my brother-in-law's strategy to spread fine bark dust on top of the seed to keep it in place and moist. THAT is why is looks so good... oh, and the 8 straight days of rain we got the week after we planted.
Thank you again Mike and Jim for all your hard work on this yard. We could not have done it without you!

Writing books

2008-09-18T20:14:00.001-07:00

Maddie's teacher, Mrs. Evans, is a huge advocate for reading and computers. She was the computer lab teacher at her school for 12 years until being a first grade teacher this year. So she has computers in the classroom that the kids are learning to type on. Every week, the kids write a couple books, Mrs. Evans has them laminated and bound, then they can check them out to bring home.

The first day of school, their first book was appropriately titled "On the First Day of School."
The kids got to color one picture to put in the book of something memorable about the first day. They also got to type and print the words that went along with their picture.

Most kids drew pictures that said "We rode the bus," or "We ate lunch," and even "We had free time."

What did Maddie think was so "memorable" about the first day of school?
So it begins...

First visit from the Tooth Fairy - Updated

2008-09-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

It has finally happened! Maddie lost her first tooth!!
She was the only kid in Kindergarten last year that didn't lose a tooth. She had a few loose ones, but didn't lose any... until last night!
Our bedtime ritual includes brushing teeth, reading for 30 minutes, prayer time, and wiggling teeth. We have been working on them for months. Finally, last night, she told me when she was eating an apple at lunch time, it felt like her tooth loosened up even more. So we got the tissue out and started wiggling. I bent it forward, and her eyes got HUGE! She joyfully yelled for me to pull it out. So, I did. She was so excited, and a bit grossed out at the blood in her mouth, but nevertheless, ecstatic!

We put the tooth under her pillow for Ms. Tooth Fairy to visit. Check out that reward:
**Update: I need to mention this: the first tooth in our house is a big deal with a big reward ($5)... BUT, after that, Mr. Fairy's prices go WAY down...

She even got a personal letter from Ms. Fairy herself:

Congratulations, Missy. The next one should be out soon...

Taylor's Big Day

2008-09-13T00:14:00.000-07:00

Last week, Taylor started pre-kindergarten. I can't believe he is already into his second year of preschool!

He was SO excited! He is going to a new school this year. It is actually Maddie's old preschool. He couldn't wait to get there and see his new teachers!

This is his school, Gardenview Montessori

These are his teachers, Amanda and Kelda. I think Taylor has a teeny-tiny crush on Miss Kelda... :-)

We are so proud of you, Mister. Learn well... laugh a lot... play hard... We love you.

Quotes from the 1st Grade

2008-09-13T00:09:00.001-07:00

"Mom! Guess what?! Today we were in the gym practicing for the jog-a-thon, and guess who we saw?? REAL, LIVE CHEERLEADERS! Can you believe that?"
~Maddie

Maddie N. Norris, 1st grader!

2008-09-03T21:31:00.000-07:00

Well... here it is! The big day - First Grade. At Public School! She was so excited to go... so was I...

Complete with her Tinkerbell backpack and HSM lunch box.

This is her teacher, Mrs. Evans. Mrs. E has been teaching for over 30 years! Maddie was thrilled to see all the books in her classroom, but even more thrilled that her classroom has its OWN bathroom!

This is Allie, one of Maddie's best friends. They met the first day of kindergarten. I took this exact same picture on that day, and so it was only fitting they get one for First Grade. We are so excited that Allie and Maddie are in the same class!

There is nothing like a Watermelon Italian Soda with a DumDum sucker! Happy first day, Maddie girl.

On the second day of school, Maddie took the bus by herself for the FIRST TIME! It was so exciting! She couldn't wait to get to school. When she got home, she was so thrilled that she met a new boy on the bus. When I asked why she was so happy to meet him, she said it was because he was really nice, shared his seat with her, and read her a book about mummies. Uh oh... so it begins!

Good luck, Maddie girl! See you after school...

The grass grows greener...

2008-08-28T20:10:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-26T21:52:00.001-07:00

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

2008-08-23T22:45:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-20T11:55:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-08-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-18T23:38:00.001-07:00

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

2008-08-18T23:26:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-18T23:11:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-18T22:55:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-08-06T21:02:00.000-07:00

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!

WARNING - begging might occur in this post

2008-07-23T22:49:00.000-07:00

So, we are moving to a different house this weekend. WE NEED HELP! If you are in Bellingham this weekend and you really want to help a friend, PLEASE come! There will be pizza and beer and drinks and merriment. We need the muscle!

10 am - THIS SATURDAY - 610 14th Street

Post a comment and let me know if you can make it... Thanks!!

As it should be

2008-07-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

For almost three years, these two men have worked hard on creating what they love - metal. The story of how they met is uncanny, and I will save it for another post, but for now, indulge me.

Rick and Matt have poured a lot of time, heart, and soul into their music. Matt actually moved here from LA to write music with Rick. If that isn't dedication, I don't know what is. I have watched these two grow as friends and as bandmates in more ways than I can count. Their partnership resembles many of the metal greats - Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, Vinnie Paul and "Dimebag" Darrell. The music they've written is going to blow the metal world away.

The sweat, energy, and emotion put into their songs is about to pay off. They are about to perform in their first two gigs as a band: CALBREA. They have worked SO hard, given up a lot of time with their families and friends, made a lot of sacrifices to make this band happen - and now it is paying off. Their first gig is in Portland at the Mt. Tabor Theater on July 18th, and the very next night (on my birthday!!) on July 19th, they make their Seattle debut at none other than Studio Seven. If you live in Seattle, you know Studio Seven is one of the premiere venues to play... Studio Seven sought out THEM to see if they could play! Needless to say, I am pretty proud of them. They have worked HARD for this.

If was very fitting that yesterday, after confirming the Seattle gig, Rick and Matt spent the ENTIRE day doing this:

They work so hard on music that they don't often get to enjoy each other. Cheers to you boys! Looking forward to an amazing weekend...

Beautiful... again.

2008-07-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

My rose garden is in full swing right now... I don't know much about roses, or gardening for that matter. However, for the last four years, I have done my best to keep this rose garden beautiful and happy... I may have found success.

Now... if I can just keep these guys from EATING my success! For most of the afternoon, these three young bucks (literally) camped out in our back yard, resting in the shade, nibbling on the apple trees, being our personal (gas-free) lawmowers. But, when it was time to move on, they started going through what THEY thought was a buffet line in my rose garden. Rick was able to shoo them away before too much damage, but darn it if I will let them ruin my flowers! Wish me luck...

Flower from the garden

2008-07-05T11:49:00.001-07:00

Flower from the garden
Originally uploaded by karynnorris123

Just a pretty flower to some, but to me, it is my favorite.

I love calla lilies. I wanted callas in my wedding bouquet for as long as I could remember. I don't know why, but I love them. When Rick and I got engaged, he had a bouquet of callas, and when we got married, I had them. I have a purple calla plant in the garden in my front yard. This one is from my mom's garden.

I don't know why I love them, but I do.

Tugboat Captain!

2008-07-05T11:33:00.000-07:00

My brother Curt is a tugboat captain. He lived between Hawaii and California. He works on the tug for a month is Hawaii, then comes home to California for a month. When we were in Olympia, we had the chance to see him driving his boat. He was in port in Ballard for a few months while it was being refurbished.

We played on the beach while we waited for the tug to come in...

This is my brother, Curt! He is the captain. However, to me, I was just watching my brother drive a boat. He is very good at what he does, and his crew LOVES him. He is the best captain to work for, I'm sure.

Sitting in the captain's chair - with the Captain.

It was great seeing you, Curt! Happy Birthday...

Haircut Time

2008-07-05T11:19:00.000-07:00

Well after last summer's haircutting fiasco, we thought it was best for the professionals to cut hair this summer. While we were in Olympia, we went to my childhood friend's, Shannon, salon to get new 'dos.

Before....

During...

After!

During.... look how long her "bangs" got!

During... again...

And after!
Much better when a professional does it!

Olympia trip

2008-07-05T11:02:00.001-07:00

Last week, we set off on the train to visit Nani and Poppa in Olympia. This was the first train ride for the kids (that they remember). They LOVED it... I loved it. It was SO relaxing. The sights were beautiful. I saw parts of our state that I'd never seen.
We went
We went right under the Narrows Bridge in Tacoma. The kids loved that they could get up and walk around... I loved that I didn't have to drive!

One of the highlights of the farm is getting to help feed the sheep. Maddie and Taylor are both great helpers. They love to go out to the barn and help Poppa with the farm chores.

We got to visit my grandma Helen while we were there. She is 97 years old. We moved her up from California about five years ago. She is living in a group home close to my parents. She is slowing down a lot, and is on Hospice. But all things considered, she is doing good. That is her dog, Chica.

Another highlight for Taylor was driving the lawn mower. Believe it or not, he was actually really good at it!

Of course the week we were there, it was scorching hot! Needless to say, the kids spent a lot of time in the water... Olympia has a wonderful fountain park for the kids to play at.

Much fun was had playing in the water sprinker!

Thank you Nani and Poppa for such a fun trip!

Strawberry Time...

2008-07-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

Bellingham has some of the best berries in the country. As a matter of fact, one of the berry farms in Bellingham supplies all the berries for Costco! The kids and I decided we wanted to have some fun, so we went berry picking for the first time...

They actually had a REALLY good time! We even made it out of the fields without eating ONE BERRY! I didn't expect that...

They were so proud of their efforts! Between the three of us, we picked 16 pounds of goodness!

Ah.... the reward!

Fourth of July

2008-07-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

Fourth of July was a blast this year... no pun intended. We had some family and friends over to celebrate and watch fireworks over the bay. We splurges and got a few fireworks to set off in the driveway.
We had to have some token sparklers for the kids. They weren' too sure about them at first, but once they got used to them, they liked it!

Spencer thought they were really cool.

Rick and Brandon were the fireworks experts! They set them all off while trying to set everything on fire, as well. Leave it to the boys... They successfully set a couple things on fire, but my favorite event of the night was the TANK WARS!

For the record, Brandon won the final battle.

This was Taylor's position throughout the whole night!

This was the Chinese Lantern one. It was really cool... spun around and around. Then after it was done, they put a Blooming Flower inside and successfully set the whole thing on fire! Boys...

Belated Father's Day...

2008-07-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

I am going to be working on some posts that are really late being uploaded... this being one of them!
We were camping (without the kids) over Father's Day weekend, so we celebrated it yesterday. Maddie made Rick one of his favorites: Chocolate Chip Pancakes!They are best when eaten with extra chocolate chips melted on top, then smothered with semi-frozen cool whip! SO yummy... can't you tell by his face:
Daddy, thank you for being the best dad ever! We love you...

Summer is here!

2008-06-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

We have officially kicked off the summer. Rick is taking a week-long sabbatical out at Grayland, WA at Twin Harbors State Park. He is camping for a week by himself, and I look forward to hearing how his time away was. Nothing like being in natural alone for a week...

The kids and I have been making the most of the days! Taylor is really loving being outside this year. He is always wanting to ride his bike, his razor scooter, go swimming, play basketball. He is turning into a lover of the sun!

Maddie, of course, doesn't even remember we live inside once the sun comes out! She is like a fish - she is always in the water! She loves to socialize. The owners of our house are in town, and she can't seem to stop talking to them when she sees them. She wears swimsuits more than anything else now, and she is ready for the water slides... she reminds me of them EVERY DAY!
The lack of structure from the school year does seem to be making life a little difficult, but mostly, we are just SO glad the weather is beautiful and we can enjoy playing.

We are off to Olympia tomorrow for the rest of the week. There will surely be more to report later...

100th Post Celebration!

2008-06-24T20:30:00.000-07:00

Wow... I didn't realize it had been that long, but apparently it has. December 1, 2006, I took the blogger plunge. I still don't think I am very good at it. However, I really love sharing the stories and pictures of my family, even if no one looks at my blog! So... whatever. I like it.

I guess, I thought for my 100th blog, I would share with you some of my favorite past blogs. If you feel so inclined to go down memory lane with me... click on the links!

An Honorable Experience - a blog about sharing a man's last day with him, and sharing in his death
Seester Time - a weekend get away with my sister, Christine. I don't get a lot time with her, so any chance I get (especially for more than a couple hours) is a prize!
Pray for the Injured - "before" the surgery...
We are home and How do you spell relief? - and after the surgery
Grand Canyon - the hike of my life!
Anyone looking for a hair dresser? - Maddie took matters into her own hands
Today is THE day - Ahhh... nursing school. I was so excited... if I'd only known... :-)
Lake Padden Triathlon - my other major feat of the year...
Chicago... finally! - my reunion trip with my friends from college (the first time around!)
I am so proud - Maddie's milestone
Maddie N. Norris, Kindergartener - her other milestone
First day of preschool - Taylor's milestone
Survival... - This was my blog after my first week of nursing school. As I read it now, I am LAUGHING!! What a joke that was... I had it SO easy then. I really am amazed I survived the first YEAR. God is to thank for that! I cried out SO many times in desperation. He answered every one. My husband is also a big reason I made it. His patience and understanding is incredible. Lastly, I have the most amazing study group - without my girls, I KNOW I would not have made it through. Thank you to everyone who prayed for me this year. One down, one to go!
Twenty-first century Mozart - Taylor's talents shining through
What are you thankful for - Just a insight of my son's personality
I love family days - a blog about what I love doing the most - being with my family!
Pajama Ride - a new family tradition
A cow's WHAT? - just in case you missed it the first time, this one is worth reading!
It must be tough being a boy and The next day - Taylor's adventures at the ER. Can you hear me grumbling...
Graduating Class of 2020 - onward and upward!

Whew! There you go... thank you for reading!

This is how summer should be

2008-06-24T20:01:00.000-07:00

So... I have been late in blogging, and I really have NO excuse. School is out for summer (cue Alice Cooper...)!! I have been soaking up the freedom like rum on cake! I love being free. There is so much life to experience and celebrate. I love being able to play with my kids, watch a movie, fall asleep in the sun, spend time with my husband on the deck.... ALL things I found nearly impossible to do during this year of school.

However, now that I am free for 3 whole months, I will be taking full advantage. To celebrate this new-found freedom, my friends from school, Rick and I all went camping at Deception Pass State Park. What a gorgeous place to be.
It was not the most warm camping experience (whew, it was windy), but glorious nonetheless.
I call this picture, "Hey, Hey, we're the Monkees." That's Rick, Jenny, and Kasie.
Jenny and Kasie, two of my best friends, and a new friend, Kelsey (on right), all came with us. We had our big three room tent, plus we stayed in the lap of luxury inside Jim and Joanne's (Rick's parents) trailer. It was a perfect set up.
The sun was out the entire weekend! It was so wonderful just to relax. Actually, it was so wonderful to sit and not be studying! We kept looking dumbfounded at each other. We didn't know what to do with ourselves. One of the days, Kasie, Jenny and I went on a little hike, found the perfect hillside above the water, and fell asleep. It was amazing.
The campfires were great. S'mores, stories, jokes, cigars, drinks... fun was had by all!
I am looking forward to more of this ALL SUMMER!

Graduating Class of 2020

2008-05-23T23:12:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go?
Maddie graduated from Kindergarten today. I have no way to explain what I feel. Rick laughs at me (albeit lovingly) for being such a cry baby, but for some reason, I am having a hard time with it. Every time I think about it, I get weepy. I remember her first day of school like it was yesterday... wasn't it?
This was her on her first day:This is her Kindergarten school picture:I am so proud of her for all her accomplishments this year. She has excelled at reading, writing, math, music, social studies, and science! She says her favorite subject this year was learning all about the dinosaurs. Every day, Maddie loved to go to school. She was so excited to see her friends, to learn, to grow at everything she tried.
This is her teacher, Tammy. She has been such an incredible Godly woman to have in her life. She has loved her like we do, instilled in her God's love, and shown her how to be an amazing woman of God. Thank you Teacher Tammy. We will be forever grateful.One thing Maddie was really good at was making friends. She was friends with everyone in her class. They were all really sad to say goodbye to each other. Luckily, three of them will be at her new school next year.

After a sleepover at the church where they had school, we picked them up this morning, and this is what we saw:

I, of course, was crying like a baby. Again, I don't know why... I just did.The graduating class of 2020!!Maddie N. Norris, 1st Grader!!

Saying goodbye is never easy... even for a six-year-old...

We finished off the morning with a trip to Rocket Donuts.... thanks Daddy!
Maddie girl, we are so proud of you!! We can't wait to watch you grow.... just not so fast!

My little girl

2008-05-17T22:24:00.001-07:00

What can I say... Lately I have been overwhelmed with how amazing God is. I see Him in everything, but who I have seen Him in a lot recently is my Maddie.
She has such a genuine heart. She really loves people, loves her family, and really loves God. She talks about Him everyday. She loves to sing songs about him (see video below), she tells stories about Jesus, she recites verses that she's learned in Kindergarten. She is truly coming to understand God's love by learning through her actions towards others.

My mom volunteers and heads up a homeless ministry in Olympia. One of her many responsibilities is delivering food baskets from their collective food bank to people who are in need. Maddie has gone on many of the deliveries with her, and everytime she comes home, the first thing she tells me how wonderful it was to give to people who needed help.
When someone is hurt or sad, Maddie will be the first one there to comfort them. When Taylor cut open his forehead, my sister brought her to the hospital to see him, and she nearly cried for him. She wanted to be sure to tell him she was sorry for him, and that she wanted to give him a kiss.

One of the things I love the most about Maddie is her keen awareness of the Lord's presence with us on a daily basis. She loves reading her bible, and she prays with fervor. This is the chalk art that she drew today:

"Jesus 'dide' (died - she's learning about the silent e...) He lives" Amen!

Watch the video below... it is a little hard to hear, but today, she was riding around on her razor with my iPod attached to her hip, singing her worship songs. She didn't know the exact words, and after listening to her, I thought it was adorable. The words are supposed to be "Oh God, you are my God, and I will ever praise you" Listen closely...

"I will never praise you." Hilarious. She'd be really upset if she actually listened to what she was saying... I think we all have some songs from our childhood that we sang words that didn't make sense, no?

Maddie is growing up to be a beautiful girl. I am so thankful the Lord has blessed me such a wonderful baby girl.

Happy Birthday Maddie...

2008-05-04T12:15:00.001-07:00

I am SOOOO late in blogging this, but tis the season of busyness!

April 17, my baby girl turned SIX! What is going on?! First Taylor, now Maddie?! Guess that's the way it goes...

Maddie is the most empathetic and sweet child. She genuinely cares for others, hurts when others hurt, and loves to laugh. She loves the days that her brother chooses to say "I love you, Maddie." She beams with joy! She loves her friends at school and can barely wait to get out of the car to say hi to them. She also loves God. At night when she prays, so is so passionate about her love for Him. Some of her key phrases: "GOD! You are the Holy Spirit!" "God, please help all the people to love You," and "God, We just love you." Then she finished up with a resounding "Amen!" and "Mom, I was on FIRE tonight!" Pastor's kid...

She had a wonderful birthday this year. She got to enjoy a party at school, some family time at Appleby's, and finally, a party at Rocket Donuts with all her friends!

Maddie's class all sang "Happy Birthday to you, (cha-cha-cha)" while she stood on a stool in front of the class... She was a bit embarrassed, but I am sure secretly loved it!

Dinner with the family at Appleby's...

This was the party of the year! ROCKET DONUTS!!

The spread was amazing. Rocket Donuts is this great hometown business in Bellingham that makes the BEST donuts (sorry all you LaFeen's lovers...). I found out they just started hosting birthday parties... they decorate, they clean up, they make the birthday "cake"... it was fantastic. They gave each child two/three donuts a piece, the frosting and sprinkles to decorate, and voila - birthday cake, entertainment, and distractions all in one!

Taylor's donut was BY FAR the best! Check out that PILE of sprinkles...

Our friend Brandon and Rick may have enjoyed the donuts more than the kids...

On second thought, I think they enjoyed them more!

Happy Birthday, Maddie girl... looking forward to a wonderful year of watching you grow!

The next day...

2008-04-15T18:13:00.001-07:00

Well... today seems to be a better day. Taylor seems back to his normal self. His cut looks good, and the stitches are lop-sided... What do you expect when the kid was thrashing around? I have come to realize today that the Nurse Practioner who dealt with him never gave him the anesthetic she was supposed to. She put some topical Lidocaine on when we first go there, but nothing after that. She said she would, but didn't. I didn't realize it until later, so I couldn't ask about it. Can you imagine? Getting four stitches while being held down WITHOUT medication? Does the word "barbaric" come to mind?

I am still having a hard time today... it all seems surreal, until I see that cut on his head...

It must be tough being a boy...

2008-04-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

Every Monday, Rick and Taylor come to my school to have lunch with me and the other "nurses." We sit in the cafeteria, and hang out for an hour before they go off to get Maddie... Today turned out a bit different than the rest.

Taylor, being the boy he is, was playing around, turning circles, getting dizzy, etc... except he fell into the concrete wall and gashed his forehead open - again! The first time was a couple years ago on our brick fireplace - right side of the forehead (7 stitches).

Today, LEFT side of the forehead, 4 stitches...
You wouldn't know he was hurt by looking at these pictures. That is because Tylenol works wonders... He was fine hanging out with us in the waiting room. He looks so funny with that big gauze holding him together!
This was our almost 3 hour wait in the ER before he even got seen... boo!
This picture was after the most traumatic event known to my son, and possibly me. First of all, the ER nurse said it was hospital policy that only ONE person could accompany the patient. When I questioned that announcement in astonishment that we were his parents, she said blankly, it's hospital policy. You can imagine that didn't go over well with us.

He screamed more than I've ever known him to scream. The Nurse Practioner was not very thoughtful, nor did she listen to my requests for a conscious sedation for the procedure. She all but insisted we wrap him up in a blanket and hold him down. He kept crying/screaming that it hurt, but she kept saying he wasn't in pain, just angry that he was being held down. I wanted to scream at her, "don't tell me what my son is or isn't feeling!" I have to tell you it was awful. I am not pleased with my local ER today, and I think a letter of complaint will soon be drafted... It is a very sad day for me, knowing that these kind of insensitive medical personnel exist - a profession I hold in such high regards, obviously.

Word to the wise - advocate for your child/self when/ if you have to go to the ER. MAKE them listen to you and your wishes... a lesson very hard learned for me today.

Let the sun begin!

2008-04-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

The sun was glorious today!! We spent the day out at a friend's house who lives on Lake Samish. The kids were in heaven!! Running around in swimsuits, making a "water city," kayaking on the sand... what more could we ask for. Too bad I had to study all day...

A Cow's WHAT?

2008-04-13T10:57:00.000-07:00

When our kids little started using words, we decided when it came to the "privates" and "potty" we would use the real words to describe them. Seems like a silly thing to decide, but all parents must decide at some point, because the questions are BOUND to come...

Bring us forward to present time. As Maddie and Taylor start school and are around other children, there is a lot of "talk" in our house about privates, who can look, who can't, why we don't talk about them with our friends, etc. Most of this discussion is with Maddie. She is right at the age where it is all so interesting... yeah, I know. (big sigh...)

Recently, they have begun to ask why they don't get to take baths together anymore. I have to explain that they aren't allowed to see each others privates, teach modesty, etc. So in discussions with her, when talking about privates, we use the V-word. I should have known someone else was listening...

Yesterday at breakfast, while Rick was mid-bite of cereal, Taylor exclaimed: "Hey Mom. That's the cow's v.... (insert the word)..." WHAT? I looked at Rick, clearly about to choke, then turned and asked my sweet son to kindly repeat what he'd just said (lest I heard incorrectly)... to which he gladly repeated, "That's the cow's v...." Please take a close look at the spoon and the cow...
I had no idea I would be discussing a woman's anatomy with my four year old son. I had to explain that wasn't what he thought it was. I continued that that was where the milk came from... oh boy.

My little man is FOUR!

2008-04-06T00:53:00.001-07:00

Today, my little man turned four. (well, this post was supposed to be up last Sunday... so, pretend).

I can't believe it has been four years since we were blessed with this little spitfire. He brings so much laugher and joy to our family. He is witty (like his daddy), he is talented beyond a four-year-old's ability should be, he is already reading, writing, and playing two-handed piano. He says the funniest things at the most inappropriate times, and of course, gets a laugh every time.He, of course, is a typical four-year-old boy is SO many ways:

**He loves to climb trees
**Plays in the mud puddles I JUST told him not to play in
**Casts his fishing pole inside the house and get it stuck in my plants
**Burps and/or farts, then announces it to the world with giggles of joy, with an occasional "excuse me"
**Dresses up like Spiderman instead of the "prince" that Maddie wants him to dress likeHe is also addicted to vacuum cleaners, loves playing make-believe "get married to Maddie" (not so great), and is obsessed about footie pj's and closing cabinet doors, bathroom doors, or any other doors for that matter.
For his birthday, he got to celebrate a few times. One was at Red Robin with all our family. Now, he chose Red Robin himself. Some of you may know he has an aversion to the song, "Happy Birthday." He tends to freak out and cry any time people start singing it. So, when he chose RR, I reminded him that they sing. He reassured me he would be fine. He was. He loved having all of his cousins there, and especially loved having a HUGE sundae all to himself. He did, however, share one bite with each of the cousins. He got a Razor scooter, which I can't keep him off of, a kid's computer/game, and some great educational books/puzzles. He was SO happy!
He was, however, a bit obsessed over his new scooter. He apparently had a fear it would get taken, he felt the need to brand it with his name:
He is already becoming a pro riding it!
Caleb is one of his favorite cousins. Caleb is like the big brother he's always wanted. I think Taylor is the like little brother Caleb never wanted :-) He is always begging to play Caleb's video games, watch him play computer, play with his toys... you know, all the little brother stuff you're supposed to do! He was thrilled to get to sit next to Caleb at lunch.
Emily and Maddie were happy to sit with each other, too. Another big sister-little sister scenario.

Taylor also got to have birthday treats with his friends at preschool, and we celebrated at home on the morning of his birthday with chocolate chip pancakes! I felt this picture was appropriate to put in. This was his first celebration with my mom and dad at Claim Jumpers. He was really tired, and by the time it was dessert time, he was done for. I don't know about you, but that dessert doesn't look like anything to cry about to me! It was delicious!

Well, I know that this year will bring so many changes for Taylor, but we are just so proud of the little man he is. He is a blessing. Thank you, Lord, for such a wonderful gift!

Now if he could just stay out of trouble... :-)

Spring break

2008-04-06T00:09:00.000-07:00

While I didn't go anywhere typical for spring break this year, Rick and I did get the chance to go to Seattle for three days together, sans children!! We had a wonderful time! We stayed at the University Inn in the U district. It was perfect. They shuttle you into downtown for free and pick you up whenever you want! They are right in the heart of University of Washington territory, so we walked up and down University Ave.

We ended at Dad Watson's, a McMenamin's restaurant in Fremont, for dinner that night. BTW, if you have never eaten/stayed/watched a movie at a McMenamins joint, you MUST! They renovate old/abandoned buildings into these incredible establishments, and on top of that brew amazing beer and make great food. It's a must if you live in Washington or Oregon. After dinner, we actually got to go sit in an Irish pub for a couple hours and chat over pints of Smithwicks...

On Wednesday, we headed to downtown to walk ALL over. Everything we go to Seattle, we do the same thing - Pacific Place, Pike's Place Market, Waterfront, etc. So we decided to mix it up a little. We still did those places, but we zigzagged up and down the streets and found some hole-in-the-walls that we love. One is Pike Place Chowder in Post Alley off the Market. Rick has decided they have the BEST clam chowder of ALL time. He says it is the perfect blend of seasonings and tastes, that it is his all-time favorite chowder. We will be visiting there every Seattle trip from here on out... yes, it was THAT good. Rick also found quite a few good cigars shops that he choose to use his spending money at :-) We ended up finding this quaint sitting area in the middle of Pioneer Square with a waterfall and beautiful trees in bloom. These are a couple pictures I took there:

After we rested there for awhile, we decided it was time to head to dinner... we tried a new place for us, the Taphouse Grill. This place was crazy - over 160 beers on tap! I actually tested out waitresses knowledge of the beers, and I have to say, she did a great job! We ended our night relaxing at the hotel since it started SNOWING! What?! Yeah, I know... spring break.

Our last day (actually morning) was spent browsing in IKEA, dreaming of the day we can have our OWN house again to play with. We look forward to that day :-)

We met my parents for lunch, and to pick up our precious cargo... We celebrated Taylor's birthday with them at Claim Jumpers, and headed back home... we had a wonderful time!

I look forward to the next getaway with my best friend. Aren't vacations so much better spent with your best friend? I am grateful I have one I love to spend my time with. I am blessed... Ok, enough sap!

Easter time...

2008-04-05T23:45:00.001-07:00

So I am a little behind on blogging, but now is as good a time as any!

Easter was a wonderful day for us this year. Very relaxing... as it should be. We had an early morning with our Easter service this year being an outdoor sunrise service. It was wonderful. They rain held off until right at the very end. We met at Marine park at 7 am, Rick gave a short message, and we spent the rest of the time worshiping our risen Lord! It was AWESOME! Then headed home to make breakfast and open Easter baskets (thank you, Easter Bunny, aka Nani).
Maddie with her basket

Taylor the Easter Pirate... what didn't you know there was an Easter Pirate?

I think my favorite part of the day was about the hundredth time Maddie and Taylor ran around the house shouting "He is Risen!," clearly expecting us to announce back (with as much enthusiasm as them) "He is Risen Indeed!" They got such a kick out of doing that! LOVE that exuberance...

Then we headed out to Rick's mom and dad's for relaxing, lunch, and hot tubbing. The kids and Rick had a blast in the hot tub!

This was Taylor "flexing" his big arm and St. Patrick's day tattoo for the camera! Tough guy, I know. Don't mess with him!

It was a perfect ending to a perfect day.

Spring break is coming...

2008-03-12T11:29:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you how excited I am that the second quarter of nursing school is almost over! Time has been flying SO incredibly fast. I don't have any plans but to relax, and I am really looking forward to it!

I haven't been blogging in a while... clinicals, tests, life. I did, however, take time out a couple weeks ago for some fun. My friends from nursing school and I decided we needed to do something fun together that DIDN'T involve studying. So, we headed out to Birch Bay to relax and hang out with NO nursing books! Dana's family own's a cabin on the water in Birch Bay, so we packed up our shovels and buckets, and headed out for some fun.

I think this might be one of my favorite pictures of Taylor....ever. Can't they just stay this adorable forever? Do they HAVE to grow up?

If there are water, rocks, and a boy, there will be throwing of the rocks in the water by the boy! I think it is actually encoded in boy DNA.

Meet Jenny, Carrie, and Kasie - my ladies! We probably see more of each other than our own families. It is a good thing I like them! :-)

This is Anna. She is my friend, Dana's, little girl. Taylor fell for her... While we were down playing at the water, they both got totally muddy and wet, so they depants and play the rest of the night in their underwear. Note - I do not make it a habit to let my kids play with others in just their underwear, although, I am sure they would love that. Who doesn't love to play in just their underwear. :-)

This is Carrie's husband, Brandon. He and Rick have become friends since Carrie and I spend all of our time together!

Kasie and Maddie...some day Maddie just might be taller than her!

I am really looking forward to more days like this... thanks, Dana, for letting us come out! Look forward to the next time.

Our new baby...

2008-02-12T20:49:00.000-08:00

We (Taylor and I) have prayed a long time for this day. We prayed she would be the perfect fit for all of us. We prayed she wouldn't be too expensive (free was best). We prayed she would have beautiful character, and sound as good.

Our prayers were answered...
Isn't she beautiful?!

She is a W.W. Kimball Co. piano, circa early 1900's. We don't have a for-sure birth date, but there is a marking in the picture above that indicates she was tuned on April 14, 1917 (or 1919, not sure).

She was given, yes, that's right, given to us by our friends, Art & Diana. This is the piano Art grew up playing. We are honored to have her in our home. We will all be playing her in this house! Thank you so much Art & Diana...

She has 88 keys and 3 toes, measures about five feet, and weighs.... A LOT! It took four muscular men, two worried women, and two rowdy children to get it moved. Thanks to Brandon and Trevor who were so great to help us out! We are so pleased to have her. If you play, please feel free to come test her out. On second thought, let's tune her first, then test her out!

We feel very blessed. My prayers were answered.

Taking advantage...

2008-01-26T09:17:00.000-08:00

of the beautiful weather!

Today after school, the kids and I, plus my friends Jennifer and Kasie, heading to Lake Padden to play. It was SO gorgeous - blue skies, warm (in the sun), crisp air... The kids were thrilled to be able to play outside.
It is amazing what cabin fever does to you. Once the sun went behind the trees, though, it was FREEZING! So we headed home for some hot cocoa with whipped cream and sprinkles!

Snow is forcasted for the next three days here... looks like a little more cabin fever.

Leavenworth

2008-01-21T00:36:00.000-08:00

This weekend, we headed over the pass to Leavenworth, WA. Rick was performing a wedding ceremony for a couple from our church over there, so we were able to use the opportunity as a weekend-getaway! I had never been to Leavenworth, but I'd heard a lot about it. I love Europe, especially Bavaria, so this was like a little piece of heaven to me. If you like little villages and the european style, go to Leavenworth.

This is the village during the day. This weekend was the Icicle Festival, so there were a lot of people. It was still really enjoyable to walk around, though. I still can't really figure out what they were doing for the festival, though. Some guy was announcing over the town loudspeaker system something about ice cube races... I'm not sure!

This is the same part of town at night. The entire village is lit up with beautiful Christmas lights. Even though the stores were closed, I loved walking through the village at night. It was COLD, but the ambiance was so magical!

This was one of the store fronts. I just liked the decorations!

A true Bavarian Christmas tree - pretzels and all!

On Saturday we has a chance to explore the village while it was awake! There were kids sledding on the hill right behind us (in the picture). There were people sledding at all hours of the night. I just couldn't get over people sledding down the hills in the middle of the village!

This, of course, is Rick's signature shop. If you know Rick at all, you know he LOVES cheese! He will stand in the kitchen with a block of Tillamook and a knife, and be happy as can be. This store, however, has stolen his heart! They gave out free samples of any and all their cheeses. They were very accommodating in answering our questions, and quickly won us over! Hence, Rick loves this store. He IS the Cheesemonger!

The drive home was beautiful. The trees were so majestic looking on the mountains... this picture was just along side the road as we were driving. I loved being able to get away and feel like I've actually been on a mini-vacation.

Congratulations, Bill and Katy! Thank you for helping us make this weekend a memorable one...

New Years weekend

2008-01-21T00:14:00.000-08:00

Our good friends, Nate and Laura, moved to Portland a couple years ago. When we decided to get away for New Years, we couldn't think of a better place to go, or better people to see than the Streibs! Much to our happiness, they were excited to have us down. We spent three days there enjoying Portland, all it's yummy food, and got some wonderful time in with our friends.

I am a big fan of the McMeniman's pubs and restaurants, so our first night there, we went to St. John's Theater and Pub. The food was outstanding... as was their Ruby beer... yum! Rick enjoyed their Nebraska Bitter. Their restaurants are the coolest. If you ever have a chance to go to one, DO IT! The next day was New Years Eve, and we had plans to meet some of their friends from the Seattle/Portland hockey game. Neither of us had ever been to a hockey game before. It was a lot of fun. Rick enjoyed shouting the lingo, such as, "Clear it!" and "Keep it in!" We did have a fundamental issue, however, with cheering for the Portland team like everyone else was. We are, after all, Seattle peeps! So we quietly rooted for them!After watching Seattle destroy Portland, we ate dinner at Widmer Brothers... YUM, then headed back to the Streib's for some drink and card playing! We had so much fun. We even stopped our card game (briefly) to toast the New Year! Thanks Nate and Laura for welcoming us. We can't wait for some more time with you two!

Christmas vacation in Olympia

2008-01-20T23:55:00.001-08:00

The kids and I made our annual pilgrimage down to Olympia a couple days after Christmas. They were heading to Nani and Poppa's house for their Christmas vacation - 7 days worth!! They were SO excited. That meant 7 days without mom or dad, 7 days on the farm with Nani and Poppa all to themselves, and most importantly, 7 days of CEDE-girl! Maddie could not WAIT to see her dog. She loves that dog so much. She can't wait to bring her back home someday...Maddie and Taylor are, of course, always thrilled that they get to stay at Nani and Poppa's house. They got to play outside, take hour-long bathes every night, stay up late, get up late... what a great Christmas vacation!

While we were there, we got to see my sister, Kathy Lynne, Eric and my nephew, Nicolas. It was SO great getting to visit. We don't get to see them very often. It was a wonderful surprise.
Every Christmas, my group of old friends (former interns) from CTE gets together for dinner. Here was our group this year! It's always a crapshoot who can make it.

Katie, Jeremy, Shannon, Tyra, Scott, me, Kimo. Sean was there, but he left before the picture. We missed Kelly, Matt, Bree, and Bethany. Hopefully next year! This was the first year we all got to see Scott in a long time... it was great catching up with him.

As you can see, Shannon and Tyra are about to pop! They are due a few weeks apart from each other! Shannon is expecting a girl and Tyra a boy... we can't wait to meet them!

My next reunion of the trip was getting together with my girlfriends from childhood. We get together a couple of times a year... this was our first time in a while.

Courtney, Shannon, me, Christine, and Nicole.

We had dinner at Anthony's Hearthfire Grill... it was so delicious! It is always so much fun to get together and see where our conversations will lead us... :-) We had a lot of fun reminiscing, talking marriage, kids, life in the mid-30's... we still feel young! Don't we look it?!

Christmas time 2007

2008-01-20T23:42:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I know it isn't Christmas anymore, but I am playing catch up with the blogs! So bare with me...

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! We got to stay home ALL day. It was awesome. Here are the kids in their Christmas PJs.

We got up in the morning, and the kids were so excited to open presents. Taylor, for some reason, was not thrilled about opening he stocking - he saw the bigger presents - but once he realized there might be candy in the stocking, he was all too happy to open that first.

Maddie's favorite toy (at first) was her new Bella Dancerella ballet DVD , mat and ballet barre. She ran directly to her room to put on her ballet outfit Nani bought her for her birthday last year so she could practice her new ballet dances.She was SO cute. The DVD, on the other hand, is going to get old after a short while... :-)

Taylor was SO wiped after a few presents, he put on his new spiderman towel, snuggled down, and watched Maddie practice her ballet. He was SO funny to watch.

My family came over in the late morning. We ate A LOT of wonderful food, opened presents, Nani and Poppa napped on the couch :-), and we had a fun time. Rick's mom and dad came over for dinner, and we relaxed some more. I can't remember the last time I said it, but this Christmas was actually relaxing, as far as Christmases go. I wanted to take a little more time to focus on the Reason we celebrate Christmas... alas, time got ahold of me. I know that we are blessed to be able to call God our Father, and I thank Him everyday for the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. I want to celebrate Him EVERY day!

I hope your Christmas was memorable and blessed!

Pajama Ride

2007-12-21T20:28:00.000-08:00

Tonight, we started a new tradition (Thanks Renee and Hilary)!

About ten minutes after the kids were in bed for the night, we did this:

Ice cream and Christmas lights! In pajamas! How great is that?

It was SO funny to watch their disbelief and see them stumble all over the place while trying to get their coats and shoes on. We hopped in the car, got Dilly bars, and drove around looking at Christmas lights. I have to say, however, with the exception of James Street Estates, Bellingham is very lacking in the Christmas light department. We had a hard time finding anything good. Oh well. It was still fun and a wonderful tradition that I will look forward to every year.

Christmas Letter 2007

2007-12-21T16:05:00.001-08:00

We have had such an amazing year! Where to even begin?!

Maddie has had a monumental year ~ turning FIVE in April, graduating from Preschool, haircuts, trips to Nani's house, more haircuts, a trip to California to visit Grandpa Eric, many trips to the lake in the summer, learning to ride her bike without training wheels, beginning Kindergarten, and performing in school plays. Whew! She is growing into such a little lady. She loves to dance around the living room, make up songs, and draw. You can usually find her making a fort in the living room or creating some masterpiece at her desk.

Taylor is such a little man. He has grown so much this year, it's hard to believe he is only three!! Some of his highlights ~ turning THREE in March, eating dirt, going to the park, playing on his first soccer team, starting preschool!!, teaching himself to play the piano, learning to "snow-led" (or sled, for the rest of us) all by himself, and performing in his Christmas show. Taylor can usually be found playing his keyboard, obsessing over a toy vacuum, zooming his cars all over the house or shooting his foam nerf darts at the the ceiling (or his sister). What a boy!

Rick has had quite the year! He remains busy with his band, CALBREA (yes, same band, new name), being lead pastor at Breakwater Church, playing basketball and going to the gym. A big change for Rick this year was receiving a "new back." In April, Rick's back finally gave out after five years of injury. Six weeks before we were to leave for a family hike of the Grand Canyon, Rick's bulging disc finally ruptured. After spending two months on the floor unable to move, Rick was gifted a surgery to heal his back for good. To this day, the Lord has provided every dollar to pay for his medical bills (we don't have insurance). The hospital paid for 90% of the bill, and all the other specialists gave us a huge discount! Praise the Lord! Also on Rick's schedule has been practicing with his band. Their major accomplishment this year was finishing their demo CD, GODHEAD MACHINE. They are currently working very hard to start playing gigs in February in Seattle.

Karyn had a wonderful year full of new adventures! Here are some of my lifetime first's: a two-day hike into the Grand Canyon, running a 5K, competing in my first triathlon, and a first official college girlfriend reunion weekend in Chicago! My biggest change and accomplishment this year was being accepting into and starting a two-year RN program at Whatcom Community College. Yep, it's official!! I am actually in the program now. This will be an interesting two years. I will graduate in June 2009... In April, the kids and I enjoyed another trip to California to visit my dad and Grandma Mary. Rick and I did get to enjoy a trip together to Cannon Beach. We look forward to making that trip a family tradition with the kids!

What can we say... busy, wonderful year! Looking forward to what 2008 will bring. We pray to Lord's peace, joy and love showers your during this amazing season of Christ's birth! Blessings to you all!

Love,
Rick, Karyn, Madisyn & Taylor

My little donkey

2007-12-20T23:47:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago, Maddie's class got to pick their parts in the Christmas nativity play at school. I was so excited to ask her what part she picked. I thought maybe the angel, possibly at shepherd... she proudly exclaimed, "I'm gonna be the donkey!"

"The donkey?!" I asked. She could obviously sense the surprise in my voice.

"Mom, the donkey is a very important part of the nativity story. If Mary didn't have a donkey to ride on, she never would have made it to Bethlehem to have baby Jesus!" Point taken.

Yes, the donkey is a very important part of the story. Maddie taught me, or reminded me, of a very important lesson: no matter how small or insignificant something/someone may seem, we each have a very important part in this world. God can even use a donkey to make a difference. Thank you, Maddie.

So....

Tonight was her night to shine. She was SO excited to get dressed up in her costume. She insisted we get there 45 minutes early just so she could get in costume. :-) Isn't she adorable?!

"Mary," "a Shepherd," and my little donkey

Mary needed a ride...

Cousin Spencer was an angel in the nativity

Mommy and Taylor were excited fans of Maddie!

Here is a little piece of the play...

Opening Scene:

Angels We Have Heard on High:

Ok, so halfway through "Angels," Maddie spit out the piece of paper (or cud as Teacher Tammy put it) she was chewing for half the play. Too funny!

After the play, Maddie received her first performance flower. Who better to receive it from but her favorite man ever - Daddy!

Teacher Tammy and Maddie

We had a wonderful time and Maddie was wonderful! Merry Christmas to all... even little donkeys!

Maestro - Jingle Bells

2007-12-19T19:43:00.001-08:00

So, I was cleaning up the kids' room tonight, having a million thoughts running through my brain, not really paying attention to what was going on in the room. I was hearing a melody being played on Maddie's pink piano... a melody that has been sung about 90 times a day since Thanksgiving... a melody that I don't even hear anymore I've heard it so much. So, when I noticed it being played, it didn't even occur to me that it was my son PLAYING the song on the pink piano! This, people, he did all on his own. I never once showed him how to play it.

So, for your viewing pleasure, I give you: Jingle Bells (arrangement by Taylor Norris)

Thanksgiving

2007-12-19T16:50:00.000-08:00

Better late than never!

We have a Thanksgiving tradition of going out to Rick's Grandma Norris's house for Thanksgiving day. We've done it all but one year since we've been married, and it has become one of my favorite days of the year. Grandma Norris is about the sweetest lady you will ever meet! She is all of about 90 lbs, you could break her with a hug, and she makes a mean Thanksgiving meal.

We watch football, maybe play marbles, take a nap on the "drool" pillow, read the newspaper, eat a lot of wholesome goodness... nothing out of the ordinary for a Thanksgiving day get-together. What I love about it is being together with our family. The older I get, the more I just truly enjoy being with family.

Maddie had a wonderful time playing outside. Grandma has a huge yard - field, really - so Maddie and Jim went on an exploration!

We stayed inside where it was nice and warm!

The boys resting on the couch!

I love family days...

2007-12-19T16:32:00.001-08:00

If I could pick one way to spend the best day, it would be having a "family day" with my husband and kids. I love getting to hang out with them, play, riding bikes, watching movies, etc.

Bellingham has gorgeous fall weather. The other day it was sunny, blue skies, so we decided to hop on our bikes and ride around our favorite park, Boulevard Park. Maddie is still showing off her riding skills on two wheels! The park is nestled next to Bellingham Bay, so on a good day, the water is gorgeous and the ride is so relaxing. We rode from Fairhaven, down onto Taylor Dock (which is a really long bridge over the water connecting to Boulevard Park), around the park circle, then back again. What a blast.

It was one of the first times for Rick on his bike since the surgery! He missed it!

We capped off our day with family movie night. They chose to watch "The Polar Express." I love this movie, and the kids really loved it - especially the popcorn and licorice! Other movies the kids have been really liking lately are "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" (yes, the musical), "The Wiz" (yet another musical), and Disney's "Very Merry Christmas Sing Along" (a full DVD of Christmas songs set to cartoons). Can you imagine Rick's horror when we pull ANY of these movies out?! Musicals AND Christmas music - his worst nightmare! :-)

Enjoy your family - have a fun day!

Taylor's Christmas performance

2007-12-19T16:10:00.000-08:00

'Tis the season for the Christmas plays. This year is SO much fun since it is both Maddie and Taylor's first Christmas to perform.

Last week, Taylor's school performed a few Christmas carols for all the families. It was cute! He actually did fairly well. He was one of the only 3-year-olds in the 4&5 year old groups. Considering the fact that he HATES it when people applaud OR sing, he did extremely well. He made it through the entire production with crying once!

He really enjoyed turning around and watching the other kids, and standing up and sitting down multiple times in each song. Quite the character!

Here is Jingle Bells:

Here is Silver Bells:

Get your groove on!

2007-12-09T21:18:00.001-08:00

Ever wonder what Rick looks like when he dances?

CHECK THIS OUT!!

By the way... this was his creation!

First Snow!

2007-12-03T23:44:00.001-08:00

Bellingham had about 2 inches - yep, count 'em - two inches of snow! Saturday proved to be a great day to stay home and enjoy playing outside, drinking hot chocolate, and watching movies!

We have a great sledding hill in the back yard. There is a steep driveway that is awesome for sledding. Maddie and Taylor spent a good hour going up and down...

Taylor actually enjoyed it this year. Last year he wasn't so fond of it, but this year he's learned to climb on the sled, hold on and go down the hill by himself. I have to admit it's pretty funny to watch him go tumbling down when he falls off. Every time he stands up and yells a big "YES! That was AWESOME!" What a good sport.
We are looking forward to a fun winter of lots more sledding and hot chocolate! Hope your Christmas season is getting off to a wonderful start!

What are you thankful for...

2007-11-25T22:03:00.000-08:00

As we sat around our table and asked that question of each other, here were the answers:

Rick: Wifey, family, a working back that we didn't have to pay for...

Karyn: Husband, two beautiful kids, nursing school...

Madisyn: Mommy and Daddy and Taylor and Cede (our dog)

Taylor: Bread

Rick: Taylor, are you thankful for anything else?

Taylor: Um... nope. Just bread. Black bread.

Enough said...

Oh, yeah, and we still don't know what he means by black bread.

Happy Veteran's Day

2007-11-17T11:25:00.001-08:00

Maddie was in her first school performance this week! Her school did a Veteran's Day tribute. It was SO cute. They sang America the Beautiful (see video), recited the Pledge of Allegiance, and they all had at least one line. Maddie, of course, memorized EVERYONE'S lines. She told them to me on the way to school that day.

Her hat said "Speaker." Her line was, "Please join us for snacks in our classroom." :-) Sarah Bernhardt, look out.

Emma and Maddie

The whole BCS kindergarten class

This is Isaac - better known as Abe Lincoln. He recited part of President Lincoln's speech: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." (Maddie, of course, just recited that for me...) He was pretty impressive.

Nani and Poppa

2007-11-17T11:02:00.000-08:00

Maddie and Taylor got to go to Nani and Poppa's farm last weekend. They had SO much fun...
They got to go see the Bee Movie, go to Sunday School with Miss Jean (one of my old friends), ride their bikes in the driveway, play with Cede (our dog on vacation at the farm), visit Great Grandma Talley, and eat LOTS of treats (that's what Maddie said)!

Do you think their related?

Thank you, Nani and Poppa, for having such a fun weekend with our kids! They are looking forward to the next time...

A Happy Halloween it was...

2007-11-01T16:11:00.000-07:00

First let me say this... we don't "celebrate" Halloween. We let the kids dress up and get candy. That's it. I know some people get upset about Christians celebrating a pagan holiday, yada, yada, yada... Everyone has their own ideas. For our family, we let our kids dress up and have fun getting candy at the downtown Bellingham trick or treat. Do I pretend there's a Santa Claus... yes. How about the easter bunny hiding eggs... yes. Call me what you will... I grew up "believing" all those things, too, and I turned out just fine. I love that families have their own traditions. To each their own.
Now... off my soap box and onto the cute kids. Since last year (no joke), Maddie has been planning her costume - a mermaid. She really wanted to be that LAST year, but I couldn't find an outfit for her. So she carried that thought with her the WHOLE year, and of course, stuck with it. She was so beautiful.Taylor, I must say, was a HIT with all the other kids. Everyone would say, hey there's Spiderman. I heard kids across the street yelling to Spiderman. There were even a couple young boys who were so fascinated with Spiderman, they were tripping over their own feet because they were watching him instead of where they were walking. Taylor, of course, didn't want to have anything to do with anyone. One little boy walked up and got right in his face - HI SPIDERMAN!! Taylor was like, this is MY personal space, buddy. It was too funny. We had a wonderful time... not many trick or treaters at our house, though. oh well. More for us! I hope everyone had a wonderful time with their families - no matter what you were doing!

Twenty-first century Mozart

2007-10-24T16:37:00.001-07:00

Taylor has always shown an major interest in music, not to mention a natural ability. Today, he showed me just how much:

Ice Skating

2007-10-24T14:13:00.001-07:00

Maddie got to experience ice skating for the first time last weekend. She was amazing! Every time she fell down, she got right up and kept trying! She actually wants to go again.

The boys chose air hockey instead of the cold ice! Smart...

Look out Dorothy Hamill.

Pumpkin Time!

2007-10-24T14:02:00.001-07:00

I love the fall. It is my favorite time of year. While I do love the summer, the sun, warmth, etc., there is something soothing in cold, sunny days where the fall leaf colors are everywhere, there's a fire in the fireplace, and you get to snuggle with a cozy blanket.

Now, have I gotten to do that AT ALL this fall - no. But I love it nonetheless.

We thought this year it would be fun (and WAY less messy) to make Mr. & Mrs. Pumpkin Heads instead of carving...

I think they did a pretty good job, and the best part: everything (minus the pumpkin) is reusable!

Happy Fall!

Study time or Maddie's Jewel Shop

2007-10-22T19:41:00.001-07:00

So this is what Maddie does on a sunny Sunday morning while I am studying...

She steals my gems that I use for my cards, and she sets up her "jewel shop, as she calls it, behind the couch in my office... She methodically separates all the jewels evenly, and then plays for two hours with them! Who knew gems could be so fun!

Don't try this at home...

2007-10-04T20:20:00.001-07:00

It turned out to be a lovely Fall day in Washington today. So, the kids both thought it would be a good time to go to the park to practice riding their bikes. Maddie has been doing SO good at riding without her training wheels, so any chance we get to practice, we take it. Today was not such a good day for the "little girl who could."

Being as determined as she is, she was doing incredibly well starting herself peddling. She would get going and not stop:

This video was taken MOMENTS before this happened:

It being Washington, and all, the wood docks around here turn slippery as ice when it rains. We had already witnessed a man's bike slip right out from underneath him 10 minutes before her accident. She was coming around the end of the park where you ride on the dock for about 50 yards, then head back towards the park. I was following her, but as she cleared the first corner, she was hidden behind trees. All I saw was her tires slip out from under her, and suddenly she was sliding face first on the dock. Then I heard the scream.

This picture is nothing from what I saw. By the time I reached her, there was already a small pool of blood on the ground. Sure enough, she had gashed her lip, road rashed her face and chin, and was tangled up in her bike. Poor baby. I picked her up off the ground and headed towards the bathroom. On our way there, she loudly pronounced: "Mom, I am NOT having very much fun!" I don't blame her.

Three otter pops later, and short trip to the doctor, she is on the mend. Her lip didn't need stitches, but she will have the battle scars for awhile.

Her personality is definitely back, as you can tell. Nothing like pestering your little brother after a hard day...

Survival...

2007-09-30T13:44:00.000-07:00

Well... I did it. I survived the first week of nursing school. Whew!

Actually, it really wasn't that bad. Although we did have 8 chapters to read on the first night, they did a really good job of easing us into the program. The instructors spent a lot of time explaining the 150+ page syllabus (no joke), and answering all of our crazy questions. They are doing a lot of wonderful things to welcome us to the program, such as giving us free lunch tomorrow to meet with the 2nd year students, letting us off early on Friday, etc. I think it will be a good year! One week down, 11 more to go...

Now off I go to read 10 chapters, do 6 chapters of math, and read two medical journal articles - all by Tuesday! Yipee!

A fire and a good book

2007-09-21T21:50:00.001-07:00

All the making of a cozy fall day...

Our first fire of the season...

Listening to "Wuthering Heights" on CD...

and

Making mini freezer meals for busy nights...

Looks like Fall is here!

First day of Preschool

2007-09-21T20:58:00.001-07:00

Thursday was another BIG day at our house - Taylor's first day of PRESCHOOL!! For three days, he went with me to drop off and pick up Maddie from Kindergarten. Not a day went by that he didn't ask, "When do I get to go to school?" Well, this was the day!
He was so excited. The first thing he said when he woke up and I told him he got to go to school was, "Yeah, and I get to have pudding!" Apparently he saw that Maddie had gotten pudding in HER lunchbox the day before, so he should get one too. Rational thinking.

When we got there, he seemed a bit apprehensive. He looked SO cute carrying his new TMNT lunchbox. He didn't need to bring a lunch, but he insisted on bringing one - with the pudding. Once he got to his classroom, he found his cubby hole with his name on it, hung up his coat, and went right to playing! He barely even looked back at me as I was leaving. What a big boy!
When I got there to pick him up, it was lunch time. They actually cook a meal for all the children, so he didn't even thing about the lunch he'd brought - or the pudding. Mexican rice with chicken, green beans, and fruit cocktail - yummy!
They all looked so cute lined up at the tables. There were about six kids on each side of the table. When I asked Taylor what he liked about the day, he said the bible story and play time. Sounds like a great school day to me!
By the time we got out the door to go home, he was ready to leave... this picture says it all. I asked him to smile, and he said he was too tired, so his fingers had to help him. Ok, Smarty.

Speaking of smarty, watch this:

Do you THINK he's ready for school? Maybe he could teach them a thing or two...

Who do they take after?

2007-09-19T10:17:00.000-07:00

My friend, Liza, found this cool look-alike meter (thanks Liza!) - you be the judge! Is it right?

Who does Maddie look like??

Who does Taylor look like?

Ummmm.... yeah. Shocker, I know.

Maddie N. Norris - Kindergartener!

2007-09-17T14:16:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it? I can't! Here she is, though. Maddie is finally a Kindergartener!

Maddie was so excited! This morning when I woke her up and told her it was time to get ready for school, she acted like it was Christmas morning! I suppose for a little one, it kind of IS like Christmas... she gained 11 new friends, a GREAT teacher Tammy, blueberry muffins for breakfast, and hot cocoa after her first day of class - ALL IN ONE DAY! Who can blame her!
This is Maddie's class. Now, because there was already another "Madison" in the class, our Madisyn will be going by "Maddie" at school, which she it totally fine to do. When we walked into the classroom today, all the kids were buzzing! There was a cute note on the board of how we could help our kids get ready for class:

1. Put bags and lunches in their cubbies:
2. Hang up your coat
3. Wash your hands
4. Find your stick (still don't know what that was for, but it had her name on it...)
5. Sit in the circle
6. Give kisses goodbye!

This was the little girl Maddie chose to sit by. Her name is Alli. She had a matching (almost) shirt like Maddie's, which she thought was pretty cool. Maddie made sure to talk to all the kids today. She, of course, has no problem conversing with total strangers. She was so excited for class to start.

When I picked her up, I asked her what the class rules were: No kicking, hitting, punching, being mean, or jumping up and down (that last one was Colby's input, a boy in her class). She said her favorite part of the day was playing in the gym for "recess" - ah, yes, isn't that always the favorite part of any kid's school day?

Here's to a great year!!

Sick boy

2007-09-14T15:19:00.001-07:00

When he woke up yesterday, I knew something was wrong. First of all, he didn't wake UP until almost 9:30 am, then he didn't take two bites of his cereal (which he usually downs), then he was yawning all morning telling me he was still tired. At first I thought, oh, he must be growing - because that is a mother's answer to why he is sleeping more than normal

We had planned to go to the park for a picnic, so when we showed up, one thing led to another, and everything melted down for him. He wanted to go home. Then I KNEW something was wrong. When we got home around noon, he laid down for a much needed nap. After a couple hours he was back up, but not much better. Decided he wanted to watch a movie. About an hour into the movie, I noticed he wasn't even in the room to watch the movie. Maddie didn't know where he'd gone either. This is where I found him:

He'd gone ahead and put himself BACK in bed, pulled the covers up, and went back to sleep. He looked so sweet, but it was so sad.

When he woke up, he stayed in bed for a good hour, missing dinner, then decided he needed a bath. After his bath, he curled up with his bear, Boomer, and my blankie in my bed, and relaxed. He looked much better, but didn't feel better, he said.There is almost nothing that makes this kid feel better except being able to take a picture with his mom's camera:Not bad for a sicky. Ten otter pops later, he seems to be feeling a little better, but not healthy. Please pray for all our health as the school season begins. None of us can afford to be sick!

Seattle with friends

2007-09-13T10:49:00.000-07:00

On of my most FAVORITE things is catching up with old friends. Yesterday I got together with some of my very favorite people. In my younger days, I was VERY involved in a children's theatre group, Creative Theatre Experience (CTE). It was my life every summer. Shannon, Bethany and Jeremy were all a part of it with me. We are like family. We get together every Christmas break for dinner, but occasionally, we get to see each other MORE than once a year. Yesterday was that day!

Jeremy was back from New York to visit his new niece, and Bethany and Shannon live in Seattle, so we got together for lunch in Seattle. We ate at Gordon Biersch - yummy, then took the Monorail over to the Pacific Science Center to walk around. Of course, the kids were thrilled that they got to ride on a train!

Taylor and Maddie BOTH took to Jeremy... must be the teddy bear face! :-)

They also LOVED playing in the fountain. They kept trying to dodge the water sprays. Maddie got it once - it was hilarious!

I have to put this video on here. Maddie and Taylor were playing this game where they'd throw a cup down the hill, then race to get it. Taylor got mad at Maddie for throwing his cup, and the fit that ensued was HILARIOUS!!

Can you say: NAPTIME?!

Bethany and I at the fountain

The highlight of the trip for Maddie was "driving" the Monorail. The driver was so nice and let Maddie come up, push the horn and decide whether to go fast or slow... Maybe we've just discovered why the Monorail has had two accidents in recent years...

Alas, the day ended, and this was our drive home! What a fun day.

Shan, Bethany, and Jer - thank you! I loved getting time with all of you. See you in three months!

Are you kidding me?!

2007-09-11T23:30:00.000-07:00

For those of you (myself included) who have been wondering what my next two years will look like for nursing school, here it is:

NINETEEN INCHES and counting... and THIS is only for the first QUARTER!!!

I think I will use a lot of them throughout the two years, but there are still MORE books to buy next quarter!

Pray with me AND for me!!

Bike-a-thon

2007-09-11T23:21:00.000-07:00

As you can tell from the last couple blogs, Maddie and Taylor have been really into riding their bikes lately. Taylor really wants his training wheels off, but Maddie needed to accomplish that first. His will come off soon, I think. He seems ready. They can always go back on, but he is so determined, I bet we'll soon have a blog with the joyous news of his new accomplishment! Until then, here are a couple cute pictures from the week of bike riding.
This is taken at ROCKET DONUTS! It is one of the best kept secrets of Bellingham. I wish it was still a secret to me because I can't stay away!! Think Krispy Kreme - but WAAAAYYYYYY better!

I am so proud...

2007-09-10T14:30:00.000-07:00

What a monumental day!

Maddie's triumph! A day none of us will forget!

"Look momma, NO WHEELS!"

Girl Time

2007-09-05T22:06:00.001-07:00

Maddie and I got some much needed girl time with our "fun friend," Miss Amy. Before I go on, let me clarify: our "fun friend" is titled that way because she and her husband are our friends whom we do nothing with EXCEPT have fun... don't go to church, work or the gym together, aren't related, have nothing to do with them except have fun; therefore, they are our fun friends.

Miss Amy and I thought it would be fun to include Maddie in our bi-monthly ritual of breakfast at our favorite local cafe, Old Town Cafe. We have met there for breakfast for almost nine years now... we order the SAME thing every time - fruit, homemade granola, and yogurt. YUM! Maddie thought she was so special coming to our breakfast. Miss Amy and I thought it bizarre that we had been going to breakfast for so long before Maddie was born, had brought her with us to breakfast years before in her infant carrier, and now the big girl is getting ready to go to Kindergarten. Ugh!

Got Milk?

After breakfast, we drove around looking for some good garage sales, but somedays are hit and miss. This was definitely a miss...

Finally, we headed to get our nails done. Miss Amy chose to get a pedicure, instead. Maddie, of course, was quite taken with the foot bath Miss Amy got to put her feet in. It did have bubbles, after all... Then it was her turn to get her nails done! She was so cute sitting there. I told her to be sure and listen to what the man said to do. She was VERY good! I have to say, it was so cute how she picked her nail color. The decal on the window of the store had a lady with bright pink nails, so Maddie decided that she wanted to look like the lady in the window... oh well.
It was such a fun day, we are already planning our next "girl time." Maddie has already decided she wants to have a foot bath like Miss Amy... ah, beauty!

Penny for your thoughts?

2007-09-05T21:37:00.000-07:00

My daughter LOVES our dog, Cede (say-dee). Unfortunately since we are renting our house, we can't have her with us. She is currently living with my mom on the farm in Olympia. This breaks Maddie's heart. When we go to visit my mom, Maddie spends practically the entire trip hanging out with Cede. It is really adorable. I have told Maddie that when we get a new house with fence around it, we can have Cede back. This summer we were very close to moving to a house with a fence, but it didn't happen.

Madisyn's brain amazes me. Her memory is better than mine. She can go somewhere once and remember it two years later. She DOESN'T forget. I need to always remember that.

Fast forward to today. We stopped at my school to drop off some paperwork. There is a fountain on campus that my kids LOVE to toss pennies in... As we stood looking at the fountain, Maddie asked me if she could have a penny to wish for a fence. She didn't say it like she was begging me for it; just like she had been thinking about her dog, wishing for her.

If that doesn't break your heart...

The Perfect Day

2007-09-04T23:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great example of what a perfect day is like for me! We spent the entire day hanging out as a family... With all the busyness of the summer, we haven't had much of a chance to do family outings. Now, we are trying to make up for that!

We hoped in the car and headed up to Newton Wave Pool in Surrey, B.C., Canada... it was cloudy down here, but in B.C., it was beautiful. That made the drive nice. The wave pool is indoors, so it was very comfortable! They have three different pools, and the kids made use of ALL three. Maddie said her favorite was the medium size one that has a little blue slide going into it. There was also a really big wave pool that both the kids liked. Taylor especially liked running into the waves as they rolled in. Maddie is certainly a water child! She goes crazy when she gets in the water. Any sense of self control she has before she gets in the water (which isn't much...) goes completely away! Out of control! Taylor was not as adventurous as Madisyn, but he still really enjoyed being in the water.

One thing I have to say that was funny was the reaction we got from the border patrol guards coming and going. When they asked where we were going/where we had been, and we told them to a swimming pool, they were both dumbfounded as to why we were going to Canada to go swimming... they must have thought we didn't know the US had swimming pools!

After the pool, we headed back the the US and went straight to Ed & Aileen's Dairy in Lynden for .39 cent ice cream cones and end of the season blackberries!! So good.... can you tell?

We stopped at my sister's house in Lynden before we started home. We ate dinner at this cute little diner on the Hannegan Road called the Rusty Wagon. Rick said he'd driven by the place a hundred times, but had never eaten there... it was really good! We might have to go back!

The night ended with the kids fast asleep from a long day of playing, and Rick and I shared some time together watching this gorgeous sunset!
Perfect!

Good Food... Good Friends... no kids!

2007-09-03T00:22:00.001-07:00

I love it when Rick and I get a chance to have a night out without kids. I obviously love my kids, BUT, I really love being out in public and not having to clean food off of shirts, order from the kids menus, or make three trips to the bathroom! I especially love that time when it's with my husband. Friday night was spent doing just that!!

Our friends, Brian and Kristi, were so gracious and took us out on the town in Seattle! We had a delicious meal at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. It was amazing. The filet mignon is bar none the best I've ever had! They serve it on a plate that is 500 degrees, so it continues to cook once it's brought to you! SOOOO good. We finished the night with a delicious dessert at Prizzo Italian Restaurant in U Village. We all ordered something different: lemon cheesecake with raspberry sauce, tiramisu, gelato, ice cream.... ALL good.

We would have topped the night off with Krispy Kremes, but there was literally NO ROOM left - plus I think we might have all thrown up! What a fun night...

New lesson...

2007-09-02T23:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a monumental day for Maddie and Taylor... they both learned to ride their bikes! Up until now, Maddie has been very hesitant to get on her bike. She was pretty scared she'd fall off. While we assured her there would be times she would fall, she needed to try! Taylor took the initiative and did it first. Shortly after, Maddie hopped on her bike and excelled!

This was the first try:

Finally, success!

Next.... training wheels come off! That might take awhile.

Grandpa Eric and Uncle Bryan

2007-09-02T22:37:00.000-07:00

When I got back from Chicago, my dad and brother were up for a visit! We had a wonderful and (unfortunately) short visit. We walked all over Fairhaven and downtown Bellingham, but my favorite part of the trip was flying kites at Zuanich Park. My dad and brother have high-performance kites that they do tricks with, and Taylor flew a kite for the first time! It was so cute watching him out there with them - they had the cool fancy kites, Taylor had his dollar store Backyardigans kite. Perfect.Thanks for the visit dad and Bryan... we miss you already!

Chicago... finally!

2007-09-02T21:36:00.000-07:00

Well.... after almost nine years, I finally returned to one of my favorite places on earth - CHICAGO! I lived there for almost three years after college. I lived in Hyde Park on the south side, and also lived off Southport in Lakeview on the north side. I loved this city for everything it has to offer.... the food, the mixing pot of cultures, the arts, the CUBS! Chicago, I have always said, is basically your typical small, midwestern town stuck in a big city. More times than not, the peeps of Chicago are friendly - get this: they actually SMILE. Unheard of in big cities. I love the smell of Chicago, too. Can't quite describe it except for it is a great combination of pee-filled subways, greek/mexican/italian food, and peanuts with a hint of rain.

My best friends from college, Michele, Lori, and Julie, all decided that since it was our 10-year graduation anniversary, we needed to meet for a reunion. Chicago was the perfect place. I flew into Indianapolis, and after lunch with some friends, we drove up to Chicago and met Julie at our hotel.
Now when I say Chicago is a small town, I mean they have the hospitality of a small town. EVERYWHERE we went, we were being GIVEN things - drinks, food, covers! People showered us with midwestern hospitality! It was fantastic. Case in point: We ate dinner the first night at my favorite mexican joint, Uncle Julio's Hacienda. The manager came to our table because he heard we Julie had a food allergy. He wanted to be sure she was taken care of, and she suggested he take care of us with free margaritas! Go figure - he brought them right over. Hilarious. We felt like superstars. Actually, we kept joking that we were kind of like the 'Sex and the City' girls - minus the sex. Oh, and on the way to dinner this night, we were walking by an art gallery that was having a grand opening... the doorman beckoned us in and offered us wine and hors d'oeuvers. Hospitality. The art was ok, too. Actually they had a gorgeous B/W photo of a dancer's shadow.... I loved it.

The next day was spent shopping and enjoying the Magnificent Mile. While I know there is SOOO much more to Chicago than the tourist trap of the MM, it was still fun just to walk the big city streets and just "BE" in the atmosphere. Filene's Basement, H & M's, Water Tower Place, Forever 21... a lot of great stores not our here.

Insert funny story here:
So we were walking the street and came upon this person spray painted silver with a bucket of money in front of her. Now, I have seen those amazing street perfomers who pose like mannequins for hours and will only move if you tip them. So we walked by this "lady" who was "performing" with a huge crowd around her. We were all waiting to see if she would move. She was AMAZING. She didn't BUDGE! She was as still a mannequin. So, Michele decided to tip her to see her move positions. Nothing. A few more minutes.... nothing. Five minutes.... nothing. We kept saying, "Is she even real? She has to be!" So Julie went up and touched her ear to see if she flinched - NOT REAL!! We paid $1 to watch a freakin' mannequin! The best part is a guy finally walked up in a silver suit and started preparing for the REAL show. We didn't stick around to see what IT was, but I thought he was ingenious for leaving his money pail. The dude made a buck for nothing! Ha. Tourists....

This was dinner on our second night. We ate Medi- terranean at Tizi Melloul's. It was a really fun atmosphere. Our maitre d', Stephen, was fantastic - our server, not so much. When Stephen asked how our night was, we told him we weren't thrilled with the server. He asked what could be done, we suggested he just make sure we were taken care of. He did. He brought us all champagne! Again, midwestern hospitality.
On our final day, we didn't leave the hotel room, except for breakfast. We went on four hour trek to find some good, quick, cheap breakfast, only to discover that on a rainy Sunday morning in Chicago, nothing is quick or cheap. We walked to a restaurant that had about 30 people waiting for five tables, so we hopped in a cab bound for one of my fav greasy spoons in Lincoln Park. Alas.... after 15 minutes in the cab, we discovered it was no longer there. So we continued to drive, finally stopping at the first restaurant we saw. After an hour long wait, we finally were seated in the corner with the air conditioning blowing directly on us. Now, if it were the normal 95 degrees summer day in Chicago, it would have been welcomed. BUT, it was a cold, rainy, 65 degree Washington-weather day in Chicago - no AC was needed, but alas we had it.

After a LONG bus ride - walk - then train ride back to the hotel, a nap was in order. We decided to stay in for our "last supper." What is the perfect last Chicago meal???
Yep! Giordano's deep dish pizza!! SOOOO good. Except, we were also hungry for Chinese. So we ordered both. That is the beauty of delivery.

Julie left the next morning to head back to Michigan, and Lori, Michele and I drove around for a little while to explore my old stomping grounds. We drove through Lakeview, Lincoln Park, down Belmont, Southport, Halstead, Clybourne, Sedgwick.... all my favorite neighborhoods and streets. It is amazing how after so much time I can still remember it like it was yesterday.

I spent the last few hours in Chicago by myself, reminiscing. I ate lunch one last time at Uncle Julio's (yes, it was THAT good), then headed to the airport. The music on my iPod on the train was very fitting - almost as if a soundtrack were playing. It was an instrumental song Rick wrote for me a while back, but I felt like I was watching myself in a movie - sitting on the train, remembering, watching the city go by...

I loved every minute of it. Now...back to reality. Thank you MJ, Jules, and LV for the memories!! I can't wait until next time....