My little man is FOUR!

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

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...

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...

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...

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...

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

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

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

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

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!