Haircut Time

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

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...

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

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...

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!

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!

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

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

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!