Spokane Trip

best buddies- Ben & Connor
they both loved to play with cars

Ben showed Connor how to work his iPad
(Now Connor & mommy want one!)

Ryan gave us a tour of Gonzaga where he and Annie work

Connor posing by Spike

We went to Davenport (about an hour outside Spokane) to go visit my friend Lindsey and meet her sweet seven week old baby, Paige. What a cutie!

We went to Spokane for a few days a couple weeks ago to visit Nick's cousins, Ryan & Annie. They have a little guy, Ben who turned 2 in May. Ben and Connor has all kinds of fun together while we were there. It was cute to see them play because they are both into all the same kinds of toys...especially cars! Ben has quite the collection! It was a fun visit, although Annie had to go into the hospital the second day we were there because she is 35 weeks pregnant and was having contractions 4 minutes apart! The baby didn't end up coming but I'm sure it will be any day now. We had a great time, too bad they don't live closer!

Camping-Nick's 30th Bday

SNAKE!!!! (right by our tent!!) NOT COOL!
Nick's bday cupcakes

The boys

The girls

The kids loved playing in the tent

sitting in our new camping chairs

kids playing in the tent

Connor and Daddy

For Nick's 30th Bday, we decided to go on a quick 2 day camping adventure. We went with the Horans, Bailys, and Palmers. (4.75 kids...one 3 year old, one 2 year old, two 1 year olds, and Steph was 9 months pregnant with her little girl) Let's just say it was not a relaxing camping trip... Connor was in a terrible mood the whole first day and slept for about 8 minutes that night. Then woke up sick the next morning. I guess that explains why he was so crazy the day before. We tried to make the best of the trip. I think we'll try camping again next summer, maybe we'll have a camper!! (I really want one)

Ocean Shores

Family shot
throwing rocks

snuggling

playing in the sand

checking out the water

playing in the water

flying kites

We went to Ocean Shores with Doreen, Travis, Amy, Joey, and Chloe. It was a quick 2 day trip, but we managed to pack in quite a bit. The weather was amazing...92 degrees at Ocean Shores. I'm pretty sure that never happens. Connor loved the beach! We'll have to go back next summer!

3rd Anniversary

Our hotel, The Alderbook Resort
on the boat

view from our room

For our 3 year anniversary, I decided to surprise Nick. I booked us a room at the Alderbrook Resort on Hood Canal, secretly asked for time off work for him, found Connor a babysitter, and packed us up. I waited until the morning we left to tell him. I stayed up the night before until after he fell asleep and turned off his alarm clock. He woke up panicked that he was late for work, then I broke the news to him that he didn't have to go. This all happened at 5:45 am, so he was pretty confused. He was pacing around the room...pretty funny. Anyways, we had a blast. That place is gorgeous. You should go sometime if you haven't. We had a really pretty room right on the water. We just relaxed, went for a boat ride down the canal, slept in, and ate a lot!

Grandpa Lou's 78th Bday Bash

Make a wish!
Boat rides...watch out, Chloe is driving! (yikes)

Connor's first jet ski ride (heart attack for me)

Swimmin'

Nick's Grandpa Lou turned 78 last week. Doug & Tammy hosted a bday party for him! It was a fun day filled with boating, jet skiing, beach walks, swimming, family, and lots of great food!

Auntie M & Brett

While we went to Kristi Carstenson's wedding last weekend in Seattle, Connor got to hang out with Auntie M & Uncle Brett. Since it was warm outside, they decided to run through the sprinkler. This is one of Connor's favorite things to do!

Tyra came!!

My bff Tyra just left a couple days ago after spending a whole week up here. Glenn & Sonja flew Tyra and her cute little baby Sawyer up to WA from Idaho to take our family pics. It ended up being a busy week for her full of photo shoots, but we squeezed in some good friend time too. It was super fun to see her! Now if I could just convince her to move back to Puyallup...

Ken's 70th Birthday

Our view from dinner!
Group shot

Susan & Ken

Sisters

Brett & Melwil

Nick & Lex

M's Game

July 19th was my dad's 70th bday! We did some pretty fun stuff this year to celebrate the big bday. Susan invited us to join them for dinner at Canlis. Canlis is a super cool restaurant in Seattle with awesome views, service, and food. She planned the whole thing without him knowing that we were coming. The servers gave us giant menus to hide behind when he walked up to the table. It worked! He was quite shocked! I don't think he said a word for about 10 minutes and had a couple tears in his eyes. Good work, Susan! Dinner was delish and we had a great time. A few days later, Nick and I took him to the M's vs. Red Sox game at Safeco Field. It was no Canlis meal, but we did have a tasty dinner at the game...hot dogs, nachos, beer. etc. In all, I think he enjoyed his birthday!