So Cute, but SOOOO Much work

Chris and the girls came to Portland to stay with us. They were with us for 10 nights. It was so fun to have them here and spend more time enjoying them, but I must admit they wore me out. I hope Daniel and I provided a little break here and there for Chris. I know he says he has been going crazy with the girls all by himself, but I didn't believe him. Now I know he is most likely going to lose his mind before my sister returns from her deployment. Hopefully we will be able to find it again for him (his mind) when his wife returns home. Again, I am going to post lots of pics so my sister can see her wee ones in action.


We put them to work right away and we didn't even have to pay them, oh wait, actually we paid them in macaroni and cheese....

Man, she moves fast and she is obsessed with that dog.

Chris relaxing with a beer, while Daniel cooks on the grill.


Katie entered the coloring contest.

Glad that someone else is enjoying my fabulous bathtub too...

Ellie was fascinated with the water coming out of the faucet,
she kept trying to grab the stream of water.

While Uncle Daniel and Daddy went on a 4 hour bike ride and pub crawl, we played in the church yard down the street, arranged the flowers we picked in the field, ate dinner on the porch, more gardening and destroyed the living room......

Concentrating hard....


(I am still finding little bowls of flowers all around the house
that Katie delivered to every room.)


Cleaning up her mess. (Katie wasn't sitting still long enough
to get a picture of her eating on the porch.)


Very seriously, building a fort "like daddy does on the beach".


Undoubtedly pointing to an airplane in the sky.
She was sure she saw airplanes in the sky,
even when I couldn't see a thing.

Seaside, Oregon

I finally made it to the Oregon coast. Daniel and I have been wanting to take a little trip to the coast since we moved here, but have never made it happen. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to take a few days off and head to Seaside to meet my parents and Chris, Katie, and Ellie. I was surprised by the easy one and a half hour drive from Portland to the coast and am looking forward to going back with Daniel sometime this Spring.

Chris and the girls were traveling with my parents on their Spring break down the Washington coast and into Oregon. It was fun to see the girls again. Katie is much the same, full of imagination and energy and plans that she wants you to follow. She is now, four and a half years old!! Last time I saw Ellie, she was only 4 months old and now she is one and a half. It was fun to get to know her. She is very sweet and loves shoes and books.

Although the weather was windy, cold, and rainy, we still had fun on the beach and in town. I usually post a lot of pictures, but I am really going to post a lot of the girls, so my sister can see them from Afghanistan, so bear with me, it's for a good cause.

Ellie's two greatest loves...books and shoes. This girl even dragged the phone book across our motel room a few times because she wanted me to read it to her. And then shoes, she is constantly shuffling around in someones shoes...constantly.



The rain stopped for the most part and out we went to the beach.

The Destroyer - Left a wasteland of destroyed sand castles in her wake.

Katie and Aunt Sarah in Our Fort

Then we were off to town to look around and ride the merry-go-round.

Ellie is riding the brown horse with Chris's help.
Katie and Sarah are in the right edge of the picture.

Sarah and Katie ride again. Ellie thought once was scary enough.

Watching Grandma and Big Sister Ride the Bumper Cars.

Grandma and Katie

Chris and Katie

Awesome - A Swing Set on the Beach

Ellie riding the car at the pizza parlor.

Katie and chocolate ice cream.

Ellie and chocolate ice cream!
You might notice she has a napkin and is cleaning herself up.

The next day (the day we departed), the sun came out and there was more swinging and playing on the beach.

Sarah trying to stop Ellie The Destroyer from
conquering the biggest castle on the beach.

Dad's Birthday Party

My dad turned 59 on March 27th, and Daniel and I threw him a little birthday party. I guess it was about two weeks ago now. Daniel's parents arrived on Friday from Montana and my parents came down from Seattle on Saturday. Saturday night we invited over my grandparents and aunts and uncles. Daniel made jerk pork on the BBQ and a lemon cake, and I made Jamaican red beans and rice and mashed sweet potatoes. It was good food and fun to have some of my dad's side of the family over to visit and celebrate.

Daniel and his mom busy in the kitchen.


Aunt Jill and Mom

The birthday boy.
The lights got turned out right before I took this picture and I did not have time to turn on the flash, so it's a bit blurry.


Jerry, Judy, and Charlene eating birthday cake and ice cream.


Sarah and Aunt Charlene
(My dad and grandpa are sometimes convinced we are the same person.
I don't think we look that much alike.)

Visit from Daniel's Parents

Last week Daniel's parents visited during Daniel's Spring Break. It was nice to have them around, and not because they work so hard and help us out so much, but because we like to spend time with them cooking, eating, walking, and playing games. Thank you Jerry and Judy for the visit and all the help around the house. Come back anytime!!!

Beckett is always a big help.


Moving grass to make our garden bed.


Catching the sunset at Mt. Tabor Park in our neighborhood.


Dan's dad cutting the stair railing.


Yeah! I hope I never fall down these slippery wood stairs again.


Daniel testing out his work.