life these days.

Ah.

Winter is (hopefully) finally on its way out.   I even broke out the clippers today to trip back some grasses and stuff from last year that I didn't get to before the snow fell.  Started pruning the maple and the hawthorne... Realized that I don't have any idea how to prune trees and I should probably do a little research before getting clipper crazy, so went back to pulling little weeds out of the soft ground.  Also, I see my daffodils and crocuses starting to peek through!  I need to rake off all the matted leaves and brush soon so they can get some sunshine.  Although I imagine the layers of leaves and mulch are keeping it warm in there, so maybe not yet?  I am not a master gardener in case you can't tell :)

Our life is alternately slow and boring, mixed with hectic and crazy, but always with a bunch of fun when the sweet kiddos are involved.  It has been a nutty busy spring for both Steve and I with work, so we treasure these little times together.

Happy April!

Olaf wears this at least every other night to chase Forest around.

Sweet dimples.

Having a great time playing with Cassie over at the Obergs for our monthly supper :)

Loving it!

My big boy did SO good at the dentist!  No fussing at all - and no cavities either :)  I was so proud of him.

We sat at watched out the window while Olaf had his teeth checked.

I got to do a ladies shopping trip with Shannon and Leighla in Seattle!  So.Much.Fun.

Crazy face man.

We headed to the aquarium in Seattle last Sunday for a little city adventure.  Forest stared into this tank at the aquarium and splashed for about a half hour... loved every minute of it

He cried when I took him away from it.  So did the little girl he splashed.

Grandpa came with us too!  (Sorry all I got in this photo was the back of your head, Mark!) We had fun hanging out in Seattle together.

That's a shark on his face in case you were wondering.

Then I went and did the "Big Climb" of the Columbia Tower.  69 floors in 15 minutes.  Not to shabby!  I got rad for Rudolph and raised some money for blood cancer research.  I also learned about this GIANT vein that pops out on my head when I exercise hard...  Fun, right?

Monster faces.

dixie - home away from home

Regarding the title of this post -- For any of you that don't know, Dixie is Steve's work truck. Recently it feels like we have been away from home more than we have actually been here. (I have learned to feed and change diapers in Dixie's passenger seat.) Luckily while we have been away, my sister has been house-sitting and keeping our lawn and flowers from dying in the HEAT. (thanks!)

Oly is all set to travel in his new carseat -- the Chicco KeyFit 30 - the Cadillac of carseats.

Last weekend was a whirlwind it seemed. Steve had to work in Seattle on Thursday and Friday, so we left Wednesday evening and headed to stay with Josh in West Seattle. We got to see he and MacKenzie's new house and he got to meet Olaf for the first time. Sadly, Mac was away for work so we didn't get to see her :( We had a great time distracting Josh from his work though! Olaf even got in on the action, trying on Josh's bunny ears which had arrived in preparation for their trip to Burning Man.

OlyBunny!

Little Olaf has been doing well with all the moving around. Unfortunately for me though, his schedule has been thrown out of whack. Probably because he was barely on a schedule, and then we started moving around all the time and constantly being with people... Ah well, we are home now and doing pretty good, so hopefully one of these days I can get him to sleep through the night!

Back to our time in Seattle -- I got to visit with a good friend and former roommate, Annie Hendrickson, on Friday. We met at UVillage for a little time to chat, have coffee, and let our little guys meet! Ann and Kyle are new parents as well. Little Daniel is 3 weeks younger than Olaf, so they are sure to be fast friends. Most likely they will be Tall Timber buddies like Ann and I started out as! At UVillage we got to share the experience of trying to find a place to feed the kiddos in a overly crowded shopping area... luckily Barnes and Noble provides comfy chairs, and with "hooter hiders" maybe no one even knew what we were doing :) Pretty sure the chairs were supposed to be for reading... but ah well! We enjoyed relaxing in them.

Annie and Daniel... such a cute new mommy!

Saturday evening was spent with good friends at the wedding of Rene and Julee in Lakewood. She looked more like Cinderella than any other bride I have ever seen!

Julee, Rene and Corey, who officiated the wedding

All the little girls at the wedding just couldn't get enough of her - it was very cute to watch. I am posting a few pictures of the wedding - it was GORGEOUS. Lots of green and orange - two colors that I would have never put together but they sure looked great in that setting.The wedding setting...

Ethan and Jenny

We had a lot of fun introducing Olaf to a new crowd of friends from Stevens Pass. He was a hit with all the ladies, as usual!With Kylene

Sunday was spent with family at Tara and Randy's house. Sue and Ron came over for a BBQ, bringing Serenity with them, who was visiting Grandma and Grandpa for a week. Mother T even stopped by for a visit and to meet Olaf, which was fun. Tara's special burgers were a hit and the sun came out for some warm time out on the deck. A very nice way to cap off the weekend!

Sue and Olaf

Such a big boy!

Little Miss Serenity

T and Mother T