Girl Time

Maren and I had a little girl time last night while Joel and Greg were at Cubbies. I decided to paint her toenails...it was te first time I had done this and she loved it! She picked the color!

Cutest little toes ever...

...being careful not to touch...

And of course mine had to match hers!

It is Finished...

Well, Maren is almost 2, and I am happy to say that I finally got her baby book done! I started it last October, so it took me a little bit less than 1 year to finish. Here's the "embellished" cover, and a couple of my favorite layouts.

Art in the Park

Last weekend we went down to art in the park which is like a HUGE saturday market with tons of local artists, food and music. We walked around looking at art, we had dinner, and just had fun being together as a family!

We didn't get any pictures of art...but here's my cute family!

This was definitely the highlight of the day...these amazing hammock things. We almost bought one on the spot, but they are $90, so we thought we should wait and think about it!

The kids LOVED sitting in these and cried when we had to leave!!

*Fun* with Rice

So I saw this GREAT idea on my friend Courtney's blog (link to the Strom's on the left), and I went out and bought a big tub and a 20 pound bad of rice the next day!

Maren and Joel thought this was the best invention ever, and the first time, they played for over an hour - they were so quiet and didn't fight at all...it was a miracle!

Ah, the sweet silence of kids engrossed in play.

One time I came out to check on them and Maren was in the tub, and had rice stuck to her face...who knew snot could be such a great adhesive!! :)

And Joel, his sweet little helpful self, got out the little broom with out me asking him, and started sweeping up all the rice they had spilled!

**So since this first blissful afternoon with the rice box, the fun of it (for me) has deteriorated. Now they both want to be in the tub, and fight over it because Mommy, not thinking ahead, didn't buy one big enough. They are also not as content to keep the rice "IN" the tub! One time I came out and they had dumped little piles of rice all over the bench in the dining room - and Maren was having fun slowly swishing it off onto the floor. And the kicker was when Joel, wanting to help clean up again, decided that sweeping the rice into the floor vent was easier than getting it in the dust pan (I hope our landlord never sees this blog!!). So needless to say, the rice box has not made an appearance in a couple of days! I did see an idea to put a sheet under the rice box, for easier clean-up, so I think I will try that when I am brave enough to get it out again!**

Pre-schooler

Well, the day finally arrived! Today was Joel's first day of school and he was SO excited! He is going to a little cooperative preschool (which means the parents help out in the class once a month and it is cheaper than a regular school), and there are 18 kids in his class. He goes Monday, Wednesday and Friday for 2 1/2 hours in the afternoon.

He looks so grown up in this picture! Sigh.

Each class starts with circle time and the parents can stay for this if they want. They sing a hello song (complete with sign language!) and learn the day, date and talk about the weather. I left during this because Maren was wanting to play with the toys and make a bunch of noise!

When I went to get him they were playing outside on the playground. He seemed to be having a great time and said he had fun in school! I know it's just pre-school, but I'm so proud of him!

Art

We got out the paints last night and the kids went wild! They painted with everything they could get their hands on! Apples, sponges, hands, plastic bugs and these amazing printing blocks that Amit brought back from India.

Employee of the Month

Greg was nominated employee of the month for one of the units he works on. This is a really big deal...no one in the spiritual care department has gotten one of these for at least ten years! Also, a couple of months ago he got awarded a "Best Practices" award from the hospital, and no Chaplain has ever gotten one of these. Both of these were initiated by people he works with outside of his department, which is a huge testament to what a great job he is doing. I am so proud of Greg for his work at the hospital, and how he manages to balance it with being a great husband and father! Congratulations, Greg!

Going back in Time...

I just realized that I never posted pictures of my visit to Olympia in July! The *REAL* reason for the visit was so that Christina and I could go to a 12-hour scrap day together! It was SO much fun! I never get as much done as I think I am going to, but it is worth it to spend time together and to be creative!

Notice our matching shirts?!? The theme of the scrap workshop that we went to was a luau (why does there have to be a theme!?), but we chose to just look cute in our matching shirts.

Since I went solo this time (thank you Greg!) I got to spend more time with my neices and nephews than I usually do. They are all growing up and are so special in their own ways. (Clockwise from top: Jordan, William, Aliya, and Emma)

William was so fun and snuggly with me this time - which was so fun because he has been a hard nut to crack! :) He just crawled up and pretended to take a nap with me.

Aliya loves to watch us scrapbook! She is good at asking questions and not touching things :). I think she is a scrapbooker in the making!

Jordan is a silly little girl who always has something funny to say. I got to read her books and tuck her in on the last night I was there.

I didn't get a picture of me and Emma together this time, but it is so fun to see how grown up she is. She is quiet and thoughtful and creative and I love this girl!

I also got to see my Grandparents for about 1/2 hour on my way out of town. It was way to short a visit, but it was so good to see them and give them hugs anyway.