Anniversary

Dec 28th we celebrated 9 years of marriage. I really want to do something big next year, so we opted to save and do dinner only. It was great just to get out of the kitchen for a night and not have to do the bedtime routine . ;)

Christmas 2010

This is a run down of Christmas time at our house
We kicked off the season with R.S. and E.Q dinner and then on to the dance recital (see previous post). Next came the school parties and work parties.

We opted for a babysitter this year and left the children at home so we could have a night out on the town. It was so nice to finally meet the boss and mingle with others and enjoy a meal I didn't have to cook or clean up afterward.

Next came the party at our house and the sugar cookies.

One day we went to the local outdoor mall and as we left a store, look what I found in the window... They were so adorable and I just had to have them, so I went back in and got them.

Christmas Eve with Nana and their cousin

French toast made with Cinnamon Chip bread. SO GOOD!

Look what we found in our stocking! Littlest Pet Shop

Monkey got his own train- James (engine and tender)

The Flowers on Christmas Morning.

Snap dragon spent the whole day playing with this. He loves it. A must for any budding engineer!

The girls got new dress up clothes from Nana. (A great find during the after Halloween sales)

This year we enjoyed staying home and being together as a family. It was fun to witness the childrens excitement throughout the month and counting down to the 25th.

Tiger Lily's first dance recital

It was an hour long performance of the Polar Express. It was so cute! T.L. did great!

Sisters.
Calla Lily starts classes in January (now that she's potty trained) and she is so excited.

Miracle Gro's birthday

M.G had a birthday Sunday. The Gardener made a Candy Cane Joe-Joe Cheesecake for him (that frosting is supposed to be red- the bottle lies!) It was delicious! She also surprised him with treats to share after his elders quorum lesson. For dinner he was served steak and roasted vegetables.

For all he does, he deserves to have a great day!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from the Garden to all our family and friends.

We have felt the Lord's blessings upon us this year and try to always have that gratitude in our hearts. Everyday we gather our family in prayer in gratitude for our lives, the gospel of Jesus Christ, Miracle Gro's job, the roof over our head and the food in our pantry.

Halloween Weekend

Monkey turns 1

Last week Monkey turned one.

When we discovered he was on his way, it was not a great time for us, but it became another lesson of "Not on our time, but the Lords time". What began as a very rocky beginning turned into our greatest year, that was overflowing with blessings.

Monkey has been a wonderful baby and a joy to the entire family. Everyone loves him and are quick to forgive when he is destructive to their toys/playing. He has starting taking steps and waving this past month. His only word is "Dadda", but he's a Daddy's boy, so it's only appropriate. We're excited for this little guys future!

Great Wolf Lodge

For our last hurrah of the summer, we went to Great Wolf Lodge. We were able to get an awesome deal through a local homeschooling group, so we weren't going to pass it up. We spent one night and 2 days. Here the kids are in their p.j's listening to a bedtime story/show.

huge fireplace- see Monkey in the bottom right corner

Snap dragon showing off his "guns".

Whole family shot. It is so humid inside the water park, the camera kept fogging up.

Before leaving, we got in a family game of chess. We just didn't want to leave, it was a really great 2 days of family bonding time. We give the GWL 2 thumbs up!

Weekend with Friends

In September we headed south to meet up with our, recently relocated to Northern CA, friends. Luckily, they have family that is in between and were so kind to allow us all to stay with them. We rode wave runners at the lake, boys did some target practice, went swimming and just let the kids hang out and play. We had a great time and feel very blessed to have such good friends in our lives.

Labor Day Weekend

I think this picture sums up are weekend in Astoria

First thing: Play at the beach

Children were working on their cart wheels and I discovered I could still do a backhand spring.

What's great about going to the beach here: We drove out and parked on it and we could enjoy it in a sweater.

Astoria Column
We climbed up and flew balsa wood planes off the top. It was extremely windy on top.

Sel Lions on the pier.

Goonies House- Yes, M.G. did do the truffle shuffle

Peter Ireldale Ship wreck (whats left of it) It was a big ship that has been deteriorating on this beach for over a 100 years.

Here we are at the most northern tip of OR and at the mouth of the Columbia River. Lucky for us, it was a beautiful weekend.

Climbing the jetty.

Civil War Reenactment at Fort Stevens. These people and their wives and children had huge camps set up where they basically lived as if they were fighting in the civil war for the weekend. Tiger Lily was admiring all the dresses and now wants me to make her one. I was admiring the women cooking on the wood stoves and getting tips.

Next, we toured the old Fort. This was built during the Civil War in case other nations, who were sympathetic to the south, tried to invade ports via the Columbia river. There were two other forts at the mouth to set up a tri-defense. The forts were decommissioned after WWII.

Here is a look from the command post looking out at the River.
(This was a great history lesson for us- we had no idea forts were built during the civil War on the West Coast)

A few miles south of here, a japanese sub actually fired upon us (during WWII), but the batteries remained silenent, so as not to give away their position, and the sub left.

Replication of the Lewis & Clark Fort

The children wanted to go back to the beach with the ship wreck to play. So while they played, we sat down and read.

View from our room

Trolley

Bridge and Cargo Ship.

Riding the Trolley

At the Maritime Museum

We were able to tour a Coast Gurd Ship. Here are the babies in the Captain's Chair. It was a really fun and educational weekend!