...and part 3.

Believe it or not, these are shown in order. They were taken over three of Sam's fall/jump/tackle things that he was doing to Grandpa. We think they are kind of fun action shots.

We had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa (expecially since the ladies won both rounds of Hand and Foot). Thanks for driving up to visit us and the kids. We know they LOVED it!

....part 2...

We went to Fort Vancouver on Memorial Day. We walked around the fort and enjoyed the massive lawn area there. The kids liked playing in the grass with their balls a lot. I think if he could have napped there and then just hit the grass again, Sam would have stayed all day. (Do you like the last pic, of Maggie tackling Eric?) A very cute pic of our Magpie.
I think Grandpa read the kids 15-20 books on Monday afternoon. They were loving it!
Eventually he got tired of reading and they started climbing on him- ride were soon to follow, but short lived. They kids were really tired from the morning and one fall could have been pretty ugly at that point!
Eric and I think Sam looks like a 'big boy' in this one.

Good Times with G&G Viertell...part 1

We had a lot of fun with Grandma and Grandpa Viertell over the Memorial Day weekend. We went for a hike. We never found the waterfall... We replaced 3 windows. We actually think it's kindof fun that we can open of a hole in the side of our house. Dad Viertell did a crazy good job thinning out a board for us with the circular saw. Nice work Dad!
Sam and Mags did some coloring with Grandma. Sam taught himself to stand the crayons up on their end. He also drew a whale. He drew it and named it all by himself. "Whale" is probably his favorite word and animal right now.
Maggie decided that she too, drew a whale...after Sam did of course. She was telling Grandma all about it.
The kids also found some much needed cuddletime in the AM with Grandpa....and they are sporting new 'matching' Nemo pjs. They are a HUGE HIT. Nice work Grandma.

Hhmm....

So, we have some complementary tickets to go see the Body Worlds Exhibit at OMSI in June if we want to go. The exhibit is rather contraversial in many circles....I (Leah) am not too sure how I feel about it and if I even want to go....but it seems like the exhibit of a lifetime in a sense.

So the big question is: Would you go?

New Wheels

So we did it. We bought a minivan. It seems like the last transition into parenthood. We are SO EXCITED about it. We weren't totally planning on getting one right now- since we don't have kiddo #3 on the way yet- but the right van came along at the righ price- so we snatched it up. We put the white Corolla on Craigslist at 9:30pm Thursday night and it we were signing papers to sell it by 1:30pm the next day. Nice.
Those are the pics of the new ride. It's a 2004 Toyota Sienna. We are now finding ourselves eager to drive places. It even makes our kids look small inside it!!! That is an amazing thing all by itself! :-)

Maggie's New Trick

Thanks to Cousin Kari (she only had to watch her once...) Maggie has discovered how to get into her play cube a new way. It's rather dangerous and it scares her mother everytime she does it. She swings too far over and falls off the platform on the other side about 25% of the time. It's ugly when that happens. Sorry, no Sam pics this time. We have pics of the kids eating otter pops in the bathtub- but they are indecent. :-0

Island Style

Grandma and Grandpa Moffat came back from Hawaii on Sunday and the Mark Moffat clan had dinner at our house Monday night. It was a busy evening- but with relatively few meltdowns I think we can call it a success. Here are some pics of the kids sporting their Hawaiian gear. (Sorry Kari- your pic didn't turn out....the slider was behind you and all we got is a silhouette.)
Sam Ashlynn
Maggie
Joel (looking VERY excited about his new outfit)
Lorelai - wasn't in her dress yet...
Thanks everyone for coming by. We had a great time!!

Here comes the sun...la la la la...it's all right....

The kids got hats. I'm not too sure what Sam is doing in this one...but it's my current desktop background. :-) Fashionista.
Sam can't wait for Maggie to get herself down the slide...he is cheering her on with a Go Go GO! in this pic. Other times he just pushes her.

They also got their very first juice boxes this week. They were well received by all. (especially since this was juice that wasn't watered down...what a treat!).

A full table and some cute hair

This was taken at a BBQ this last weekend at the Miller's house. The best part is that this is not all the kids that were there!!! We had a great time, but I wonder if Christine has all the sand out of her house yet.... We had a super time- THANK YOU Miller Family!! Maggie got pigtails today. They were too cute to collage....so here are a few pics.

Ferns, Forests, and Fun at Fairview Park

We went to Fairview Park after dinner tonight. The kids enjoyed the playground for awhile before we went for a little walk. Maggie looking very Maggie-ish on her walk in the 'forest'
Sam wanted out of the rocking thing. I guess he thought this was the best method.
The kids also really liked watching the creek flow under the bridge. It's really a great bridge- there are places for little kids to look thru and really no way to fall off. A mother's dream.
My cute family trekking thru the forest.

Tuesday Morning

Maggie was very busy today taking care of her babies. Baby Abby and Baby Brayden get a lot of diaper changes....here is the doting 'mother'. It's also important that Brayden wears his hat at all times.
Sam was in a daze watching her. I think he was a little tired.

A little outdated...

So, these pics are from last week...when it was still long sleeve weather here. This week it's been GREAT! They even say we might hi 80 degrees today. Wah-hoo! I know a certain sister-in-law of mine is not looking forward to the warmer weather...but I am so excited for the sun!

I let Sam and Mags hit the crayons during the last week. They like to taste them and touch them to their faces....every now and then they do hit the paper though.
Maggie is wearing this hat more hours than not right now. She also is not content unless it's practically covering her eyes.

Our new 'treat' in the afternoon are mini boxes of raisins. The kids have been going cookoo over these things.
And one last one...

Maggie loves pockets (which she calls 'pah-pickts). She is showing off some that she found all on her own in this pick- usually I have to help her find her way into them. I took 3 picks her her and in all of them she is talking and trying to tell me all about the pah-pickts. Hhhmmmm, like mother like daughter?