Sean's Company picnic

Sean's work throws an awesome summer barbecue. We always have so much fun going. Usually we walk away with a few prizes they raffle off, but this year we didn't win anything. It was still so mcuh fun!

They won because of me!

The Lise and Faith memorial run

Cierra and some of her run club friends did a local 5k race in August. It was fun for her since it was a trail that she was familiar with by our house. She struggled a little bit with the race but she finished and that is all I ask of her. She has an awesome running coach that really helps her so I am excited to see how she does in the future. I would have never done this at her age and I am proud of her. This is her 3rd race in a year!:) GO CIERRA!!!


Maegan and Cierra


All the Run Club girls!

The Girls with their 2 awesome coaches, Tiffany and Maria.

The girls with their parents that ran with them.

Almost done!

Brooke and Daddy were at the finish line cheering us on!

*this race was a benefit race for a girl I had played basketball with a few times. She was running while she was 8 months pregnant and got hit from behind, when a driver fell asleep at the wheel and killed her and her baby instantly. We were so sad to hear about this tragedy. We were at least glad we could help in a small way by participating in this race to help raise money for her 2 young boys.

Cierra is 10!

Cierra is finally into the double digits! The big 10! She's been looking forward to this birthday for months. She invited 11 girls to her party and all 11 came. Whew! that was a lot of screaming girls. They had a great time though! We played some games, decorated mini cakes, made flower clips and ran around acting like tweenagers!

Baylie gave Cierra a card that had 1 dollar bills that kept coming out. Cierra loved it.

I thought I said 6 on the trampoline at a time......

No boys were allowed(not even daddy) but they managed to find one in the neighborhood that I think they all have a cruash on. Adam was a good sport and I'm pretty sure he loved the attention.

I love my boogie woogie! Happy 10th Birthday Cierra!

Kaylee is 14

Kaylee is apparently to old to have a birthday party(which I am totally ok with!) anymore so her and Ashley went to Wild Waves for the day and then Ally came over afterwards. They had pizza and ice cream cake. Later that night, Ashley and Kaylee went to the mall and saw a movie. Kaylee and I went shopping and she picked out clothes for her birthday presents a few days earlier. Much easier than trying to pick something out for her.

Love this girl and all her craziness! I worry about her being too boy crazy but I guess that's what happens when you have a 14 year old:)

(maybe someday she actually get up the nerve to talk to TYLER HUMPHRIES instead of just stalking him!) I'm really ok if she doesn't though!

Connor is 12!!!

Connor turned 12 on August 24th and he was definitely ready. He was excited to finally move out of primary and into the Young Men's program. He recently went on a 50 mile bike ride with some of the Young Men and had a great time, although it was really hard for him. He couldn't really walk the next day but still said it was fun.

Connor decided to have a repeat of last year and have a "campout" at the Meadow with his friends. I brought pizza and the cake and ice cream for them but other than that, Sean was in charge. They were able to do the zipline that was there and play some games. It was all good until about 3am when the sprinklers turned on and they got wet and had to move the tent. Needless to say, they didn't get much sleep.

HaPpY BiRtHdAy to the sweetest 12 year old I know. He is so polite and caring. How did I get so lucky?

Build-a-Bear, Family Fun center, Hotel Pool, EMP, and Pike Place Market

Sean took last week off so we can enjoy some family time before the kids went back to school. We took a day and went and had some fun in Renton and Seattle. Kaylee, Cierra and Brooke choose to go to Build a bear and Connor chose the Family Fun Center. We got a hotel and played in the pool and then went out to dinner. The next day we hit Seattle. We enjoyed the EMP(experience music project) which was fun(but not worth the money, luckily we weren't paying) and then went to Pike's Place Market and the famous gum wall.

Some may say Kaylee is a little old for a build a bear, but I thought it was great she wanted to do this with her sisters! We had a lot of fun picking the bears and choosing their outfits. (I forgot to get a picture of the finished bears!)

I love getting away from our house where all the distractions are to enjoy some real fun family time! We had a blast!:)

Is it really September?

September came way too fast this year! How did that happen? School started last week and I can hardly believe it. The long awaited time when I have all 4 of my children in school all day long! What am I going to do with myself? I'm sure I will think of plenty to keep me busy, like blogging. I'm so behind, it's crazy. It may not seem like such a big deal but since this is my way of journaling I need to catch up. I will start with the first day of school and work backwards. It will be a little out of order but it will be easier for me.

Kaylee started 8th grade this year. She loves school (more for the social part) but does well and is glad it has started again. She gets up around 4:45, to catch the bus at 6:45. YES, it takes her that long to get ready. She doesn't like to be rushed. Kaylee tried out for the school volleyball team and made first cuts but didn't make the final cut. She was a little upset but she got over it pretty quickly. She started playing volleyball at Competitive edge 2 nights a week and I know it will really help her. She has Young Women's once a week so she is pretty busy. Needless to say, I don't have to tell her to go to bed each night. She is exhausted and falls into bed almost every night.

Connor started 7th grade this year. He hardly seems old enough but he was excited and ready to go the first day. He was most happy about being able to wear his new shoes to school. Connor has a "girl" that's a friend that he texts back and forth constantly. It's cute but I know I won't think that in a few more years. Her name is Ellie and they have been friends for years. I only note her name here because I want to have proof when they do marry. I take pictures of them together all the time for their wedding album. They just roll their eyes at me when I say this. Connor is playing soccer 2 days a week and does scouts. He loves being outside riding his bike.

Cierra started 4th grade this year and is so excited to learn. She loves her new teacher, Mrs. Alston and looks forward to school every day. She loves wearing her new school outfits and has a birthday coming up in a few days. She is so excited because I told her she could shave her legs when she was 10. Dang! It's here. Cierra is still in run club and has now completed 3 5k races. I'm so proud of her. I hope she gets my passion for running. It's such an amazing feeling! She is also involved with Activity Days and looks forward to it every other week.

Brooke is now a big 1st grader. She grew up way too fast. She loves her teacher, Mrs. Smith and loves wearing her new outfits too. She is working hard to improve her reading and loves to write her numbers to 100. She gets some backwards but loves to try. Brooke lost her first tooth this summer and loves to put her tongue through the hole. You will never catch Brooke inside if the weather is decent. She is always playing with her friends and riding her bike.

I love these kiddos more than anything but I am really looking forward to some peace and quiet. We go, go, go all summer long and now it is time to catch up on everything that needs to be done!:)