4th of July 2009 Part 1

We had a lovely 4th of July spent with our dear, dear friends, who are truly like our family. We were at Loon Lake and the day/night/and following morning were so much fun. Shane and I have decided it was one of our favorite 4th of July celebrations yet. We went for a boat ride, cooled off in the water, Nolan caught his first fish with Daddy, LaUgHeD, Laughed, and LAUGHED some more, ate lots of lake food(chips, cookies, dips, ice cream cones, you know, the healthy food in life.) The fireworks were amazing and seemed to last for hours. All the kids did great, stayed up for most of the show until they fell asleep on their Daddy's, so cute! Some of my favorite memories that are still making me laugh as I write~
*A tube from one of the fireworks came down HARD and hit my friend D in the head, and left a huge bump(it's okay, she's laughing about it too!) At first we didn't know what the heck had happened until she found the piece that hit her. It resembled a small toilet paper roll, OUCH!
*Shortly following, the neighbors roman candle container tipped over and started shooting the fireworks right at us. I of course was in sheer panic, grabbed Liv(Shane had NJP,) and headed for the cabin. D was in shock too and yelled out "Wells, get the kids!" The best part about that, the kids were on her lap =) I was so embarrassed because I let out a big Oh F*** when it happened. I seriously thought one of the kids was going down, or maybe I thought I was. We laughed about this for the rest of the night.
*Last but not least, while we were taking a little stroll on the beach before we headed home this morning, my little wild guy decided he'd like to take a dip. He ran in to the water, which I figured he'd stop once his feet were in, but NOPE, he kept going, AND going! It had a slight drop so, in and under he went, while I ran after him in my clothes. What a scene! He was totally fine, in fact, it did not bother him a bit. I on the other hand...this is why I have high anxiety =)
Richie bought a special firework for Shane & I. Mine was called "The Luck of the Irish." It was one of my favorites. Shane's was "Jack A** " and was seriously the loudest firework I've ever heard in my life. It also had me running towards the cabin at full speed.
I love the memories we made this year. Loon is a sentimental place for us and has many years of special memories especially for Shane. Thank you for everything Wells Family & Much Love!
Part 2=Pictures very soon!

Tiny Dancer

The dancers waiting to go on stage(Ava, Olivia, Ivy, Paige, Lilly--some of her favorite ballerina buddies)

Ava, Paige, Liv

Olivia & Sweet Lilly

Bravo!

Olivia had her end of the year recital a few weeks ago. It was very cute, revolved around familiar nursery rhymes and children's stories. Very simple, short(at least Olivia's performance was,) cute, and a little too hot & humid in the theatre(that's what you get in an old building I guess.) There were lots of performances done by the older girls. Watching the older, more experienced dancers is always fascinating to me. I think ballet is such a beautiful dance. It will be interesting to see if Olivia really takes to it and dances for most of her young life like it did. I just wish I'd never stopped. I'll live vicariously through her if she chooses to stay with it =) Here are a few pictures from her performance at the Bing Crosby Theatre.

The BiG 32!

Gosh I seriously can't believe I'm 32 now. Time really does fly on by, I just can't catch up with it. I had a WONDERFUL birthday, and it seemed to drag on for most of the weekend. I felt loved, spoiled, and a bit pampered for 3 days--whohoo! Shane took me to Clinkerdagger on Friday night, just he and I. It was so overdue, and much needed. We had a fabulous time eating, drinking, and dating. Saturday was my actual birthday. The kids, Shane and I went out for coffee, and then I scooted off for a mani/pedi at my favorite salon, Incognito. Later that night I met up with some friends for a few drinks and then a night of dancing. We had a blast, wait, a BLAST!

I feel incredibly blessed by all of my sweet family and friends who thought of me on my birthday. Jen, thank you for the beautiful broach, I love it so much and already know how I'll wear it. Siri, Laura, & D~thank you for my lululemon gift cert, can't wait to head over to Seattle to use it up =) Laura, thank you for all of my other treats, you know me too well. April, thank you for your sweet card, you never miss my birthday, I love and miss you dearly! Tab, I got your sweet card too, thank you! Shane outdid himself this year. I will finally have my own computer very soon. Shane got me a laptop, thank you Babe! But one of my favorite gifts, tickets to Coldplay at the Gorge, smack dab in the middle 17 rows back--I get butterflies just writing about it! Those of you who know me, know that I'm a music junkie. Coldplay is one of my favorite bands, and I CANNOT wait to see them in July. Thank you again everyone, you are so thoughtful and I appreciate, and love each and every one of you. I will be sending out proper thank yous. Cheers! How odd that I'd be having technical difficulties with my blog--the slideshow stops at one point, but the pictures will continue within a min or so.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Lilah Ann Wiley

Some of our dearest friends added a new addition to their family just 4 weeks ago. The Wiley's now have a precious, sweet baby girl, Lilah Ann. Shane and I wanted to see her while she was still a little newborn, fresh into the world =) So we drove to Seattle and back last Saturday. It was a lot of fun actually. I say anytime that we can spend together as a "couple" and to have some alone time is WONDERFUL. At the same time, the kids love being with their grandparents. Both of our parents pitched in, one taking a morning shift, and the other the afternoon/evening.

We spent a few hours with the Wiley's at their house. We always have such a great time with them, and wish we lived closer! On the way out of town, we hit our FAVORITE restaurant, Typhoon Thai, and another favorite on my list, Trader Joe's. I wish, I wish, I wish, we had a Trader Joe's in Spokane! We stocked up on all sorts of yummy organic food, and treats. It was a perfect way to end our quick trip over to the west side. Most of all, we're so glad we got to meet Lilah, not to mention I wanted to hold her the entire time. I'm a sucker for newborns, babies, and pregnant mommy's(which happen to be all around me right now.)

A Visit to the Fire Station

The kids love spending time with their uncle Jo Jo. Last week they got to hang out with him for a wee bit while he was at work, which happens to be at the fire station. Joe has been a firefighter for several years and will soon become a paramedic as well. Each time I visit him at the station it reminds me of how hard he's worked to get there, and what a remarkable person he's become(although I've always thought he's terrific!). I've always said that anyone who is linked with the medical field is a hero in my eyes. A shout out to all the Doctors, Nurses, ER Tech's, Firefighters, P.A.'s that are on my list~these are among the group of professions I could never sign up for. I truly Thank God for all of them.

Olivia and Nolan had fun looking at all the different firetrucks, sitting in them, and putting on their uncles fire gear. The kids had a blast on there visit to the station!

Girly Girly Girl

Olivia is really starting to love ballet. She gets dressed up almost each day and flutters around the house to give us a show. I love this little video because it just reminds me of how "girly" she's become. You'll notice as she's dancing she checks her hair out in the glass on the cabinet, and then has something very important to tell me at the end of the video. I was the complete opposite as a little girl, much more of a tomboy, guess that goes along with having 4 brothers. I have to admit I love it though, and it suites her personality that's for sure.

Little Buddy

The experiences we're having with our 20 month old little boy are entirely different than the one's we had with Olivia. It has been so nice to have two completely opposite children. Nolan is so busy right now, and keeps Shane and I on our toes every second that he's awake. Not to mention I think he gives me a near heart attack at least once a day with his determination, curiosity and risk taking. Little stinker, every time I turn around he's pushing a chair or ottoman over to get on the counter tops, tables, etc...always climbing on things, and practically scaling walls. At the same time, he's still my sweet, gentle, joyful baby boy. Below are a few of my favorite things he's doing right now~
*"Go see moon" He LOVES the moon! We have to show it to him every night before bed. It's so sweet because he looks out the window and says "hold it." He reaches his little hands out and thinks he can reach out and grab it =)
*He also loves birds or in his words "birdies" and also tries to run after them while screaming "hold it!"
Everything seems to start with "go see"...whether it's a cat or dog outside, the birdies, lawnmower, motorcycles.
*Shane and I might be a little odd, be we always grab our kids and squeeze them, and usually say something like "ew, I just want to eat you right now." So now Nolan goes up to things, or people acts like he's taking a nibble and then starts pretending to chew. Oops, this one may have backfired on us =)
*"Pee Pee" He insists on sitting on the potty at least once a day to go pee. Oh and he's such a little man, he also tries to push a little and then says poop, but just has a little toot. Hmmm...must be a guy thing.
*He loves his sister aka sissy. She is one of the first people he asks for when he wakes. I know he's going to miss her so next year when she's in school every day.
*He loves blueberries, strawberries, avocado, milk, and bean burritos. The kid eats so much food. He takes his time too, I think he's inherited that from his Gam and Dad. I have my meals down within minutes. Guess I learned that when I used to teach, or just from hustling around here.

I painfully realize he's now closer to 2 than 1. I'm so glad he's growing up to be a healthy, lovely, and lively little man, but can't believe he's almost 2. As chaotic as my days can be, I always have to remind myself, that each of his milestones(whether easy, or difficult,) only come around once. Being a mom is the hardest thing most of us will ever experience, but how blessed we are to have our children!Momma and little buddy almost 1 year ago
Taking a nibble off my boy
NJP wearing Liv's helmet, he wouldn't take it off-it actually made me feel better with him running around with it on outside since he's such a little daredevil
He pretends to shiver and says he's cold after his tubby, so he likes to get swaddled in his towel-I can't believe how much he looks like Shane's baby pictures in this photo, it's almost identical