End of summer 10'

Our end of the summer adventures~
Seattle Zoo, Aquarium, delicious Seattle food, Farmer's Market, Friends!
The 509 County Fair =) Which is ALWAYS interesting!
WSU 1st home game of the year, Sella's, Pullman fun!
Peach Picking

• A couple things I want to mention about the county fair. I AM IN LOVE with Alpaca's and would have them as pets if I ever had land! They are so cute, have hypoallergenic fur, and make the sweetest sounds! Check out the HUGE angora one of the farmer's took out for the kids to pet, it was beautiful, and so soft!


• Pullman was so fun~first home game of the season. Shane & I always enjoy visiting our old stomping ground! It brings back so many great memories. Besides, that's were I fell in love with the man I'm married to =) We ate at one of our favorite pizza places, Sella's. The weather was perfect, and to much surprise, the Cougs won the game!

I'm ready for FaLL~for uggs, cozy oversized sweaters, hot tea, slippers, inside projects, the changing of the leaves, crisp air...

1st day of school(1st grade!)

A few pictures of Liv on her first day of school~the 1st grade! She's been in for a few weeks now, and is still adjusting to being away from her mama, daddy, & little B all day. She keeps saying "I just want to be with my family, I miss my family." It's a BIG transition(for the both of us) for lots of reasons, but she's hanging in there, and we have tons of support, and a rewards chart(thanks auntie D,) that seems to be helping tremendously!

Nolan's 3!

We have been busy!!! So Nolan turned 3 a couple weeks ago. We had a fun party for him at the Jump-N-Party(his request.) We really are so blessed to have friends who are our family that have been a HUGE part of Nolan's(NJP, J, Little Buddy, Bubba, Booder...) life. I love him so much and have cherished the 1 on 1 time I am getting with him while Liv is in school. My little guy. One of our favorite things to do together is story time, whether it be at the library, or at home. I love our time at home cuddling on the couch reading. His little voice is still so cute, and baby like...I just wish he could stay little. His little body is part me, part shane =) He's got my derriere, and the Lofstedt(especially Shane's fathers,) wide WIDE shoulder's, and still has white blond hair, which I also WISH would stay. He is FULL of life and a busy boy! He is such a free spirit, DETERMINED as ever, and one of the sweetest & spicy little menaces I know.
Here is a collaboration of pictures from his 3rd BiRtHdAy PaRtY!

Even tough we're still a few days away, I HAD to...

Post these pictures. They mean so much to me, and remind me of his story, and how he was perfectly weaved in to my life. The first picture is a couple weeks before I had Nolan(those Lovenox injection sites are something =) The rest, well they are seconds after he was born, hours, and a couple days thereafter. There are also a few of my favorites from his 1st, & 2nd bIrThDaY! My little guy, still a baby boy in my eyes, just barely 3! Which reminds me, neither of my children went through the terrible 2's~both hit their naughty stage at 3~good times! More to come after we celebrate his 3rd!!!

I have Colbie Caillat Bubbly on my playlist. Literally EVERY time I hear it, it reminds me of my labor/delivery with Nolan. I made a CD to bring in to the hospital and play while I was in labor(not surprising to those of you who know how much I love music!) Bubbly was playing as NJP was entering this world...So that song is very special to me.

Summer Brings So Many of Our Favorite Things~

I can't believe summer is just about over =( It went by way too fast this year!!! I think maybe that's the case when you have kids in school, It seems as though Liv just finished Kindergarten. She starts 1st grade in 4 days, WHOA!

I came across this picture of Nolan(my sweet & spicy, almost 3 year old) when I downloaded pictures from the camera. Shane must have taken it. It just reminded me of the goodness of summer. Here are a few of our favorite summer things~

Bike rides, walks in the evening after dinner(it stays light out for so long!)

Parks, splash pads, swimming pools, and lakes

Fun summer treats

Warm sun and breeze

No set bedtime

IcE CrEaM, LOTS of it

2 very special bIrThDaYs to celebrate

NO TRAINING WHEELS!!!

A week ago we were on a family walk and Liv said "when we get home I want you to take my training wheels off my bike!" For a minute I thought, really?(I'm a little selfish I guess, not wanting her to grow up.) It reminded me, again, what a "big girl" she's becoming. So, we took them off, Shane followed her around the cul de sac a few times, and she took off! She figured it out so quickly, she's got great balance and that was in her favor. So here she is, flying around the neighborhood on her bike. She LOVES riding her bike, one of her favorite things to do each day. Enjoy!

"Welcome to Starbucks"

Oh my, how I love, Love, LOVE the animation of this little lady. She has me rolling when she's in her dramatic play bubble. *I should mention that Olivia really enjoys pretending to drink coffee, and everytime we go to a coffee shop wants a to go cup to take home.She was thrilled to get a tiny little Starbucks apron from Tabitha for her birthday. It's exactly like the one's the Barista's at Starbucks wear. Tabitha is one of those super creative people(who I SO WISH I WAS,) and put together a really darling gift for Liv. So, she came over the other day to make crafts with Olivia and they had a little extra time to play "coffee at Starbucks." Olivia set up the mock Starbucks station at the window. She had all kinds of props~I small coffee pot that really sucked up water and poured it back out into the coffee pot, Starbucks to go cups, Starbucks gift card, fruit snacks(in case there were little one's in the car with customers.) She would ask Tabitha questions like "do you have any kids?, would they like some water?" When Tabitha played the role of the Barista she asked Olivia if she worked and what she was up to. Liv's response "I work at Nordstrom, and a baby hospital." Then she went on about how she liked her job but not really because she couldn't be home with her kids. Whenever Olivia is pretending to be a mom she has this high pitched voice & fake laugh that makes me laugh so hard my belly hurts. She is so funny! Tab and I were laughing so hard we had tears in our eyes. Not laughing at Olivia of course, we just couldn't believe how animated she was/IS!