Sunrise Super Star!!

The classic picture in front of the sun. Go Sunrise!!!

1st day of school. Gavin was so excited he woke up and had his bed made by 6am! Then he was bummed when I told him school didn't start for 3 more hours!
At back to school night sitting in his new desk. Kindergartners don't get desks so this was BIG TIME that as a first grader he has a desk with his name on it!
Brent and Gavin on their way to school. Grace had dance class today so Brent walked Gavin to school. What a great Dad!
Grace is all ready for her first day of dance. It was nice that she had something to do while Gavin is gone all day.

"Grace, are you a queen?" (says Mom) "No I'm a princess!"

Grace is a crack up! She is a very independent little two year old. If you ask her how old she is, she will always say "I three." She wants to be three so she can be just like her cousin Ella. The pink dress is her favorite. She has to wear it with the hood. I put the dress away for summer and she found it and put it on! No worries that it was 90 degrees outside. She would say, "It not too hot mom."

Our little thumb sucker... taking a nap in the hammock.

What do you do when you are starving and Mom is busy with baby brother? Well, Grace decided to get the snack herself. I found her in the fridge eating strawberries. She didn't just grab a couple and get down, no she stood on the side of the door and ate right from the fridge. I do have a climber on my hands!

Grace will ONLY wear dresses. No joke! I have to bribe her to wear shorts. Sometimes she will pacify me and put them on then I find her later in the morning inside her hamper digging out a dress to wear. The one she is holding up is one of her favorites. She will get in the hamper, pull out a dress and say, "It no dirty Mom, it clean."

O Canada!

We just returned from a great trip in Canada! This is a picture of Moraine Lake. It was a neat hike to a great view of the lake. I packed Giles around and Brent chased Grace. I got the better end of the deal by far... Grace has no fear and is a bit of a maniac.
Beautiful Lake Loise. Giles was such a trooper. He had a blast being carted around in the Bjorn. Being permanently held by Mommy was just great for him!
The Canadian Rockies are amazing! This is the view from the top of Sulphur Mountain in Banff.
The gang at the top of Sulphur mountain. We took a gondola ride to the top and then walked on a trail to the summit.
Brent got a chance hefting Giles around in Kootenay National Park. At one point he had Giles in the Bjorn and Grace on his shoulders. What a muscle man!
Marble Canyon was so fun. It used to be a waterfall like 9,000 years ago and now is a deep canyon. We were getting sprayed by the cold Glacier water. Grace seemed to be having fun getting wet and Gavin was not so sure about the whole thing.

We saw lots of mountain sheep, deer, and a total of 4 bears and 5 cubs!

What a precious site! They fight like cats and dogs and yet every once in a while they do something just so sweet it melts your heart. Grace was adamant that she wear a dress hiking. I put her in pants twice and she went right back in the bedroom and came out in her tutu swimsuit on once and her dress on the second time. So we compromised and she wore pants under the dress.

Kindergarten Graduation

Gavin just had his Kindergarten celebration. He loved his teacher and loved school. He can't wait to go to school all day and eat lunch at school! His favorite thing to do at school is the card making station. He loves to write and is always making someone a card or note.

Isn't he a handsome 6 year old?!

Gavin and his teacher, Mrs. Beschta.

Gavin's neighbor across the street and best friend, Morgann.

The Best BIrthday EVER!

Happy 6th birthday Gavin! On the Saturday before his birthday I took Gavin, Ella, and Grace to Silverwood for the afternoon. Gavin got to go on his favorite ride, "the little toot" 5 times! He has just learned about bunny ears and thought that it would be funny to do them on himself.
Gavin's favorite present was... a clipboard! The kid cracks me up. He loves to write and he just kept saying, "I sure hope I get a clipboard for my birthday!" The other favorite gifts were the Zhu Zhu pets that he got. He got 3 zhu zhu babies and 2 regular ones. He kept saying, "this is the best birthday ever!" The day after his birthday he made sure he played with every present he got because "they were all so awesome!"
Everyone was excited about the birthday cake. Grace and Ella couldn't wait to help blow out the candles. Gavin was waiting so he could make a wish but Grace and Ella weren't so patient and blew all but one candle out. At least Gavin had one candle to blow out on his own!

The trio at Silverwood. Oh, those bunny ears...

A Memorable Memorial Day

Antonio and Brent in Lynden, WA. Anontio and his wife and their oldest daughter were taught and baptized by Brent and his companion 12 years ago. Now Antonio's other two children were being baptized and Brent was able to speak at the baptism.

Clerice and Aiden on their special day.

We found a house to rent for the weekend that was next to a canal overlooking the ocean. Nothing beats having your own little house and the kids to have their own space.
Gavin and Brent collected seashells and Gavin found a wood sword. He packed that sword around EVERYWHERE!
Brent and Gavin took a ferry to a nearby island. It was a fun adventure for the two of them. What did Grace do?? She took a four hour nap and me and Giles just relaxed and enjoyed the peace and quiet.
The Peace Arch on the border of USA and Canada. We didn't have our passports so we couldn't actually drive into Canada. Although I wish that we would have brought them because we learned that the Vancouver temple is only 20 minutes from the border crossing.
On the drive home we stopped at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. It was a great place to spend memorial day. They had a special band and program to honor the military. Grace and Gavin got to "fly" a Blue Angels plane and Brent and I really enjoyed the amazing WWI and WWII exhibits. What a great weekend we had.