The 4 musketeers!!!! :)

starting school and BRACES!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-08-28T20:38:00.000-07:00

School starts on the 7th of septemer, and I do not want school to start. On this upcoming wednesday, the 31st of augest I get my braces!!!!!! I do not want to look bad in them, I hope you will like them world, because I will have them for the next 2 years. By the way, this is brooke typing.

2011-02-13T20:42:00.000-08:00

I hope that you people read this blog, because I think that this blog rocks!!! If you don't then you will miss the awesomeness of this blog. :-)

Brooke's test blog

2011-02-13T19:51:00.000-08:00

i hope that this works!!! :)

A Very Busy Week...

2009-02-08T09:02:00.001-08:00

A quick week in review for those that wonder why sometimes the blog, emails, and phone calls are the last to be addressed.

Monday: Day: Work/ school. Evening: Brooke had Bball practice and Ashley participated in Day 1 of the Mini Cheer Camp at CV High School. Dinner, homework, showers, misc.

Tuesday: Day: Work/ school. Evening: Science projects and laundry!! Dinner, homework, showers, misc.

Wednesday: Day: Work/ school. Evening: Ashley participated in Day 2 of the Mini Cheer camp at CVHS while Dave and I hosted Care Group (6 couples + kids) in our home. Dinner, homework, showers, misc.

Thursday: Day: Appointments to take care of personal business (i.e. nails, cut & color, waxing). At 2:30, Brooke's 4th grade class hosted a "Wax Museum" where each of the kids in the class selected a famous individual to impersonate. In the past few weeks, they read books and studied the lives of these people. Today, they stood behind their desks were they displayed props relating to their character. Each desk had a red button to push that triggered the kids to begin their speech that highlighted their characters life.

Brooke portrayed the life and times of Abraham Lincoln.

Brooke as Abe Lincoln and Courtney as Annie Oakley.

Thursday evening we watched at the Future Cheerleaders of CVHS (Ashley and friends) performed at halftime during the varsity basketball game.

Friday: Work/ School. Evening: Shane picked up the girls for the weekend at the bus stop. Dave was out of town for the past 2 days and traveling home so I took advantage of the free time to enjoy dinner and drinks with some of the ladies from work at Rock City Grill. Before leaving the mall, I stopped by Banana Republic and picked up two pairs of slacks on clearance. One pair was $14.99 (originally $89) and the other for $30.99 (originally $110). I LOVE A GREAT DEAL!!

Saturday: We were at it early again for BBall games and cheerleading with games beginning at 9am.

The Glitters!

SLAM DUNK by "Air Brooke"

The girls went home with Shane so I took advantage of the free time to get a massage then came home and napped while Dave caught up on lost episodes of "Red Eye". Finally, I calculated and submitted our 2008 tax returns after balancing our budget.

Now, it is Sunday morning and time to close so I can get in the shower and get ready for church. Then it will be time to do laundry again, hit the grocery store then pick up the girls. I am sorry that it can be long between posts but as you can read, life with two daughters and two parents working full time can be hectic. We beg your grace.

Time to Relax...

2009-02-07T21:27:00.000-08:00

Last weekend The Wilson family invited us to enjoy some down time with them at Becky's parents condo in Pinehurst, Idaho located just West of the Silver Mountain Ski Resort. We joined them Saturday afternoon once the girls had completed their bball and cheerleading commitments. Saturday evening we enjoyed a great Italian dinner and had a fabulous time playing games. Sunday morning after breakfast we walked the girls to a sledding hill nearby. The photo to the left is Dave and Dax with "Tommy" the tomahawk. The girls enjoyed a snack before braving the sledding hill. Once everyone was done playing in the snow we returned to the condo and warmed up with some hot chocolate. Finally, we hung out until Superbowl time where we witness the heartbreak loss of the Cards to the Steelers. By the time we got home it was time to shower and get the girls tucked into bed in order to start our busy week of school (and work). The time away as a family was definately worth the stress of coming home to full laundry hampers and an empty fridge.

Brooke, Courtney, Ashley & Ashlyn gearing up for the sledding hill.

Brooke and Courtney take on the hill

Ashley & Ashlyn get a good run.

More More More More... Upward Cheer

2009-02-05T07:29:00.001-08:00

Here are a couple of quick pic's that I took of the girls on picture day.

Below is a video from halftime at the third game. This week "The Glitters" participated in a Mini Cheer Camp hosted by the CV High School Cheerleaders where they learned new cheers, jumps, and rally techniques. They will cheer tonight at the high school bakset ball game.

She shoots... She SCORES!

2009-01-17T20:37:00.000-08:00

The girls run through a fog tunnel and their names are announced as they enter the gymnasium.

The referee huddles both teams up to review the rules and lead a prayer for the girls before tip off.

This is Brooke's first basket scored of many this game. In all, she made 8 baskets scoring 16 of the 24 points earned by her team. Talk about an MVP, that is 66%.

Brooke had a great time playing against her friend and neighbor Kyra.

Here is one of the highlights of the game. For a complete recap of the game, reply this clip 8 times. We are so proud of Brooke's performance today and look forward to watching her continue to shine on the court.

Tick Tick Tick... BOOM... Dynamite!

2009-01-17T20:31:00.000-08:00

Ashley was excited to cheer for the team that one of her best friends from school plays on.

I am will be posting the halftime cheer performed by Ashley's team, The Glitters, each week so you can witness the progression of their performances. Ashley loves the attention that she and all of the other girls receive from the crowd.

Upward Basketball

2009-01-12T21:20:00.001-08:00

Brooke prepared herself to take her first shot of the season. Unfortunately, she didn't make her first basket attempt however she has definitely learned the fundamentals and is working to improve her game.

Brooke dribbled the ball down the court with grace and speed.

Brooke and her teammates did an awesome job in their first game of the season. They played great defense and never gave up.

In the end, her team the Boilermakers were defeated but they are all looking forward with anticipation to taking on their rivals next Saturday.

Upward Cheerleading

2009-01-12T20:59:00.000-08:00

Ashley put her best effort in getting the crowd pumped up.

Ashley LOVES the other girls on her cheer squad.

At times the girls struggled a little with what was expected of them during the game. They only met for practice three times prior to the first game and had a three week break between practice and their first game due to the holidays and a cancelled practice. In all, they did a great job and all of the spectators enjoyed watching them perform during the game and halftime show.

Making lemonade out of lemons

2009-01-06T22:39:00.000-08:00

As much as I would like to title this post "The Last Hurrah", the girls had yet ANOTHER snow day today and school is cancelled AGAIN tomorrow. The snowfall has finally ceased however immediately following came the rain and warmer temperatures (36-40 degrees) with threats of flooding as the mounds of snow begin to melt. With that, many of the older flat roofed buildings in the area have had leaking issues and over 40 collapses have occurred in the Spokane area. As a precaution, most of the area school districts are choosing to remain closed at the advise of structural engineers until roofs can be cleared of snow that has become quite dense with the rainfall. There have not been any clues at to when the schools will resume but I can certify that my kids are ready to go back. They have been out of school since December 17th and have had their fill of sister together time.

Here is a video taken from our back deck of the girls sledding down the hill just behind our house. If you really listen you can hear Ashley screaming "I don't wanna" but Brooke persisted until the inevitable wipeout. They both got up with big smiles on their faces and marched right back up the hill for more fun.

Zeus joined in the fun as he chased Brooke down the hill for this run.

Finally, this video is of one of the neighbors helping us clear the driveway from the most recent snow storm. You'll notice that in some places the piles are taller than bobcat itself. We are very thankful for the help we received from many of our neighbors in the past few weeks as we dug our way out of the snow. Let's hope that this is it for a little while otherwise I will have to begin homeschooling the girls. Yikes!

5, 4, 3, 2, 1....HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2009-01-01T09:05:00.000-08:00

We celebrated New Years Eve with friends at a Hawaiian Luau themed dinner party hosted by Dax and Becky Wilson. We enjoyed an awesome meal paired with Mai Tai's mixed to perfection.

Dax and Becky headed up the game committe by teaching the us the finer points of "Would you Rather..."

Paul and Heather took the challenges seriously since Dave had invited them to "bring it" to game night.

I would have posted the photo of Tami and Jared earning thier points by sipping water from a saucer just as a cat would drink its milk for 60 seconds however some of the kindergarten parents at Sunrise Elementary may question CVSDs choice in educators. So here is the happy couple watching Dave complete our challenge to break dance for 60 seconds. Since I was "participating" in that one, I don't have a photo. I am pretty sure however that it will only be a matter of time before a video is posted on someones blog or Facebook page.

Finally, we rung in the New Year wacthing the ball drop in Time Square along with Dick Clark.

Mele Kalikimaka

2009-01-01T08:46:00.000-08:00

The girls all took turns dressing in grass skirts and coconut tops and the boys in Hawaiian printed tops.

Dax and Dave took this cute pic with thier little Hawaiian sweeties.

Apparently Ashleys interpretation of Hawaii includes cheerleaders.

Courtney and Brooke were decked out in true Hawaiian fashion.

We all had a great time celebrating with friends. Hears to many more memories to come in 2009. Cheers!

Rockin' around the Christmas tree

2008-12-29T20:54:00.001-08:00

Instead of showing you the photos of all of us in our PJs opening gifts on Christmas morning (yawn :>O), we are posting some pictures of the family partying like rock stars on Christmas with The Bradstreets.

We are so thankful for the friendship that has blossomed between the Bradstreets family and ours in the past year. Dave initially met Erik while working in the cardiovascular division of Medtronic then his family adopted us after we moved to Spokane. We have spent the past 2 Thanksgivings and countless occasions breaking bread with this family. They also introduced us to our church home, Valley Real Life, in which Dave and I were baptised in a few weeks ago. When I asked Jennie, Erik's wife, if she was sure that we wouldn't be intruding on family time by crashing their holiday meals she was relieved to say that having us there helps to buffer the extended family stress that comes with holiday get together (hopefully her family doesn't read this post of the blog). But seriously, we are truly thankful for the love and support they have provided to our family over the past year, we have been truly blessed by their friendship.

And the winner is... Ashley and Grammy Love

2008-12-26T08:30:00.000-08:00

It was a close race until the very end but ultimately Team #1, Ashley and Grammy Love, are taking the title of "Best in Show".

2nd runner up is... Brooke & Papa Love

2008-12-26T08:25:00.001-08:00

Brooke and Papa Love decorated this unique tree to win the prize for Second runner up in the gingerbread decorating contest. Brookes comment on the polling results was " they cheated by using Halloween candy".

Every Vote Counts!

2008-12-24T09:06:00.001-08:00

The countdown is on to the closing of the poll for which tree deserves the "Best In Show" award. At this point, the vote is tied (thanks to G'ma Hill's multiple votes). We are hoping for a clear winner in the contest. The girls are anxiously awaiting the results so please take a minute to vote using the polling icon to the right of this post. We will announce the winner and 2nd runner up tomorrow.

Date Night

2008-12-20T18:33:00.001-08:00

Dave and I had a fantastic "Date Night" last night. We attended the Inland Cardiology Employee Christmas Party held at the historic Davenport Hotel downtown and enjoyed an exquisite dinner and some laughs with my co-workers before spending the remainder of the evening in our room. It was a great opportunity for us to reconnect without the distractions of home even if only for one night. After sleeping in, we savored a scrumptious brunch before returning home to face the long list of holiday "to do's" still left undone; only 4 shopping days left until Christmas. Sigh!

I must say that personally this has been the most stressful holiday season that I can recall. Lately it feels as though we have lost touch with the true reason for the season with the constant hustle and bustle of shopping and shipping gifts when it really is about counting your blessings. I lost my cool with my Mom on the phone today after standing in line at the post office for 45 minutes the second time this week to ship packages to family. My frustration was exacerbated by the fact that in some cases it cost more to ship the gifts than to purchase them. I know what your thinking... I should just send gift cards. I have got to say am not a big fan of gift cards. I have always made a special effort to purchase thoughtful gifts for those in my family however the warm fuzzies are lost when I am not with them to watch as they open the gifts and unable appreciate their expressions as they see what I selected for them. I am sorry to my Mom for her being at the receiving end of my bah humbug attitude, but something has got to give. I am logging off now to go snuggle with the girls and Dave as we watch The Polar Express, a holiday tradition started a few years ago. Hopefully, when I wake in the morning I will have a new outlook on this holiday season, otherwise I will be lovingly referred to as The Grinch!

It's like a gift that keep on giving!

2008-12-19T11:16:00.000-08:00

Today God has blessed us with another Snow Day. We have had record breaking snowfall over the past 2 days in Spokane and the surrounding areas. It has finally stopped snowing to allow all of the residents to begin shoveling thier way to the roads that still remain to be adequately plowed. I got word that my office was closed today so I am home as well. The girls, Zeus, and I ventured down the road for a little sledding action but ended up waist deep in some parts so we turned around and took a few runs down the main road.

Soon the girls will be headed to Shane's for the night so that Dave and I can enjoy a night out. My office is holding its holiday party (Yes, the office is closed but the party is still on, PRIORITIES??) at the Davenport Hotel downtown so we took the liberty of reserving a room in the historic tower to make an entire night of it. You can check out the hotel at the link below and I will post some pictures when we get home tomorrow. www.thedavenporthotel.com

Snow Day!!

2008-12-18T18:30:00.001-08:00

Christmas break was supposed to start next Monday but it appears that Santa delivered an early Christmas gift to all of the schoolchildren. Today was the first official "Snow Day " of the season. We got word this morning that school was closed so the girls got dressed in all of their layers of cold weather wear to brave the cold temperatures. All of the photos above were taken in our front yard that has been transformed into a sled run following the ~23 inches of snow we received in the last 24 hours.

Goodbye Grammy & Papa Love

2008-12-08T18:10:00.000-08:00

We just had a great weekend with Dave's parents, Charlie and Phyllis. They were here from Thursday evening until this morning visiting from the Oregon Coast. The girls had a great time visiting, and getting spoiled, by Grammy and Papa Love. It is unfortunate that both of our families live so far away but we all love to spend moments together as time and schedules permit.

Happy Birthday Dad!

2008-12-07T07:36:00.000-08:00

Wishing you a very happy birthday from Washington! We love you "Old Man"!

Upward

2008-12-06T22:42:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of pictures taken by Grammy Love of the girls in their new uniforms. Ashley is going to cheer on "The Glitters" cheer squad and Brooke will be playing basketball for "The Boilermakers" team in the Upward organization. They both started practice last week and are really looking forward to their games beginning in January.

Dave's parents, aka "Grammy and Papa Love" are here for a long weekend to visit and celebrate an early Christmas with us. Today we all took a drive in the country on some back roads to Couer D' Alene, Idaho. We have really enjoyed the time together and are looking forward to attending church tomorrow. I will post more photos of their visit later.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

2008-11-24T16:39:00.001-08:00

As a reward for thier good grades, I took the girls to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for some "dirt & worm" covered carmel apples and chocolate mints. Mmm!

Early Release = Playtime

2008-11-21T16:08:00.001-08:00

The girls have had early release from school for the past 3 days due to parent/ teacher conferences so I took the afternoon off of work to hang out with them. We walked to the Basketball court down the road so the girls could shoot some hoops while I tossed the rope toy for Zeus to fetch. We are looking forward to a low key weekend of family time.

Speaking of conferences, We met with the girls teachers yesterday to discuss their progress with the curriculum this year. Both of the girls received outstanding reviews and are considered a treat to have in their respective classrooms. They both received 4's & 3's (A's and B's) on their progress reports in all subjects. We are so proud of the girls that they are maturing into.

As a reward for their good grades, we are planning a trip to Polka Dot Pottery tomorrow to select a ceramic object of their choice to paint then stop off at the new Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory that opened down the road for some sweet treats.

High School Musical 3

2008-11-09T21:02:00.000-08:00

While Dave was in Chicago this week, the girls and I took advantage of the time together for a GNO. Friday night we went to dinner at Aztec then enjoyed High School Musical 3 on the big screen along with hundreds of other tweenage girls. It was a great movie so when I saw may girlfriend Jamie's blog tonight I found my way to this site that allows you to embed personal photos into a variety of scenes. The girls thought that it was awesome!! Enjoy.

Brooke & Troy

2008-11-09T21:01:00.001-08:00

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Ashley & Troy

2008-11-09T21:00:00.001-08:00

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE!

2008-11-06T14:45:00.000-08:00

The girls and I just wanted to wish Dave a very Happy Birthday. Unfortunately Dave is spending the day at a National Clinical Specialist meeting in Chicago with ~500 colleagues. We did however get the opportunity to celebrate before he left with some gifts and chocolate cake. Too bad he had to leave the leftover cake here, I am afraid there will not be any left for him when he returns :)

Mmm...chocolate cake :)

2008-11-06T14:43:00.000-08:00

A Day in Green Bluff

2008-10-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we spent the afternoon touring farms North of Spokane in a community called Green Bluff. Every summer and fall this collection of farms opens their door to invite others to enjoy the crops that they have grown during the season (primarily apples and pumpkins). After church, we enjoyed lunch with The Bradstreet Family before venturing up to Green Bluff. Apparently all of Spokane decided that it would be a good weekend to do the same because it was packed! First we stopped at Siemers to let the kids wander through the corn maze then we ended up at Hansens. While there, we meandered through the apple orchard searching for the scary faces that they hide in the trees. We took the opportunity to have some pictures taken since the Bradstreet's were with us. Here are a few.

You've been BOO'd!!

2008-10-15T19:21:00.000-07:00

The girls and I just got back from "BOOing". Our friend Carrie started the tradition last year so we decided to get it going again tonight. We created 3 baskets of Halloween goodies, delivered them to the doorstep of our unsuspecting neighbors, rang the doorbell, and RAN! Inside the basket along with the treats is the following note:

"This sweet surprise is called a "boo"!

You'll never know exactly who

brought treats and then ran off unseen

to brighten up your Halloween!

It's twice the good luck if you go

and "boo" two other folks you know!

Pack up a ghost sign,

treats, and gifts,

and add a poem just like this.

Pick out a house

and sneak up close.

(Make sure its windows have no ghost

that tells you clearly

"We've been Boo'd!"

It's best to visit someplace new.)

Knock fast on someones door- then run!

Make sure you're never seen! It's fun!

And once they get your gifts and food...

they'll know for sure that

they've been boo'd!

The girls had a great time and thought it was hilarious to watch the kids that answered the door of the homes that we "boo'd" run out and look for who may have left the gift. I think that we were able to remain unseen since the girls were in costume (hopefully they don't read this blog). Now the girls are planning a strategy on how to answer the door whenever our bell rings to get there in time to see who will "boo" us.

Happy Birthday Mom!!

2008-10-15T08:13:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to send a quick Happy Birthday to my mom who turns 29 again today. This is a picture of my parents and their grandkids while we were in Crown King this past summer.

The girls have been visiting Shane and his Mom while she was in town this past two weeks helping him move into his place in Post Falls. Shane decided to move closer to us so we can see the girls on a more regular basis. No more meeting in Ritzville for us, Yipee!!

We are planning on going to Green Bluff this weekend to pick up some pumpkins, apples, and maybe get lost in the corn maze. I promise to take some new photos of all of us to update the blog with.

Road Trip

2008-10-05T19:55:00.000-07:00

Dave and I had a nice weekend spending some time reconnecting while the girls visited with Shane. Yesterday we enjoyed an annual "Hootenanny" with The Grabowski Family then met with some former collegues from Sacred Heart for an dinner party. This morning we caught up on sleep and then took Zeus for a drive in the country. We ended up at one of the marina's on Lake Coere D' Alene where Zeus enjoyed a swim in the lake. We had a great day except for the fact that now my car smells of wet dog. I have the windows, sunroof, and back hatch open and have febreezed all of the nooks and crannies. Hopefully it will be fresh when I get in to go to work in the morning.

Family Time

2008-10-02T11:04:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures I took last night after dinner and showers of Dave and the girls as everyone was winding down for the evening. Ashley took some time to catch up on the latest scoop on her favorite Pop Star, Miley Cyrus AKA Hannah Montana. I know that People Magazine is not the most literary choice for 2nd grade reading but at this age, words are words and I am happy to see her taking an interest. Dave took a minute to braid Brooke's hair. They had a contest to see which of the two had better braiding skills. The first prize went to Brooke but Dave received and Honorable Mention for his efforts.

Oh so BUSY!

2008-09-23T20:32:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to quickly upload a couple of pictures of us girls at the request of Grammy Love. The first is one that Brooke took of me on my first day at my new job. The girls thought it was fun to reverse roles since I took pictures of them on their first day of school a couple of weeks ago. The other two photos are one that we snapped before heading to church last Sunday morning while we waited for Dave to get ready. Sorry I do not have any recent ones of him to add, he still has not downloaded his Glacier pic's to our home computer. I'll try to post a few when he gets some time to collect his memory sticks. I will write more next week, I am working all week at ICA then work my last 2 night shifts at Sacred Heart this weekend.

Goodbye to Shift Work

2008-09-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

Well... It's official, I am saying goodbye to shift work. I have been in the interview & salary negotiation process for the last few weeks and received an offer yesterday. I am the newest face of the Research Department at Inland Cardiology. As a research nurse, I will be responsible for finding appropriate drug and medical device studies, enrolling, and following patients through the various study protocols for the cardiologists in our group. This job will require a little wining & dining, occasional destination travel as studies are launched, and "real" work clothes. Adios to my less than figure flattering scrubs, calling doctors in the middle of the night, and the mystery meat in the hospital cafeteria at 2am. I am planning to remain as supplemental staff in the CICU at Sacred Heart since I have been in the Providence Healthcare system since 1999 however somehow I find it hard to conceive the thought of going back to shift work, even if for one night. I know that every job presents challenges and politics but I am choosing to look at the future through rose colored glasses and embrace the forthcoming changes. I am signing off for now to head to out shopping to rescucitate my wardrobe and create my new professional look.

1st Day of School

2008-09-04T09:07:00.001-07:00

We finally arrived at the 1st day of school after this busy summer. The girls were very excited to get dressed in their new clothes and head off to Sunrise Elementary for another year. Ashley is beginning 2nd grade with Mrs. Barnes as her teacher and Brooke in 4th grade with Mr. Kennedy. I will miss having them around during the day but am looking forward to getting back to a routine. You know me and my schedules :)

Dave continues to excel in the Neuro division at Medtronic, he recently enjoyed a little down time with a couple of his friends at Glacier National Park. They had a few close encounters with some moose but thankfully everyone escaped unscathed. As for me, I have a new job prospect that I am looking forward to. I'll post more details as they become finalized. All in all it was a great summer that we will look back on with smiles.

Family Time on the Oregon Coast

2008-08-19T15:08:00.000-07:00

When the girls were not on the beach, we found some time to spend as a family just reconnecting before the girls head back to school. One of the girls favorite memories of our trips to the Oregon Coast is eating Tillamock ice cream from one of the local coffee & ice cream shops.

Hot Tubing with Grammy & Papa Love

2008-08-19T15:04:00.000-07:00

In addtion to running the Inn at Manzanita, Grammy and Papa Love also care for a vacation rental in Manzanita. They took the girls for an afternoon swim in the hot tub there. Is it any wonder that Grammy calls the girls her "Little Mermaids"?

A Day at the Beach

2008-08-19T14:54:00.000-07:00

After our brief trip to Seattle, we headed South to the Oregon Coast to visit Dave's parents. Within an hour of our arrival, the girls were on the beach with Papa Love (and covered with sand). These pictures were taken the following day when Grammy took the girls down to the beach for a little sea side fun.

Seattle Trip and Visit with Great G & G

2008-08-19T14:43:00.000-07:00

Almost two weeks ago, we took a family trip over to the Seattle area for Dave's 20yr high school reunion. We stayed in Bellevue and the girls had a great time pretending to be princesses on our balcony at the Hilton and swimming in the pool. While in town, we were able to visit with Dave's grandparents and Uncle Jim (Charlie's parents and brother). The girls enjoyed the attention as well as the "walking money" that they received from Great Grandpa and Great Uncle Jim. The girls and I took Great Grandma for a little girl time at The Velvet Goose for lunch. Unfortunately distance prevents us from visiting more often but it was great to see them all while we were in town.

Water World Safari

2008-08-01T13:06:00.001-07:00

Our final day in AZ was spent at Water World Safari with a large group of my family and friends. All of the kids had a great time in the wavepool, lazy river and various water slides. This was a great finale to our summer trip to AZ.

Crown King, Arizona

2008-08-01T12:50:00.001-07:00

We spent a few days at my parents "cabin" in Crown King. The girls and I enjoyed the change of scenery with all of the various types of cactus on the drive up. Once we arrived, my dad kept the kids busy teaching them blow-darts, fire starting, and quad riding. Kelsie and I took the girls on a quad ride that turned out to be a 12 mile excursion around Towers Mtn. We tried to get a nice picture of all of my parents grandkids but this goofy shot was pretty much as good as it gets for this group of kids.

Family Pool Party

2008-08-01T12:42:00.000-07:00

We had a great time visiting with family at my Aunt Kathy's house with an early birthday celebration for Ashley. One of the things that I miss the most about living in AZ is having so much family around for the kids gatherings.

Lake Pleasent

2008-08-01T12:21:00.000-07:00

One afternoon my brother, aka Uncle Troy, took us boating on Lake Pleasent. The girls had a great time taking turns with the boys being pulled on "Big Bertha". Once everyone was done tubing, we stopped to let the kids jump off some short cliffs at the lake. Between the lake and the heat, the kids all slept well that night.

Visiting Great G'ma Hill

2008-08-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

On our first full day in AZ, my dad and I took the kids to visit the girls Great Grandma Hill in Phoenix. The thing that the girls always remember about her is that she keeps a tin of Soft Batch chocolate chip cookies on her kitchen counter. Yum!

A Day in the Life

2008-07-16T17:52:00.001-07:00

Sorry it has been a while since our last post, we have been busy. The girls are back to Vacation Bible School this week and are having a blast with their old and new friends. When I arrived to pick them up, Brooke told me that she and her two friends accepted God into their hearts today. Brooke told me that she likes how she feels when she goes to church and acts better at when she comes home. What a revelation! Ashley has been a big fan of going to church since day one and blesses the family with prayers before dinner each night. I am so proud of both of my girls.

This afternoon Brooke went to a birthday party for her friend Courtney at Cat Tales (a feline zoological park north of town) . All of the girls from her class were so excited to reunite when I dropped her off. Ashley and I enjoyed some girl time at the mall by getting pedicures and doing some school shopping, all her idea I must add. I don't know where she gets the desire to be spoiled from! Weird huh? Anywho... things are good here and the girls and I are looking forward to our trip to AZ next week. Dave has been in and out of town this week for work but was able to take some time to do a little fishing in West Glacier while "working" in Kalispell today.

New Attitude

2008-07-09T12:22:00.001-07:00

When I logged on the check out the blog status this morning, it seemed a little dreary and depressing. The new beachy template puts me in a better mood not to mention the new tunes of sunshine and summertime. The girls are in the TriCities for the week with Shane so I am taking advantage of the quite time to take care of myself a little. My friend, Carrie, is joining me this evening for some drinks and some much needed girl time while Dave is gone on an overnighter in Missoula. I picked up a couple of chick flicks to cuddle up with on the couch tonight.

Here are a couple of upbeat photos of the family from last week:

The first is of the girls on a slip n' slide with the neighbor kids across the street. They played on that thing for hours.

The second is one of the girls and their friends at our Neighborhood Block Party, which was a huge success if I do say so myself. There were about 20 families in all that participated.

Next is one that is a rare moment that had to be caught on film. Yes that is Dave, my husband, doing manual labor. While I was in the midst of my IVF treatments and activity restrictions, he insisted on mowing the lawn for me. This picture alone is motivation enough to attempt another round of treatment :)

Finally, Brooke was on a kick on helping out around the house as well so she watered the perennials that I planted in our rock wall in the backyard.

I want to thank everyone for the prayers and well wishes throughout the past month of IVF. It has definitely been an unforgettable experience and has brought our family closer together. We have an appointment in early August to discuss what may have gone wrong, what we can change, and our options for trying again.

For now, I am just looking forward to spending some time visiting both or our families over the next month. In two weeks, the girls and I are headed to AZ to hang out with my family in Phoenix and visit what is left of Crown King. Then it's off to Seattle for Dave's 20 year High School Reunion. Finally, we will head down to the Oregon Coast to visit Loves Cottage on the beach in Manzanita. Before you know it we will be back to school shopping and setting alarm clocks to catch the bus.

Today's News

2008-07-06T16:38:00.000-07:00

Greetings everyone... Well, let me first deliver the news that neither of the embryos took and we weren't fortunate enough to have Tracy get pregnant this time around. I guess we are both in a state of trying to figure out what to do next and will be setting an appointment with Dr. Robins this week to discuss options.

I can say that it is taxing at best for me, and definitely stressful with Tracy because it's her body that had to go through all the variable hormonal changes, physical changes, and not to mention a few instances of painful cramps when her ovary would spontaneously twist. Not fun.

So that said... We did have a chance to meet some new neighbors at a block party this week who also went through IVF with Dr. Robins. They explained how their first go-round failed after implanting two embryos, but succeeded the second time after implanting four - and they ended up with twins. This is uplifting to say the least and I am sure will play some role in our next decision.

As I begin to dwell on issues of "fairness" and letting a degree of negativity speak, its frustrating seeing others having children so easily or without trying - or some who just shouldn't have children at all, I have to take a deep breath. I have a faith in our God that He gives people like us this opportunity to move forward and try again and will deliver His plan as he always does. We believe this wholeheartedly and it gives us strength.

So give a few days for us to be prepared to talk but please email or leave comments for us to read, as we do like sharing this part of our lives with our friends and family.

Talk soon.

Summer Fun

2008-07-01T22:07:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post a couple of pictures I took of the girls swimming this afternoon. The girls and I joined our friends, The Bradstreets, for a day at the pool. It has been pretty warm for us here in the high country. Daily high temps are in the 90's, lows in the upper 60's. The girls have been enjoying hanging out with friends this week. We are looking forward to a neighborhood block party co-hosted by yours truly on Thursday evening. I am happy to have something to keep my mind off of the thought of a little person (or people) growing in my belly. I will have my first pregnancy test on Sunday, keep your fingers and toes crossed that it's postitive. That's it for now, I am ready to settle into bed and read a few chapters of my latest book. Toodles :)

The Embryos

2008-06-28T16:24:00.001-07:00

Greetings everyone - may I have your attention? I'd like to introduce you to our two embryos, E1 & E2!
So Tracy and I got a phone call from 'The Center' this morning at 0800 and were told to meet at the office at 0930 to transfer two embryos! Needless to say, we were excited and got everyone ready, including Brooke and Ashley, for the trip to the doctor's office.
Upon arrival, the kiddos sat in the lobby and watched "That's So Raven" while Tracy and I proceeded to a room with one of their nurses. Dr. Robins came in a short time later with a smile on his face and said, "We have two very nice embryos to implant in you this morning!"
He went on to say that considering the stage of the embryos, we have a 50% chance for each attaching, and frankly...I think that is great odds. We never really see much emotion out of the good doctor, but he was in a great mood so I feel good about that. :)
The procedure itself took 15-20 minutes where they load the embryos in a pipet of sorts and guided them into Tracy's fluffy uterus. This is where we hope they both make a home for the next 9 months, but we still have a long waiting game to see if they attach. The picture above shows the two they implanted, but understand it is magnified a fair amount since both are barely visible to the naked eye. Frankly, all science aside, this is clearly the work of God because chance alone cannot take something so small and fragile and create a wonderful human being.
So during this time, please continue with your prayers that we can grow our family by one or two and Tracy can endure a large baby(s) which my family tends to produce. We will continue to give updates as we can, but the next big step isn't for another eight days where they will conduct some blood tests to see if she is indeed pregnant...so let's stop here for now!
Thanks to all of you for your support! Please comment or leave any questions on the blog if you get the chance!

Ugh, what a morning!

2008-06-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

The morning began rather painfully. I woke at 5:30 to 10/10 abdominal pain. I tried to recall my Lamaze techniques to breath though the pain in hopes that it would pass but the ensuing nausea and profuse sweating was too much for me. I woke Dave and explained what I was feeling. Immediately, he called Dr. R. at home for guidance. We were instructed to meet him at the office asap. We called our friend, Jennie, to come sit with the girls. By the time we were ready to leave, the pain had subsided. I was relieved but embarrassed as we entered the office. Dr. R. did a quick exam and ultrasound and determined that one of my ovaries had likely twisted around itself causing the pain (apparently this is rather common after stimulation). The ultrasound showed that my ovaries are still quite large and there is a small collection of fluid in my uterus. He assured us that none of these anomalies require surgical intervention or interfere my egg transfer and encouraged me to just go home take it easy.
As far as the embryos go, 2 of the 5 stopped growing at 8 cells and will not likely evolve into anything implantable. The remaining 3 continue to grow but are "compact", hopefully they will continue to develop in time to be transferred tomorrow. Dr. R. sat us both down for a heart to heart and encouraged us that it is not over until we say it is and that he believes that there is still hope for a "love child" even if it doesn't happen this series. We left the office fairly discouraged. I felt quite sad that we may have gone through all of this without anything to show. Once we got home and I settled into the couch, Dave contacted the nurse at The Center for a little clarification. She stated that almost 70% of couples have to wait for a Day 6 transfer due to slower growing embryos. She reassured him that she would call first thing in the morning with an update and a game plan.
For now, I am just lounging around trying to keep all of my innards from kinking off and counting the minutes until we have an answer. Thank heaven for the marathon of Project Runway being aired on Bravo today. This waiting game is not my strong suit. We are just going to lay low this afternoon and keep our eye on the prize. I'll update again tomorrow.

Our "babies" are growing

2008-06-25T11:27:00.000-07:00

We got a call this morning that 4 of our 5 embryos have developed at the rate expected by Day 3. At this point, they have divided into 8 cells each (the 5th one is only 6 cells but may still catch up). The embryos will continue to grow in their cozy little incubator for a few more days and The Center will call us first thing Friday morning to either come in for transfer or wait until Saturday.

The girls have been busy this week with Vacation Bible School in the mornings. On Monday afternoon, we went rollerblading on the Centennial Trail by the Spokane River and yesterday I took the girls swimming at one of the local public swimming pools. I will try to take some pictures this afternoon and post them when I can. Now, I gotta run and pick up my big babies from VBS and find something to entertain them this afternoon.

IVF update

2008-06-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

This is the fortune that I recieved a few nights ago when Dave and I went to dinner. Hopefully it is a sign of things to come. I had my egg retrieval yesterday. The procedure went pretty well and I felt nothing as it was being performed. The discomfort began as I woke from the anesthesia but was relatively controlled with Tylenol w/codeine. Dr. Robbins was able to harvest 11 follicles. The embryologist decided that in order to increase our chances of fertilization, they would perform the ICSI (intra cytoplasmic sperm injection) method of fertilization. They called us this morning to report that of the 11 follicles retrieved, 6 of them were mature, and 5 of them have fertilized. They will call us again on Wednesday with an update on how they are growing. We are planning on implanting the most mature blastocysts on Friday or Saturday. I am down to one intramuscular injection of progesterone a day in addition to an oral steroid to decrease inflammation from the procedure and oral antibiotic to ward off potential infection.

The girls made it back from thier vacation yesterday evening and were very concerned about my "surgery". Ashley kept insisting on seeing my incision (the retiveal was a transvaginal approach). Yikes, I think it may be time for me to buy a book to help explain a little about the birds and bees as simply as possible. I am happy to share with them the basics about having a baby and I want it to be clear that it usually does not require this much intervention. They are at Vacation Bible School this morning, maybe they will get distracted and forget all about thier questions. Ha, fat chance! Wish me luck on explaining this one.

Summer Vacation

2008-06-21T20:55:00.001-07:00

I just got a few pictures from Grandma Sue of the girls on their trip in Nebraska & Colorado. The first two are of them with their cousins, Camden & Grayson. It looks like they also got to spend plenty of time in the pool and and the trampoline. The last picture is one of them in front of a Mexican restaurant in Denver that features a strolling mariachi band and indoor cliff divers. I am sure that they are having a great time. We look forward to them returning home tomorrow.

It's harvest time!

2008-06-20T12:05:00.000-07:00

I saw Dr. R. today and looks like my ovaries are about to blow. All off my follicles are measuring at 19-20mm so it is time to collect them for the next phase. We are moving up my egg retrieval from Monday to this Sunday morning. I am a bit nervous about anesthesia and long needles poking through my netherlands but I suppose that this is all part of what I signed up for. Once my girly follicles are retrieved, we will introduce them to their male counterparts in the "love dish". We are hoping for a large showing of participants from both sides to participate in the orgy. In this case, the more the merrier! In 3-5 days we will evaluate the maturity of the ones that manage to hook up and choose the most robust for the trip back into my uterus. We will likely put 2 back and hope that either one or both of them implant and result in a baby. Dave is quite excited at the prospect of being a "real" dad. Please keep us in your prayers on Sunday and send proliferative thoughts this way.

Its been a stimulating week :)

2008-06-18T08:18:00.001-07:00

Since the girls left for Nebraska, Dave and I have been busy stimulating my ovaries. Now, don't you go and think something kinky, trust me it couldn't be any futher from that. I have been doing 3 daily injections and we are finally seeing some results. I had an ultrasound and lab work on Sunday but Dr. Robbins was only able to see one ovary which only had 3 small follicles; the other one must have been hiding behind my bladder that he said was the size of Lake Coer D' Alene (note to self , don't drink the morning decaf latte until after the appointment.) Today, he was able to visualize both and thankfully, the previously hidden ovary had about 8 follicles. They measured in size at about 14-15mm(?). The goal is to get as many as possible to measure 19-20 before my ovaries burst (yes that is a potential complication), hense the frequent ultrasounds. So as it stands we have 10-12 follicles growing, however it is likely that there are a few more that we are unable to appreciate with the 2D ultrasound. So you may be thinking that 10-12 follicles are a lot. The statistics show the following sobering facts:

About 70% of eggs retrieved will be mature.
About 70% of the mature eggs will fertizile.
About 40% of the embryos will develop into blastocysts.

With that in mind, we are praying that the odds will be in our favor. For now, we will continue the stimulation phase and wait until our egg retrieval tentatively scheduled for next Monday.

Schools out for summer!

2008-06-14T09:26:00.001-07:00

Yippee! School is finally out for the summer. The girls couldn't be more excited. Yesterday, the girls were only at school long enough for the annual PTO pancake breakfast and to get autographs on their t-shirts from teachers and classmates. We celebrated the last day of school by getting some treats from DQ and hanging out with some girlfriends. Ashley took the opportunity to get a hug from "Red Robin" at our celebratory dinner. Now, the girls are off to Denver then Nebraska with Shane for a week to visit his family and enjoy some amusement parks. I'll post some pic's of their travels if they email me any (hint, hint.)

As for Dave and I, we are planning on catching up on some lost time together and celebrating our anniversary with dinner and a movie tonight. I am dying to see Sex And The City on the big screen (I think Dave is secretly looking forward to it too :) We got hooked when a friend loaned us all of the seasons on DVD a few years ago. So far, my IVF injections are going pretty well. I let the girls each give me one last night. The only side effects I am noticing so far are nausea and generalized aches like the flu. I have an ultrasound and blood work tomorrow morning to evaluate the efficacy of the hormones. I'll keep you posted as the week progresses on the status of my ovaries. Huh, I never thought anyone would be interested but by the looks of the hit counter, someone out there is reading my entries. Please take a second to sign up to leave comments. The girls and I usually check it every day to see how many people have logged on to see them.

The next chapter of our "LOVE" story

2008-06-12T09:42:00.001-07:00

Well... here we are. It has been 7 years to the day that Dave first asked me to an innocent cup of coffee and 4 years to the day we were married in Missoula. Today, we are beginning the stimulation phase of our IVF treatments to conceive the baby that we both have been praying for. We all are looking forward to sharing the joy that bringing a child into the world can bring. I started the morning at The Center at 7am to have some blood work drawn to evaluate my current hormone levels. Tonight, I will begin my twice a day injections of 2 hormones to stimulate my ovaries. After the labs were drawn, I zipped over to work for a quick skills review. Now, I am home and just sent the girls off to their last full day of school. Dave is off to Portland for the day & night to help out with some cases (Yes, we are spending our anniversary apart. Do you think this trend may have something to do with our inability to conceive naturally? Just a thought ;) Anyways, that is pretty much what is happening in our world these days. Thanks for the comments and emails, we appreciate your support through this continued journey.

Bathing Beauties

2008-06-09T20:25:00.000-07:00

It's another GNO since Dave went to Kalispell overnight for work. The girls scammed their way into taking bubble baths in our tub. I figured since their end of the year pool party got rained out it was the least I could do.

5 W's and H of IVF

2008-06-07T19:19:00.000-07:00

Who: Dave and I (duh!)

What: IVF aka In Vitro Fertilization; a procedure that involves the retrieval of eggs, collection of sperm, and then placing them together in a laboratory dish to fertilize outside of the body.

Where: The procedures will take place at The Center for Reproductive Endocrinology and Fertility in Spokane. The injections will be done by me on me wherever I happen to be at precisely 7am and 7pm on the days the doses are scheduled.

When: We have already begun the suppression phase of the protocol. The series will continue through the end of June and hopefully result in a pregnancy (or two) by early July.

Why: Basic junior high biology class taught us that in order for a pregnancy to occur, and egg and sperm must hook up. Let’s just say that any biological children of Dave will not be Olympic swimmers. TMI?

How: Okay, down to the nitty gritty. After a multitude of exams, ultrasounds, blood work, and specimen evaluations the protocol that our physician has prepared for us will be in 5 phases.

1. Suppression: The purpose of this phase is to quiet the ovaries and prepare them for stimulation. This is done by taking oral progesterone tablets daily.

2. Stimulation: The purpose of this phase is to stimulate multiple follicles to grow so that they are of optimum size for retrieval. (Follicles are sacs of fluid and typically each one hold and egg.) Stimulation is done by injecting two different hormones twice a day into my abdomen (Yes, that means 4 shots a day). During this phase I will have an ultrasound and blood work every other day to determine my hormone levels (to ensure medication dosages are adequate) and the size of the follicles in my ovaries. We will be starting this phase on June 12th (our 4th Anniversary).

3. Retrieval: Once the doctor determines that the majority of my follicles are of optimal size, I will take a high dose HCG injection and plan on retrieval 36 hours later. The egg retrieval procedure is an ultrasound guided needle aspiration of the follicles from the ovaries. The procedure is performed under anesthesia at The Center. This is tentatively scheduled for June 23rd. It is at this point that Dave gets to participate. On the day of my retrieval, he will supply a specimen of his swimmers. The sample is washed and spun down to separate the highly motile from the ones swimming in circles. Finally, the motile sperm cells are placed in embryo culture medium with the eggs so they can do their business. In the event there are not enough sperm with a sense of direction, the embryologist may perform the ICSI procedure. I’ll give more details later if we have to go that route.

4. Embryo transfer: After all of the mature eggs and sperm hook up they will incubate in a temperature controlled environment to (hopefully) grow into mature embryos. Once we determine how many of the embryos have matured, we will have some difficult decisions to make including how many to place in my uterus and what to do with any “leftovers”. The embryo transfer itself is a relatively minor procedure that occurs 3-5 days after retrieval (tentatively June 28th). Basically, the mature embryos that make the cut are strategically placed in my uterus via a flexible catheter. Then we wait. I will continue one of my twice daily injected hormones to help foster a hospitable environment in my uterus for the embryos.

5. Follow-up: One week after retrieval, I will have estrogen and progesterone levels drawn to double check drug dosages. Two weeks after retrieval I will have my first pregnancy test. If the result is positive, then… well it is positive. If the result is negative, we will double check it again in a few days, if still negative then we start again at square one. Hopefully we won’t have to think about that.

Well… that is it in a nutshell. There is not a lot else we can say other than prayers for strength, courage, and patience are appreciated. As you can imagine, it has been a long road to get to this point and will be even longer until we have a positive pregnancy test. Your posted comments will be greatly appreciated as we endure the nexy few weeks.

Blogging Mom

2008-06-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

Ashley thought that if wasn't fair that I was not in any of the pictures from last night so she took this one of me working on the blog so I didn't feel left out.

Family Fun Night- Global Road Trip

2008-06-06T08:47:00.001-07:00

We went to Family Fun Night at Sunrise Elementary last night for Brooke to present a project that she did on Germany for class. The first picture is of Brooke holding a Christmas pickle. In Germany, parents hide it on the Christmas tree and on Christmas morning the first child to find it recieves and extra gift. Ashley dressed up in a kimono that one of the other girls had on display. The girls met up with friends and filled their passports as they toured the world one table at a time. Dave and I just sat back and let them have a good time.

GNO

2008-06-04T22:20:00.001-07:00

The first picture is one that Ashley insisted I take while she pretended to be sleeping before the movie started. We watched 27 Dresses and the second photo was what Ashley looked like by the time the credits were rolling. The girls talked me into sleeping in my bed, I hope Dave refilled that Ambien prescription for me. The girls have late start at school tomorrow so they enjoyed getting to stay up a little later than usual, hopefully that means that they will sleep soundly.

Ha Ha Ha Ha Haaaa....Wipeout

2008-06-04T22:11:00.001-07:00

Our "girls night" started off with a little trauma. Brooke wiped out while riding her scooter down the street. She managed to skin both of her elbows, her knees, and tear her shirt. She was a pretty tough sport though, no tears. We came home and everyone got showered before settling in to watch a movie.

Ladies Night

2008-06-03T22:32:00.001-07:00

Tonight I went to dinner with some of the ladies from my bible study group. We just finished a video series by Beth Moore and are going on hiatus for the summer while the kids are out of school. We dined at the famed White House Grill aka House of Garlic in Post Falls, Idaho. The food and conversation was great but my garlic breath leaves a bit to be desired. They must use at least a few cloves per entree. Yowza! I am sure that tomorow it will be oozing from my pores at the gym, I'll try to stake out the treadmill all by itself to avoid knocking anyone over. Dave will be in Seattle tomorrow night for an early morning case on Thursday at UW so the girls and I plan to enjoy a "girls night". We often take advantage of our girl time by nail painting and chick flicks while he is out of town. I'll try to post some pic's tomorrow night.

Wrappin' up the weekend

2008-06-01T19:17:00.000-07:00

It has been a scattered weekend. Friday night we all stayed in and watched movies. Saturday the girls spent most of the day outside playing with friends while I attempted to move the sprinkler around the newly hydroseeded hillside behind our house. After nearly breaking my arm I decided my odds were better just to hope for rain. The girls went to a sleepover with thier friends, Courtney and Ashlyn and they both managed to stick it our overnight. Hurray! Dave and I took advantage of the night by going out to dinner and doing a little wardrobe shopping. He laughed when I commented that clothes are so much more comfortable when you just swallow your pride and buy the size that fits you. Yes, my thirties have caught up to me and I finally decided to quit shopping in the junior sections. Today we met up with the girls at church and then went out to lunch. We spent the afternoon going though our closet and getting rid of all of the clothes we have been saving for when we lose a few pounds. I figure if I get enough motivation to lose it, I will be entitled to a shopping trip. Here are a couple picutres of the girls chatting on the phone with G'ma & G'pa Hill. Now it is time to sort through the backpacks and get ready for the week. Once everyone is tucked in it will be time for me to get showered and ready for work at 11pm, Ugh!

A Grand Affair

2008-05-30T22:06:00.001-07:00

Here are just a few of the pictures that I took of Brooke at her Titanic Tea Party. All of the kids were dressed to the nines. Brooke said that this was a great day and one that can never happen again since this party only occurs when you are in 3rd grade. Brooke's teacher, Mrs. Hopkins was very impressed with all of the kids and their attentiveness throughout the entire lesson. Let's hope that they all stay as excited about school and learning as they have been this past year.

Pretty Girls

2008-05-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of each of the girls before they head off to school. Ashley's first grade class is going on a field trip to South Pines Elementary to meet the pen pal that she has been exchanging letters with throughout the year. They will also be going for a picnic lunch at the park with their pen pals.

Brooke is dressed in her best to attend the 3rd Grade Titanic Tea Party. They have been studying the story of the Titanic for social studies. Each student will portray a first class survivor from the ship and dress in period attire. Brooke is Lucy Noel Martha, Countess of Rothes. I will be attending this afternoon and serving the members of her table with fine china. I'll add some pictures of the festivities later.

Getting ready for a big day...

2008-05-29T23:11:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share a couple of pic's of the girls in their sponge curlers tonight. Both of them have and exciting day planned at school tomorrow and wanted to look extra special. I'll share more details and pictures tomorrow night.

Afterschool stroll...

2008-05-27T17:52:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures of the girls as we took

Zeus on a walk around the neighborhood this afternoon.

What is that noise?

2008-05-27T17:36:00.000-07:00

Last night as I was working on this blog and the girls were wrapping up their showers, we all noticed a loud, echoing sort of croaking noise. After a through search of the yard, the girls discovered a frog inside of this fountain by our garage. We spent a fair amount of time trying to "save" it from the inside but were unsuccessful. I asked the girls if we should name it and Brooke suggested that its name be Courtney (after her best friend), however Ashley insisted that it was a boy because she saw its "hangy" thing. We settled on the name Isaac (a boy that Brooke has a crush on). When we got up this morning to check on Isaac, he was nowhere to be found. Ashley determined that he must have jumped out and found his family in the middle of the night.

Why a family blog?

2008-05-26T17:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, here's the deal... I am finally breaking into the world of computer technology and want to use this blog to share all of the exciting things going on with our family here in Washington. Of course I would prefer a more personal form of communitation however disance separates us and the chaos of life prevents the phone calls (and birthday cards) that I just can't seem to keep up on. The girls are growing up so fast and with the hope of a new addition to the family, I want to be more in touch. So hear is my attempt to get with the 21st century. Enjoy!