Tithe...

There are a few things Claire has said recently that need to be documented before we forget...


The other day we were outside playing and Claire said, "It's winding." (aka, the wind is blowing).

Claire calls all tennis shoes "Un-didas." (instead of Adidas)


Merrick and the girls were sitting in church a few weeks ago and he gave each of them one dollar bill. He explained that they could keep the money, or give it back as a thank you to God. Claire was so thrilled and exclaimed "I'm gonna put my money in the gawbage!" (At our church tithes are collected in brown baskets that sort of look like garbage baskets). I think this is my favorite Claire story to date, and sadly I wan't there to witness. I did appreciate, however, that Merrick flagged me down in my Sunday school class so he could tell me right after it happened.

Mustache bash...

From April 28th:

The arrival of baby Lincoln gave us lots to celebrate and a mustache bash was quickly in the making. I can't tell you how much fun I had planning this party with Holly, Kim, Lacey and Marisa. What a team! 

The party was held on the penthouse floor of a swanky pearl district condo. It was a great space with a killer view. We opted for a brunch and served fruit, breakfast cups, baked french toast, VooDoo doughnuts, mimosas and, of course, Starbucks coffee! Mandy also made 60 turtles for us to pass out as party favors (or eat as we were setting up). The party itself was very laid back - a few little activities, but mostly just time to sit, eat, visit and pass the baby.

 

We set up a little "photo booth" in the corner and were able to capture almost all of the guests with Lincoln. 

 

 

 

 

 

Everything came together perfectly and the day was fantastic! I just hope Shannon had as much fun as we did. 

What a "niece" time...

From April 15:

A couple of weeks ago we had the pleasure of spending time with our two big nieces. We haven't gotten to do that for years, so we took advantage of the fact that the girls had different spring breaks and invited them down to stay. Mariah came first - the week before Easter - and then Maleah stayed the week after Easter. We crammed as much as we could into those two weeks and thoroughly wore ourselves out.

A few hightlights:

• Late nights and lazy mornings
• Taking Mariah to chop her hair off... it was super cute!
• Skate World (x 2!)
• Painting nails
• Eyeboming (I mean a campus visit) at GFU.
• Renting and watching many movies.
• A quick trip to the beach - including lunch at Mo's and ice cream in Tillamook!
• Dinner and doughnuts in Portland.
• Fun projects and crafts around the house.
• Celebrating Sophia's 5th birthday.
• Board games and card games.

 Hopefully the big girls had as much fun as we did. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bearded lady...

From April 24th:

Bubble beards never get old.

 

Sound sleeper...

We have told people before that Grace is a very sound sleeper. This is not the craziest thing we have done with to her while she slept, but she did ask for video proof of being upside down and sleeping, so we happily obliged. 

Eyebombing...

So there's this thing called "eyebombing." Perhaps you have heard about it. I wish I had invented it myself, because it is wonderful. Today we did a little eyebombing... though I'm a little embarrassed to admit where (in case my grandpa finds out). It was all in good fun, and I can assure you that these sticky eyes won't last these rain storms we've been having. I can also assure you that no important landmarks, signs or statues were harmed in the process.

Enjoy... we sure did!

Do you need one more hint about where we were... I did feel bad about putting eyes on Mr. Wheeler, so we promptly removed them (after the picture, of course).

Heart galore...

Another late post...

We spent the first half of Valentine's day celebrating with our friends. There was lots of playing, crafting, eating, snacking, decorating, and celebrating. It was fun that our friends could join us on such short notice. It wouldn't have been the same without them. 

New Year's Eve...

Yep, this post is three months late. Oops. Sometimes when events are epic it is sort of hard to blog about them. (Thus the reason I still have never blogged about my thirtieth birthday party). 

Anyway, as per tradition, we ushered in the new year with the E8. The Gibsons recently moved into a new home and offered to host us all. All together, we are a houseful, but boy was it fun. The kids played great, though we did have to tone down the nerf wars a few times. The "moms" spent most of the time in the kitchen - not because we were cooking, but because we were eating. The "dads" played games, told stories, and laughed until there were tears (Merrick literally fell out of his chair). 

All in all it was a great night. We are blessed to have such great friends, who have such great kids, and who we have so much fun with.