Mom and Casey's Birthday

On Saturday, June 5th we celebrated Casey's birthday and went to Point Defiance Zoo. Kaiya was at her dad's house that day so she missed out. Amy and Emma was able to go with us, which was wonderful. It had been raining a bunch around here but we were lucky enough to have a nice warm sunny day. Ella got a sun burn on her head where her hair was parted. I need to remember that I have a pasty white child who needs lots of sun screen. We started with the Elephants (my favorite) and ended at the kids section in the Zoo where they can hand feed the goats.

On Sunday the family (including Gram and Brad) came over to our house for a feast to celebrate both Casey and my mom's birthdays. Casey's birthday was Saturday and my moms on Monday. My mom loves Cirdan's cooking so Cirdan loves cooking for my mom. Everyone pitched in food and we had a ton of delicious home cooked food.

BBQ Chicken (with the Imbler BBQ sauce)

Garlic shrimp, Jerk shrimp

Fish

Ribs

Crab Legs

Mac and Cheese (homemade by Stacey)

Potato Salad

Red potato's in white sauce with peas (homemade by Nathan)

Green Beans with caramelized onions and almonds

Rolls

Chips

Corn on the cob

Caesar Salad

Instead of cake, Stacey bought some big cupcakes from Costco. It was nice to having something different.

After dinner and cupcakes a block war got started. Everyone was throwing these rubbery blocks that we had and the kids had a blast. Greg came over later and even got in on the action.

Happy Birthday you two!!

Take Your Daughter to Work Day

I was looking through my pictures and realized I didn't blog about Take Your Daughter to Work Day.
Kaiya went with Cirdan this year and had a ton of fun! She loves to hear him on the phone and then copy what he does and pretend that she is talking to customers booking jobs. I put together a backpack with activities for her in case she got bored and also sent along a camera. These were the only pictures she took...

Bladi...

Mail slot...

Oh Boy! It's a Boy!!

We are all super excited to be getting a baby boy!!

Memorial Day

On Memorial Day we had a BBQ over at Nate and Amy's house. We were hoping for some nice weather but like almost always...it rained. Before we left for the BBQ Kaiya was sitting in the kitchen. All the sudden she screamed, "Mom!!!" I looked out back and saw a coyote in our backyard just standing there looking at our house. We all ran to the window and I grabbed my camera. He stood there looking at us for a minute and then turned around slowly and walked back up into the woods. This is the 2nd time we have seen one in our backyard during the day. We hear them at night but this is a little too close for comfort.
Also notice the tree that fell down in our yard...anyone need any firewood??

We ate hamburgers and hot dogs at Nate's house and had a bunch of yummy side dishes. It's always fun to get together. Seems like this time of year with all the birthday's...we have been seeing a lot of each other. For dessert my mom made homemade ice cream, Nate made a yummy dutch oven cherry and peach cobbler and I made the apple pie I have been craving for a couple of months.
My mom took the kids outside and the adults stayed inside to play the Wii.

Cirdan, Ella and I (Kaiya stayed at my parents house that night) stopped by the cemetery on the way home. On Memorial Day I always love to see all the flags and to think about the soldiers who gave their lives.

Kaiya's Field Trip

I was able to chaperon Kaiya's field trip a couple weeks ago. The 2nd graders went to Game Farm park in Auburn and went on a scavenger hunt. They each had a book and the chaperon had a disposable camera. Each page told them what to find...for example...
Find a plant with a skinny leaf
Find a bush with blooming flowers
Find a tree that will stay green all year
Once they found an item they would describe it in their Research book and I would take a picture of them next to the item. The teacher then printed off all the pictures and put them in their books. It was a really fun field trip to be apart of.
I had a couple boys in the group that I had to keep focused and by the end of the day I was ready for a nap.
This school year is almost over and I am really looking forward to having Kaiya home during the day!

Short video clips from Hawaii

Driving around Honolulu...

Cirdan jumping in the pool....

Cirdan and Greg Boogie Boarding...

Polynesian Cultural Center...