Spokane - Family Pictures!

Saturday morning we got ready and headed to Sue and Richard's house for breakfast. We had pancakes and Swedish pancakes. YUMMY! The kids played for a while until we had to leave to go get ready for family pictures. I also wanted to make sure that the kids got a nap so we didn't have cranky children that night.
Ella and Claire had a tea party.

That morning at breakfast Jett slipped and hit his eye on a chair. It instantly got red and I knew he would definitey have a mark for pictures. He's a boy...I guess it makes him look tough...right? When we were walking out the door Ava got a bloody nose. First and only one she had on this trip but of course the blood got on her clean white shirt she was wearing for pictures. I scrubbed that shirt like no other and the blood luckily came out. The shirt was pretty wet from all my scrubbing so I was rushing to dry it and had to hand it out the window on the way to pictures. Picture drama!

The kids all did really well. We managed to get a really cute family picture with all the Imblers/Niemi's. We are still waiting to see the others but I am sure they are also super cute. We took the pictures at Manito Park across from Richard and Sue's house. This time of year is perfect since the flower gardens are in bloom.

Some of the pictures I took while we wait for each family to get their individual family pictures.

This is my favorite picture of Cirdan and his dad. Definitely one that will go in a frame.

Andy...

This was so cute. The kids were playing tag and Ella just wanted to sit in the grass and pout. Joshua went over there and protected her from the kids. He was walking around her being her body guard.

Look at that good lookin' guy

Some one's dog got loose and ran over to our group. The owner came running after him but the kids were having fun with the dog so the owner stayed for a bit so that they could play. The dog and kids were all having fun.

Kaiya was mad at me. Can you tell?

Yep...here is another for a frame. :)

Spokane - Friday

Friday morning we went to do some last minute shopping for family pictures that were on Saturday. Afterwards we went over to Richard and Sue's house to hang out. Kim and the kids went to the pool and met up with us later that evening.
Claire and Jett. The girls loved helping and playing with Jett.

While we were leaving Kim found a cockroach in the garage. That sucker was huge!!! Cirdan took care of it. Luckily it was on its back and couldn't go anywhere.

Grandpa took Kaiya, Ava and Ella to the park. They played on the toys, took a long walk and played in the sprinklers. The girls came back soaked! They all had a blast!

Cirdan and I also took a walk over and let Jett play at the little play area for a while.

Since the girls were all wet they had to sit outside in the sun to dry off...which didn't take too long. Grandpa made them toasted cheese sandwiches to eat while they were drying.

Then they all laid down to watch a movie.

Later that night, Sue got home with Emily who also came into town. Kim and the girls came over and we all ate dinner.

Kaiya had Ava and Cirdan do a soccer competition. But this just wasn't any soccer competition. They were tested on technique AND facials. The winner was....

Cirdan! I love this picture...it makes me laugh.

Richard on the grill

Ella loved hanging out (following) Amelia. She called her Melia or Meli. It was so cute!

What happens when a bunch of little girls get together? Makeovers!! Kaiya did their makeup and Ava did their hair.

The lovely ladies with their makeovers

The Drive to Spokane

Ava arrived on Wednesday and on Thursday we left for Spokane. She had only met Sue and Richard so this would be a perfect opportunity to meet the rest of the family and spend some time with them. We had her a week so we played it by ear and were going to head back to Seattle on Monday or Tuesday. The kids had so much fun together that we ended up staying until Tuesday.
Cirdan and I were a little scared about the drive with 4 kids. The last long car ride we took as a family was coming home from Oregon which took 8 hours. Adding another kid to the mix frightened us but the kids were absolutely wonderful and the drive was fun! We usually stop in Moses Lake but someone had to use the restroom and couldn't wait, so we stopped at a rest stop. It turned out the best idea of the day. The kids had a blast running through the sprinklers and got to cool off in the hot summer day. They got some energy out and was ready to tackle the remainder of the trip in the car.

Cirdan and I were laughing about the amount of times I have taken a picture like this of Cirdan while we are driving on a family vacation. We thought it would be a good idea to put all of them together and see how hes aged through the years. Maybe one day when I don't have anything to do. HA, like that will ever happen....

The kids always like looking for the windmills so it was a fun photo opportunity to take a picture with them.

When we got into Spokane we went to Sue and Richards. They now have renters downstairs in their basement and are finishing their upstairs attic. So, for this visit we stayed at Kim and Charlies. We stopped at their house so that we could see them and they also had some yummy dinner. It was nice visiting with them again. By the time we left and headed to the Niemi residence it was getting late. When we pulled up in the driveway we were greeted by some very excited little girls. They were all up waiting anxiously for our arrival. They girls all rushed upstairs and started playing immediately. It was so cute to see all them. Poor Jett was the only boy.

The kids all had a big sleepover in the playroom and stayed up really late. Some were still awake even after all the adults were asleep. It was fun for all!

Cake Pops

Cake pops = my nemesis
Last year for Kaiya's birthday I bought some ice cream cone cake pops for Kaiya's birthday party to give out as party favors. I paid around $60 for them. They were super cute and it was something that I didn't have to worry about but in the back of my mind I wanted to try and make them myself.
While we were driving back from Oregon after Memorial weekend we stopped at the outlet mall and I came across a cake pop maker like one that I saw in an ad a few months prior. I had to buy it. As soon as I got home I tried and made my first cake pop. It worked! It was delicious and cute! They were a big hit.
I saved one of Kaiya's ice cream cone cake pops in the fridge so that I could reference it when I tried to make one myself. They turned out great!!! I was so proud of myself. This has become a fun hobby!

Early Presents are Great!

Cirdan got me an early Anniversary gift! I really wanted a Cricut, it went on a good sale so I gave him enough hints that he went and got me one. :) I haven't had a chance to use it yet since we have been so busy and out of town but I am anxiously waiting to create some cool stuff. He also got me paper, a couple cartridges and stuff to use when I make cake pops. What a great guy I have!!

Butter Lover

This girl defiantly has her own personality. She amazes me and makes me laugh everyday!!