4th of July weekend

We went to Ocean Shores for the 4th of July. Kind of a anniversary/mini vacation for the family thing. It was a little chilly, but we expected as much.
James loves being in front of the camera almost as much as I do...

We hit the beach as soon as we got there. Bella giggled the whole time.

Kayden loved the beach. I think he would live there if he could. He played in the sand and water for hours, despite how cold it was.

I got to go for a horse back ride on the beach Friday evening. Kayden was so upset he couldn't come too. When we got back, he got to ride my horse around.

We went out to the beach (again) to watch the fireworks. Bella is upset that I didn't share that bite of Smores with her.

Kayden had fun roasting marshmellows.

This is the only photo we managed to get of the 4 of us together. It was dark, can you tell? We were worried how Bella would do with all the noise from the fireworks. I figured for sure I'd be sitting in the room with her all night. But, she surprised us all, and had a great time. Watching with wonder and jumping and laughing at all the fireworks. She was such a trooper! She even cut her first tooth during the trip!

Fun in the sun

We were all hanging out in the trampoline and Kayden thought it was sooo funny that my hair and Bella's hair was standing up (gotta love that static!)

Kayden getting another summer cut, a la James style. We told him we were going to give him a mohawk. He was less than thrilled...

Still not sure if he should believe us or not...I had to bribe him and tell him if he let me take one good picture of him smiling, I would have Daddy shave it off.

Now or never!

I still have so much to do to get ready for our trip to the beach tomorrow, but I know if I don't take a moment to post these pics from last weekend, they will be lost in the shuffle!

Kayden thought it was so funny to put his hat on Bella. He's working hard on making a funny face for the camera.

Bella is 6 months old

Bella had her 6 month old pictures taken this past weekend. Where does the time go? She's already mastered crawling and pulling up, so Jen had her work cut out for her. Here are some of my favorites. It was hard to choose, so I posted most of them!


This one is my favorite!

She kept trying to taste the boa, so it didn't last for long.

She had a hard time trying to crawl away with that tu-tu in the way!

Mud Mountain Dam

We went to Mud Mountain Dam this past weekend. We packed a big picnic, played at the playground and Kayden and James went for a hike while Bella and I hung out in the car for nap time. It was a little chilly, but what can you expect from spring here in the Pacific NW? We were just glad to get out of the house and do something fun as a family.

Bella was a big fan of the banana pudding I made. She could hardly wait for her turn!

Hamming around

I tried to get a picture of them sitting together. Bella wasn't as thrilled with the idea as Kayden was, but she hung in there for a couple shots.

I bought a little crate to put Bella's ever growing collection of toys in. True to form for most kids, she found she'd rather play in the toy bin than with the toys.

Grandma's visit

My mom came up for the weekend. Her sole purpose? To spoil the babies. We had a great time, though I wish she could have stayed longer.