Blizzards 2012 Soccer

Josh just wrapped up a another great soccer season.  This is his second year as Blizzard, and playing with same great group of boys and coaches as last year.  We had amazing weather all of September, and into October so Josh was able to ride his bike (with friends or big brother) to practice twice a week.  It is so nice having the practice field just two blocks away!!



Josh really improved from last year, and was much more aggressive in play (I'm thinking lacrosse may have had something to do with that!!), he also was able to try a few different positions including goalie, but I think defender is still his favorite.


As the weather started to change in October our games were more chilly, and we went from wearing flip flops to scarves.  Our final game was met with rain, and a lot of it!! But the boys played hard, and enjoyed running through the mud puddles, and getting soaked.  Gotta love Washington!! Rain or shine we play!!

Congratulations Blizzards on another great season!!

Pumpkin Patch & Halloween

We were so lucky to have a visit from Gordon & Marcia during the middle of October.  The kiddos got to spend some great time with them playing board games, and dominos, I got to take them to a few fun Seattle spots, and as a family we enjoyed the pumpkin patch, and our Halloween carnival with them. 



The kiddos had a great time picking out the perfect pumpkin (or two!!) and the adults enjoyed the beautiful scenery, and brisk weather. 



A few days later we enjoyed our church carnival where the kiddos played games, and we got to visit with friends. 



Dave and I were garden gnomes (I had cute ric rac, and mushrooms on my skirt, but alas no pics) Josh was a minecraft creeper (not pictured), Caleb a skeleton, and Natalie was a butterfly.  These are the same wings I wore when I was her age (they're vintage).  I was so happy my Mom kept them all these years, and when I asked if she could send them to me, she quickly made this cute pink tulle skirt to include in the shipment. Thanks grandma!!



For Halloween, we visited Daddy's work first, and filled up on candy, and snacks.  We had to call it quits after an hour because Natalie's pumpkin was spilling over, and it was time to go home and trick or treat with neighbors and friends.  The kiddos had a great time walking the nearby neighborhoods with friends, and it was a fun night had by all.

Happy Birthday Little Miss - 5!!

I can't believe my baby girl is 5 years old. She is such a delight, and I love her big personality so much!! She is my little sidekick, and thankfully still loves to cuddle all the time. We are so blessed to have this little sunshine in our family, and wish her an amazing and great 5th year!! Happy Birthday Natalie!!

First Day 2012 - Daniel & Natalie

Daniel is now a 7th grader, yikes, where does the time go.  He is only 3 inches shorter than me, and 20 more lbs, and we'll weigh the same..eek.  He was excited to get back to school, and see all his friends, and get back into the routine.  I know this will be a great year for him.

Little miss is back at her beloved preschool for another year.  We tried pushing her forward into kindergarten even though her birthday is a week past the deadline.  The district said no, and I believe in my heart that really was the best decision.  She is super sassy with her hand on her hip all the time, and all pictures now include her favorite number 5.."cause that's my number now mom".

Summer in Instagram

So thought I would post some of my Instagram pics for family & friends that aren't using it (but really should!!) I've excluded pics from our 2 week vacay beach camping & bear lake, because those are coming soon in another post!!  So here ya go!!

4th of july fun!!

 

splash park

 

farmers market goodies



blue angels at seafair & hanging around




juanita beach



long beach for labor day weekend




jetty island for labor day

First Day 2012 - Josh & Caleb

Today school officially started in our district.  Because they like to do a staggered start, Daniel won't start till tomorrow, and Natalie will start preschool next week.

All four kids will be at four different schools this year..yikes!! Thank goodness for busses!!

Josh was accepted into an accelaerated program which is at another school in our district.  He will ride the bus each morning with Caleb, and then will take a shuttle to his new school.  We are excited that he will be challenged even more this year, and look forward to his progress in 4th grade.

Caleb will be starting 2nd grade, and is in a pioneer Montesorri program at his school.  We think this will be a perfect fit for him. 

Both are excited for this year, and what it holds, good luck boys!!

Antiqued Hutch & Buffet

As I mentioned in earlier post, I'm slowly filling our new home with treasures.  I really wanted a buffet and hutch, but when I surveyed the house I realized that we have gigantic windows covering every wall in the house.  The largest wall space I could find downstairs (unused by couches, tv's or the big farmhouse table) was only 48".  This really didn't give me much to work with, so I quickly surveyed building plans, and began tweaking them to fit my needed area. On a whim I pulled up my local craigslist, and started perusing through the offerings.  Most were way too big for my area, and then I found a little gem on Whidbey Island for a song.  As a family we had been dying to make a trip there and this was the perfect excuse (I'll post about our fun adventures soon!!)

After bringing home my new treasure, I removed all the hardware, and lightly sanded the entire piece. I then applied 3-4 coats of Behr Powdered Snow to the entire piece, sanding between each coat.  I then applied Ralph Lauren Tea-Stained Glaze to the entire piece to give it that antiqued look. I sealed it with Minwax Paste Wax.   I found the drawer pulls at Hobby Lobby, but no matching knobs. After trips to three different hardware stores, I finally found some rustic iron knobs that worked well with the pulls.

I just love how bright it is now, yet so vintage (which I adore)