Lets start at the very beginning, a very good place to start

Was anyone singing after they read that title?? We like the Sound of Music. Anyways, lets get down to the nitty gritty (we like the movie Nacho Libre too)...

Below is a picture of Sean and I. A picture of us from college, young and in love. It cracks me up. First of all, we look like we're 10 years old. Secondly, Sean's hair. Thirdly, Sean's shirt (I won't mention my shirt, I'm pretty sure I snatched it from my roommate). If you look close at Sean's shirt you'll see it says Friday Harbor, and no, I didn't buy it for him. He had actually purchased the shirt himself when he visited Friday Harbor with his family while still in high school. Crazy huh?! I could have walked past him in town or he could have seen me while I was working at the little Mexican restaurant. It's a small world. It's just one of the many reasons why I knew we were meant for each other. Which brings me to...

...a very special day that has now come and gone.

Sean and I celebrated our 9th anniversary last month. Well, actually we didn't celebrate. I told Sean, "Lets just save the money we'd spend on going out to dinner and put it towards our trip to Hawaii for our 10th anniversary." He smiled. Okay, that's not the real reason we didn't celebrate. Although, I do feel it's a good enough reason and one I plan to follow up on. The real reason is because the Bateman family came for a visit. Sean's cousin Jeremy, his wife Kristy and their three children, Kaylee, Maya and their newly adopted son, Israel came all the way up from Hemet, California. It was such a treat to have them in our home town. We have a good time when we're together. I'm thankful they had the courage to come this far ;) (inside joke - Kaylee prayed, the night before they were going to leave, "dear Jesus, thank you for giving us the courage to come to Stella's house..." or something along those lines - so funny!).

The picture below is what our kids looked like the last time they came up to Friday Harbor.

Jonah, Stella, Kaylee and Maya

4 years and a couple more kids later...

Day 1 - A relaxing day at the pond.

They stayed in the water so long they had some major prune hands (which totally makes me think of the Saturday Night Live skit...anyone remember, anyone??)

Day 2 - A trip to Lime Kiln State Park a.k.a. the whale watching park.

We spotted some Orcas. There were probably around 40 to 50 of them. They were really far out at first.

Then this guy started coming in hot from the left.

It was pretty amazing seeing them up close in the wild.

Day 3 - A trip to Eagle Cove

After the beach we came back and had some dinner. For dessert we roasted some s'mores over our new fire pit that was literally built back on day 2.

Please excuse my daughter, she knows not what she wears.

Day 4 - Sunday

We went to church, more swimming in the pond and then ended the night with ice cream in town.

Please excuse my daughter, she knows not what she wears.

It was such a fun time. Come visit us again!

Eagle Cove, With A Touch of Morning Fog

These photos are from back in July when I took the kids to Eagle Cove and met up with some friends. It took awhile for the fog to burn off but the tide was way out which made for some fun beach combing. Stella is starting a collection of sea shells. She even paints them all different colors and they don't even need to be a full-intact-shell. Bits and pieces of shells make her happy. It's great, really. Really really great :) It was a fun day at the beach. I think Ava would be content to stay there all day if I let her.

I'm Still Around

Don't give up on me yet. We've been busy - staying outside by the pond or at the beach because it's scorching hot outside - or sweltering - as Stella said to me this afternoon. I've been taking a lot of pictures, I just haven't been spending much time on the blog (probably because I'm verrrrrryyyy.... ummmm...particular and I like my blog to look pretty, so I can't just- quick throw a blog together - it's a problem really, I have major problems...). So friends, I'll leave you with this picture of Ava and let you know...



...there's more where that came from.

My Little Monkey...

Jumping on the bed.









It's hard to believe that not too long ago my little monkey looked like this when she was "jumping" on the bed...

...sigh... If I could freeze time, I would. Ava's growing up just like the rest of them. This morning I went upstairs and she came to me hollering - MAMA (come to think of it, that's how she always says my name - a big, loud MAMA). I picked her up and she looked at me, scrunched up her nose, pointed to her bottom and said "poo poo." Sooooooo, I'm looking for someone who is well-trained, loves children (and poop-y underwear), and has the patience of Job, who will come and potty train my daughter when it's time. Anyone?? It's not my favorite job, but I'll breathe a sigh of relief because I got a few months yet.

Summer has been great so far. It's been busy- haven't been blogging much and that's OK. Last week was Vacation Bible School. Stella had a lot of fun. This weekend it's Mt. Constitution with some friends. More fun times ahead! I can't wait. I'll keep you "posted" ;)!

Summertime, and the livin's easy...

Tricia came for a visit back in June. My kids love her. Well, they love all their aunts and uncles, but it's a special treat when Aunt Tricia comes because they can weasel her into all sorts of fun and games. For the week she was here she was their Kung-fu master, tag-chaser, swing-pusher, and fairy-house-maker. We love for her to come and we hate for her to go. That's it, we need to find a way for her and Koby to move to Washington.

Happy 4th of July!

Stella, Ava and Jonah wearing their cute, red, white and blue outfits from Uncle Koby and Aunt Tricia.

The 4th of July wouldn't be complete without the annual 4th of July parade in Friday Harbor. Stella and Jonah waved to every float, person, or truck that passed by (secretly in hopes of some candy). It was a hot day and the parade was extra long because of the Friday Harbor Centennial Anniversary but, they loved it. Ava conked out the minute we got in the car which was surprising considering the amount of candy she consumed.

After the parade it was out to the pond for a bbq, a little swim, a little siesta... Kelli, Steve and their family came up the Thursday before the 4th and stayed for a long weekend. Have I mentioned I love my family? Well, I do. I wish we all lived next to each other. I miss them when their gone. Stella, Jonah and Ava had tons of fun playing with their big cousins.

This is my first attempt ever at taking pictures of fireworks, so you might need to cut me a little slack ;). Not having a tripod and having my shutter speed set to super slow...let's just say it was hard to keep still. They're fun though. I love how the ferry looks with the tree, and then with the reflection off the water...I think they look cool, especially since I didn't really see much of them because I had my eye glued to the camera.

Sunday, at Grandpa and Grandma's

Here is a picture of all the cousins. 7 of them have names that start with A, 6 of them call me Aunt Sara, 3 of them call me mom. I love them all.

Mother and daughters

I love summer.

Just because...

he's cute...

...and just because I kinda like him.