The Children's Museum

Last week some time (it's all a blur right now)... we had a family outing! We decided to drive to Seattle and see their kids museum:)

Pay no attention to the dumpster outside the place---it was great:) There was so much to do--we were there for hours and it was a good price!! The girls loved it.

There was a nature section where there were fake rocks, trees, caves, etc. You could lift the rocks and see what might be living under them! The girls thought the lizards were cool! Dalaina was not so excited about the spiders:(

This tree was cool too. And they are looking down because you could see through the floor to the roots and see how they grew! It was educational:)

They got to wear bat costumes and pretend to be bats in a cave. (their hoods with the ears fell down) Faith scared a little boy--he asked her not to do that!!

Then there was rock climbing---it didn't last but a moment. They realized they were not strong enough or big enough for this one:(

Their favorite part was the art center!!!!! They were little artists:) They each had their own apron, easel, and paints---it was great. They would have painted all day if we didn't push them along to see the rest of the place. We used the good old, "we must take turns and share with the other kids who are here" bit and it worked!

In that same art center, there was a craft table, a building table, and a clay table. They enjoyed pounding the clay to a pulp!!! Even David joined in the fun:)

Love 'em

It's hard to believe that my darlings are soon going to be 3 and 5 years old!!! It just hurts to speak those ages:(

They are amazingly beautiful! They're so smart it's crazy! (Of course, we know nothing and are never right:) I thought that phase came later in life!?

They love God and are great at reciting their scripture verses:) They both know 6 verses!

They strive to do good deeds and show love just to fill up their LOVE poster! They cry if they don't get to do their chores:(

It is truley great to be a mom and have these 2 girls!

Our 2009 Family Portraits

Angela Sapach did our photos and they turned out great---considering it was about 40degrees outside and we were freezing!!

Wacky Friday

The weather here is rainy and gray alot:( So, that leaves plenty of time for indoor activities!! We decided to make a craft---wacky headbands---they turned out great:)

Faith's expressions make it all the better!

We are settled in here in the harbor and have resumed some regular activities (ie school, library, crafts, etc)

I just thought I'd share these pics with ya'll---for a change of scenery!!!

The Snow covered sign

This was the snow covered sigh to let you know you are entering Mt Rainier National Park!

more Rainier

The scenery was worth the troubles and cold. We saw waterfalls, icicles, stone bridges, and just tons of snow. Here, we parked and walked across the street to view this fall!

It was awesome to see and hear the rushing water:)

We were instructed by park services that this was not a good place to stand-for safety reasons. Therefore, we took the photos and hurried along:)

(Mind you, no one was in sight to help with the chain bit, but suddenly there he was!)

Faith was excited about the waterfall but quickly became frightened that she would fall over the edge! Therefore, Dalaina would not get up to see:(

However, they were both excited to get out and play in the snow...I even let Faith throw a snowball at the van-right at Gram's window!!! She thought that was the best thing in the world...her eyes really couldn't have gotten any bigger:)


Can you see how high the snow was? Crazy--and I drove higher up the mountain!

This is where I got a little freaked out! Before you cross over this bridge, there is a sign that warns you not to stop on the bridge--it was an avalanche area!!!! So, yeah, I was sure not to stop on the bridge--even though the scenery was breath taking:)

Again, the scenery was just amazing, the snow made it even better!

Oh, so we come upon another sign for a waterfall and pulled off. However, we couldn't locate it! So, my mom decides she is determined to find it! She climbed up this snow/ice pile to look over! I thought she was a gonner a few times because she slipped! She was excited once she made it up because she found the waterfall!!

There was an old stone bridge and the falls ran under and over the edge! It was quite loud!

The sights were worth the time and effort:)
We made it up about 6500feet and then the roads were snowed in. Most of the mountain is closed until May because of the snow. Maybe we'll make it back in the spring!

Mt Rainier

We had a day where we decided to sight see. We chose to take a trip to one of the nearby mountains. It was an hour and a half drive there:) When we left our house, it was raining!

...as we got closer, the rain turned to sleet, and then to snow!

This is what we saw as we drove---It was beautiful and the girls loved it:)

Um, so eventually-(after nearly sliding off the mountain), we decided to put the chains on the tires!!! Neither my mom or I had ever done the whole chain thing:) So, if you can, imagine ---it's snowing, windy and cold. 2 girls in the van and my mom and I outside the van with directions and metal chains!!!! It wasn't pretty; my mom fell, we were cold and wet, our knees hurt, and our fingers were numb. However, we did succeed!!!

Can you see our snow tracks?

GIG HARBOR, WA

OK, here are some photos of our place--they were taken on a gray day---I'll get some new ones soon:)
...the front

...the view from the living room

...the dining, kitchen, desk area

...the back yard

We found this place on craiglist, furnished and cheap!!!!

Portland, OR

It was night time as we drove through Portland, but it was a pretty sight. This was the final part of our long trip. We were 2hrs from our new place!!!!

We made it to Gig Harbor Feb 18th at about 930pm (PST)

It took 7 days, six nights, and many tanks of gas!!!!!!!!

However, we made it:)

We are renting a 3br, 2 bath home with a 2car garage. We have a view of the harbor out our living room window:)

more scenery