End of summer-ish fun

We have been trying our hardest to enjoy the beautiful weather and can hardly believe that it is almost over! Although we hate to see the sunshine go, it is an exciting time for our family as we anxiously await news of more interviews and hopefully on December 1st we receive an acceptance letter! But until then, we hope to enjoy the changing colors, and look forward to our holiday traditions. Malia has already decided on a costume. But, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves… here’s a little of what we’ve been up to.

We’ve had some awesome heat spells, and had fun cooling off at Horse shoe Lake. Malia is becoming quite the adventurous swimmer (still with the life vest) and Allie… well… Allie has to do things her own way, which consists of no life vest and walking out until her toes can no longer reach BY HERSELF. She’s a daredevil.

I had to work on my birthday (the big two-SEVEN!), but actually had a great day. The girls at work spoiled me to pieces. At home, Aaron was stuck with two sick girls (the flexibility of his job is much better than mine)… BUT… he is so amazing that he still managed to make the most delicious sweet and sour meatballs from scratch AND bake a cake! I would not have been so diligent; sick girls to me means all day pj’s and laziness. I love my husband!

We went boat camping with some friends over labor day weekend. It was a very relaxing weekend. Our kids are seriously super awesome campers.

Allie was a year older this year and really able to enjoy the boat rides!

We took the kids to Bonnevile Dam to watch the fish ladders. If you’ve been there before, you can appreciate why our kids were more intrigued with the stairs and rainbow carpet. Here’s us in front of the dam.

We went on the most kid friendly hike thus far to a beautiful falls called Lower Creek Falls in Carson, WA. Malia walked about half the time, and spent the other time riding on Aaron’s shoulders. It was a bit of a drive, but totally worth it.

Malia was showing us her balancing skills.

When we move, this sort of thing will be sorely missed.

This would have made a perfect family picture had Allie not fallen asleep right before we arrived! But, I was not going to wake the beast, it just wasn’t worth it.

We took the kids to crown pointe on our way home from the hike. I just love the view and scenery.

This is a very special place for Aaron and I… it’s where he proposed! We were hoping to enjoy the moment like all the rest of the couples up there… you know, hold hands, kiss, stare into the sunset… but, no, the two little girls we brought put an end to the romanticism.

End of summer marks Malia’s first day of preschool! This is her second year. She was super excited to go to a new school (since moving) and loves the new friends she made. She especially loves the inside play area she says (complete with at least 5 play structures) and keeps whining about how it doesn’t rain, because when it doesn’t rain, they play outside. After a little rain she’ll start whining about not seeing the sun…

I’ve also already been at WSU for a few weeks now. It’s been busy, but we have been blessed with the ability to make it all work. Looking ahead at this semester (three classes with three separate labs), I just couldn’t see how I would have time for school, work (I’m still working 2-2 1/2 days a week), homework and my family. But now that it’s happening, I am finding that I have plenty of time (it’s very well organized and dedicated), I am able to finish my HW within the confines of “after bed-time” and “early mornings”, and our weekends are mostly spent with play. Of course I couldn’t do it without the support of Aaron. He is such a good father and husband, and goes above and beyond at taking care of ALL of his girls. We both have prayed and feel that this decision for me to go back to school is right and look forward to the opportunities it will provide to us in the future. Aaron is even thinking about getting his MBA over the four years as well.

Both girls are doing great with the new babysitter too. And actually, the worst part so far was when Malia left to go to school. Allie was so sad to be left behind. These girls can be so mean to each other, but really do love one other. Allie tries to be a mini Malia and can’t understand that she’s too small to do big girl things. It’s fun to notice that everyday they play more and more together, and we look forward to the day they become best friends!

A little bit of down-town Cleveland

Well, I’m here! It’s my first trip away from my family EVER… sad, but exciting! I took in the city a little bit today, then tomorrow will interview and check out the area around the school before heading home again. Here’s a few pictures of the scenery! (Mostly so Aaron can see them back home )

We’re movin’ on! And so is our blog…

I’m sure you’ve noticed, but it’s been nearly TWO months since I last blogged! Truth is one: we’ve been super busy, and two: we’ve been wanting to create a new blog (in the hopes of losing some followers) and just haven’t had the time! Between, work, school, family, and the move, it’s amazing we even have time to accomplish what we do! But alas… I’m on my way to Ohio for my first dental school interview (of many hopefully) and have three hours of uninterrupted blog time! So here it goes…

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Allie’s first decent injury. She smashed her face on the edge of a curb during a regular neighborhood walkabout. It looked ten times worse the next day. Poor thing.

It’s our family tradition to attend the Ridgefield 4th of July parade! This year was especially neat since it could be our last year if I get accepted into a dental school. We rode our bikes down-town together and were so thankful to beat the traffic.

Malia was so funny when she would pick up candy. She’d look at it for a minute, decide if she liked it, then either toss it back to the road, or put in her bag. Allie would just stuff it in her mouth wrapper and all.

We sure will miss the little town we have called home for the past five years. Change is not easy, but it is exciting to look forward to all the new things that await us!

After the parade we went over to the Horrocks to join in on their neighborhood firework bash. We had a lot of fun on their teeter totter!

Here’s us moving out in style! We jumped into the idea of renting our home. It happened much sooner than expected, but we knew that if dental school was in our future, we had to do something with the house. Plus, the idea of not paying a mortgage for the next year and being able to put the money away to savings was very enticing.

It was a very emotional move… we had a lot of good memories in our home and neighborhood, but it was time for a much needed change. We are looking forward to the bright future ahead, and really hope all the renters take care of our home!

Here is our last fire pit in the beautiful back yard space Aaron created. This was really hard to leave as well, especially when looking at how much time, energy and effort we put into it.

We were so busy with cleaning out the house, garage selling our ‘good’ junk that just didn’t have a home anymore, and moving that we weren’t able to take our first camping trip until the end of July! We went with a good friend and old neighbor on a long road-trip adventure to Ocean Shores in Washington. It wasn’t Brewer style camping at all (as evidence by the RV’s), but it was a really fun trip accompanied by amazing sunshine and weather.

Oh, and how cool is it that you can drive on the beach?!

The girls had a lot of fun chasing the seagulls.

They were into collecting feathers… Malia tried to fly with them.

Anything Malia does, Allie tries to copy!

I love great ‘couple’ shots!

It was fun to watch Malia be old and brave enough to conquer the waves. She was loving the wave jumping!

Surprisingly the water was super warm! Usually we end up at the beach during the winter time, so it was nice to actually get to enjoy it while the weather was slightly warmer!

Allie’s first real hair-cut turned out super cute, but was quite the experience. Allie would NOT sit still on my lap or chair, and by the end the poor lady was chasing Allie around on her knees trying to make a ‘cut’ here and there. I was a little worried, but look at my cute girl!

For Allies 2nd birthday, Brandon introduced us to G-6. It’s this warehouse with wall to wall trampolines! It was hard to get pictures while bouncing, but the kids sure enjoyed it!

Malia was having a lot of fun jumping into the foam pit.

Happy birthday Allie! Our little girl is two now! We were fortunate to get to spend her birthday with my work family! She has quite the personality, knowing exactly what she wants and how to get it! She’s not the most gentle two-year old, but when she loves, she gives the best squeezes and hugs imaginable.

We had family over for birthday dinner and ice cream pies. Allie actually blew out the candle!

Nana and Zz are in town for a visit! First stop: the Clark County Fair. Also a Brewer tradition; how could you pass up the human debris and fried foods, mixed with the smell of cow manure?

Michael joined in on the fun too!

Malia was so excited about the fair. Her plan was 1) get cotton candy 2)eat an elephant ear and 3) ride the ferris wheel. Too bad she was too little for both ferris wheels, but she got to ride other rides!

I love the big smile on Allie’s face. She got so mad when Malia went on a bigger girl ride without her. She was relentless!

On the particular day we went, we got to watch the motorcross riders. It was pretty neat! But we just HAD to go again to watch the demo derby. Unfortunately people must not have as much money to put towards smashing their cars so it was kind of a pathetic derby, but… they did crash a few campers!

 

After the fair we headed off to some remote camping. Nana and Zz hadn’t been camping in years! It was fun to share the time with them.

Malia was lucky to have a very patient Nana and Zz wander around camp collecting fun flowers.

We went on a little hike.

This picture is blurry, but we went to this ice cold swimming hole to let the kids play. I wasn’t too keen on the cold water (though it was 90 degrees), but Malia was having a blast! She was so adventurous and made me swim her over to this little waterfall thing where she had fun ‘blocking’ the waterfall with her bum.

“Cheers!”

Here’s Allie’s latest thing. If you look at her, she’ll close her eyes, then open them cross eyed. We try to not pay it any attention, but she still continues to do it! I hope she doesn’t give herself a lazy eye.

Makenzie made a request for the zoo!

And here are the last of the most recent pictures. We all chipped in on a beach house and spent the weekend away as a family! It was unfortunately super cloudy and a little windy most of the weekend, but it was still fun.

Sisters. Makenzie is getting so grown up!

Malia wanted to pose like the manikins at the outlets.

Too bad it’s so foggy/misty. This could have been a super great family picture!

Allie snuggling with daddy, trying to keep warm.

Michael was bored… I guess.

Allie finally looks at the camera and smiles to take pictures!

These girls are starting to play better and better with each other; thought it mostly consists with Malia being a bad example and Allie following suit.

Can’t believe these crazy kids went swimming in the freezing cold ocean water! It was NOT warm like the last trip we took.

Well, there you go! Two months of updates in on plane ride! Mom and Zz are in town for another week or so, so we should have fun spending time with them. WSU starts up again after this week, and I’ll be taking organic chemistry, physics and biology, and still plan to work at my dental office till we move. Aaron continues to work down-town and is doing an amazing job taking care of our kiddos and home while I am busy. Hopefully I hear back from other dental schools later on this fall, and hopefully this Ohio interview goes well! We are aiming for dental school beginning Fall 2013 and are super excited at the chance to move and experience a new life in a different part of the country and know that what ever works out is meant to be! I don’t know if you read our first post of the year, but we are definitely believers of the saying “All great changes are preceded by chaos.” Our life is in an unknown-limbo right now with everything weighing on my acceptance, but hopefully it’s all meant to be! Save this new blog to your favorites, and I’ll be sure to update it soon! (I promise )