Kate's Birthday

Kate turned 6 a couple of weeks ago.  She had a fun birthday!  David brought her a perfume bottle from Iraq like he sent to Sarah and Rachel.  Kate loves anything fancy, so of course this was probably her best gift ever!  She also loved her new hair clips from her cousins McKenna and Sydney, lots of books from Grandma Hales, some puzzles, and a Barbie house. 

 We celebrated with our family on her actual birthday, and then had a party with her friends a few days later.

 We had a "tea party" theme.  We decorated the table all fancy and had lots of fun finger foods.

 The girls decorated their big straw hats with lots of flowers and then wore them to the tea party.  We also practiced walking with books on our heads and played a few games. 

 The girls were so cute!  They all used their best "tea party good manners." 

I bought all the cups and saucers at thrift stores and sent them home with the girls, along with their hats and a pair of white gloves, as their party favors. 

Happy Birthday Kate!  We love our sweet girly-girl!

My Boys...Working Hard

Lots of things have been getting done around here since David has been home.  David has worked hard getting the yard looking nice.  And wherever he is, these boys like to follow. 

 Ben is such a good helper and does all sorts of hard work as long as he's with his Dad. 

 William wanted to get in the thick of it too. 

 Isn't he just the cutest thing ever?

 My boys

 I love the look on William's face in this picture...such determination as he tries to pick up that heavy shovel.

Thanks for coming home and taking care of us, and our yard, and our home.  And thanks for teaching our kids to work!  We love you! 

(Don't my raspberries look great?  I planted them mid-summer and they were just sticks for a long time.  I'm hoping for some berries next summer!)

Maris Farms

We spent one very fun afternoon at Maris Farms.  It was fun to have David go with us this year. 

It didn't take William long at all to figure out he liked to drive the tractor.

 There were lots of fun things to do, like these rubber duck races,

 and this cool tube to climb through.

 William found yet another tractor.

 And this one really moved, with a little help from Sarah.

 There were lots of animals to see,

 a "jumping pillow,"

 and a "mine shaft slide."

 And of course, we had to pick out the perfect pumpkin.

Or more importantly, pose while I take lots of pictures.  I just can't help myself.  I love pictures at the pumpkin patch.

 Then there were the cart races.  I'm not sure who had the most fun.

 I even got a turn.

 So good to have David home.

 William got another chance to drive.

We took a turn at the corn maze and finished much faster than last year (David is much better at navigating through those things than I am).

The kids also played in the corn room.  This was a big giant room full of dry corn.  The kids buried each other and played like crazy.  We had such a fun day!

Crossing the Narrows

We have had a fabulous time with David home for the past three weeks.  Most days, we'd send the kids off to school then have a 6-hour date. Okay, not really, since there were so many projects that had been waiting for David.  But one day, we took advantage of the beautiful fall weather and went running together across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.  You may recall that walking across the bridge was on our summer list of things to do.  I keep meaning to do a summer recap post and write about what we did--and didn't--get to on the summer list.  But needless to say, we didn't make it across the bridge this summer.  My one child who is afraid of heights kept nixing the idea.  So I got David to go with me.

 It seemed like a much longer bridge running across it instead of just driving.  And, I had no idea how much of a hill shape it is--driving on it it seems pretty flat. 

The views were amazing.

William took a good nap

It is a really cool bridge.