Italy

David and I just returned from 2 weeks in Italy. It was awesome! We flew in to Florence where Jason & Allison met us and we immediately headed to the countryside of Tuscany to our villa, then spent time in Cinque Terre, Florence and finally ending our trip in Rome. We had a fantastic time. I am still organizing photos & videos so once I finish I'll post.

Mia turns 6!

Mia chose to have her birthday party at Build-A-Bear this year. It was very cute and completely appropriate for this age range.

The group with the party instructor.


Birthday girl...


Getting ready to put their hearts in their animals.


Bella & Mia giving their kittens a bath.


Bella, Mia & Eloise all were in Pre-K together.


Happy Birthday Mia!

Camping in July

We went camping at the end of July east of Roseburg. It was warm weather so being under the trees and near a small river was perfect. There were about 21 adults and 27 kids. We really enjoyed ourselves.

David heating up the grill.


Laura, Peter and I ready to play cards.


Olivia with her crew of her girls. They went from bikes, floating down the river, back to bikes & then playing games.


Mia and her friends playing on the bridge.


Sophia and Mia cooling off.


Olivia LOVED the water, even though it was cold it didn't seem to bother her.

Happy 4th of July!

We spent the 4th of July at our friend's house in the neighborhood. They have an amazing view of downtown Portland so it was fun to enjoy a beautiful afternoon and then watch the evening fireworks around the city. Here are some pictures from the day.

This picture doesn't do the actual view justice but I had to put it in.


Here are all the crazy girls being silly for the camera.


Sparkler time.








Pure joy!

Yes, I made it!

The past few months I've been studying to get my Real Estate License. I'm proud to say that I passed the exam a couple weeks ago. WHEW! It is safe to say I should not go back to school because managing children, family, work and studying was a little much for me. I literally am in awe of the people that do this on a regular basis, you rock! I felt like I was missing out on everything because I was studying but I passed and am now a Commercial Real Estate broker. I'm excited to have more opportunities at work and get back to normal life.

Ironman Texas

We headed to The Woodlands, Texas for the inaugural Ironman Texas. We rented a house near the course. The girls and I enjoyed mother/daughter time shopping, eating and relaxing while David prepared for the race. It felt like a vacation to us.

Here we are at Sweet and Sassy getting our nails done.


Checking in -


Making signs for race day.


I just thought this picture was cute.


Race morning and we were able to find David before the race.


...and they are off!


Getting out of the swim and heading to transition.


On the bike course.


The girls and I trying to stay cool.


This picture sums up the pain of the marathon for David (he said). He was happy to finish to say the least.


You are an Ironman for the 6th time!!!

Walla Walla Wine Tasting

We headed to Walla Walla this year for our annual wine tasting weekend. We had a blast staying at Abeja. I of course forgot my camera but we had a great time. It was a successful trip with lots of wine purchased and great memories with our friends.

Father/Daughter Dance

David and the girls headed to the annual Father/Daughter Dance. The girls were so excited and David even wore his tuxedo this year. Also, as you can see Mia has lost her other front tooth. Her smile is so cute these days.

We're alive!!!

Where has the time gone? Time has flown by and many things have happened but most importantly Olivia turned 8 years old.

Olivia turned 8 years old on March 28th. I can't believe she's 8. She's amazing to watch do everything she does and do it at full speed. I admire her energy in life, she keeps us constantly on our toes.

Baby girl when she was born...


Hanging in Mexico at 18 months old.


I mean, how cute is this? Olivia isn't a big fan of this photo but I think it shows her personality.


People come and go but you always have your girlfriends...




8 years old!

Science Fair

Olivia had her Science Fair while we were gone. Nana was able to take her and help her present her project.


Here Olivia is presenting to the scientists from OMSI. She enjoyed the experience.

Fuerteventura

FANTASTIC! Is really the only word I have to say for this trip. It's a beautiful place and we met great people as well. We really hope to go back and take the girls next time to experience Fuerteventura, Spain. It did feel very far from home with the long travel time to get there and adjustment once home but well worth the rest and relaxation.

The view from our room.



The resort...


This is the lap pool for training. It was cool to watch the many, many athletes training here.


I've realized when my kids aren't there I take absolutely no pictures and apparently just enjoy the trip.

Talent Show

"Firework" by Katy Perry has been played over & over in our house the past few weeks. Olivia did the talent show with her friends Nathalie & Josephine. The mic didn't work in the beginning (you hear me point out the obvious) but they did a great job. There were a whopping 42 acts one night and more on second night. It was fun to see all the kids perform. Here's the performance for your viewing pleasure!!!

Science Fair

Olivia is getting ready for the school science fair at the end of February. She's doing her project on catapults. Her and David went to OMSI and bought a book for her research. Sometimes I have to remind David that this is her project because he's loving this assignment. Anyways here's some photos from her progress.

Deciding on the 3 catapults she'll make.




At the school testing her catapults.

New glasses and another tooth down...

Mia went from her little girl glasses to big girl ones. She looks so grown up and then of course a couple days later her top tooth fell out.

January...where did you go?

The first month of the year flew by like lightening speed. We spent our time just getting back in to the swing of things after the holidays. We did get to attend Uncle Alex's black belt testing and presentation of his belt. The girls really enjoyed watching him do all his forms and it was fun to see him accomplish a goal he set out to do 3 years ago.

Alex is the one doing the awesome kick in this photo.


Afterwards the girls spent the night and the next morning went on a nature walk down to the creek. They are pretty excited for their scheduled "camping" trip this summer at their house.