A Weekend Away

Last weekend we took a little family trip - to visit David's grandparents in Packwood, Washington and then up to see my family in Everson for a couple days. I took two days off of work, so it was a nice, long weekend.

In Packwood, David, Micah and I went for a walk in the woods, up to a waterfall that is a favorite of ours. We took Belle, who was a very good walking companion. 

Not only was it Audrey's first trip to Packwood, it was her first time meeting GG and Papa Bob. She loved being with them, and I think they liked her pretty well too! Besides the fact that Audrey didn't sleep well, we had a great time in Packwood! It's so nice being with family and getting to relax and enjoy one another's company.

It was Flag Day while we were in Packwood, so Micah got to help Papa Bob and GG put out their flag. He even sang 'O Say Can You See' when the flag was hung. That boy has a patriotic heart! As I'm typing this, he's singing the national anthem, with emotional arm thrusts for emphasis. A video will be coming sometime around Independence Day.

After Packwood, we went up to Everson to spend time with my family. My sister and brother-in-law were up for the weekend also, and we saw my brother every day we were up there, so it was a great time of seeing family! Micah especially enjoyed playing in my dad's back yard. He would have spent the entire weekend out there if we had let him! 

I was reminded of one reason why I love the valley so much - everything is so green and pretty in the spring and summer. Not like Hermiston, where we have a little green and a lot of brown. My dad's back yard was beautiful! I loved spending time out there and checking out the plants and flower beds, but it really made me miss my mom! She loved spending time in the yard, and I know she would be really happy with how it looks this year.

It was a really nice weekend with family, but we're always glad to be home and back in our routine - and sleeping in our own bed!  We're thankful for great house-sitters, so we know our house and pets are well taken care of, and we can relax without worrying about them! I hope you all had a good weekend too!

This Week, and Taking A Family Picture

It doesn't seem like it should be that difficult to take a family picture.

How hard can it be for four people to look at the same place and smile at the same time?

All we have to do is smile.

Well, it's close.

This week:

* We celebrated our fifth anniversary! (The family pictures were taken on our anniversary... A lot can change in five years!

* Audrey is learning how to sit up on her own. And it's decided. She doesn't like grass.

* We spent some time cleaning up the back yard, getting ready to spend lots of free time in the shade back there this summer! 

* Micah played in the back yard for half an hour one day, and then said, "Mommy, our tree has leaves." It sure does, and the shade is heavenly!

* Our allergies have arrived. David and I will be sniffling through the next couple of months. I'm afraid to take any allergy medicine while I'm still nursing Audrey, so unfortunately, the only relief in sight is not having plants... Thankfully, my symptoms aren't very severe, so I'll just suffer on through, and enjoy my plants.

* I finished a quilt top this afternoon. I still can't decide how I feel about this color scheme. I was thinking about adding a white border, but I'm on the fence.

* I cleaned up my craft supplies/sewing area. (This picture is the cleaned up space... not that it looks all that clean. You should have seen it before!) I found some fabric I had forgotten about, though, so that was pretty exciting! 

* We've had many visits from Micah's new (imaginary) friend, Micah-Nini, and also Micah-Nini's mom. He's a pretty popular little guy in our house.

I hope you had a good week!

Before and After

Things change.

Yesterday morning vs. yesterday later morning:

Last October vs. this October:

Family picture last November vs. Family picture this weekend:

*This will change again soon - and hopefully my belly will be significantly smaller!

Micah in his car seat at two weeks old vs. Micah in that car seat this morning:

Can you tell that I've been thinking about how quickly things change? Just thought I'd share.

Some Time Away

Christmas was great this year!

The last few weeks have been extremely busy and really fun for our family. Most of our Christmas break has been spent traveling. We are all really glad to be home and in our own space, especially to our bed! It's great visiting people, and we had a really good time with our family and friends, but Dorothy knows what she's talking about - there's no place like home!

Our first stop, after a terrible, long, disgusting car ride (I'll just say it involves vomit and Micah), was my parents' house, for a week. We spent a lot of time relaxing, and did a family Christmas celebration on Christmas day. My mom is so funny - she made my brother this great chef's hat, apron and oven mitt for Christmas. They're perfect for him because he loves to cook, and talks about food all the time! The hat is really great - all the gathering must have been a pain, but she did a great job.

Micah really enjoyed opening (and playing with) his presents - he just sat down  in the pile of wrapping paper and played with his new Legos!

I made my sister a jewelry holder for Christmas (and a purse gone wrong), and I think I'm going to make one for myself too. I used a picture frame, hot glued ribbon and gray felt onto it, and put nails on it to hold necklaces. I also bought a flower necklace from Laura at Along For The Ride, and included it so she'd be able to tell what it was!

Micah also got a haircut while we were in Everson - here's a before picture:

And an after: 

I think he looks so much older!

I also got to go wedding dress shopping with my newly-engaged sister (I won't include those pictures...), visit with my good friends from high school, and see a lot of friends. I didn't see everyone I'd like to though, it just seems like time goes so quickly - especially over the holidays!

Our next stop, after an uneventful car ride, was Eugene for a couple of days. We stayed with our college roommates and did some shopping, played Just Dance 3 on XBox, celebrated a very low-key (but fun!) New Years, and ate a LOT of sugar. It was really exciting that we also got to meet baby Madison for the first time!

We took Micah to a toy store in Eugene on Saturday morning. He was really happy in there, and walked all around the store picking things up, looking at them, and then moving on to the next.

Everyone got a chance to hold Madison - she was very sweet and very cuddly.

Here's a sign that Micah will be a great big brother. We set Madison on his lap and he wrapped his arms around her to cuddle for 15 minutes or so. He was so sweet to her!

I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years! I'm excited to see what God has planned for 2012, whether or not it's the end of the world... I'm thinking it's not.