Oh Boy...

Yesterday, Kaitelyn had a "1st" moment. Kaitelyn, Reed and I were hanging out in front of Fred Meyer smelling and touching all the beautiful flowers outside the doors. I had asked Kaitelyn to move closer to the flowers so a woman riding on one of the handicap carts could get by. Just as the lady passed, Kaitelyn said loudly, "Man...that lady sure has FAT arms!" My face immediately got hot as I was so embarrassed. I was in shock that my little Kaitelyn said something so hurtful. Instead of just ignoring the sny remark, I decided to take an extra step to correct the behavior. I know that every kid says things like this and they don't know any better, but I want to try to teach my children to think before they act.

I pulled Kaitelyn aside and explained to her that, that was a mean remark and it was embarrassing to me. So to make things right we were going to go up to the woman and apologize. We caught up with the woman and we apologized for making a mean remark about her. Luckily she never heard what Kaitelyn said about her and I didn't tell her what Kaitelyn said, but she was thankful for the apology anyway.

Honestly, I hope I wasn't too harsh on Kaitelyn but I do want her to grow up to be respectful of others.

Almost 4

Gosh....I can't believe Kaitelyn will be four in just a few days. I've been thinking about what it was like four years ago carrying around this 10lb baby. Now she's my cute little 44 lb ball of energy. I love my little girl and enjoy everyday with her.

This year, Kaitelyn and I worked together to make her birthday invitations.
She wanted a butterfly theme this year.

I thought this was cute. I walked into the office on Saturday and was greeted by Kaitelyn's stuffed animals.
She wanted them to enjoy the beautiful day too. She even gave them a bowl of fruit to snack on.

So the Sun Does Exist...

Today was such a BEAUTIFUL day!!!

Kaitelyn posing with her ballet costume.

We had group pictures this morning of all the performers.

After many days of cold, rainy and cloudy days, we saw sun ALL day today. It was such a treat and it really helped put us in better spirits. The past few weeks, we've only received bits of sunshine. As soon as the rain stopped, I would gather the kids and make them go outside to play until another round of cold rain came.

Because it was such a beautiful day, we decided to check out the beach down at the Manchester dock after the beach party at the library. It was pretty cool and I will definitely be going back with the kids and all of their sand toys.

Reed had a blast getting dirty as usual. He decided to do try "sand surfing" for the first time today. He's such a boy. Kaitelyn enjoyed walking along the beach with her bare feet collecting shells and making little castles with her bare hands. Everyday is such a blessing to spend time with my children, but today was extra special :-)

Luke joining in on a little game of volleyball with the kiddos

Reed showing off his skills with chalk

Look...it's a ... nose?!?!

I had to get a shot of Mt. Rainier while we were at the beach

Reed sand surfing



Kaitelyn got her hands dirty and didn't know what to do with them...hence the weird look on her face.
Child doesn't mind getting her clothes dirty, but her hands are out of the equation.

Reed feeling like he's "on top of the world" - he's so proud

Reality Sets In

Gosh, it's sad to think that our beagle is an old man and his days with us are probably limited. Over the past 4-6 months I've noticed a drastic change in Triton. He's gone from an active, running, sniffing, sneaking around to get to the cat food/litter box and barking dog to an old dog that just lies around sleeping all day and night. The few steps we have to go outside are becoming a challenge too. It's really sad knowing he will probably be our first pet to pass on. Triton was Luke and I's first dog together. He's had a good life with lots of trips, walks, treats and crumbs from the kids. There have been times that I've yelled at the beagle and said "I'm tired of having pets", but reality sets in when something happens and you realize just how much you love a pet.

Triton resting after his seizure and Alexis by his side

Monday morning the kids and I were ringing the doorbell for fun like we always do and the beagle will bark. It's fun to listen to him bark these days because he's got that "old beagle" bark. Well after several rings, I told the kids we had enough fun. When I walked into the house, I witnessed Triton falling over and go into a seizure. It didn't last long, but it was really really scary. After he had opened his eyes, they spun around for a couple of seconds. Poor Triton couldn't get up and move for at least an hour afterward. By that night, we was back to himself, begging for food and letting us know he was ready to eat. But, since his seizure, I've tried to keep his stress level down and Reed off of him more.


Reed loves that dog and I know he will miss picking on him sitting on him once he is gone. I just hope Mr. Beagle doesn't suffer much :-(

Triton back in November, letting us know he needs water.
He grabbed his water from behind his crate and drug it out onto it's side.
It was quite comical.