Fall, Fall, Fall

Fall has definitely hit Spokane...so much fun in the leaves!

A brief look at September

I am still in awe that it is October 2nd already. September was a busy month, getting back into the swing of things at school. Andrew loves 1st grade and it's nice having my days off to spend some special time with Abigail.

Abigail and I made a trip out to the Soliday farm to get our hair done. Abigail's hair needed a little fixing after she tried to "cut her hair like Andrew and daddys." Fortunately she cut right around her face and it kind of had a layered look. Maybe she has a future in hair! Cousin Rysen just got a new pony, so getting to ride Bullseye was an added bonus to the day!






Some sunshine at Manito Park...



The EWU vs. Montana game was a couple of weeks ago. Our friends Courtney and Craig were here from Missoula and we had fun tailgating with a bunch of family and friends!




Andrew has been participating in cross-country at Woodridge. I'm not sure how much running he does at practice, but he always comes home red-faced and tired. The kids had a meet last Monday and they will have another one this coming week. It's so fun watching them all run! We think the Woodridge shirt that Andrew and Hannah are wearing might be the same ones we wore as kids. Congratulations to Hannah and Nick for qualifying for All-City!

Hiking at Painted Rocks

Happy Labor Day Weekend! We spent the first part of our weekend up on the river and decided we would take a little hike this morning with the kids. Here's a few photos from the weekend...

First Day of School

Here's Andrew on his first day of 1st grade! He told me on Friday afternoon, "Mom, I think I'm going to like this 1st grade thing!" He has a wonderful teacher and many of his kindergarten friends in his class.

Abigail Turns Three!

On Monday, August 30th, our sweet little girl turned 3. It's hard to believe that it has been 3 years since Abigail, our 9 lb. 11 oz. baby girl was born. She keeps us laughing on a daily basis with her growing personality. We had a fun pool/princess party on Sunday with aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. Abigail continues to be one of the most thoughtful present openers I know. She genuinely loves everything she receives and thinks every gift is special. My favorite saying was, "Cutie, cute, cute!" She also had some great looks and shoulder shrugs emphasizing the fact that this day was all about her! Our only moment of sadness came when her big bunch of balloons escaped into the air. (When we were looking at pictures from the day she said, "Mommy, I don't want to look at the balloon pictures.") Then on Monday morning, we went to the Donut Parade for a special birthday breakfast. Donuts are fairly rare around our place, so when the kids got to pick any donut they wanted, their eyes were wide with excitement. Abigail even did a "happy donut dance." She continued to tell people throughout the day, "It is going to be my birthday ALL day!" Happy Birthday Abigail Marie!

Lakes, races, grapes, wheat and dirt

Okay...so I'm starting to get a little sad because summer vacation is almost over and we'll be heading back to school in less than 2 weeks. However, we are still packing in lots of outdoor activities, lake visits and good times!

This morning Matt competed in the Sterling Savings Bank Sprint-Triathlon. The race consisted of a quarter mile swim, 11 mile bike ride and 3 mile run. He did awesome and we were all there to cheer him on. Of course when the race was over, Andrew and Abby found the dirt and had just as much fun getting dirty! Way to go Matt!









The four of us, along with grandpa and grandma made a quick trip to Lake Chelan for a family reunion. While we were there we had a chance to see Four Lakes Winery where my cousin Rhett is working this summer. The kids loved walking through the grape fields and exploring with Rhett. We also loved swimming in the clear, beautiful water of Chelan.







My good friend Courtney was in town with her beautiful children so we went out to the farm to spend the day. The kids had so much fun playing in the fields, feeding the horses, playing in the hay stack, eating fresh carrots out of Shelley's yummy garden and riding in the tractor with uncle Vernon. I love being out in the country and so do Andrew and Abigail!










Andrew and Abigail got a hold of my camera and took this picture of themselves. How cute!



We had another fun day at Diamond Lake. The kids played in the water and sand and the ladies sat in the sun all day. What could be better?