Brooke and Drew's Birthday Celebration

This past weekend we decided to have a "carnival-themed" birthday party for Brooke and Drew. Since both of their birthdays are in December and only 6 days apart, we thought it would be fun to have a backyard party in October. : ) It was a blast! It makes me want to celebrate their birthdays early every year because they were able to invite many more friends and we didn't have to juggle around Christmas parties, etc. We had face-painting, horse and pony rides, carnival games, and the kids were even able to win goldfish. (Luckily our friends were willing to help out because it takes a village to put on this type of party.) According to Brooke and Drew, it was their best birthday party ever . . . and now I can just focus on Jesus' birthday in December. ; )

Family Traditions

It has been a tradition every Easter for Jarrett's mom, Sheila, to color eggs with all of her grandchildren. (Krista is away at college this year, so she was not able to participate.) For the last two years my mom, Juliet, has been fortunate enough to join in the fun. The kids love their time with the Grandmas and it relieves Jarrett and me from a certain task that requires a whole lotta patience! Thank God for Grandmas!

A Weekend to Remember

Last weekend was really fun and very busy. My brother, John, and his family came up from Southern California to celebrate Aaliyah's first birthday. Although we went to visit them last year, it has been almost 7 years since they have come to Auburn. (To give you a better idea of how long it's been, Brooke was 3 years old, Drew was an infant and Aiden wasn't even born yet!) It was great seeing them all and we hope they come back again soon. During their visit, we had to slip away for a few hours to attend an engagement we already had on our calendar. It was a dinner party wherein all the couples had to dress like kings and queens. We decided to put a little spin on that request and show up as "The King" and his queen "Priscilla." It was truly a weekend to remember!

Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park

Brooke went to Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park last week with her 4th grade class. It was her first overnight field trip and she was very excited. Everyone had to dress up like pioneers or miners, which made it extra fun. The students got to do interesting projects, such as pan for gold, make candles, weave ropes, make a hook with a blacksmith, etc. It was a great experience and we both had a fantastic time!

Last Day of Summer Vacation, First Day of School and a Missing Tooth

We spent the last day of summer hanging out at our pool with my nieces, Katelin and Laila. We had a great summer vacation and it was sad sending the kids back to school this morning, but they were quite excited. Both Brooke and Drew seem to have really nice teachers and the year started off well. The real excitement of the day came at bedtime when Drew pulled out his front tooth (with a little help from Jarrett), which was loose for a couple of weeks. It was a fun ending to a big day.

Vacation 2008

We went on a 15 day camping trip with the Clader family to Diamond Lake, Oregon for the first 12 days and ended the last 3 days at Donner Lake State Park. Diamond Lake was really fun and absolutely beautiful! The fishing was great, camping facilities were top notch and we really enjoyed the Clader family. We even took a couple of day trips away from our camp site to Crater Lake (a must see) and Deschutes, Oregon. Our Donner Lake portion of the vacation was also fun, since we were with our church family and that is always enjoyable. Although I would love to spend much more time on vacation just hanging out with family and friends, getting home and back to civilization was also a treat!

Goodbye Gracie Girl

Today our sweet yellow lab, Grace, passed away. She got loose without us knowing and unfortunately got hit by a car and died from the injuries she suffered. We have many great memories of Gracie Girl. She was an excellent hunter, she liked to garden (by eating all of the tomato worms off of our tomato plants without damaging them), she was a great mom to her two litters of puppies, and she was so much fun to have around. Grace was truly an outstanding dog and our family will miss her bunches. We are fortunate to still have three of Grace's puppies in the immediate family (Sam, Jake and our dog, Blue). It is amazing how losing a dog can remind us of how fragile and precious life is and can return our focus to the cross. God is truly good and may His name be glorified.

(Get 'em up Girl! - Love Jarrett)