Ye Ol' Rein Faire

Okay, do you have those events that you see and say "I go someday" and never get around to it? I went to a few Renaissance Faire's with my pal Amanda in HS and sworn to take the kids one day, never to follow through.

So finally, in early August, I took the fam to the Washington Renaissance Faire in Buckley.

The boys went straight to chess and played a game.

Lauren played all these old fashioned games with this quirky lady names Mimsy, getting candy at the end.

A big highlight was the boffer sword fights hosted by the Tacoma Game Matrix. It was only $2 for 2 rounds and the boys got to experience their first real fight.

One of my favorite activities to partake of during these type of festivals is the food, and did we eat! We ended this feast at the Dragon's Breath Inn where we got real rootbeer. It came in 4 different flavors and I can say I never had REAL rootbeer until that moment. Riley, who's favorite drink this is, was in high heaven.

We also got to see the presentation of the royal court and I swear, the queen took my breath away, she was gorgeous! At the end Riley and Lauren were thrilled to get honorary knight and ladyship from the Queen and her court. I only got a video of this, and it won't load. But so cute!

16 can be brutal!

A quick recap of Nate's 16th birthday.

Nate wanted a unique 16th birthday, so he decided to have a boffer sword party, hosted by the Tacoma Game Matrix. He got to do this at the Renaissance faire and had a blast. Plus honestly, what teenage boy doesn't like to fight? They do so much on video games as it is.

So we started by having friends and family at our house. Jason from Game Matrix came and we went down the street to China Park across 19th to get our game on!



After some stern rules and instructions they divided into teams and Jason had them going for a straight hour and a half!




After they were exhausted by all gushed about what a good time they had. I think that video game thing is a part of it.

So then we headed back to the house for the party.
Here is the shield cake I made for him.



HAPPY 16th birthday NATE!



As the party wound down, we toasted his birthday at 5:04pm, when he was born exactly 16 years ago. After family left, the boys spent the remainder of the night outside skating, playing b-day and video games in the den before crashing for the night about 2am.

Jakob, Sammy, Zach (missing other Zach from Scouts), Nate, ?, Ian, Erik and Shane

Pickles and Pregos

Lauren and I went to visit family and friends in Michigan in August.

Here is part 3 of our travels....our time with the Stutzman’s.

On August 18th, 2010, we arrived in Flint about 7pm. We were greeted by my best friend and fellow prego, Stephanie Stutzman along with her 8-year old daughter Hannah. We’re about two months apart, her due in late October with a boy and I in mid-December with a girl.

A little background, we met and have been friends since 2nd grade and best friends since at least 4th. (Okay I won’t go into how many years that is). The best relationships have ups and downs, and we’ve weathered all of them, plus supported each other in the good times and the bad. Most relationships fade with distance, but she moved out of state 15 years ago and we’re still going strong with our special sister-type bond. We’re aunties to each other’s kids and so excited to be having babies at the same time. So needless to say, this was a great reunion, it’s been too long!

From there we went to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings which was amazing. Thanks Steph! Then we stopped by her house. I couldn’t wait to see it, her and hubby Michael (still in Missouri getting out of the Army soon) bought the house this year.

But our reunion was short as off I went to the Hinkley’s for a few days. On Saturday August 21st we returned to the Stutzman’s house. Then it was baby shower whirlwind! We visited her friends Monica and Melanie to pick up supplies and help assemble the thank you gifts. Later we visited Al and Debbie Stutzman, Michael’s parents, in Holly. We all remember each other from their wedding years ago when I stayed at their house for 4 days. There we got the food ready for the baby shower.

That night we hung out at her house just talking, the kind best done in person and it was wonderful. Lauren and Hannah got to know each other again and played all night with toys and the two wiener dogs, Desi and Duke. This is where I discovered that Lauren is no fan of dogs…for sure. Later we visited the next door neighbor and Lauren was all smiley and excited to see their cats but her expression instantly changed upon encountering their barking dog.

The next morning, Sunday, was church at Living Stone. The baby shower was in the community room. The theme was pickles and ice cream, both of which Steph adores and it was SO her! Amy did a fabulous job with the décor. Melanie was the rock star host, overseeing it all, hosting the games and making the ice cream cone cupcakes. I think there was some confusion from Mel if I was to help co-host during the party, but it wouldn’t have mattered, Lauren decided to have her one and only major meltdown fit. Poor girl, I think the stress caught up to her.

But Stephanie (and baby Roman Michael) got some adorable things and I know she had a great time…me too! When we got back to her house we spent the time sorting and putting away everything, it was a special bonding time :)

Monday was shopping day. We ended up going to Babies R Us with a mission to find, buy and conquer the one last item she would need to breathe easy about baby coming…a car seat. After playing around with strollers, she fell in love with the Combi. But we were disappointed that they only carried the matching car seats online. We’ll low and behold, I spot ONE in the clearance section! Apparently it was an online return. So after spending a while figuring out if it fit into the stroller, we finally had it, the attachments were on the bottom of the stroller all along. Have to say us pregnant ladies are determined and oblivious!

Tuesday the 24th came too soon and we left Steph’s house for a while to visit the Hinkley’s. Afterwards we met quickly met them at the airport to give them back the booster we borrowed and say a fast goodbye. I missed them the moment we walked in the airport, and it better not be another 3 years before we see each other again!

Hinkley Haven

Lauren and I went to visit family and friends in Michigan a few weeks back in August.

Here is part 2 of our travels....our time with the Hinkley's

My husband Brian grew up in Michigan. With the exception of one sister, Rose, his family is pretty much still in the Davison area. We debated whether Brian should go or Lauren. He decided that it would be better for Lauren to go, as his family hasn't seen her since she was 18 months, 3 years ago.

On August 18th, 2010, we arrived about 7pm. We visited my BBF Stephanie (part 3), arriving at Chris and Darcey Hinkley's around 10pm in Davison. They were so welcoming, a bonfire and fire flies greeted us. We didn't go to bed that night until midnight, the kids were too excited.

Lauren enjoyed sleeping on the portable bed in Chloe's room

Chris is Brian's younger brother, he's a 6th grade social studies teacher. He was also Brian's best man at our wedding. Darcey stays at home and is a domestic master, she even showed me how they make their own laundry soap for $6 a year. They have three kids, twins Chloe and Carter are age 6 and Isabella, age 3. They bought a house about a year ago just two blocks down the street from where Brian went to 6th grade.

Being concerned that Lauren prefers the company of older kids, I was glad to see that she played with Chloe and Bella equally. They're collection of toys is amazing. Still, Lauren and Chloe were like peas in a pod. All the kids played all day long. At night they took a bath together where you could hear 45 minutes of giggled delight in wet toy land.

Thursday, August 19th

That next morning the kids spent playing both inside and out. This was a great time to get reacquainted. In Bella's case, I haven't seen her since she was a newborn, so I finally got to experience her personality.

Bella is a firecracker. She's mischievous but quite grown up for 3. Her little smile is contagious and every morning I was woken up on the inflatable mattress stationed in their living room with her roly-poly playfulness.

Chloe is more sensitive and attuned to the needs of others. She is bright, cheerful and quite the hostest! She always made sure Lauren felt at home and it amazes me how much they look alike.

Though all the kids are creative (thanks to their parents lack of screen time and nurturing environment,) my nephew Carter is probably the most intensely creative kid I know, especially rare for a boy. He actually reminded me alot of myself as a young kid. He had a speech delay for years but you couldn't tell now. He was always creating, for hours at a time, with creations all over the house. Once he made a dinosaur mask and sharp claws out of paper and taped them to his fingers. He loves everything Africa, and falls to sleep listening to tribal music each night.

At 5pm this day, we had a Hinkley family reunion at Chris and Darcey's. Brian's parents: Larry and Janet were there, along with his older sister Tracey and younger sister Dena and her four kids: Audrianna, Travis, Alexis and Jamal. We ate a great BBQ outside but soon the weather turned. Before you know it a tornado warning sounded! It was a weird experiance. Finally when the sky became an eerie dark and the rain was blowing sideways that I conceded and went to the basement. Poor Chris and Darcey felt bad, their basement wasn't company ready. But in no time we cleaned off the pool table and the older kids were playing.

We still were able to chat so it worked. After the storm went by (missed us by a mile or so) we were able to return upstairs. That evening we played a game with Larry, Janet, Chris and Darcey. I don't remember the name but I think it was Balderdash, were you had to make up a meaning to a word and phrase and if people believed you, you got points. Note to future self, I was terrible at this!

Friday August 20th

This morning, Darcey and I went shopping at the Birch Run Outlets. I had no idea how big they were, such a big tourist attracting, they have their own tourist check-in building that was like a hotel lobby. She cleaned up for back to school. I was indecisive, not knowing what Lauren had or still fit, but got a few items. Still it was great to have girl time and be able to really talk. Afterwards we went to Applebee's for a late lunch and we each had the Oriental Chicken salad...yum!

Meanwhile Chris took the kids down the street to the park. Brian helped create this park and Lauren got to see where his name was engraved into the fence.

That night we went to the Community Center at La Pier. They have a mini-Great Wolf waterpark in there! The tiling had sea creature patterns in it. A mini slide an umbrella fountain, and a large water slide. The whirlpool tub was Lauren's favorite. Lauren took a while to warm up to the big slide and wanted Uncle Chris to go down with her the first time. It is however, still run like a community center. We only had 90 minutes and they shut off the water right at 8pm just when Lauren was about to go down the slide, actually making her get off, causing major tears. Besides that it was a total blast and worth the $4 admission price. I should of brought my water camera.

That night our adult time consisted of an introduction to Blink! What a fun card game!

Saturday August 21st

This morning we had to leave. I felt bad that our time had to come to an end but off we went to the Stutzman's house. They extended their hospitality again by loaning me some pillows, blankets and the air mattress that has been my life saver every night!

Tuesday August 24th

After leaving Steph's we went to spend a few more hours with the Hinkleys and return the borrowed items before flying back to SeaTac. Soon the kids wanted to play outside and rode bikes while us adults chatted.

At the end they chased Chris around and Lauren got some more fun time with Uncle Chris.

One main reason I was so excited for Lauren to go is that she needed some serious little girls time, away from her brothers. Every day in Michigan she was playing and interacting with girl cousins around her age and it had a positive impact on her! She now is more nurturing, communicative, creative and plays with her baby dolls!

She still talks about her cousins and I still hope that some day soon they can make it to Seattle!

On a jet plane & auto travels

Lauren and I went to visit family and friends in Michigan a few weeks back in August.

Here is part 1 of our travels....

We started off on a 7:00 am flight going from SeaTac to Atlanta Georgia. We woke up Lauren at 2am and I've never seen her so chipper so early. Brian dropped us off curb side, here we are with our luggage.

From here we check in at AirTran and had to go to Gate A-14, at the very end. One the way there we stopped for Italian soda for her and hot tea for me. At the gate I got a little nap while she colored, waiting for flight#46 to Atlanta, seats 31 A&B.

The last time Lauren flew (me too), she was 18 months and it was miserable. Thank goodness she has forgotten that experience and was totally fascinated by the entire experience. For this first flight, she stayed mesmerized the entire time. Her favorite parts are mine too, when the plane goes just above the clouds and also when drinks were served :)

She was thrilled with the free earphones, though she didn't use them for long, her Leapster 2 and crayons provided enough entertainment.

I must say that Lauren navigated the airports like a champ. She had no problems getting on or off the flat or staired escalators with her luggage, nor keeping up with long legged mom. The only time she ever needed help was to get past that little gap between the walkway and the plane. Because she is left-handed and I right, we quickly discovered after some collisions, that her being on my left side was ideal. She also did great with the security checks, and was pretty dang fast. Here she is in line before the first flight.

By the second flight of the day, #246, from Atlanta to Flint MI, seats 18A&18C, leaving at 3:36pm, she was a seasoned traveler! Both times on this short hour flight we were in a Boeing 717 instead of a 737. This was much better. For one the rows go 2 then three seats, so we got to sit alone both times, but also the carry-on luggage area is much larger in the 717, more accommodated for my carry-on which pushes the limits but width and weight wise.

Here is a picture of her with our rental car from Budget.

It was a nice car to have for the week. The best part was a full tank of gas was $23! I would consider it for Brian until I realized that I, at 5'8", have about two inches of headroom.

I loved driving in Michigan. Besides being able to go wicked fast, 70 on the freeway and 55 in rural residential areas, I never got lost once, having maps and simple directions. Navigating 69 east or west soon became second nature and here the squareness of MI came in handy.

I admit I didn't know didly abut AirTran before this, but now know that flying to Atlanta via AirTran was sweet. They are headquartered there and the access and customer service was unmatched. However, my favorite airport is Flint (Bishop International). It's tiny but so easy to find everything and surprisingly fast.

Here is Lauren just after saying goodbye to Stephanie and Hannah, waiting for the plan to board on #256 from Flint to Atlanta scheduled to leave at Gate 5 at 6:10pm, seats 27A&27C. All the flights were on time, this was the only one that was slightly delayed, which worked as I finally got a picture of her with one of our planes.

At the Atlanta airport we got her the last AirTran airplane from a gift shop. We had a few hours, so decided to eat subs from Charleys.

Changed for the last flight, #33, Gate C22, scheduled to leave Atlanta at 10:00 pm EST and Arrive in Seattle at 12:40am PST.

The last flight from Atlanta to Seattle was very nice. We were again in the back, in row 29 E&F, but shockingly we had an extra seat next to Lauren and the lady sitting opposite the isle had all three seats to herself. This in what we were told was a overly full flight! We looked each other when they closed the door, smiled, and threw our arms up in celebration. Lauren was able to stretch out in the middle and isle seat and sleep the entire way.

We went full circle, departing at gate A-14 where we started. When we departed at SeaTac she burst into tears realizing she left it on the plane. A very nice male attendant went back for her and found it.

At the end of this leg Lauren was just spent. Poor Brian felt bad, she burst into tears upon seeing him. I think it was all the emotions of the past week building up, plus it was 2am. But you ask her and Lauren will tell you she had the time of her life traveling with Mommy to and from Michigan!

Big Gender Reveal

On Saturday night (8.7.10), Brian and I hosted an appetizer party at Red Robin in Tacoma to announce the gender of our baby due mid December. These pics are only those from my camera, I'm sure others got more :) Thanks to our kids, my parents, Angela and Bryan, Kris, Jennifer and Cameron, Deon, and Jaime, John and Coby for sharing this special time with us!

Here is Nate with my parents. Nope, they were just as surprized as everyone else.

We ordered a cake with either a pink or blue center for the big reveal.

I cut into it and pulled it up. Jaime and Angela were right, IT'S A GIRL!!!
We almost blew the big surprise though. Brian made a slide show of the ultrasound pics, some of which said the gender. Luckily we caught these before they were passed around.

Lauren was trigger happy with the camera. Love this one of Jaime who looks thrilled to get a tab.

Spooky, my sister's bf Cameron when to high school with our server Kyle.

Got the thumbs up approval from Jennifer

Here is Riley and I (with Daddy in the background) that Lauren took. She's been into taking pictures of everything. I took one back and got this great picture of Riley and Lauren.


A very memorable evening!

FB: Last Cub Pinewood Derby

Due to sheer laziness coupled with a dash of morning sickness, I've been laxing on the blogs from Jan-June this year. So here is my 1st catch-up for 2010.

RILEY'S LAST CUB SCOUT PINEWOOD DERBY - January 2010

Sadly, we've come to the end of an era. Riley bridged to Boy Scouts in February.
In late January we attended Pack 42's annual Pinewood Derby.
Here is a pick of the kid's three cars. Nate's the fishing one, Riley the slick racer with a stripe, and Lauren tower, custom painted by her. Funny thing about Nate's this years new track had a top and his fisherman almost got decapitated. It just feel off, but he had a good sense of humor about it.


Here's Riley and the beginning of the track holding his car, waiting for it to be placed. He loved his super slick race car. This year the went very well, the kids were into it but not competitive.


Here is a video of Riley's 2nd or 3rd race in his Den.


Though Lauren and Nate were only racing for fun, Riley placed first place in his Webelos Raven's Den for the first time. He even got a trophy (the Pack's first time for those).

The three kids at the finish line with their cars, I'm proud of my little racers!