Finally...A NEW Stove!

Who would have known that when you own a home that is over 18 years old they would no longer make the same kind of stove to put in when the old one died. We have been babying our poor old stove along for years, but I was tired of having to bang the units with a frying pan to make them work. And who would have guessed that a stove would have to cost so much! We had a drop in range, and they no longer make those. So, we had to make the space work for a slide in. Thankfully my dad could do the wiring! (I forgot to get pictures of this :( ) And Rob cut and sanded cupboards, counters and flooring and cut some more to make the unit slide in finally. Now I even have a drawer for pots and pans!
It is so awesome to have a handy hubby and dad! I would be lost without them! Love you both!

Pumpkin Patch!

Ricky's 3rd trip to a pumpkin patch...couldn't be missed! We all went out and had a fabulous afternoon: photos, hay mazes, pumpkin decisions, carmel apples, popcorn, tattoos, firetrucks, horses, etc. We all came home happy, dry & not muddy. Pretty good for Oregon in October!

Raquel & Anthony's Wedding

September 18th, 2010, Rob's cousin Raquel & Anthony got married in Gold Gate Bridge Park! A beautiful outside wedding, a gorgeous day for San Fran, and a fabulous reception. 2 nights with NO kids!

9/9/2011

GOTCHA DAY!
We celebrate what Ricky refers to "gotcha day" each year on the 9th of September. This is the day that Ricky came to live with us forever. The day consists of a present for Ricky and a present for Ebby the elephant, plus dinner at La Costita! Always a very special day!

School Year Begins

Although, not all on the same day...school did begin again!
My beautiful freshman! (I must add in college lest she kills me...having to take a photo was bad enough!)

My gorgeous Sophmore!

Ricky...5th grade! Last year of elementary school!

Dad's 73rd Birthday

I surprised my dad with a ride on a bi-plane yesterday. We flew up the gorge, past Crown Point, Multnomah Falls and to the dam. On the way back we went thru Sandy, Corbett and up the Sandy River. We had a blast together. Happy Birthday Dad. We love you!

Father's Day 2010

We enjoyed a lovely day at home after church.

My dad and me.

Dad, Rob and the kids.

Rob with his children!

Nicole - Our Valedictorian!

June 14th, Nicole graduated as one of the Valedictorians from Reynolds! We were mighty proud! Here is Nicole with some of the special people in her life. Make sure and take note of the bottom middle photo of Amanda and Ricky! They had heard enough about the "ropes" and metals! It was a lovely evening. It actually didn't take as long as we thought to name off almost 700 names! Congratulations Nicole!

My Dancers!

Amanda just celebrated 10 years of dance...Nicole 7 years! This year they both took 2 classes of hip hop with their favorite teacher Donnie! I do believe that we are almost ready to retire from the dance world...but then again...maybe not!

Nicole's 2010 Grad Party!

Here is Nicole and some of her favorite people sporting the 2010 green graduate glasses! Thanks to all that came and helped Nicole celebrate her High School Graduation!

I Learned Today

I learned today that sashes are just as good as cords! Let me give you a little history. You see there has been quite some controversy in our household about the stress one would bestow upon themselves to get a "rope" aka cord to wear around ones neck at graduation. One of our daughters sees this as an extreme importance...the other sees this as STUPID! Need I say more.

Yesterday morning we attended a honors recognition breakfast to honor seniors. Nicole received not only a silver cord for more than 250 community service hours but also a sash that says Valedictorian. It was after this that I then learned that sashes can be and are just as important as the cords! Stay tuned...we have plenty more discussions to come about these things.

The FINAL BAND Concert!

I seem to be the only one excited that this was the last band concert I hopefully ever have to attend! And I repeat...the only one! Everyone else was sad that there would be no more band concerts, state performances...etc. Although, we still have the Disneyland Heritage Band Festival this coming weekend and Starlight Rose Parade! The seniors got to wear their prom dresses...thus all the different colors. Nicole received her senior rose and her 4 year letter in band. We were proud parents! Goodbye HS Band...

Nicole's 18th Birthday

Birthday dinner at Red Robin with the family and Julia. Nicole received a very special heart necklace from us that had 2 of the diamonds Debbie had received from her grandmother in it. We had wrote a letter telling her how much she is loved, how proud we are of her and how we know she can accomplish anything she puts her mind too! A very special night.

THE BOWLING EXTRAVEGANZA!!!

Nicole had several friends join us for an awesome night of bowling, cake & ice cream. We had a great time at Rose Bowl bowling several games together. It was a hoot!

18 Years Ago Today...

we became parents for the first time! We were so excited. We were married in 1987, but waited to have kids. We wanted to own a home, be established in our work place, travel and have some fun. I always wanted a girl...at least one. We didn't find out what we were having, we waited the entire 9 months + 2 weeks to find out. Monday, May 11, 1992 at 10:47pm following the Trailblazers Playoff game with the Pheonix Suns, Nicole Marie was born.

8 lbs 13 1/2 oz and 19 1/2 inches long.

Wow were we excited!

Easter...1997...not quite 2!

Our beautiful 18 yr old Senior!

We are not sure where the time has gone.

Are we actually old enough to have an 18yr old child?

We don't think so...but we do!

Nicole, we love you more than words can express. We are proud of you and what you stand for and what you have accomplished this far in life. You are a beautiful young women.

We will always be here for you...we are your biggest fan club.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Dad & Mom

Senior Prom 2010

Group of Nicole's friends who came over for dinner before prom! Made them pose and smile pretty!

Mom, Nicole, & Dad

Nicole and Matt.

Isn't she just beautiful!

Happy 10th Birthday Ricky!

Hard to believe...but Ricky turned 10 today!

What a busy week and weekend we have had of baseball and birthday celebrations! Last Sunday, Ricky celebrated his birthday at the zoo with his birth family. This weekend was a baseball tournament and tomorrow is our 5th game in a row...we are exhausted! Between games we have had a few celebrations. Last Saturday Rob's family helped Ricky celebrate the beginning of the birthday week at LaCostita...his favorite restaurant. We had a family dinner on Friday night and yesterday he had several friends over. We had a Mexican themed party with Mexican candies and nuts...I even made a sombrero cake and we had a lot of fun with the pinata! Today Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Kelli, and the Eric Moffat family joined us for pizza at Abby's. We had cake too! Sam & Maggie even helped Ricky put together one of his new Lego's. In the one photo you will notice Ricky is sporting his new Paul Frank pj's and a sombrero! (This photo is for you Leah!)
Ricky we love you and are very proud of how far you have come in the last 19 months we have known you...Thanks for letting us be your forever family! <3

Easter 2010!

One of the only holidays that we spend as a family, just the 5 of us! We had a fabulous day. Church together in the morning, followed by a wonderful dinner of steak, ribs & pork chops on the BBQ, steamed asparagus, leftsa (a German dish similar to tortillas, but made out of mashed potatoes, and home made fresh pineapple upside down cake! Yummy! We did some Easter egg dying too! And of course, everyone got a basket of goodies. It was a wonderful day together. He is Risen Indeed!

Maui - Spring Break 2010!

Maui...need I say more! Here are just a few of my photos...the girls have many more. Fresh pineapple, "Cool Cats Diner", "Burgers in Paradise", Sun, Sand, Snorkeling, Whale Watching Excursion, Swimming, laying in the sun, shopping, lei making & hula dancing classes, fresh farmers markets, pearls...all this plus much more equals so much fun. I was extremely lucky to be able to take my two daughters away for 6 days to Maui. We had a fabulous time together. Laughing, talking, "bonding"! It was an absolutely priceless moment I will never forget!

Amanda Turns 15!

My baby girl turned 15 on March 15th! There was a lot of 15 things... We had several celebrations. We had dinner with Grandma & Grandpa & Aunt Kelli, Uncle Gary & Aunt Sharon and Amy came. We had the usual embarrassment at Red Robin as a family. We also had dinner with Rob's family at his sister's house. Amanda got a lap top from Grandma & Grandpa...you should have seen the excitement there! Of course we had to show off our fabulous toes in our new Nike sandals.

Probably Amanda's happiest moment was when she got her permit! On her FIRST (1st) try! She had to rub that into her sister a little!

We love you Fritze and are so proud of you. You are beautiful on the inside and the outside!

Vegas Baby!

A lot has happened since my last post...so there will be much to come! The first thing was Rob & I celebrated my birthday in Vegas! Rob met Elvis, I "saw" Donny & Marie, the lions at the MGM were beautiful, The Bellagio was breath taking, The Venetian was gorgeous, wonderful food...and some great shows! We had a marvelous time. Thanks to Nicole for being the "mother" while we were gone. <3