Happy Birthday Andy!!

Hey Andy! Happy Birthday! How old are you now? Sorry, I had to steal this picture from Becky's blog, but it is the only one from you birthday dinner here. Hope you are having fun back home. It was 80 degrees here yesterday and it is supposed to snow today/night! Crazy I tell you. Snow on your birthday, has that ever happened before? Sorry if your first message from the kids was all screaming, and the second one was really long, Brooke had the phone and refuses to give it up! Have a great day. We love and miss you already.

Pictures from, oh, about the past month!

Here goes my longest post so far! This will bring me up to date, starting with were I left off...Easter.

"Quick-nic" 2008
My family always goes on what we call a "Quick-nic" in Alaska, because it is too cold on Easter for a real picnic. They are short, on the side of the Seward Highway on your way to Girdwood or just after and half in the car and halfway out! Down here, we just try to keep them to 45 min max! This year was 30 minutes, I believe. Last year we went to this park and so we picked up Andy again and went to the same place. Poor kids, just when they really start to have fun, I tell them it is time to go. But that is what a "Quick-nic" is all about!
Wes was a bit nervous on the monkey bars, last year at this time is when he fell off the monkey bars and broke his humerus and was in a cast from his armpit to knuckles for 8 weeks! I made him stay up there until I got a picture. He just wanted Andy to stand by him.

Of course, anything Wes does, Brooke has to do. Andy was holding her so she wouldn't fall.

This wheel spins around, it was kinda hard to do with only one hand. Andy is a fun uncle to play with!

Wes' Piano Recital

Where are the pictures of Wes? Well, I took a video of him playing just for the blog and it turned out to be 189 MB and won't load! So all we have of this night is Brooke on the chair with his piano book!

Wes's teacher said he picks up playing the piano really fast. He is amazing when it comes to music. He has a true fascination for classical music. He is one smart boy. For the recital they got to choose which songs they wanted to play, he choose a song about a train and one about chimes (it sounds like chimes from a coo-coo clock).

Now let me introduce to you Brooke's first crush, Hayden. He is 10 years old and lives up the street. His mom and I are good friends. Brooke tells me everyday that, "Hayden awesome." , "I love a Hayden." and "Hayden a cool." Last year Hayden taught Brooke how to give hi-five. He thought that was pretty cool too, so now they are best friends. I really like this picture!

School Field Trip to Bean Museum

This picture is just in here from this past month to show you how tall Wes is! These are kids from his class. I think the little girl on the right is so stinking cute.

Toast and Jam
Brooke and Wes love toast and jam, however, when Brooke eats it, she always ends up looking like this!

Dinner With Becky's Family

One Sunday Becky's family came over for dinner, Brooke was especially excited. Lately she has been wanting to be called "Ashley" when she gets out of the bath and is all wrapped up in her towel and having her hair brushed.

Becky, Ashley (Brooke's cousin) and "Ashley"!

Becky decided to do Brooke's hair. I don't know how, but somehow it ended up in two braids, with one of them swooping around to meet the first! Pretty creative. Brooke loved it and once again did her princess dance.

Ahhh, Becky sleeping on our couch with Ashley.


Brooke Getting Her Ears Pierced

Brooke has been trying to pierce her own ears for a while now, so I finally took her in to have them done. Dave went next door and brought back a little drink of Orange Julious for her to help distract her.

She tells everyone "I have my earrings a pierced."

Spring Break Dinosaur Museum

One of our activities we did for spring break this year was go to the dinosaur museum with our neighbors, the Mason's. Brooke loved it and now is obsessed with dinosaurs.

The only reason this first picture is in here is so you can see that she really did have on a nice shirt at the beginning of the day at the museum.

There is an erosion table for the kids to play in. It has coarse sand and plastic trees and dinosaurs for the kids to play with and then every once in a while the water is let out and washes away what they worked so hard to build.
Brooke got her shirt so wet that I had to take it off of her and hang it over the stroller to dry out before we went back outside where it was windy and cold! So in the next few pictures you will see her in her onsie with her princess stickers plastered on it from using her potty earlier in the day (before getting ready to leave).

Hannah, Wes, and Emily playing.

Rachel and Brooke. Rachel hardly got dirty in the sand and water.

I turned the corner and Rachel and Brooke were right up in the sharks mouth! I thought it was cute. Sharks are another think Brooke is obsessed with, she is always talking about them.

At the dinosaur museum there are 13 gnomes in the wall murals. I took a close up of one of them here so you know what to look for next time anyone goes there. They are fun to find. I haven't found all of them yet, and they won't tell you where they are either.


My Model

One day I braided Brooke's hair and I asked her if she wanted me to take a picture of it for Papa, she said "Yyyyeeeesssss!" So we went into the front room and I let her do what ever she wanted, I didn't pose anything, I did open the blinds and that was all. The rest was up to her and I cracked up. You will see, I just sat in the corner and that was all, I didn't even prompt her. You will see why she is "My Model"

Seaka's 1st Hair Cut

Dave has been pressuring me to get rid of Brooke's "rocker mullet". That was part of the deal with her "earrings a pierced". So here are some before and after pictures at the salon. I took her to the girl that cuts my hair. Brooke had been eating chocolate that the receptionist gave her, so it is all around her mouth.



She loved getting her hair cut. For a couple of days before I would talk to her about it, what my friend Aimee was going to do, like spray her hair and comb it, put a drape on her and cut it with scissors. She sat completely still and smiled the entire time.

When she was finished she did her famous princess dance over and over for everyone who would watch her, they were all clapping and smiling at her. It was the cutest thing ever! So later that day we went back to the salon because a friend from out of town was getting her hair cut and when Amanda was finished, Brooke went right up to the chair and sat down and wanted her hair done again by Aimee! It was funny. Brooke is such a girl, Dave and I love it.


Dinner with Grandma Kay, Tepanyaki Style

Dave and I wanted to go to a movie the other night and Grandma had a better idea, going to dinner. So we went to Tepanyaki. It was a lot of fun. Brooke was terrified of the fire at all the stations and Wes was afraid of catching shrimp in his mouth.

Wes thought the chef's skills were pretty cool with the utensils here. Look at Brooke, she had the napkin on her head in anticipation of the fire. But the next thing he knew the grill was on fire!

Where did Wes go? Now you see him, now you don't. He ducked under the table once it lit up!

When it came time to catch the shrimp Wes was finally excited to try it and that made Brooke all excited. Between the two of them we were cracking up. She sat there with her mouth wide open waiting for one to fly right in. It didn't happen that way.

Wes tried and tried, with no success. You can see the shrimp in the air, which I think hit him in the face. They tried 4 or 5 times and non of them went in his mouth. Poor kid.

Thanks Grandma for a yummy dinner and left overs! We loved it.

Ahhh, finally, done. I need to get Wes's piano video working. He really is quite good at it.

My kids have been tagged...

I think this is a fun twist on the ol' blog tagging! I think I will just list some fun facts we love about our kids.


Wes, Kiddo, Crazy

1. When he grows up he wants to be a Policeman, firefighter, someone who works in an office, train conductor, a teacher, and a "fixer" among other things.

2. He loves to ride his bike, ride dirt bikes (motorcycles-he has only done once), playing the Wii, bowling, helping me bake, play with his friends, LOVES trains, trains, trains.

3. He would really love it if I came home with a pair of Heally shoes for him, a bigger bike, his own Wii, or even a Gameboy.

4. His favorite foods are pork burritos with green chille sauce, "ah moni cheese" (mac and cheese), watermelon, sprite, chocolate milk, eggnog, ice cream.

5. Wes loves school and learning. He loves classical music and plays the piano. He prepares his room as a class room and teaches Dave and I. Our last classes were on "respect" and "money".

Brooke, Seaka, Bonita

1. When Brooke grows up she will be a Princess, of course! She now refers to herself (with no help from Dave or I) "Seaka-rella" !! She loves all the princesses. She sometimes calls Tinkerbell "Seakabell" and Snow White "Snow Wipe". I am impressed that a 2 year old knows every single princesses name when you point to them.

2.She currently "loves" everything. At least that is what she will tell you! We do know that she loves Little Einsteins, Princesses, Charlie and Lola, shoes, dresses, having her picture taken, anything her dad is eating, and jewelry.

3. Her favorite foods are anything her dad is eating, suckers, and things that have a lot of flavor or spice.

4. She would love if I brought home shoes and earrings to her! She would say, "Ah, beautiful, I love it, I love it!" and then spin around with it in her arms and do a princess dance.

5. She is still learning to use the potty. After doing her "business" the other night, we celebrated by getting ice cream at McDonald's. Then we came home and yes, I let her look in her potty again before I flushed it in the big potty so we could celebrate all over again. She kept telling me "Seaka a big girl"!!!

***I am now tagging all children whose last names are Pulham, Newman, Jones, Stanton, and Audrey's boys!***

Easter Activities

Yeah!! The Easter Bunny is coming tonight! Brooke and Wes can hardly wait since we ran into the real live Easter Bunny at Costco on Friday after Suzanne's Easter Egg Hunt at the park. Brooke ran right up to the Easter Bunny and gave him the biggest hug. Everyone around was laughing because all the other kids in line were crying, afraid of him. She totally cut in front of them-eyes locked on the bunny. Do not stop her, she must hug the bunny.

All day Wes has been waiting to color Easter Eggs, so at 7:30 tonight I finally gave in to possible semi-permanent rainbow on my kids clothes, hardwood floors, tables, counter tops, white sink, dog, carpet, etc. I am not sure what we are going to do with these beautifully colored eggs yet. He will want to keep them for many months to come. Somehow Dave and I will have to devise a plan to slowly pluck them off one by one.

Brooke loved it. She told me what colors she wanted. Like how I made her exchange her dress for an apron?!

Wes is letting his eggs take a long bath in there colored water. They need to be nice and bright! We had cool crayons that you can color on the egg first so that the dye won't stick to the egg. It was pretty fun to see what Wes wrote on his eggs.

He wrote "Good" and his name on most of them! He is a good boy. He just had his parent teacher conference on Friday for the 3rd term. In kindergarten they get 1-4's instead of A-F's. He got all 4's! His teacher wrote "Wes is brilliant"! His reading is off the scale for kindergarten. He really is amazing.

I love this picture. And Brooke loves her eggs! I asked her what she wanted me to write and then she would dunk them into her water bathes. She said "Seaka" (our nickname for her, Wes named her that when I was pregnant), one says "Seaka Shoes" (she has a real shoe fetish), "CANDY", and then she drew on the others.

The kids didn't make a mess at all!!! Yeah for me!!

This is the Easter Egg Hunt that Suzanne (my cousin, Richie's wife) put on in her pack yard park. The kids loved it.

It was Brooke's first hunt. At first she didn't know what to look for and Wes was off and I had no idea where he was to take his picture until the end.

We stayed to play at the park and all the kids gathered at the merry go round. Wes was the official pusher.

Soon he had a helper, Andrew did a great job and kept up quite well! I think he only fell due to lack of leg length once!

And can you tell that Brooke absolutely loved the ride! Wes and Andrew must have been doing a great job. That smile says it all!

Happy Easter!! So I want to know whose idea it was for the Easter Bunny to come and have Easter baskets in the first place! Since Dave is working the night shift tonight, we can't have our egg hunt that the Easter Bunny leaves in our house down stairs in the morning. So he (she) had to be extra sneaky and put it in their rooms! She was total stealth tonight. Didn't make one single noise in their rooms. I wonder how long it will take for them to notice that they have their own individual Easter Egg Hunts in their rooms! I hope they have fun when they wake up!

Crazy 8 Brand Kids Clothes

Have you ever heard of Crazy 8 brand? I just did from my friend Kim's blog. It is another line of Gymboree, like Gap and Old Navy are. They have stores in California, Texas and New Jersey I think. Anyway, their website is www.crazy8.com

Today I just ordered a couple of things for the kids for this summer and used the promo code "SAVE20" that I found on the Internet. You will save 20% and have free shipping. Shipping is only $5 anyway, but $5 is $5!

They have t-shirts for boys that are only $5 that are fun under Crazy Deals, the girls Crazy deals weren't that cute (I don't think). They have some things that were 50% off too.

Spin or Not to Spin

For the past 2 months my friend Jamey and I have been going to a spin class twice a week and I LOVE it! Except for all the sweat and burning of the muscles that I didn't know my body even had! The last time I went to a spin class was when Wes was maybe 1 or 2 years old and I hated it. The teacher was so mean. She would twist the nob if she didn't think it was at a hard enough tension for you! I know, you want to smack her, but then you would fall off your bike, yes the stationary bike!

So about 4 years later Jamey talked me into taking this class with her and I completely love it, the only problem is, it is over in two weeks. I only have 4 classes left.

So that means I am going to have to sign up for a gym membership...again. I hate going to the gym. I feel so dumb there and out of place. You have to be so perfect to go here in Happy Valley with all the college students.

One of the Gold's here has a Cardio Cinema that Dave is trying to talk me into using since I have been liking the spin class. And I would be able to get back into yoga. hooowwwwmm......Not sure how to spell that, but it's me meditating!

And yuck, the thought of gym babysitting. Help, advice?! Well, now it is time for my class...Yeah! Have you ever been so excited to excersice?

New Easter Tradition - Tomb Buns/Balloon Buns

So from the Scribbit blog my sister pointed out this recipe and then I took the picture from Lizanne's blog. I think I will be trying this with Wes this year and hopefully we can start to do it every year. Depending on how hard it is! I think if you use the Rhoades Rolls like Lizanne did, it should be pretty easy. Just thaw first.

For the Dough:

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon fast acting yeast

Mix the dough as you would any other bread dough (either in a bread machine or by traditional hand methods). Once you have the dough ready, separate it into 18 equal pieces and roll slightly into a round of dough.

For the rest of the recipe you'll need:

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

18 large marshmallows

Mix the sugar and cinnamon together. Dip one marshmallow in the melted butter, covering it completely, then roll it in the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Take one of the rounds of dough and wrap it around the marshmallow, sealing it carefully. This is tricky with the greasy butter but if it doesn't seal the marshmallow will leak out during the baking.

Once they're sealed, dip the tops in melted butter then again in the cinnamon and sugar! Place them in greased muffin tins (not lined with papers). Let raise until doubled.

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly browned. The marshmallow melts, leaving a cave inside.

Best while eaten warm with a cool glass of milk (so they say!)

**I am going to try them with Rhoades Rolls first***