The Pugmires

Ben!

2011-04-20T21:24:00.000-07:00

Back in the middle of April, my younger Brother Ben left on his mission to Tulsa Oklahoma. This mission actually covers Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Arkansas. We were able to go down to Oregon to his farewell, to see my family and wish him luck!! Ben is going to be an amazing missionary. He is more than ready, and has one amazing and powerful testimony of the gospel. No one forced, or bribed, or even talked him into going at all, it was completely his own decision, and was and is so excited to be serving the Lord! We're so proud of you Ben!!!!

I don't know what happened to some of these pictures, but the quality got all messed up. Here is Ben and Charli

Charli and my youngest sister Anna

My brother Nick, my Dad, Chris and sleeping Brooks, and Ben.

Ben and my Dad

Ben 3 days before leaving!!!

Charli at 3 years and 9 months!

2011-04-01T21:20:00.000-07:00

With this girl, its hard to know where to even begin. She is constantly going through different phases, and into different things, that its hard to keep it all straight! One thing she has always been though is sweet as can be. She is so caring about every bug, worm, frog, dog cat (basically all animals) but she also is so caring to all her little dolls, and stuffed animals. Every single one (that's in her room) has to have a bed and a pillow.... that gets old fast haha! At first I thought it was just a stalling technique at bed time. Which she has MANY of, but then if you listen outside her door, your heart will just melt, as she says goodnight to all her babies, and tells them stories, and makes sure they're all covered up. She truly has a heart of gold. She sticks up for her little brother, cares about her friends and their feelings, and is always telling everyone how much she loves them! OK enough bragging about my first born little girl! I really love her to death!

She likes to help me around the house.... here she is making a necklace / noose out of the vacuum cord.

Some of Charli's favorite things:

MERMAIDS! ..... She is completely convinced they are real, and that someday she is going to be one.

Fairies, or anything with wings... which she also desperately wants.

School

Gum

All people her age:)

Fish! She's just like her dad. She likes to look at them, catch them and eat them! Although its so funny because she tells me she only eats the fish that have no eyes.... OK....

Dora, Bubble Guppies, Jake and the Never Land Pirates

Going to her Gooma's house

Going on vacations

Dressing up

The baby in my tummy

Feeding the birds

Wow this list really could go on forever, so lets just say she loves life, and there are few things she really doesn't like right now.

So the other night she told me to come into her playroom because she drew an "Amazing" picture of me, and one of dad too! She has drawn many pictures of us before, but for some reason these made me laugh so hard. listening to her describe what she drew was the best! She counted all the fingers, and on my picture told me I have brown eyes and a big nose, and lots of hair! hahaha! Che said Chris has a little bit of hair, and that he had red in his eyes. Seriously this will probably never be funny to any one but me because I was there, but I LOVE her little pictures she draws!

I feel like I need to say a little more about the mermaid obsession. She really loves mermaids, especially Ariel more than anything. She will slither around the floor, and tell me that's how mermaids move inside houses... She always wants to wear a swimsuit in the bath, and when ever Ursula dies at the end of the Little Mermaid, she will say "Mom, who's going to turn me into a mermaid now??"

She loves loves the zoo. Mostly because of the room with all the birds that come and land on a "seed stick" that you can buy for a dollar! She would go every day if it were up to her!

I know I'm leaving an insane amount of fun things out, about our little Charli, but I suppose that's more motivation for me to keep up on my blog! I can't wait to start posting all the funny things she says, because at least once a day, usually more, she makes me laugh by the funny random things she comes up with. We love her so much, and couldn't ask for a more perfect daughter!

Brooks at 19 Months!

2011-03-29T22:00:00.001-07:00

Its hard to believe my little baby boy is 19 nearly 20 months old!! I know everyone says this, but time has flown by with him like I cannot believe! Sometimes I wish I could freeze time, and enjoy every moment at certain ages!! Brooks is at such a fun age right now, where he loves to play, chase our animals, cuddle with me, read books, and follow his big sister! Although its a fun age, its also a very challenging age... in his case! I love this boy dearly, but I am not kidding when I say he is the busiest kid I have EVER met! He is into anything and everything, and goes from one thing to another, leaving giant messes behind him! He honestly loves nothing more than to empty out cabinets, unroll the toilet paper, dump out the dog food and water, climb on tables (and of course push anything that was on the table off), get into my make-up, and the list goes on! I have rearranged our whole house trying to keep things out of his reach, but let me tell you, where there's a will there's a way, and this guy does not give up! He always has a plan, and will find a way to carry it through! I honestly admire him for this... he keeps me on my toes. All the time. He also has a good arm! He often practices is skills during dinner when you put anything in front of him he's not in the mood for. He's pretty good, and can through handfuls of food clear across the room. Impressive really. Anyways as much of a handful as he can be, he is the sweetest most adorable little guy ever. I love watching him with our little dogs, when he tries to be so gentle and pet them softly. I love how Charli can make him laugh so hard, and seeing how much he loves her!

So this guys is OBSESSED with water!! I'm talking any puddle, toilet, glass, you name it, he wants in it! No matter how cold it is, what he's wearing, or what danger it may pose, my little Brooks is a fish at heart, and loves nothing more than being soaking wet! Needless to say bath time is his favorite time of day! In this picture, Chris was gonna take a shower, and forgot that you cant turn the water on until the moment your gonna get in, unless you want to find brooks waiting for you!

My little mans favorite things:

TV: sesame street, tinker bell, bolt, cars, Shrek, Elmo, and Dora/Diego)

Food: fruit snacks, rice, spaghetti, cereal, yogurt, french fries, grapes, blueberries, pretty much all fruit, goldfish, popcorn, pb&j, juice, milk, and of course if he gets any candy!

Animals! He loves the pet store!

Coloring with markers.... on anything!

Bath time Water in general

Climbing! on everything!

Taking off his socks and shoes

Reading books

His ball popper toy

His Cars

Balls, and playing catch!

Going to the movies!

Being with people he knows and loves

Brooks Dislikes:

Teething! The poor guy has 8 teeth coming in right now!!!!!! So sad.

Getting pulled away from anything his into

Being told NO

Most food

Taking medicine! Ive never seen a kid so good at spitting out every last speck of it!

This is the cat at my mother in law's' house, and Brooks LOVES it! Her name is Tabitha, and he goes crazy every time she's out!

My little guy has quite the head of hair! We honestly need to cut it again, but on good days.... its just so cute I cant!! But let me tell you, he uses his hair as a napkin, and literally I have to wash his hair in the sink after almost every meal! Gross!

Its hard to believe in just two short months this little guy is gonna be a big brother! He still seems like my little baby:)

Happy Brooks at 19 months!!!! I truly love this little boy more than I could ever say! He brings so much to joy and happiness to our lives, and I can't imagine our family without his little face! I can't wait to see how he grows, and who he becomes! Honestly I don't want him to change a bit! You're perfect Brooks!!!

December 2010

2011-03-27T21:22:00.000-07:00

The month of December (like every year) just flew by!! we were so busy and did so many fun things, it was just over before we knew it! I love the Holidays so much, and this year was particularly fun because Charli was really old enough to get very excited about all the things we were doing, and couldn't wait for Santa to come!

Every year Charli's preschool puts on a Christmas play, one for the 3 year olds, and one for the 4 year olds. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen! They all came marching in singing "We wish you a Merry Christmas" complete with hand motions, then sang a few other songs, while telling the Christmas story of Merry and Joseph and baby Jesus. They also did sign language to silent night! The whole thing was as cute as can be, and you can tell how hard the kids worked on their songs, and lines!! Chalri said a bunch of things, but the one thing I remember was "Joseph dearest, Joseph mine, help me hold this babe of mine." So sweet. Brooks was a handful as usual, but we did what we could to stuff his face with snacks, and managed to make it though the 45 minutes!

Afterward they had dessert underneath the church, and Charli had fun talking with her two best friends Grace Mitchell, and Grace Bates!

Chris and Charli pretty much tackled the ginger bread house themselves this year! I cant remember why I didn't really help... I must have not been feeling well. Anyways they did an awesome job, it seriously looked so good! Charli loved it, and made us keep it long after Christmas. Sometime in January she even made me make more gingerbread men, because she said someone needed to live in the house.

She was so good, and didn't even eat to much of the candy that was meant for the house!

I did what I could to keep Brooks occupied.

I feel like I'm leaving so much out, because I simply cant remember everything, but I do know that on Christmas eve, we had the Bates family over for a wonderful dinner and dessert, and then went to go look at Christmas lights! It was so fun, then when we got home, Chris read "the night before Christmas" and we left out milk and cookies, and of course carrots and reindeer food for Santa and his reindeer, and the kids went to bed! Anyways, I was so excited for the next morning, having this idea in my head of Charli so excited that Santa came and brought all these presents, but its funny how kids have a way of always surprising you..... On Christmas morning, Charli came into our room and the first thing she says, with a little sad face, is "Mommy.... Santa didn't come!" I was like what..... yes he did!! What are you talking about. I went out and looked down our stairs, and once I was confident we didn't get robbed in the middle of the night I asked what Charli was talking about, and she said that she didn't see Santa or the reindeer in the night!! It was so sweet. Somehow we must have confused her, and didn't make it clear that he only comes when you're asleep, and doesn't come in and wake you up!! Needless to say once she saw all her presents she got over her initial disappointment pretty fast! here she is on Christmas morning! Not the best quality pictures I know.

Merry Christmas Brooks!

Someones still waking up.....

Charli and her new doll house!

Brooks taking his new car for a spin!

On Christmas day, that night, we all went over to Chris's Mom's house to open more presents and have a big family dinner! It was wonderful, and so much fun to get everyone together like always! Someone had the idea to dress up all of our little boys in dress up, so seriously the only pictures I took the whole night were of them! On top is Mateo and Brooks!

This is Robbie, Greyson, Brooks and Mateo! We honestly had a wonderful Christmas!

Shortly after Christmas Chris and I took our kids, and headed over to Lake Chelan to enjoy some snow, and spend new years with our kids up there! It was soooooo much fun. One of the little weekend trips that I didn't want to end! On the way there, we of course stopped in Levenworth, the cutest little town on the planet! And for anyone who has not been there around the Holidays, its Amazing!!! The entire street is decked out on both sides with Christmas lights, and the little park is perfect for little guys to sled! We even saw someone propose to his girlfriend during the 2 hours we were there! I know these pictures are terrible and blurry, but they're all I took so here ya go!

Charli and Brooks

Getting Brooks to stay on the sled was a challenge.... but Chris made it happen!

Once in Chelan at the condo, we had so much fun! We took the kids to a real sledding hill, with the rope tow and all that good stuff, and Charli loved it! Brooks not so much. I don't know what he hated more, the actual ride down the hill, or the fact that he was so bundled up.... One thing he always loves though.... is the bath! Every night the kids were so excited to go in the Jacuzzi after a day in the snow! Especially when the so called "heated pool" was beyond freezing!!

Charli getting ready to head outside!

Brooks..... A happy camper before his coat, boots and gloves go on!

Father and Son!

November 2010

2011-03-26T15:32:00.001-07:00

November didn't quite start off the way we had hoped! Actually things started getting crazy on Oct. 30, when Brooks started coming down with the smallest little cough. He woke up with it, but it was nothing I would ever be concerned about. I put him down for a short nap, because it was late in the afternoon, but I wanted him to get some sleep, because we were going to our ward "trunk or treat" that night. While he was sleeping Chris, Charli and I were getting ready in my bathroom upstairs. I happened to look over at the monitor on my bedside table, and saw the lights going up and down, but didn't hear anything. I decided to go in and check on him, and found him in his crib gasping for air. His lips were turning blue, and he was trying to cry, but he just couldn't get enough air in and out. I grabbed him, ran into my bathroom, got Chris, and was literally ready to call 911, but after a minute of holding him, he calmed down a bit and the color came back into his lips. Needless to say, he needed to go to the ER because he sounded absolutely terrible, and we had no idea what was wrong with him. Chris insisted on taking him, so I stayed with Charli. At the hospital they opened his airway with epinephrine, gave him some steroids, and one or two albuteral treatments. What caused this whole thing, was apparently just the croup. I couldn't believe it when Chris told me, because the croup cough was something I thought all kids get! I know I had it when I was young, and it was NOTHING like this. Apparently Brooks has a very small airway, so when he gets respiratory illnesses they can come on strong and fast, and will present themselves like this!! Scary. Anyways he sounded much better when he came come, and aside from being awake all night from the steroids they gave him, he seemed OK. The next day was Halloween, and they told us if we wanted too, that we should take him out, because the cool air will be good for him, so we did. He sounded OK the whole day, and even after trick-or-treating. But that night, it was the same story all over again. This time at the hospital they admitted him, and Chris and him stayed the night. They monitored him all night long, gave him more treatments, and told us there is really nothing more that can be done, its just a virus that has to run its course!! They came home the next day, and long story short, he coughed for a few more days, but no more scary breathing issues after that:) But it wasn't long after when the flu came around, and all of us got it, one by one, starting with Brooks who was lucky enough to have it for almost 2 weeks! Charli was next, then Chris, and finally me. Luckily with both Chris and I, it only lasted for about 24 hours.

Here is my poor sick little kiddo's watching something on the couch.

Finally on to better topics!!! I thought I'd throw this picture in, because I think you can really see Brooks starting to look a little older here.

Also in November, Chris had the honor of baptizing his little brother Torrin. His other brother Jeff, then confirmed him a member of the church. It was a very special night for everyone involved, and all of us who were able to attend! Afterward we all went back to my mother-in-laws house for dessert, and to celebrate with Torrin. It was so amazing to see him so excited about finally turning 8 so he could be baptized!

We tried to get a picture of all the cousins, and of course Chris's little bros and sisters, and this was one of the best we got! We're missing Jen and Andre's kids, and of course Brian and Katie's little Eddie. Also Kofi, and AJ..... I guess we're missing quite a few! I didn't take any pictures, but we had a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with Chris's family at his Mom's house. There were TONS of people, tons of food, crazy kids running wild, and lots of love! Some other things that happened in November were FINALLY getting to see Tangled, which we all loved, Chris and Jeff doing black Friday shopping and waiting outside of Target all night long to get TV's, watching tons of football which I seriously LOVE, and spending lots of time with family. I know I leaving tons out, but that's what I get for waiting until MARCH to update this thing!

October 2010

2011-03-25T21:26:00.001-07:00

I love October! Its such a fun time of year, where you really feel like the weather starts to get cold, the leaves turn, and you have all the fun holidays to look forward too! These pictures are completely out of order, but I'm not changing it so oh well!! Looks like we're starting this post with the last day of the month October 31st HALLOWEEN!!

I stayed home this year, and handed out candy (dressed as scooby-doo) and Chris along with his brother Rob took the kiddo's out trick-or-treating. I was hoping my kids could hang in there, because Chris had the same mentality he probably had when he was ten years old which was "get as much candy as humanly possible". Here they are before heading out!

And..... here they are when they were all done! They came back and emptied those pumpkins into my huge bucket quite a few times! I should probably throw it away, but I have to say we STILL have tons of Halloween candy!

Brooks was our little Dalmatian

My two little munchkins!!

Brooks fueling up before heading out!

So... You may have seen Chris wear this before, and you will for sure see him wear it again in the future! He got this Mariachi suit on his mission in Mexico, and decided at some point that this was going to be his Halloween costume for the rest of his life! Seriously you've never seen pants so tight!

Charli was our beautiful Rapunzel this year! She hadn't even seen tangled yet, but wanted to be Rapunzel from watching the Barbie movie, and reading the book. Needless to say she is in LOVE with tangled!

So cute!

I can't count how many times I went to the pumpkin patch this year! We went once as a family, I went with Charli and her class, then we went like 100 times to the one right by my house, because my kids loved this big slide made out of a huge pipe!! Not to mention the baby chickens, cows, peacocks, pigs, horses, goats and the list goes on.

Here's Chris and Brooks on one of our quick trips to Carlton Farms (right down the street from us) because Charli loved this little train! Brooks was pretty indifferent:)

All smiles!

I don't know why I threw this pic in the mix, but I just love his little face all bundled up! Of course we were on our way to the pumpkin patch!

Our pumpkins this year..... that we carved a little to early AGAIN!! Haha!

Charli's Class went also went to Carlton Farms, and of course the parents were invited! It was super fun, except for the fact that it lightly rained half the time, and Brooks was hating his stroller, and letting me and everyone else know it!! Charli still had a blast, as she always does doing any activity!

Charli and Grace Bates

My sweet little girl in her rain coat!

Charli and Ms Teresa!

Charli and Grace Mitchell!

Charli's class! It was also this month that Charli told us about her boyfriend! (which she still has by the way) His name is Diego, and he's the little guy in the orange coat with the green boots! He's the cutest kid ever, with a little Spanish accent! I'm glad she has good taste hahaha!

Brooks favorite food = spaghetti!

Ok so check out those eyes!! At some point during this month he decided to give us this pose every time I pulled out the camera! It made me laugh so hard, because he honestly did it every time for at least 2 weeks straight!

Just random nights at home!

The "look" again!

At the beginning of the month we took the kids to "The Farm" which is most amazing pumpkin patch ever. Its family owned and they really go all out! They have duck races, amazing food, hay rides, fishing, petting zoo, play ground, and they even do a "3 little pigs show" where they have trained the pigs to come out of their little houses at just the right moment! It's AWESOME!! The only negative is that it can be pretty crowded on Saturdays which happens to be when we went.

Charli on the swing

Brooks and Charli on the swing

Charli with her favorite animal at the petting zoo, this tiny grey kitten!

Charli and a bunny

And just Charli!!!

September 2010

2011-03-25T15:13:00.001-07:00

In the month of September, the weather stayed pretty nice, which I was so happy about! Anyone who lives around here, knows how once it starts to rain and get cold, it lasts forever, so we all hang and try to take advantage of every last sunny day!!

This was one of those last few days of summer, and I took my kids, and some of my in-laws kiddos to Lundeen park so they could play on the toys, play in the sand, and of course feed the ducks!

I've realized that Chris and I hardly ever get any pictures together, because one of us (usually me) is always taking the pictures, and I hate asking people to take pictures for me. But this was one of those rare occasions, where we were without our kids, (at my friend Katie's beautiful wedding) and I had someone take our picture, so I thought I would post it!!

We had a few "firsts" this month! Charli had her first ballet class! I guess technically it was called "creative movement". Anyways she was sooooooo excited, mostly because the child loves nothing more than to dress up and dance around! You are aloud to wear pretty much what you want, as long as you have bare feet, so we had fun with that, and got her lots of fun tutus!!

Charli also had her first day of preschool!! I wasn't sure what she was going to think at first, but she has LOVED it from her first step in the door! She attends Elim Christian Preschool, and I love it, she learns so much, has made lots of new friends, and does the coolest (some times messiest) art projects that I would never think to do at home! She's had field trips, activities, and even a Christmas play! Here she is on her first day with her two best friends Grace Bates, and Grace Mitchell!

That's Brooks arm on the left. He and I both wish he could have stayed!!

They learned very quickly to recognize and write their own name!

Here she is on day one, with Ms. Teresa, one of her teachers. Ms, Felicia is her other teacher, and she loves them both!

This is that classic picture that we all take of our child on the front step before the big first day, with a back pack on, and a big smile!! I'm so happy she had such a wonderful experience with preschool this year! I will be sad when it's over in May, but looking forward to next year already!

When it comes to brooks in the month of September, he hit one major mile stone, and that's WALKING!!!! It took him a little longer than Charli who walked at ten months, but I was in no hurry to speed him up, because after walking comes, running, climbing, and therefor getting into EVERYTHING..... which is where we're at now! But of course we were proud of our little boy!!

The last big event of September, was finding out we are expecting baby number 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For those of you who didn't already know, I'm due May 18th, and we're having another little baby boy!! I'm seriously praying for a mellow child, considering Brooks is the busiest, craziest kid, who does and goes where ever he feels like, and throws major fits when he doesn't get his way:) ......we NEED an easy baby!! Hahaha! When I found out, I decided to let Brooks be the one to tell Chris, so I found this shirt, and waited for Chris to FINALLY notice what it said!! (it says big brother) His first response was "Whats up with Brooks shirt... did you get it on sale or something, because it doesn't make any sense" There's Chris for ya! But moments later he put it together, and we had a fun night celebrating the big news!

August 2010

2011-03-24T21:48:00.001-07:00

August was so hard to go back and recap, because we did so many fun things, a lot of which I didn't take any pictures of! We had such a fun summer, and August was as jam packed as it could have been, from trips to Chelan, camping, the fair, countless trips to parks and beaches, days and days spent at Chris's mom's pool, bbq's, and the list goes on! But I'll start with one of August biggest events in our family, which was Brooks first birthday! We didn't really have a theme, just had lots of friends and family over to have cake and ice cream and jump in the bounce house! Brooks had a blast, and so did we! We love our little boy so much, and couldn't imagine our lives without him! Happy birthday to our little Brooks!!

He's just hangin out before his party

Opening presents! He got waaaaay to much cool stuff!

Charli like all kids, loved helping him open his presents!

We tried to make all the kids line up youngest to oldest to hit the pinata, and it didn't take them long to bust it open

Brooks didn't disappoint when in came time to dig into his cake!

Brooks with his uncle Bucky, and his little cousin Eddie! They recently moved to NYC and we miss them like Crazy!! It was such a fun night, and we lucked out that we had perfect weather for both our kids birthday's!!

We actually made a couple trips to Chelan in August, but I combined these pictures. I absolutely LOVE going to Chelan, any chance I get! Sometimes it may seem like a hassle to pack up the kids, and the dogs, and go for a 3 hour drive, but its ALWAYS worth it! We fish, wake board, intertube, hang out at the beach, smores at night, bbq, boat rides, play at the playground, and swim at the pool. And that's just the summer time!

Here's Charli and Bella, patiently waiting their turn to go go-carting with their Dads!!

Charli loved it!

Tiana, Chris, Torrin, and Brian, showing off their big catch of the day!

Brooks Relaxin with Dad!!! Brooks is seriously obsessed with Chris! He goes to him over me EVERY time!! Although it hurts my feelings a little bit....... Its the cutest thing ever!

Swingin!

Brooks driven the boat like a pro!

Charli wake boarding with her Aunti Katie!! I couldn't believe she was brave enough to try this! I was so proud of her! And Katie is seriously a Pro!

One of Charli's favorite things about being on a boat, is holding up the orange flag, regardless if anyone's in the water of not! I had so many pictures of our trips to Chelan, I wish I was patient enough to put more up here, but lets just say we had SOOOO much fun! Looking at these pictures makes me so excited to go again ASAP!!

One day when Chris was in Alaska, I drove down to Portland to see my family!! Its always great to see them, and on this particular day, we took the kids to the Portland Zoo which was pretty awesome! This is my kids and I, with all my brothers and sisters. Ben, Danielle (holding Brooks), Anna, Charli, Me, and Nick..... Blue shorts is a stranger....

Kind of puts in perspective how big a polar beat is.....

I've never seen anything like this, but it was Amazing!! There were two black bears that were wrestling around like crazy, and growling loud enough for people on the other side of the zoo to hear! It was a super fun day, like always when we drive down there.

I wish I took more pictures of this day, because it was Incredible!! All my sister-in-law's (that live in state) and I were lucky enough to be able to celebrate Lindsay's 18th birthday, and my mother-in-law set us all up with a full spa day at the Gene Juerez at the Bellevue Galleria! We're talking Spa manicure, pedicure, spa facial, massage, Swiss shower, hair cut, makeup, and an amazing catered lunch!! Lindsay needs to turn 18 every year!!

This is all of us after our day. We stopped at Trophy Cupcakes and lit a candle for Lindsay!

Random cute pictures of the Forest Park Petting Zoo!

Charli kept asking me to take this little baby cow home......

Last but not least we had a really fun camping trip at Chris's Dad's property on Whidbey Island. The Mitchell's came with us, and the Bates came up for the first day!! In the summer, its one of the most beautiful places ever. It's peaceful, quiet, and secluded, but at the same time, its two minutes away from the beach, and only a ferry ride away from home! We love it there!

Here's the kids with "Missy" the deer. This is Bill's (friend of the family who takes care of the property) best friend! He loves this deer, and this deer loves bill!! She lives on the property, but comes and goes as she pleases, so you're lucky if you ever see her, and this trip we were lucky!!

Charli and Paisley fishing!

Brooks!

Some of the girls hangin out in the John Deer!! This was such a fun camping trip, I can't wait to do it again this summer. I guess I can't wait for summer in General! Every sunny day we get, it's amazing what a good mood I'm in! I hope this coming August is half as fun as the last one:)

July 2010

2011-03-23T22:21:00.000-07:00

To start my recap of July, we might as well start at the 4th!!! Chris once again was in Alaska for our fourth of July celebration, but lets just say he was probably warmer there, then we were that night!! Just take a look at what Charli's wearing, and you'll have an idea of how cold it was. Crazy for July. It was a fun night though, the Hilton's in our ward invited us to their dock on Lake Stevens to watch the fireworks, and it was a perfect view, to see all the firework shows in Seattle, and all the local shows off the lake! Brooks slept through the whole shebang, so you won't see any pictures of him:) Over all it was a great night, just super cold.

This is a step up from the year before when Charli was so scared of the fireworks, she spent the night crying, and slept in my bed! She actually enjoyed doing a few sparklers!!

All bundled up!

I didn't get any cool fireworks in this picture, but you get the idea.

One of our favorite things to do in the summer is to go to Chris's Mom's condo in Lake Chelan!! Its beautiful, the weathers always perfect, and you're guaranteed a great time! We go any chance we get! So one weekend, we stole a few of Judy's kiddos, and took off for the weekend!

Chris was really good at finding gigantic pieces of drift wood, dragging them into the water, and making super fun rafts for the kids!

Chris, Torrin, Tiana, Kofi and Charli

Big smiles from Charli and Tiana!

Tiana's great to have around, she's defiantly my little helper, and just loves, loves, loves, Brooks!!

Ahh cute:)

These next pics, are just some random days of summer fun! here is Charli and her cousin bella, at Mukilto Beach, one sunny day

Brooks and his cousin Mateo, who are only a month apart, same day!

Our kids had way too much fun, in our little blow up pool I put in our back yard!

These next pictures are a little backwards, but they are of Charli's first "Princess Party" She was then and still is now our little princess, and I mean that literally! There is nothing she would rather do than dress up and pretend she is a princess. So for her third birthday party, there was no question in what kind of party it would be!

This is Brooks in "the bounce house" We decided to get one for the kids for both their birthdays:) they LOVE it!! Its seriously so amazing, because in the summer it goes outside, and in the winter, and on rainy days, we put it up in our living room, and the kids go crazy!

Charli in her new bounce house

This birthday was extra special for Charli because the one and only "Cinderella" made a special appearance, and even read the kids a story about a princess, and gave the book to Charli!! Seriousy Charli still talks about Cinderella coming to her birthday, 10 months later!! A HUGE thank you to my friend Rachael for agreeing to come to her birthday!! You were a hit!!

When she left, all the girls were telling their parents that "the real" Cinderella was there!! She played the part from start to finish!

Cinderella Getting ready to read a story to the kids

Our future softball player!

All the little Princess's ....and the handsome Prince!

Charli helping Dad set up!

I tired to make the table cute..... but let me say, the slightest bit of wind made that a challenge! Its amazing what a small and I mean tiny breeze will to to paper plates and napkins!! This party was a lot of work, but it was completely worth it! I can't wait to do more birthday parties in the future, especially when my kids will actually be old enough to really remember them! It was truly a perfect night!

Our little Cinderella, in her new Cinderella outfit!

June 2010

2011-03-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

So in a word, June was "HAWAII"!!!!! Way back last June..... Yes I know I'm slightly behind on updating my blog.... we were lucky enough to be able to go to the North Shore of Oahu for TWO WEEKS for my sister-in-law Michelle's wedding! Needless to say it was Hawaii, so it was Amazing! Looking at these pictures makes me want to go back so bad, I'm seriously looking at flights on line. These pictures are really in no particular order from our trip, and they just a handful, considering I took about 500 pictures, but anyways 10 months later, here's our trip to Hawaii!!!!

The happy bride and groom, Michelle and Palauni Samumanutafa!!

The reception was amazing full of performances of all kinds, amazing food, and of course tons of family! The night went really late, and my little boy (10 months at the time) couldn't make it! I love sleeping babies!

My sis-in-law's Jen and Kristi had all the little girls do a Tahitian dance at the reception, and it was the cutest thing ever!!! They stayed up all night making the most adorable costumes for all of them!! Charli still loves hers, and puts it on all the time!

Charli and her uncle Keani dancing at the reception! Ahhhh cute!

These are the kind of pictures I get when I tell my kids to smile:)

They're looking good though!

My two handsome boys, before the reception started!

Some days at the pool were so exciting and full of fun that it just wore my kids out.

The last week of our trip, Chris, and and his brothers Rob and Jeff Met some of Palauni's friends and cousins who got them seriously addicted to spear fishing!! This was one of the few pictures I got, because when they really loved to go was about 10pm when it was pitch black. They would use spot lights to see the fish. I can't think of anything more scary than swimming in the open ocean during sharks feeding time. I glad no one got eaten.

Our princess at the beach

Chris outside the AMAZING house we stayed in for the last week, after cracking open this coconut with his bare hands!!

Charli and the beautiful bride!

Trying to get a cute picture outside Chris's parents beach front villa we got to stay at during our first week

Charli Golfing with her Daddy on Fathers Day!

Brooks and his cousin Grayson at the famous Hanauma Bay. This is the most amazing snorkeling spot ever! There are tropical fish and sea turtles everywhere! We even got Charli a little snorkel, and she was able to go out with us, and see all the amazing things, including a huge turtle that she still talks about!

Chris and I decided to spend two nights down in Waikiki, just for fun, and this is just us outside of the international market place!

We found some random person to take a picture of us, and believe it or not, this is one of the only family shots we got on the the whole trip!

We spent a day at the Sea Life Park, and the kids loved it!! There was all sorts of things to see and touch, including a sea lion and penguin show, and an amazing dolphin show!

Charli and Brooks!

Boogie boarding at the beach! All the kids loved this, but I have to say, so did I! I hadn't done it in years, and forgot how much fun it was! I believe this was at Castle Beach.

One day, we took all these kids, and hiked up to the top of Diamond head mountain! Its quite the climb, but worth it at the end.

The view.

There were some seriously crazy long, steep stairs, that seemed to go on forever!!!!!

My boys, at Waimea Bay!

Just another Day at the beach!! We honestly did so much this trip I can hardly believe it. I wish I had the time to post all my pictures, but seeing as I have July through this March still to go, Im gonna leave it as is:) But I will list some of my favorite things we did, for my own memory: Castle beach with the family, Hanging out at the turtle bay pool, lava flows, dinners at the villa, Cafe Rio at Jens house (the night that inspired us to get a bounce house), golfing on Fathers Day, Hanging out with Michelle and Palauni, The PCC, the PCC night show, the amazing wedding, Decorating the happy couple's car, watching my little boy litterly eat handfuls of sand, Charli becoming an expert swimmer, visiting the spot where Chris and I got engaged, walks at night, driving our little rental car, Teds Bakery, Wiamea Bay, Sunset Beach, Haleiwa shopping and snow cones, spending time with my amazing family, and every moment imbetween! Seriously this was the best vacation EVER!!

My little one's lately

2010-05-18T14:55:00.000-07:00

BROOKS

I can hardly believe my little man is 9 months old! He's the cutest little guy, and makes me so happy that he's mine every day. Some recent happenings in his life are as follows: He can army crawl which is pretty funny to watch, Food Food Food the kid probably eats 3 times as much as Charli!! He's a super happy kid as long as I'm in sight, He LOVES our little dogs, The TV, Grass, Charli, and crinkling her papers. He's a kid that always has a plan, whether its to get something, eat something, get somewhere, or grab my earrings, he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. He growls and makes the craziest noises, which keeps us, and everyone around him entertained. He LOVES bath time, he gives kisses, he has 3 teeth, and he loves to cuddle! I seriously could eat this little guy up!!

CHARLI

I've decided my little Charli is at the best age ever! She has recently come completely out of her shell, and I can no longer call her shy. She is happy and willing to talk to ANYONE who will listen to what she was to say... which usually is A LOT! She will go on an on and on until you sometimes just have to cut her off. She loves to read books that she's memorized, color, and ride her bike! She loves to play with friends and LOVES her swim lessons! Her favorite show is Dragon Tails, and her favorite movie is a tie between UP and Princess and the Frog. She is obsessed with dress up, dancing around the house singing, and looking the the mirror..... She seriously is the funniest weirdest kid ever, and I just love her to death! She likes to wish on stars, put all her babies and animals to bed, and read them stories. She loves to point out any animal she sees, including bugs. She likes to tell different people and animals that they are her best friend in the whole world. Occasionally I get to be her best friend in the whole world, and that seriously makes my day. But most of the time, a worm in our yard, or our dog Callie gets the honor. She's newly obsessed with gum, and I often find her rummaging threw my purse to get some. She likes to put her babies in time out, and our dogs in time out.

Another random thing about Charli is her obsession with smells. All the time she is commenting on how things smell, good and bad (usually bad) and this can get really embarrassing. She even will yell from the bathroom when she's going #2, "Mommy I need to get out of here! It stinks!" So just this morning I was in my yard picking weeds with her.... my neighbor came over to say hi, and got down on Charli's level to talk to her. After telling my neighbor everything she had done so far that day, and re-introducing her little brother Brooks for the tenth time, my neighbor finally got a word in and said "wow you've had a very busy day!" Charli then responded by saying "you need to go back in your house, because your mouth smells like poop." Of course my neighbor laughed, but I was so humiliated! I mean seriously what can you say to make that right! I got mad at Charli, then I tried to explain to my neighbor that she says this all the time, and we don't know why, she just has a thing about smells, and she's always stating that everything stinks, and insisting that she can't go in places because they smell! I took Charli inside, and tried to explain that telling people their mouth smells like poop hurts their feelings, and that even if it does, you don't tell them that. Not sure anything I said sank in, but we'll keep working at it.

My sister-in-law recently said to me that Charli must be a grandmother trapped in a child's body. I think this puts it perfectly, because if you've ever talked to Charli you've heard her say lots of the following things:

You're just gonna love it!

That's AMAZING

I can't believe it!

Anyways......

I have an idea

let me tell you a story about Charli

Oh dear

Goodness sakes

Oh my goodness,

My names Charlotte Emery Pugmire.... but they call me Charli

That's Fantastic.

I have drip drops on my jammies

Mommy you're a wicked witch

Something stinks in here

I have the shivers

Oh and the last thing I can think of about her right now, is that she talks in the 3rd person.... all the time!

For those of you who have seen my Facebook page, You've already seen this video, but it was so funny I had to post it here too!

Good-bye Pluggies!!

2010-04-02T22:37:00.000-07:00

After almost 2 1/2 years it was finally time to say good-bye to Charli's beloved "pluggie". I've been considering taking it away for so long, but she loved it so much, I couldn't bring myself to break her little heart by taking it away. But seeing what a big girl she is becoming, and realizing I'm gonna have to do it eventually, I finally decided the time had come. So I asked everyone I knew who had taken away a pacifier for all the advice they had. They gave me all sorts of Ideas! Everything from tying them to balloons and letting them float away, to having Charli trade her pluggie for a new toy, to everything im-between! She only has it at night and during nap time, and I've actually tried taking it away at nap time before, and it was seriously the saddest thing ever! She was crying in her room looking for it, took all the blankets and sheets off her bed, then finally realized it was no where to be found so just laid by the door of her room and begged for it back, mid sobs. I did the worst thing ever, gave in, and gave it back to her. I think it was worse for me then her. So I spent all this time decided exactly what I was going to do, this time and when Chris got home from Alaska I told him all about my elaborate plan. Welp to make a long story short, he put her to bed, and minutes later, comes down with her pluggie in his hand. I heard no crying, or searching. I waited, still no crying. When I asked him what in the heck he said to her, he told me that he said pluggies are for babies. He then asked her if she was a baby and she said no.... she then willingly handed it over, and that was that. I couldn't believe it! She actually slept through the night no problem and has seriously only brought it up like maybe two times since! I don't know what I would do with out my amazing husband. Only he could make things so simple.

Oh, and by the way that is a google image. My daughter does not have a diamond encrusted platinum pacifier

Whidbey Island!

2010-04-02T22:18:00.000-07:00

For as long as I've known Chris, I've known that one of his most favorite things to do, is to go to Whidbey Island. It didn't take long, for me to love it too! They have the most beautiful property, complete with a like, and 75 acers of amazing scenery! Although for me to love it, it HAS to be nice weather. There's nothing worse then being freezing all day. Anyways when Chris got home from his last trip, we had a few really nice days, and decided to take the kids over. even the drive is fun, because you get to take a ferry there and back! We went to the property first, to roast hot dogs and have smore's for lunch, and say hi to Bill, then after riding around on their 4 wheeler thing.... (not sure what they call it, cuz it's not exactly a 4 wheeler...) we decided to go down to the beach. This is Charli's favorite, because she LOVES to look at all the tiny little crabs, and collect shells. Seriously you turn over a rock, and there is crabs everywhere. It would probably gross most people out, but Charli will pick them right up, and let them crawl across her hand!

Oh Charli!

2010-04-02T22:13:00.000-07:00

Ok. So I know a lot of kids do this, but I seriously think it's so funny. Charli is now super into lining things up! She does it all the time, with everything, so yesterday I finally decided to take a few pictures just to remember this phase!

Oregon!

2010-04-02T21:58:00.000-07:00

Not too long ago, when Chris was in Alaska, I very spontaneously decided to drive down to Oregon to visit my Dad and my brothers. It had been way to long since they had seen Charli, and as sad as this is, it was actually the first time they were going to meet Brooks. I'm so happy I went! I actually drove there and back in the same day, but it was completely worth it! Charli is still talking about Grandpa Tom, and Nick and Ben. She actually still throws them and their cats, (listing them by name) into her prayers! It was so much fun seeing how much Charli loved playing with my Dad and brothers. She was the complete center of attention, and could easily get used to that I'm sure! They loved baby Brooks, and it was so nice having everyone want to hold him, and him being the only little baby around for the day! Haha, this is sort of a joke, because there are so many babies all the time around here with all my brother and sister-in-law's living so close! This little trip made me wish so bad that my family lived even closer!

So I had to take a picture of this.... we ate lunch at this McDonalds that was right next to this park we were playing at, and I couldn't believe my eyes! It was the most gigantic play area of any fast food place I've ever seen in my life! I honestly couldn't even fit the entire thing in my camera! It went even further to the right and left! Charli loved it!

Harlem Globe Trotters

2010-04-02T21:50:00.000-07:00

So a little while back, Chris's Dad got us all tickets to see the Harlem Globe Trotters. I'll be the first to admit that although I knew I had heard the name before, I had no idea what they were, or what they did. Chris was in Alaska, so when I asked him what to expect he said it was like "the circus of basketball"... so... I was really excited to take Charli, because hearing the word "circus" put all kinds of crazy ideas into my head. Like elephants, animals, and clowns doing crazy tricks with basketballs or something. I felt like the biggest idiot ever.

It was still really fun, he got a huge suite at the Comcast Arena with all sorts of food and deserts, and the kids loved seeing each other and running around the place. I had fun watching the show/game, and thought it was pretty cool. I only took a couple pictures, but you get the idea.

Swiming Lessons!

2010-03-02T09:42:00.000-08:00

Charli is such a busy little girl, and for a while now I've really wanted to get her signed up for something!!! I love playing with my little sweetheart, but she loves playing with other kids her age so much, I wanted to get her involved in something that she would love! I started looking at dance classes, gymnastics, really anything to get her energy out, but I was disappointed to find that nearly everything required you to be the golden age of 3!!! Finally I ran across swimming lessons..... they have classes for kids under 3..... but YOU have to get in the water with them! Well with my baby Brooks this wasn't an option, so I called the phone number, and talked to the lady, and she said I could enroll her, but to make sure she was ready, because they didn't want people cancelling and then having open spots in their class. Welp I signed her up, and yesterday was her first day!! At first I was a little worried, because she was by far the smallest one... by a lot... but I couldn't have been more proud of my little one for jumping right in, and loving every second of it! They played a little game, and she sang the song the whole way home! I will also add, that the two 4 year olds in her class cried almost the whole time, so Charli basically got a private lesson, because she was the only one who would participate!

Their is actually 2 classes in this picture, the kids with their backs to us are in the next class up (goldfish) The crying girl in the green, and the little boy the teacher is holding were the other kids in Charli's class, the guppy's!

She really likes Josh... her teacher!

The classes combined to play the game!

She loves it!

This is the best picture I got of my camera shy daughter

Love Them.

2010-02-24T10:02:00.000-08:00

So yesterday my little ones had their pictures taken by the amazing HOLLY APRECIO. Lots of you know that my little Charli can be SUPER shy, but it seriously took Holly no time at all to get Charli to warm up. In fact Charli loved her, and is still asking "where'd Holly go?" Anyways not only does she take beautiful pictures, but she is exceptionally reasonable! There's lots of people who seriously charge so much, and although I feel like she deserves it.... I'm super thankful that even poor people like me can get awesome pictures of our kids! Here is just a few (that she already had ready) of my cute little munchkins!! To see more, look at her blog http://hollyapreciophotography.blogspot.com Thank you Holly!

I could eat him!

Adorable! If I do say so myself!

Happy Valentines Day Daddy!!

2010-02-14T20:33:00.000-08:00

This is the best smile I could get out of your daughter

6 Months Today!

2010-02-06T22:41:00.000-08:00

My little baby Brooks is 6 MONTHS TODAY!!! Crazy how big he is, and how he is too quickly turning from a baby into a little boy. He is the sweetest cutest little guy I've ever met, and I couldn't possibly love him more! The last 6 months have been amazing with him as the newest member of our family, and I can't wait for all the time to come!

At 6 months Brooks:

Is loving his food! Seriously this kid is hungry all the time! He gets lots of little bites of whatever I'm eating (if its something a baby could eat of course) and loves rice cereal mixed with peas, applesauce, bananas, peaches, pears, sweet potatoes, carrots, and green beans! Its funny, he won't eat rice cereal alone... it literally makes him gag.

He can sit up for small periods of time, but when he looks around, he usually tips over:)

Gets around by rolling.

He has one little tooth poking through on the bottom, and another almost there! Seriously I can't believe this. Charli didn't get teeth until she was almost 1!

He laughs all the time, but usually it sounds more like this uncontrollable scream/squeal

He's turned into the BEST baby! I seriously can take him anywhere! Trust me, it wasn't always like this.

He still hates his car seat. The first 5-10 minutes of any drive are torture.

He's still a great nurser

He loves to grab his feet!

He seriously always has his arm up, and turned outward with his pinkey at his mouth... we call it his Dr. Evil, because seriously that's exactly what he does.

He loves to suck on his lower lip.

We're still not sure what color his eyes are going to be. Right now, they are a grey, with what looks to be a little blue and green...

He's a drooling machine!! We change bibs and shirts like crazy!

He loves our dogs. They make him laugh all the time!

He does not like to be left alone, where no one is in his eyesight.

He loves to watch TV. Even when I'm feeding him, I have to cover him with a blanket, or he'll just keep trying to turn his head to watch it.

He loves to face outward and see everything that's going on.

He loves to be held, cuddled, and given lots of attention!! WE LOVE HIM!!

Seriously??

2010-01-17T14:36:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when I leave my children alone with their Dad.

When I asked why he did such a thing, Chris's response was "He fell asleep"

I can't go anywhere.

Spot Light on Charli!!!

2010-01-13T14:45:00.000-08:00

My little two year old is growing like crazy, and I look at pictures of her from just this past summer, and can't believe how grown up she is becoming already! Mostly for my own records, but also for everyone to know, I thought I'd share a bit about whats going on in the life of Charli right now!

Her likes:

Playing outside with her umbrella and rain boots (we find ourselves ankle deep in puddles at least once a day when its raining)

Playing hide and seek

All things Disney but the princesses especially

being a mermaid in the bath

putting all her babies to sleep; she makes a bed for all of them

playing with all her cousins and friends

her pink pants

Singing by herself. If you try and sing with her, she'll tell you to be quiet

TV, but right now she LOVES Twice upon a Christmas.... I know Christmas is over.

Fern Gully

Marshmallows!

Blowing out candles every time I light one

Helping make dinner

Nursery

Going in the dogs cage

Her cash register

Sledding and all things snow

Doing her dance in front of everyone

Movie night

Coloring on MY picture

Disneyland ...She still talks about it

Mr. sun

Seeing birds and other animals outside

Reading stories, but especially brown bear

Her baby Brooks

Her dislikes:

Almost all food, with the exception of breakfast, and marshmallows

Having anything done with her hair

Staying in her bed at night

The dogs jumping on her

Sweaters, and scarfs

Being woke up

Having her picture taken

Leaving a place when she's having fun

She Can:

She can use a big girl bathroom!

She can sleep in her own bed

She can count to ten

She knows all the colors

She can sing lots of songs

She can be a great helper

She can buckle her own car seat

She can get herself dressed

Be the sweetest little girl I know!

Good To Be Back!!

2010-01-07T14:10:00.000-08:00

Welp, I'm finally calling my blog vacation to a close. I seriously can't believe its January, and my last post was .... Halloween!!! Wow that's embarrassing. Anyways like all of you I'm sure the Holiday's were crazy and time just flew by! We had a wonderful Christmas spent at home, and the whole season was just great. It was especially fun on Christmas morning because Charli was finally old enough to understand what was going on, and loved opening every present she got. In fact it was hard to get her to keep opening them, because she wanted to play with each toy she got, right then and there. She still talks about how Santa ate all the cookies, and we are still watching "Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas." I'm sure Brooks enjoyed himself too, he mostly ate the wrapping paper after Charli opened his gifts.

Chris has been home since before Thanksgiving, and I partly blame him for my blogging absence. When he's here, we just try and take advantage of everyday, and do lots of fun things. Just a little catch up, here is some of the things we did over the break. Went sledding at Snoqualmie Pass, took Charli roller skating for the first time, made gingerbread houses, looked at Christmas lights, watched tons of Christmas movies, baked, decorated, undecorated, threw my sister-in-law a baby shower, spoke in church, shaved Brooks head, went to Christmas parties, saw Santa a few times, shopped, hung out with all the family from out of town LOTS!! And the list goes on.

So a HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone!! As far as resolutions go, some of my less personal ones are, of course I want to be better at keeping up with my blog, I want to have a clean car, stick to our family budget, and get the rest of our house decorated! We'll see how it goes, so far so good. Anyhow I have lots of pictures to come, but I just wanted to post SOMETHING right now! My little Brooks is 5 MONTHS!!! I can't believe it. He is a happy little guy, who rolls all over the place, pushes himself up, laughs, giggles, smiles, loves to sit in his bumbo seat, loves the dogs, loves him mom dad and sister, and .....still wakes up in the night. Ugh. Its my fault because for some reason I go through some weird separation anxiety, and wait forever to put my babies in their own room... I'm weird I know, but I feel like I'm abandoning them, and banishing them to the nursery. Anyone else ever feel like that?? Anyways I guess the time has come to finally put him in there and let him cry it out. If anyone has any advise let me know. I never had to deal with this, with Charli.

This is the most scattered post ever, but anyways mostly wanted everyone to know I'm back in the blogging business, and there is more to come later!

Halloween 2009!!!

2009-11-03T15:42:00.000-08:00

Although it rained on us, Halloween this year was awesome! We trick-or-treated with our umbrellas, and Charli was having so much fun, I don't even think she knew or cared that she had to wear her rain boots under her little ball gown! We stared off the night, going around our neighborhood getting as much candy as possible, then headed over to Rob and Bri's house for their annual Halloween party!! It was so much fun, just like every year! I loved everyones costumes, but I'm so mad that I didn't take more pictures!! I didn't get even half of the kids, or some of the best adult costumes either!! Oh well, next year. Ok so don't judge our pumpkins, but look how disgusting that is!!! Hahaha I wanted Chris to be a part of our pumpkin carving this year, so we did them the night before he left, and by the time Halloween rolled around, they had definitely passed their prime:) SICK!

Here's my little brother-in-law Keni, who was Thomas the Train!!

A quick picture of most of the kiddo's on the couch!! Notice my little giraffe screaming his little head off.

To lazy to fix this picture of my brother-in-law Brian, who was probably the best Luigi I've ever seen! His wife Katie was a box of popcorn, and her costume was also AMAZING (she made it herself I might add) but I never got a picture of her.

Stephanie, our dead football player!

Torrin as Wolverine!

Rob and baby Robbie, as a zookeeper with his little kangaroo! Bri was also adorable in her little safari outfit, but I didn't get her picture either

And of course here's my little munchkins, who were just as cute as can be. Charli was my little princess Belle, and Brooks was a giraffe. Seriously my kids won't smile for the camera. EVER. This was my attempt on the couch, and these pictures are as close as I got. So frustrating, but whatever, I still think they're adorable:)

Seriously I took so many more pictures than that, and not one has both of them smiling. Guess I'm just not funny enough. haha

Here's a full length shot of my little Belle

And one of my baby giraffe! ...he likes to stick out his tongue

A Scary Moment

2009-10-23T22:05:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday night was shaping up to be a good one, until my little dare devil decided to jump off the foot of her bed, only to some how get caught and fall face forward on the edge of the table in front of her. She cracked her forehead right open and was screaming bloody murder. I've honestly never seen so much blood come out of such a little head in all my life. I had a completely soaked little towel. Needless to say we took her to the emergency room, and I was fearing the worst, thinking she was gonna be completely traumatized by getting stitches. Upon arriving my fears shifted when the lady checking us in told me that they has some very scary, sick, contagious people in the waiting room, and that we needed to do whatever we had to do to protect our children! I was like what the heck does that mean???!! That's when my prayers started. To make a long story shorter, Charli was AMAZING and just wore the little mask. She actually didn't even want to take it off when we were leaving! Brooks stayed under a blanket in his carrier, and we waited in a whole separate area all by ourselves. Charli was such a trooper the whole time. All she wanted was some rubber gloves like the doctor, and she was golden. She serenaded the doctor and nurse with "someday my prince will come" as he glued her head back together (no stitches yea!!) Now she tells everyone we see how the doctor fixed her ow-wee and shes all better. Then she will ask you, if you're all better.

I didn't get any pictures of her cut in all its glory when it was bleeding but here it is post glue job.

They gave her this little animal that she calls mousey

She's showing off her "pretty bracelet" with a band aid over her cut before the doctor came in.

Carlton Farms!!

2009-10-23T21:50:00.000-07:00

So this year we decided to go to the pumpkin patch that was right down the road from our house, and I'm sure glad we did! It was honestly the best pumpkin patch I've ever been to in my life! They had everything! A petting zoo, hay rides, corn mazes, a little kiddie maze, a little barrel train, a flower patch were you could pick dahlias, a farmers market, food, and even a pumpkin cannon that would launch pumpkins like 3 football fields away!! Charli LOVED it! I was worried because we went right during nap time, but she didn't want to leave! I'm to tired to label every picture, but it was seriously so much fun! I look disgusting in all of them but oh well. Oh my favorite are the ones of Charli peeking out through the corn!! Ah so cute.

A Name and a Blessing

2009-10-13T14:46:00.000-07:00

This last Sunday we had the opportunity to bless our baby Brooks. Brooks Mason Pugmire. It was amazing just like it was with Charli, to hear Chris give this beautiful son on God a blessing. Chris had all his brothers by his side, and a couple ward members too. Thank you to all the family that came, it was especially important to me to have all of you there. Brooks was peaceful and quiet through the whole thing, and over all it was just a wonderful experience for our little family.

I loved his little outfit.... Although it seriously barely fit him. I loved how it was just soft and warm and made him just look like a little angel.... Well a big angel.

Father and Son.

My babies.

Hallelujah!

2009-09-30T14:13:00.000-07:00

We are POTTY TRAINED!!!!!!! Now I know you're not supposed to try and potty train right after you have a baby, and blah blah blah, but Charli was so ready I couldn't resist. Quite a while ago, she started sitting on the potty, and would sometimes pee, and we would make a really big deal about it, but it had to be her idea or she wanted nothing to do with it. But lately she really has wanted to go on the potty all the time, so I decided it was time to throw out the diapers and get her some "big girl underwear". I didn't really mess around with pull-ups, except for a few times when I went places and couldn't risk her wetting her pants. Anyways she's been peeing on the toilet for a few weeks now, accident free!!! Yeah!!! Oh except for the occasional dump she would take in her pants. Why do kids do that??? for a week we tried lollipops, gummy bears, ice cream, stickers, you name it, we bribed her with it to get her to poop in the toilet, and nothing worked. she would tell me she had to go, but it would be too late. I was pretty frustrated because at this point she refused to wear a diaper, and I was beyond sick of cleaning poop out of her underwear. But finally after about a week (that felt like a month) she started doing it, and the trick seemed to be Oreos! I'm proud to announce that I now only have one kid in diapers!! Yeah!

Oh, and she refuses to a trainging potty. We got her a Dora seat that goes on top of the toilet as well as her own little potty chair, and she wont use either! She needs to use "the big girl potty". And apparently so do some of her babies that have taken a swim in the toilet.

On another note, here is some recent pics of Brooks, who is just smiling like crazy lately!! My camera (which is the crappiest on earth) hardly ever gets it, but here's some pics anyways. He is HUGE! He was 12.5 lbs at his one month check-up, and his two month is next week so we'll see how much he's grown since then! It's so fun having a little chub this time:) Look at those cheeks! What a chunk!

Oops.....

2009-09-10T15:19:00.000-07:00

So I'm not the smartest when it comes to computers. Long story short, I was trying to add someone to my "blog roll" this morning, and in doing so I deleted my entire blog list. I was surprised at how many of my friends and family know each other, and was able to find quite a few of your blogs to re-add on my blog, but there are still a few that I could not find. If you happen to see this, and your name is not on the"My Favorite Blogs" spot on the right column, Please leave a comment so I can get your blog address again, and be able to see yours:) Thanks so much!!

One Month Today!!

2009-09-06T23:04:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe that one month ago today my little guy was born. Oh where does the time go!! For me its very bitter sweet. I'm the person who doesn't like it when people tell me how big he's getting, and how much he's changing. I would just assume he never change, and remain this sweet little newborn baby forever:) Well here is a few little fun things about baby Brooks at one month!!

He loves the bath!!

He loves to have is hair combed just as much! After the bath he'll just lay there forever while I brush his hair!

He's not a fan of the swing anymore, like he was the first two weeks.

He loves to be on his tummy!

I'm seriously amazed at the distances he can pee!!

I think his eyes are gonna be blue

He is a grunter!! He seriously grunts instead of crying, and you'll only hear him scream if you ignore his grunting long enough!

He loves to be held and cuddled.

He is the sweetest most precious little boy I know, and I'm the luckiest girl in the world to be his Mommy!

In this picture it looks like he has some sort of crazy eye. Rest assured he doesn't, but its like one of the only pictures I have of him not sleeping!

Lake Chelan!

2009-09-06T22:48:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Chris and I, along with some of the other family in the area, decided to have one last summer hoorah, and headed up to lake Chelan. Chris's parents have a pretty amazing condo there, along with all the toys you would want on a lake! It was our first little getaway with two kids and it went relatively smooth. We had to bring our two dogs too which complicated things slightly, but overall it was a really great weekend, with great weather, and great company!

When we weren't on the boat, or at the beach, we were in the pool

Charli loved the water even though it was FREEZING!! I was really proud of how brave she was to go in the tube, swim in the lake, and basically follow her Dad around trying whatever he did!

Neither of my kids could stay awake on the boat the whole time. It was inevitable they would both be asleep on the ride in almost every time.

Charli's favorite thing to do in the pool.

My little lounger!! I love his little swim trunks!

Charli and her adorable cousin Fia. She loves this girl!

My sweet babies!!!

2009-08-27T22:40:00.000-07:00

All I have to say is Whitney Smith is AMAZING!! Literally I wanted to post every single picture I got, but it would be the longest thing ever! I seriously don't know how I'm going to decide which ones I'm going to blow up and put on my wall!! They all turned out so great! If any of you live in the Seattle area, you HAVE to have my friend Whitney take pics of your family!! you can email her at wsmithphotography@gmail.com! And check out her blog where she takes all kinds of photos, at www.craigandwhitney.blogspot.com seriously she was so patient with my sometimes difficult children, and is one of the sweetest girls I know!! Thank you so much Whitney I love them all!! Here is just a few of my favorites.

Baby Brooks's Nursery! (Before and After)

2009-08-16T12:44:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post this for a long time now, but better late than never! Here is a little peek at Brooks little nursery. I did it all myself, including putting the crib together!! Actually Chris did hang the shelves, and help get all the furniture up the stairs.... This is what I do when he's in Alaska and I'm board! So here it is!

Before:

After:

All the walls in the room are really a very "teal" blue. (except for the one brown accent wall) I felt like my stupid camera made the blue look really bubblegumish which it isn't. Anyways I had a lot of fun doing it, and can't wait to start my next project! Charli's room is also done, so I'll post pics of that really soon too!

And Baby Makes 4!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-08-09T23:25:00.000-07:00

Introducing...... Brooks Mason Pugmire!! Born Thursday August 6, 2009 at 4:01 am, 7lbs 4oz and 20 inches long!! We couldn't be happier to welcome a brand new healthy baby boy to our family. He is just perfect, and of course we think he is as cute as can be! I went into labor at about 7pm Wednesday night, after a Dr. appointment earlier that day. I was hoping and praying all day that I would have the baby that night, because it was my doctor's night to be on call, and needless to say I was super uncomfortable, and ready to have a baby, and not be pregnant. We got to the hospital at about midnight, after staying at home as long as I could, 4 short hours and one epidural later he made his grand debut!!

I'm way to tired right now to go back and flip this picture the right way, but this is me in the waiting room at the hospital right when we got there. Sweet blue pants I know.

Pre-epidural. Not much more needs to be said.

After only 25 minutes of pushing, HE'S HERE!!!!!! One of the first pictures of our beautiful baby Brooks!

When he first came out, he didn't cry or take his first breath right away. The doctor quickly cut the cord herself, and began stimulating him by rubbing his face, head and body with a little towel. I didn't even have time to be scarred, because about 10 long seconds later he let out the most perfect little newborn cry, and we were quickly assured he was just fine, he was just "stunned" which happens sometimes when babies come out quickly.

Exhausted and relieved Mommy holding baby after some uncontrollable tears!!

Very proud Daddy with his first little boy!!

Chris was a great coach, and is really the only person I need during labor and delivery. Thank you so much honey for all the encouragement.... and counting.... and love the whole way through!

Introducing Charli to her new baby brother!!! She was so excited, and couldn't wait to crawl up in bed beside me, and hold her baby!

Big sis and baby brother!

First family picture!!

Some precious moments at home

Bundled up on the couch after his first sponge bath at home!

My beautiful boy! I honestly forgot how much I love newborn babies! I seriously can't get enough of him, and could really just stare at him all day. He is such a perfect addition to our family, I honestly don't think I could possibly be more blessed. We are so happy, and thank you to everyone for all the phone calls, and congratulations!

Charli's Party!!

2009-08-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

I feel really bad, that this year I didn't make as big of a deal as I wanted too for Charli's birthday, but being 9 months pregnant, and having to wait for Chris to get home from Alaska, I just ran out of time! Anyways, we did have a little family party where some of the family that was in town came over for cake and ice cream, and to open presents! All Charli needed to be happy was a few balloons, so I knew she wouldn't mind that the party of the century would have to wait for a future birthday:)

I can't get enough of her curly hair!!

Chris blew up like 100 balloons, and shoved all of them in our family room, which Charli loved running through!

She LOVES cherry chip cake just like her dad, so I tried to make her a giant cupcake that she could destroy all herself!

Blowing out the candles!! Ahhhh I can't believe she's 2!!!!!! So bitter sweet

Chris and I got her the cutest little retro kitchen set, which she LOVES!! I think the rest of the kiddo's liked it too!

After everyone went home, she really got a chance to play with her new kitchen, and it was the cutest thing ever! She loves to pretend to "make dinner" and will even chase our dogs around trying to get them to enjoy her yummy plastic food.

This kitchen comes with a little phone, which I'm pretty sure is her favorite part. When you ask her who she's talking to, she always says "Fia" her cousin. Her favorite food to make is always the hot dogs, french fries, and the doughnut..... maybe that's my fault!! Thanks to everyone who could come, it was lots of fun, and she loved it!

Enchanted Village!

2009-08-03T12:32:00.000-07:00

The day before Charli's birthday party, we really wanted to do something fun for her, so we decided to drive down to Enchanted Village and Wild Waves!! It's basically Washington's attempt at a theme park, but I remember having so much fun when I was really little there, so I thought we should give it a try. It ended up being really fun, minus all the steep hills I had to walk up, and the fact that I couldn't go on ANYTHING!! Really though, Charli loved it, and Chris and I loved watching her so happy! The park is all rides on one side, then there's a water park on the other. I didn't take any pictures on the wild waves side, because camera, and water are not a good combo, but she loved playing in the "pirate jungle", and going down water slides with Chris! It was a really fun way to spend a HOT Saturday:)

I had to take a picture of this...thing.... because apparently to Charli this qualified as a castle. She kept wanting to go back and look at "Cinderellie's castle" for the rest of the day! I'm glad she still remembers Disneyland!

My Birthday Girl!

2009-07-10T11:48:00.000-07:00

I seriously can't believe that my little baby girl is 2!!!!!!!!! It really is true, that every single year goes by faster and faster, because looking back at pictures of her, I honestly wonder where the time has gone! Welp Chris is still in Alaska, so obviously we won't be celebrating her birthday until he gets back, but I did at least want to acknowledge her on her special day. Charli you will always be my little girl for as long as you live! I love you so much, and can't imagine a day in my life without you! Happy birthday sweet girl!

First day home from the hospital! July 12th 2007

First bath at home!

5 1/2 months!

1 year old!!!

18 months!

My almost 2 year old..... Two year pics coming eventually!!

Happy 4th of July!!

2009-07-05T14:53:00.001-07:00

So I didn't really know what to expect this year for the 4th, because once again Chris is in Alaska, and Charli is NOT a fan of loud noises. The few days before, people in our neighborhood were lighting off fireworks, and she wanted nothing to do with them! She wanted me to shut the window, and wanted me to hold her.... Anyways, it started out pretty good, here she is swimming in grandma's pool with her cousins...

Then after we all BBQ'd she got to light her first sparkler with her Uncle Rob....

Then the real fireworks began..... I ended up taking her home, and even on the drive, she covered her eyes and didn't wanna look out the window! We spent the rest of the night, literally until after midnight, curled up on the couch. She was hiding behind her elephant, didn't want me to get up, kept saying "I scarred" until finally they started to die down. Here's hoping next year she's a little braver!

Poor thing.

Summer Days!

2009-07-05T14:44:00.000-07:00

This post is a little random, because I'm playing a little catch up so bare with me.

This was the best buy of the summer for sure!!!! Its been so hot around here, and no where but your car has air conditioning!! I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner, but the other day I went to Target, and bought this little pool, and I think I officially have the happiest girl in the world!

This is Charli at the strawberry farm, where you go and pick your own strawberries, raspberries, and in the fall pumpkins!! Its really cute, they tell a little story, go on a little ride that just spins in a circle, and then go on a little trolley over to the field, where they fill up there little container with strawberries! Last year they had a petting zoo too, but I'm not sure what happened to that this year. Still fun though!

This is really random, but I just had to put it here as a little reminder that a monster truck show is NOT something I ever want to go to again!! First of all no one told me how freakin LOUD they are!!! I had ear plugs and still wanted to cover my ears! Poor Charli wouldn't let me put earplugs in her ears, so I had to cover hers the best I could with my hands and my jacket:( She really didn't seem to mind though. I guess I just didn't know what to expect, but I thought they would do more then just run over the same cars over and over again..... Not my thing I guess.

Here's us girls Me, Charli, Bree, and Katie before the show!

Jo Bro's!

2009-07-05T14:39:00.000-07:00

Yes I am happy to admit that this is the second year in a row I've found myself at a Jonas Brothers concert, with AMAZING seats I might add!! Thank you Lindsay:) I honestly really did have a great time despite the fact that I'm 8 months prego and felt just a tad bit ridiculous... OK Kristi and I were actually getting comments like "wow you guys reeeeeally must love the Jo Bro's" Anyways I have to say that last years concert was like 10 times better than this one. I don't know if its because this one we saw here in Seattle at the lovely Tacoma Dome, that couldn't possibly be more ghetto of a venue, or if it was because Joe Jonas (the middle hot one) had this stuck-up attitude about him.... Not sure, but the energy was just a little different this time. Still fun though:)

Lindsay, Me, and Kristi

As you can tell...... Everyone was REALLY into it! Hahaha

Jordan Sparks opened the show, (after a few really funny no name bands) and was honestly amazing! She sounds so awesome live, and really has true natural talent.

FOUR YEARS!!

2009-07-05T14:32:00.000-07:00

Honestly I can't believe its been 4 years already!! Man we're getting old! Our anniversary was actually June 24th, so obviously I'm playing catch up a little, but I just wanted to quickly say that this last 4 years have been the best of my entire life! Looking back only makes me more excited for what is yet to come! Chris I love you so much!!!!

Utah! Brighton chair lift

Hawaii!! Oahu Sunset Beach

Cheesy engagements!

Turning point!

A few years later!! Oahu PCC

Whidbey Island!

2009-06-18T13:14:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, despite my skepticism, we very last minute decided to go camping!! I used to love camping when I was little, and my family would go all the time! Sometimes we would even stay for like 3 to 4 days!!!! For some reason as time has gone by, my excitement to sleep on the ground and eat food you cook on a stick over a fire has somewhat declined. How was I gonna go pee 10 times in the middle of the night? It's scary outside when its dark, and I certainly wasn't gonna go by myself! So when Chris kept suggesting this is how we should spend our weekend, you can understand my hesitation. Finally I realized that if we didn't go, all we would be doing was yard work, I packed us up and agreed! All I can say is I'm so glad I did! Literally its was one of the funnest weekends I've had in a long time! Chris's parents have 50 acres on BEAUTIFUL Whidbey Island, complete with their own small lake, 4 wheeler type things (they call them odysseys), all the fishing stuff you could ever need, trampoline, basically you name it, its up there! Not to mention the beach is 2 minutes away, and there's animals (nice ones) everywhere! Just look at this!!

Ok I have to be honest this isn't just any deer. The care taker of the property/ good family friend Bill, found this little dear when she was a tiny baby, and had no mother! He took care of her, and now even though she's still wild, and is completely free to go wherever she wants, she still comes back to see him! She's very friendly, and will even eat right out of your hand! Charli loved it, and is still talking about "Missy" the dear. We also were lucky enough to see cottontail bunnys, owls, cranes, and bald eagles!

I really didn't take as many pictures as I should have (I never do) but this one shows just a tiny little bit of the property, so you can get somewhat of an idea of how beautiful it is. Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to live in a place that is so amazing, green, and FUN!

The girls out for a little paddle boat ride with their dads! Oh yeah, Jeff and Talise decided to come with us too!

Charli holding her first little fishing pole! Mickey Mouse of course. She actually caught a couple fish on her pole, and Chris helped her wind them in!

I figured I'd put this one in, only because I'm ALWAYS the one taking pictures, so I have virtually no pictures of me with Charli! Please excuse my gross rolled up pants and disgusting outfit. Forgive me, we were camping!

The beach was really fun, especially for Charli who loved collecting things in her bucket! I tried to get her to collect shells, but she preferred to grab rocks and crabs! You wouldn't believe how many crabs there were! Every time you lift up a rock, a whole family of them would go running in all directions. Some were really big, and some were soooooo tiny!

Have you ever seen a little crab that small!

Charli doing her thing

This is a really crappy picture of coast line, of course my camera doesn't do it justice at all, but it really is amazing. Oh and I guess my dogs Lola and Callie are there too.

Sweet girls!

Oh My Charli!

2009-06-07T13:57:00.000-07:00

Last night before bed, I found Charli coming out of the bathroom. She was shutting the door, so naturally I tried to go in, to see what she had been doing in there. She pushed me away, and said "No Mommy".

I said, "why can't I go in?"

Charli: "kee-lee go pee-pee"....

Kitty going pee-pee

Golfing

2009-06-07T12:57:00.000-07:00

So another week has come and gone, and with Chris home, we really tried to make the most of it. I always hesitate to say when he's gone, because our blog isn't private yet, and I don't like announcing when I'm here alone. But he got back a week ago from a short 10 day trip, and as always its great to have him home!! Yesterday we decided to go golfing with Chris's brother and his wife Bree, and of course Charli, and they're new baby. I always forget my camera nearly everywhere we go, but not this time! I was determined to get some pictures of our fun time, but apparently no one else thought that was a good idea. I was accused of looking like the paparazzi, hiding in the trees trying to get some action shots, but only because no one would pose for me! We really did have fun although, I golfed terrible as usual, even with all my cheating, and everyone else did really good! here's the only one I got of my hot husband.

Here's our driver, don't mind the homeless hair, sometimes doing her hair just isn't worth the fight. She really had fun riding around in the cart. She kept yelling across the green for us to "sit" and would slap the seat next to her:) I guess I took this picture before she found herself a golfing glove, because she put one on (the best she could) and wouldn't take it off to save her life.

This is a random picture from the night before, but I put it in her, mainly for my own records. On Friday night, after already have a long exhausting evening at "pump it up" (basically a giant room, filled with a bunch of giant bounce houses) Chris thought it would be a good idea to go to a movie..... and take Charli..... we never do this EVER, because anyone who has, knows its a giant waste of money, and you just end up walking the halls, and stuffing your child with as much junk as you can to keep them quiet. But for some crazy reason I agreed, figuring Charli was so exhausted she would hopefully just fall asleep. Welp, she surprised us both! She didn't fall asleep, or run up and down the stairs! She literally sat quietly in her seat, and watched the ENTIRE movie!! Not a peep! She must like Will Farrell as much as her Dad! I'm completely convinced that this was a total fluke, and this will not happen again for years to come, but I just needed to remember this one! Oh, and the fact that as soon as we got there, she managed to dump an entire water bottle on herself, and I had no other clothes for her. I didn't even have a jacket. So I took her shirt off, and she got to wear mine:)

Mad Cow!!

2009-05-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

So the other day, we we headed out for what was supposed to be a happy fun day at the zoo. The last time we went, Charli was in heaven and talked about all the animals for a week after! Needless to say, I was happy to finally have some nice weather and spend a relaxing day with my daughter in her happy place. Welp I was mistaken. My first mistake was deciding to start our trip in the "farm" area of the zoo. We looked at the sleeping goats, and the pigs that didn't move, and I could tell she was hoping for more action. I saw across the way a cow that was standing right up against the fence, so I thought at least I could get her really close, and maybe she could even pet it. No sooner than I got her (buckled in her stroller) right up against the fence, did this cow lower its head, eye level with her, and let out the loudest, scariest "Moo" I have ever heard! Not only was it as loud as a bullhorn, but the thing showed all its teeth, and continued to moo, as I carried my screaming child who was clinging to me like a monkey as far away as I could get. Great start to our day. So...... I spent the next HOUR and a HALF carrying her around, and pushing my stroller because after that she refused to walk, or ride. Even after she had calm down, and we were well away from the "farm" sometimes you could faintly hear that cow moo in the distance, and we were back at square one all over again. My arm was about to fall off! (I will also remind you that I'm almost 30 weeks pregnant!) On our way home, and still today, she will randomly tell me "cow eat ta-ti!" I guess we'll see if I've given my little girl a life long fear of cows!

(Obviously this isn't the actual cow, but you get the idea)

My saving grace!! The one place at the zoo that I knew would distract her! One ride on the carousel, and she was back talking about Disneyland! Yeah for my arms!! (Check out her sandals, their my favorite)

Just a quick shot of my little one with an animal that she has no problem ordering around, and taking charge of! One of our little dogs Lola.

What a weekend!

2009-05-11T15:58:00.000-07:00

This weekend was not only Mothers Day, but Saturday was my birthday and I turned 26! Crazy that I've finally gotten closer to 30 than 20. I don't know how, but we lucked out, and managed to finally get some really nice weather, which was a present in itself. Chris and I had made an agreement that after the small fortune we spent in Disneyland, that we weren't gonna do anything for each others birthdays this year, but I should have known he wouldn't stick to something like that. He surprised me, and took me to one of my favorite restaurants, "Satly's". I love seafood, and this might be one of the best places in all of Seattle to get it! I also love it, because its right on Alki Beach, and you get an amazing view of the whole city, which is absolutely beautiful at night. I didn't take this picture, but this literally was the view from our table. I wish I would have brought my camera, because the food not only tastes amazing, but they do a pretty sweet job with the presentation as well. Thank you Chris for a great birthday!

Mothers Day was also great! I never thought I'd love something so much as being a Mom. I live for every moment I get to spend with Charli, and know that I'm truly blessed to have such a sweet and wonderful daughter. I can't wait for August, to finally meet my first little boy. I hope my children always know how much I love them, and want nothing but happiness for their lives. Thank you Chris and Charli for an amazing weekend!

Ten Reasons Why I Love This Girl!

2009-05-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

10. She's so excited for her "bebe buber in tummy"
9. She thinks anything that jumps is a "tigger"
8. When she's upset she will cry for waffles
7. Anyone in a pretty dress is cinderelly
6. strawberry is said "tabalees"
5. She loves slides, and will try to make ANYTHING into one
4. When she wants to watch a show, she will sing the song to me to let me know which one.... deedeedee dora!.....go deigo go!!
3. She always blesses our dogs 2 or 3 times when we help her pray at night
2. I hate unloading the dishwasher.... she LOVES to try and help!
1. She is still the shy, sweet, innocent little angel she always has been

The Happiest Place On Earth!

2009-04-22T21:58:00.002-07:00

I've been meaning to do this post for a while now, but haven't had the time, so here it is!! about 2 weeks ago, Chris and I took Charli to Disney Land for the first time, and stayed for a whole 5 days!! Everyone told us we would be ready to go after 2 or 3, but honestly I could have gone another week. It may sound funny, because we've been on some pretty incredible vacations, but this could seriously be the best trip I've ever been on! I was a little worried Charli might still be just a little too young to appreciate all Disneyland had to offer, but I was proven wrong within minutes of entering the park! She couldn't get enough of all the characters, went on seriously almost every ride there (minus a few of course), and went crazy during all the parades! It really was amazing to experience Disneyland through the eyes of a 21 month old little girl! First let me say, that a really nice camera is for sure on my wish list, because not a single one of these has the quality I wish it did. I must have taken 200 pictures or more, but here is just a few from our much needed, amazing week!

The Disneyland "Celebrate! A street party" was AMAZING! Maybe I think so because Charli loved it so much, but we all loved it

These suckers were her favorite. It wasn't pretty when the time would come to put it away

"C" is for Chris and Charli!

I think we rode King Author's Carousel 50 times. She LOVED it.

My camera takes so long to take a picture, she's never smiling by the time it FINALLY takes it! Just take my word for it, she loved all the characters, and is still constantly talking about all of them. Here's her and Pluto or "Newno" as she likes to say.

Happy Girl and Dad at the Street Party Parade!

Its took her a few days before she decided she liked the fireworks, but once she realized she could see Tinkerbell fly over the castle, she changed her mind. Here she is on our last night, barely awake, but watching the big firework show.

Minnie, is one of her favorites! She loved getting to go walk through her little house after meeting her.

And here is Ariel in the flesh! She right now is Charli's absolute favorite. She watches this movie over and over, sings the songs, and was soooooooo excited to see "mermaid". This was actually taken at Ariel's Grotto at California Adventure, and was great! All the princesses come to your table, they teach you how to curtsy, and serve you a 3 course meal that was actually pretty good. Since Charli was under 3, she was free, so of course that's a plus. If anyone has little girls, you can't miss this place!

Lucky Donald got a kiss!

Charli and "Relly"

Tigger!

And Pooh..... Her latest favorite cartoon on playhouse Disney! (which is also a great show at California Adventure worth seeing)

Tinkerbell!

One last ride on the Carousel! We can't wait to go back again with both our kids next time!

Baby news.....

2009-04-22T21:58:00.001-07:00

We couldn't be more happy!

Happy Easter

2009-04-22T21:55:00.001-07:00

In our house this year, I'm sad to say Easter went by in a whirlwind and was almost overlooked completely. Not only did it sneak up really fast, I was out of town until late Friday night, and we were leaving for DISNEYLAND very very early the next day. (Stay tuned for pictures) However we did manage to color eggs, have a few Easter egg hunts (our own, then one big one with the whole family) and the bunny did make its way to our house to bring Charli a pretty sweet Easter basket. I hardly took any pictures, and the ones I did are not that great, but at least you can kind of see her little dress:)

She really got into the Easter egg hunt this year. When it was all over, she continued to look around for quite a while hoping to find more!

Just ignore her hair in this picture. Sometimes she sports the homeless look, but I did actually make it look really cute before church.

Finally!!! Chris is home!

2009-04-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

First of all I've got to get better at this, because soooooo much has happened and once again its been a month since I've posted anything, so time to play catch up again!! The last week of march, Chris finally came home! This was by far the longest he's ever been gone and I was ready to have him back. I was actually a little nervous because at some point when he was gone, I transformed into a full blown pregnant lady! So after his flights kept getting cancelled, due to bad Alaskan weather, and a pesky little volcano that kept erupting, he finally made it home about 3 days late. Let me just say, that he makes it a point to NOT SHAVE the WHOLE TIME he's up there, so my hot husband comes home looking like a werewolf! I wish sooooo bad I would have got a picture, but I make him shave almost immediately so I forgot and you'll just have to take my word for it. Just picture Jesus.

We had a lot to do when he got home, I put him right to work building shelves, hanging curtains, landscaping our backyard etc. I'll have pictures of that coming soon. Somewhere in the chaos of it all I managed to slip away to Utah for one night while he watched Charli, to go my friend Sarah's wedding. I've known her since I was like 4 years old, so I wouldn't have missed it for anything. She looked beautiful, and things went pretty smooth. It was so great to see old friends and catch up a little bit! I wish I could have seen more of you, but hopefully soon we'll plan a really fun trip to somewhere fun!

The happy bride and groom

Hollie, Chantay, and Me. Holls and I are the pregnant lady's of the bunch, and I just have to say that she looked AMAZING!! Great to see you girls!

AUGUST 11th 2009!!!!

2009-03-06T09:55:00.000-08:00

Welp Its crazy to finally be able to say, that baby number 2 is on it's way!! I've been dying to share the news, especially since seriously 90% of my friends are all pregnant and expecting around the same time as me! Brooke, you and I even have the same due date!!!! Anyways, I'm just a little over 17 weeks now, and I'm feeling great! We're so excited and can't wait till the little one gets here! With Charli we didn't find out what we were having, and kept it a surprise, but this time I think we're gonna find out, and I seriously cant wait to get started doing the nursery, and actually being able to buy clothes this time. I guess the only thing I'm not looking forward too is being 9 months pregnant in the dead heat of summer AGAIN!!! Oh well small price to pay for such a miracle!

Charli

2009-02-16T16:14:00.000-08:00

These pictures are primarily for Chris (who is in Alaska) to get a little update on what his daughter has been up to this last week. Lately she has really started to get into TV. She has never really been into it before, but now she walks around the house singing the Dora song, backyardagins, her favorite, the little mermaid. Ive had that movie on in the car lately, and now she is always asking about the mermaids, (in her own way) and will try and sing like Ariel. These pictures are of Charli and her cousin Bella. I walked into the playroom because they were really quiet, and this is what I saw.... Its the little mermaid of course.

She also is really into her dolls, and babies, but this baby in particular... if I ask her where her baby is, she goes and finds this one, puts it in her stroller, and pushes it around the house. She tries to feed it, and put it to bed in the dog kennel.

Its like 3 inches big.

Another favorite activity, is unloading my wallet. She loves to do this any chance she gets. This time she sat next to the dog cage, and put every last card and paper through the slot.

And finally like every kid, she can't get enough of everyone's shoes! Big or small, she'll find them, put them on, then come and show me!

Sunny days... or at least non-raining days!

2009-02-06T14:26:00.000-08:00

This last week, we were lucky enough to get a little break from the freezing cold and the rain. Its amazing how when it goes from being in the 20's to in the low 50's , you suddenly feel like summer is on its way! Here's just a few pictures of some things we did in the sun!

This isn't a great pic, and it definitely doesn't do this park justice, but I took Charli to feed the ducks down in Kirkland along lake Washington. This one park is notorious for having tons of ducks, and although you cant see them here, there must have been hundreds. She really liked it at first... or I should say when the ducks were keeping there distance, but as soon as we started to feed them, they swarmed us to the point that it made me nervous! She wasn't a fan after that, so we played on the toys, then said bye to the ducks as we left. I asked her if she wanted to feed them again before we leave, and she freaked out when I got out the bread crumbs, and kept saying "no mommy! no mommy!" Then she yelled bye bye as the ducks followed us all the way back to the car.

After the duck adventure and a good nap, my sister-in-law Katie and I took the kiddo's to Harvey Airfield to look at the planes take off and land. We lucked out, and a man actually took us all the way up to a plane, opened it up, and let the kids climb inside and push all the buttons! They loved it!

On Wednesday which was supposed to be the nicest, but also the last nice day for a while, a few of us decided to take the kids to the zoo! It was a little crazy, but they loved it! Charli especially loved the squirrels, that kept running across our path, and the seagulls, and crows that were also everywhere. She also liked to point out all the leaves on the ground, and the trees. She's so funny, of the animals that we actually paid to see, I think her favorite was a tie between the ducks (I was a little surprised she still liked them after what happened) and the snakes. When we saw the snakes, she just stood in front of the glass making snake noises, and had a pretty rough time when we had to move on.

Here she is saying "Cheese"

It might be hard to tell from this picture, but this adorable little monkey, came right up to the glass and just stayed there the whole time. His name was Simon, and he was by far my favorite animal of the day! I wanted to take him home.

All the kids with Simon!

Group picture on the hippo!

First Hair Cut...

2009-02-06T14:22:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows me, knows that since day 1, I have not wanted to cut Charli's hair, no matter how crazy it may look. I really don't know why, I think its because I've been so excited for it to grow long, that the thought of cutting a single hair shorter, made no sense to me. However, the time had finally come, where it was completely necessary for her own sanity. Her bangs had been in her eyes forever, and I was sick of always having to pull it back. So here she is with her new bangs! (I cut them so needless to say they're not perfect or even.)

I think it's time for an update!

2009-01-26T10:49:00.000-08:00

All I have to say, is how SAD that my last post was for Halloween. I'm not quite sure what happened, but for the Holiday season I was completely out of the "blogging" mood. I think so much happened that I got overwhelmed and decided to take a little break. Well this isn't going to be thorough, but it will be a very non-detailed overview of the past few months.

For starters, I'll just say that Chris made it home just in time to celebrate Thanksgiving with us and the family, and it was really nice. My little brother and sister came up from Portland and stayed with us over the weekend since my Dad had to work, and it was really great to see them, as well as Chris (who got to stay all the way until January 19, and jsut barely left!)

On to Christmas!! Now having our own house, I was as excited as I was when I was a little kid, to put up Christmas decorations. I wanted a real tree, lights on our house and the works. I had to force Chris into some of my ideas, but he was the kind husband he should be, and made it all happen for me:) One cool thing we did with some people in our ward, was we went to a place where you pay a set fee, and get to choose from thousands of Christmas trees, and cut down any one you want! It was so much fun, and definitely something we'll do again! Anyone who lives around here should try it next year.

Here's Charli scoping out the selection!

Us, with what we thought was the most perfect tree ever! I'm the kind of person that wants to look at every single one before deciding.... but I was so scared we would loose this tree I made Chris go and guard it while I kept looking, but soon decided I wouldn't find one more perfect!

This definitely isn't a great shot but it's the only one i took of our tree once it was decorated.

Because we did it last year no problem, I decided to try and get a good picture of Charli myself, for our Christmas cards. This picture captures how we both felt trying to do this.

Christmas morning at Grandma Pugmire's house! We decided to open presents from Santa at our house first, then headed over there for more presents and breakfast!

It was so nice to go see Chris's Grandma (Grandma Johansen) over the break. Hopefully it wasn't too chaotic having almost the whole family over there all together, but I'm pretty sure she enjoyed it as much as we did.

Finally the best part of all!!!!!! IT SNOWED!!! Snow here can be somewhat of a rare occasion so when it happens, everyone takes FULL advantage of it! we went sledding, built snowmen, took pictures, and watched all the kids just love it! Charli even developed a slight obsession with Frosty the Snowman, and she still to this day will find her gloves, demand I put them on, then drag me to the door, saying "Frosty! Frosty! Frosty!" She even thinks that the guy on the Jack in the Box commercials is Frosty and will talk about if forever when she sees him on TV! I then have to explain the Frosty is gone, he went to Alaska with Daddy, and wont be back until next year. Very cute, but lets just say I'm ready for her to forget about Frosty.

We haven't done any landscaping in our yard yet, because we moved in to late in the fall, but this is our only little tree, and when it snowed i thought it was so beautiful I had to take a picture!

Charli and Chris sledding up at Stevens Pass.

My cute girl whom I love to death, and makes every single day happy and exciting for me:)

Happy Halloween!!

2008-11-07T14:13:00.000-08:00

I feel like this year Halloween snuck up on me pretty fast. I think its because I've been so focused on my house, that everything else gets put on the back burner. However, it did turn out to be a pretty fun night. Actually Halloween started in our neighborhood around 2:30 in the afternoon, when the smart little kids got off the bus from school, made there way down the street, trick-or-treating every house they passed! Then at around 4:30, Halloween was in full swing, with the streets full of kids and their parents! So since charli was finally feeling better, I decided why not, and got Charli dressed and took her to a few houses in our neighborhood. At first she was a little shy, and wouldn't say trick-or-treat (like we had been practicing forever), but I think when she realized people were putting candy in her little pumpkin, she changed her mind, and would walk right up to their front doors. Her favorite part though, was by far handing out candy at our house. She would just wait by the door, and look out the little window watching for the kids to come. She helped put the candy in their bags, and would say "bye-bye" as they left. So cute. But seriously I bet we had well over a hundred trick-or-treaters. I was completely out of candy by 7, and still could barely get out the door to go to Bri and Robs annual Halloween party, because the door bell kept ringing. Finally we got there, and Bri and Rob truly out did themselves with there Halloween decorating. From the skeletons in the grass, to the lights, graves, and spiderwebs, it was honestly amazing!

So I had to put a picture of my mother-in-law, and Lindsay (and little Polina), because if there was a costume contest, I would have defiantly made them the winners!

Here's little Charli next to my awesome pumpkin..... That got smashed later that night:(

And just so Chris could see my hair, I'm posting this super shot of me and Charli.

Lately

2008-10-30T13:24:00.000-07:00

Welp Once again I have been very negligent about my blogging, but I have been busy, so here's a little catch up on what we've all been up to.

Chris:
Once again he's left me for Alaska. It's king crab season, and freezing cold up there. this time he'll be gone for about 4 weeks and will hopefully be back some time before thanksgiving.... or hopefully even sooner.

Charli:
In my opinion she has been the most busy of us all. She loves more than anything to be right up in the middle of things, whatever they may be. Weather I'm doing makeup, making dinner, shopping or trying to get laundry folded. She is right there to help me, in any way she can.

A few pictures from the pumpkin patch we went to right before Chris left

One thing I've realized about Charli is that she is a "hunter and gatherer". She will find things in the morning, like a plastic cup, a lip gloss, seriously anything, and she will carry them around ALL DAY. If you dare try and take any of her little items away, be prepared for a major melt down. She really likes to put all these things in a little purse, bag, or pocket, but if she can't find one of these, she's content having her arms loaded up.

I just thought this was really cute. This is at Target, when she demanded to get down out of the cart, so she could pull these little suitcases around.

Finally me:

Mostly I've just been trying to keep my sanity with Chris gone. Other than that, I had chance to go to one of my best friends from high school's baby shower. It was crazy seeing everyone from back in the day, but so much fun too!

Kate, Taylor, Erika, Liz, Me, and Charli

Katie, Lauren, Aubrey, and Angela

In my free time, (late at night when Charli is asleep) I've undertaken painting my kitchen. I'll post pictures soon, but I'm finally all done, and I love it!

Glad to be back:)

2008-10-15T14:06:00.000-07:00

This is by far the longest I've gone without a new post since I started this blog! I'm blaming my total slacking, on the fact that we just moved into our new house, and I've been without internet and cable for almost a month!!! We finally got it all set up this weekend, so hopefully I'll be back in the blogging business now. It was crazy to look at everyone's lives today, and see how much I've missed in just the short time Ive been out of the loop! Anyways I'm gonna keep this short, and post something else tomorrow with pictures and all sorts of updates, but yes we're still alive, and trying to get back into the swing of things.

Chris...

2008-09-17T00:13:00.000-07:00

Chris has been in Alaska now for 2 weeks. I feel really bad, because I haven't posted any pictures of Charli since he's left, and this is really the only way for him to see current pictures of her. So, there is really nothing new going on, and nothing to exciting about these pictures. I just took a few the other day when she was playing outside:)

Busy summer

2008-09-07T14:53:00.000-07:00

I think once the weather goes down hill again, I'll be much better at keeping updated on my blog. I feel like in the last month or so, I just haven't been in the mood. However, lots of exciting things are happening right now, the NFL season has officially started, our new house is almost done, tons of the fall prime time shows are starting (anyone recomend any?), and I've been staying really busy since Chris left for Alaska again. As many of you know, our house closes on September 26th, and there is a very likely possibility that I will be hear all on my own for that. We've known this may happen for a while now, so like the amazing husband he is, Chris got every tiny detail in order before he left, so if I'm by myself, it should be a simple low-stress event, and things should go smoothly. I'm not so worried about signing all the papers, its the moving I'm worried about. We want to get everything out of our storage unit before October first, so we don't have to pay an additional month, and I hate knowing that I'm going to have to inconvenience all my my brother-in-laws, to help me make that happen. Although it may be stressful, and can't explain how excited I am! We started out in a tiny apartment in Corvallis Oregon, lived there for two years, then came back to Washington, and lived in Chris's parents guest house (everyone calls it the apartment). It will be so amazing to finally have an official house to call our own. Which reminds me, does anyone know anything about "Direct Buy"??? They won't tell me how much the membership is over the phone, and I can't go to a show room without Chris. So I'm wondering if the savings are amazing enough to wait for him to get home before I buy any major pieces of furniture. Anyways, The Seahawks had a pretty pathetic loss today against buffalo, so that sucks. I hope they do well this year, its seriously so fun to watch them when they're playing good! Charli even claps her hands when she hears the crowd cheer on TV. Speaking of Charli, its time for me to brag about her. she is just the smartest little thing ever! She's learning all the animal sounds, and body parts. She knows what a cat, duck, cow, monkey, bunny, and sheep says, and where her ears, nose, and eyes are! She definitely has a mind of her own, and when she doesn't get her way, she doesn't hesitate to throw you a nice little tantrum. We have officially eliminated the bottle, which she didn't even notice, and she's drinking from just about any cup just fine! I just can't believe how fast she is growing. It makes me sad to look at pictures from even a few months ago! Anyways, sorry on pictures this time, I've actually been trying to upload a video since last night, and can't make it work. So there's a little update on whats going on around here these days.

HAWAII

2008-08-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

Welp we're finally back from a much needed AMAZING trip to Hawaii. Chris's dad could possibly be the most generous person on the face of this planet, and flew the entire family, grand kids and all, to the North Shore of Oahu for 10 days. He not only did that, but he put us up in ocean front villas, that were absolutely incredible. It doesn't end there. Lets just make this short and say he basically took care of EVERYTHING. Needless to say, it was soooooo much fun! Chris and I don't get to go on to many vacations, so I had been looking forward to this for months, and it lived up to every hope I may have had. Chris and I really tried to take advantage of every second, and went to lots of amazing places, beaches, and restaurants. All and all, it was one of the best vacations I've ever been on. I honestly took over 200 pictures, so I tried to just pick a few favorites. These in no way captures the fun we had, but at least it might give a little glimpse.

Nap time was definitely an "on the go" thing most of this trip. She was great, and just made due sleeping where ever we were

I was definitely the one taking pictures on this trip, so I have TONS of Charli and her Dad.

I had to just get a picture of this little dress I found, that I absolutely love.

A few of us spent the last morning at sunset beach, and Torrin did a little boogie boarding... he needs just a little more practice I would say.

Charli and Me at Sunset beach

While we were there, we were blessed to attend the sealing of Chris's 3 youngest siblings in the Hawaii temple. They were absolutely adorable, and it was a beautiful ceremony.

Charli and Torrin at Sharks Cove

I just love this picture of Kaho, at Turtle Bay Beach

Charli couldn't get enough of these parrots! She would point at them and laugh when ever they moved.

Our little family at the Polynesian Cultural Center

Steph and AJ at Hanauma Bay. By far the most amazing beach I've ever been to in my life. The snorkeling was incredible, with tons of sea turtles, fish, and crystal clear water.

Just a picture that doesn't do this place any justice, but it's taken from the cliff above, overlooking a small part of Hanauma Bay

Please excuse my brother-in-law Robs obscene finger! This was one of the only pictures I got of everyone (except me) who went to Wiamea Falls. Charli napping in her stroller, as usual

This one is just funny, because someone put a leaf on her head, and it stayed there for a good 10 minutes before she realized it was there!

OK, so in my opinion it was worth the money and the walk, because you go through botanical gardens that are AMAZING, but the finally is supposed to be the falls...... here I am with Charli, in front of the falls/trickle. Normally you can swim, but since there has been so little rain, the water hasn't been flowing into little stream. Since its been standing still, the water collects lots of bacteria, so there's no swimming aloud.

We learned during this trip that Charli is obsessed with birds! A perfect example of this obsession is pictured here, with Charli chasing after this poor peacock. Little did I know that peacocks will attack other "things" that are it's same height. Luckily a lady who worked there saw us all laughing at Charli and told us she was getting way to close, and the peacock was getting mad.

Fia, Kinsey, Torrin, and Emma!

On one of the days, we went to a water park that Charli loved! Chris took her on a couple water slides, and she played in all the little fountains. The cold water didn't even phase her, she just loved it!

Over all it seriously was a pretty amazing trip, and I'm sad that its over. Especially now that Chris has to leave again on Wednesday for Alaska for another month. The one thing we do have to look forward to, is our house is finally going to close at the end of this month, and we will officially have a place to call our own! So I guess its happy furniture shopping for me:)

Squints

2008-08-14T21:54:00.000-07:00

So, at first I thought it was my camera, and the way it flashes that causes me pictures like this. But after trying for 5 minutes (just to see if I could) to get a picture of Charli without squinting like crazy, I learned that she is doing this on PURPOSE! When she sees the camera pointed at her, and knows that it might flash, this is the face she makes. I seriously could fill an entire album with my collection of these beautiful pictures of my baby that looks like she's well ya know..... hahaha So anyways I thought I would post a few

Just a little bit of Lately:

2008-08-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

So the last couple of weeks have just flown by! I'm not sure if its the nice weather, the fact that we're going out of town on Saturday, or that Chris is back, but I can't believe we're almost in the middle of AUGUST!!!! We've defiantly stayed busy, and Charli is just as cute as ever, learning new things everyday. Her favorite thing to do now, is stick her arm out, tilt her head sideways, and spin around in a circle.... kinda strange, but very cute! She still shakes her head no, when ever you ask her any question, and is walking and climbing on everything! Anyways this is just a little peak of what we've been up to lately:

I've been dying to take Charli to a little spray park, and let her splash around in the water and I finally did!! I was worried the water was way to cold, and she wouldn't like it, but she did, and had a blast!

Just taking a little break

when ever she would get close to the water that was taller than her, she would slowly inch her way over to it, then stick her foot out and try to block the water.

This is where we spent most of the time there, right next to this little tiny fountain that wasn't quite as scary, as the other ones

Shes really been loving just walking around outside

Swimming with her Dad

OK, this was a HUGE HIT! She LOVES this Elmo chair! every morning the first thing she does, is run and sit in it, while I'm making her breakfast. As you can see she's not the only one who loves it! It's so funny when the dogs get on her chair, she walks over to them and tells them "no no no!" then looks at me to make them move.

Breaking Dawn!

2008-08-02T14:14:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't really mentioned it before, because I hate being all caught up in something that everyone goes crazy over, but after last night there's really no denying it any longer. Of course I'm referring to the Twilight series! I'm sure many of you out there understand, and were having a very similar night to us. We started out the night at the always amazing Cheesecake Factory! It was my sister-in-law Lindsay's sixteenth birthday (actual b-day, remember the Joe Bros concert....her.) so we defiantly took advantage of that, left the kids at home, and made a night of it. After some great food, and amazing desert, we casually decided to swing by a Breaking Dawn release party ...... hahaha Here's one side of the table: Bri, Lindsay, and JessicaAnd the other side of the table: Kristi, Me, and Tiffany
Here's some really obsessed girls that we're by far the oldest ones there, (that weren't there as chaperones.... getting Jonas Brothers flashbacks) in some really sweet T-shirts! OK lets be real, Lindsay and I made all the shirts.
The party wasn't quite the rager we thought it might be, but it did have a pretty sweet countdown to midnight! I can't Deny that it was really fun, and I'm already reading and fully addicted to Breaking Dawn!

Chuck E. Cheese!!

2008-08-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

Last week, we had some bad weather, and had to try and find some fun things to do inside. Someone threw out the idea of Chuck-E-Cheese, and we figured Charli might just be old enough to have a little bit of fun there! I have to admit, I know kids love places like this, and they have loads of fun, but I can't help but think of how filthy these places are, with all the bare feet, slimy hands, runny noses, slobber, and just overall grossness that my baby will be surrounded by! But I have to remember I was once one of the kids that loved these places, and I survived, so whatever, that's what washing your hands is for right! So of course we went and lots of fun. I think pizza might be Charli's favorite food already! Every time we eat it (I especially noticed when we were here), she can eat nearly two whole pieces herself! Not counting all the bites she decides to throw on the floor of course. Anyways after pizza, we put her on a few of the little rides that barley move, and after finally getting her to sit, without crawling down, she seemed to really enjoy herself.

Charli and Ava, checkin this one out together!

Charli really seems to prefer to go up the slide, rather then go down.

The only other little ride I could get her to stay on, a little trolley! They really liked turning the steering wheel, and trying to climb over the back of the seat!

It was really fun watching her run around this place, and I can't wait until she's old enough to enjoy real rides, and we can finally go to Disney Land! Seriously, let me know if you want to go, because I'm really going to plan a trip!

Polka-Dot Party!

2008-07-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we had quite the birthday party! Charli, Ava, and Kaho were all turning one, with-in a month of each other, so Kristi, Amy, and I decided to have a triple birthday bash, and celebrate all together! It was a pretty big project, complete with a BBQ, water balloon toss, and a doughnut eating contest, but well worth it in the end! Our goal was to get as much taken care of before hand as possible so we could actually enjoy the party, and not have it turn into a stressful event! A big thank you to all of our family and friends for coming, and especially to everyone who helped us make it happen! It was great to get everyone together, and watch all the kids play! I had a blast, and I think Charli, Kaho and Ava did too!

Me, Amy and Kristi, the sweet party planners. This is the only picture I had of us, and when I showed Chris he started laughing and said that I look like someone photo shopped my head onto a different body. I looked at it, and its true! I have no idea why I look so "off" but whatever, I think its funny.

Here's some of the kids bobbing for apples! We tried to convince all the adults to join the fun, but for some reason they weren't to excited! Its pretty gross when you think about it.

Our little One-year-olds waiting with shirts off for their birthday cake! (and yes, those are doughnuts dangling from a tree in the back round)

I was lucky enough to have my Dad come up from Portland to come to our party! It was really great to see him, and I'm pretty sure he had a good time! Thank you Dad!

Lucky for us, Chris FINALLY made it home from Alaska. He actually got back the night before, after having been gone for 5 weeks! Its amazing to have him back, and I defiantly need to give him credit for all he does for me and Charli! I wouldn't last up there for a single day, living on a boat, surrounded by fish! Thank you Chris for everything!!!

OK, I could not resist posting this picture. This is NOT Charli's birthday cake, this is a couple weeks ago, and her uncle Keni's birthday! I've never seen her go to town like this! It was everywhere!! From her hair to down in her diaper she was covered! On her birthday she was slightly more dainty, but I'm glad I at least have these pictures to look back on!

Disney Princess

2008-07-22T14:06:00.000-07:00

OK, so everyone has been doing these princess quizzes, and I wasn't going to post this, but it was pretty fun, and actually pretty interesting because it was sort of like me:) Anyways I decided oh well. By the way, I SERIOUSLY want to go to Disney Land, so if anyone wants to plan a trip let me know k!

You Are Esmerelda!

Mysterious and passionate. You are a survivor. Even though life has swung you some difficult situations you have a strong intuition that gets you through. Also, you have the capacity to sympathize and relate to a variety of different people.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

JO-NAS JO-NAS JO-NAS!!!!!!!

2008-07-14T23:38:00.000-07:00

What a crazy last couple of days it has been! Every time I go to a concert, I'm never prepared for how loud the crazy screaming fans can be! I'm pretty sure I'm still partically deaf, and my ears are still ringing. Anyways, My sister-in-law Lindsay's sixteenth birthday is coming up, and all she wanted for her birthday was to go to a Live Jonas Brothers concert. Her and I looked on-line only to be disappointed that they weren't coming anywhere near here on their summer tour (Burnin Up). Thankfully for me, she is someone who puts her mind to something, and makes it happen! That very next morning she comes running over to see what I think about going to the next show in Anaheim California! How could I refuse??? (lets just forget how old I am for the remainder of this post) So on Sunday Me, Lindsay, and my other sister in law Kristi flew down to Cali for one night to go to the Jo Bro's show!! Aside from the fact that I was missing my baby (it was the first time Ive left her overnight), it was seriously fun!

We got to Anaheim with a few hours to spare, so we just decided to relax by the pool. Here's Lindsay, and Kristi looking her best!

They had a crazy tour bus, that all the fans sign and write messages on.

Here we are in our "New Seats". So listen to this. After hours of waiting in line to get in, then another forever, in a t-shirt line (do i sound like 13 yet haha) we go inside to get our "Amazing seats" we were excited for only to see that everything on the floor looked all rearranged, and our seats no longer existed! A usher tells us this big story about how the Jonas Brothers are using both Anaheim concerts to shoot there upcoming movie JB in 3D (coming in January), and to make room for the cameras, and a pre-selected mosh-pit of little girls, our $300 seats were gone. Welp back to the ticket line we go, sot wait with the hundreds of other angry people who's seats have been eliminated! Finally after yelling and arguing with with ticket people about trying to be compensated in some way, we ended up just taking the new seats they gave us,because the show was starting and we didn't want Lindsay to miss any of it. They ended up not being to bad, but nothing compared to what they would have been (11th row on the floor).

I didn't get to many good shots during the show. Anyone who's been to a concert with me knows that my focus is to have as much fun as possible, go crazy, and take advantage of the whole experience!

So after the show ended, they had the whole audience stick around so they could film about 3 or 4 more songs, and in walks Taylor Swift, to sit and watch them film! I can only assume that she must be dating one of them, because why else would she be there. This picture is really bad and blurry, but she kept moving and I had to zoom in really far so it's the best I got.

This was us attempting to get a shot of us wearing our Jo-Bro's T-shirts, but it didn't work out so well. All the pictures we had other people take, came out terrible. Although I'm so happy to be back,and see my little Charli, it was an amazing time, and Lindsay Happy Birthday! Feel free to take me along next time you plan something crazy!