Madeline's 1st Day of School!

We got all the pictures covered on this very special day! Madeline was so excited to ride the school bus. It's official, she is a BIG KID now!

Foster Lake

One of our last summer outings was to Foster Lake for a day of sun and water play. The girls built a little cove out of a whole bunch of rocks (with a little help from Mom and Dad, of course!)

Trip to Minnesota - September 20th

I was back in Richfield for my 20th Class Reunion (ack!) and made a visit to the site of our old house in Richfield. It's gone now and they put in a Home Depot and a Super Target. Here you can see the old elm tree that was in our front yard (on the left) and I've put an "X" where we think the front steps would have been. Kinda weird! At least we can still visit our old tree and sit in the parking lot where our living room used to be!

I also was able to visit Rich, Erin and the kids. I managed to get a photo with Sarah. I wish I got to see them more! They've all grown up so much...

A Day at the Petting Zoo!

From L to R: Hunter, Ella, Madeline, Audrey and Thomas

The girls and I went to a little petting zoo on Saturday with my friends Megan (Hunter's Mom) and Anna (Audrey and Thomas' Mom). Madeline was SO excited to see her best friend, Audrey. When 1st grade started this year they were separated since they go to different schools. We had a great day!

Canoeing in the Mountains

We took our new canoe along on a day trip to a Scout Lake, a tiny mountain lake, and put it in the water for its maiden voyage. No mishaps, and the girls loved it! It was the perfect lake for conoeing and swimming.

The girls get a fishing lesson from Dad. I love this picture!

The lake was small enough that Madeline and I hiked around it while Ella and Dad floated and fished...you can see them in the background there.

Ella and Aaron floating in the clear mountain water.

In 2003, about 70,000 acres around the lake burned, so you still see all the burnt trees and stumps. Of course Madeline, the professional tree climber that she is, had to scramble up all those stumps...by the end of our hike she was covered in soot!

Mom's Old Dress

Yes, this is my dress that I wore when I was about 7 years old. It's a little big on Madeline, but she loves to wear it.

The Strawberry Festival

We went to the Strawberry Festival Parade where the girls collected more candy than they had at Halloween! It was a very hot and very fun day. You know, they had the world's largest Strawberry Shortcake there...it was pulled through the parade by a semi-truck. It was HUGE!

Rick Springfield!

I went to Rick Springfield's concert last night with my friend Melinda and I was lucky enough to get a picture taken with the 58-year-old 80s icon as he took a walk through the crowd! WHOO-HOOOO!

P.S. NO! This picture has NOT been "Photoshopped"!! :-)

The Oregon Gardens

When mom and dad were here in May we visited the Oregon Garden...it was beautiful! This is a great shot of those two.

Blast From the Past!

I came across this picture on my computer and had to post it. It is from about 3 years ago and it was one of my favorite pictures ever of these two!

Moms need Spring Break, too!

My college girlfriends (Katie, Melanie and Steph), my sister-in-law (Erin) and my friend and co-worker (Dayla) met in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in February. What an awesome 5 days! Here we are at our final dinner in a picture with our waiters, sunburned and not quite ready to get back to reality. Special thanks to our wonderful husbands for taking care of things back home so we could get away!

Banana Bread Bakers!

Ya gotta lick the beaters...

Ella's Birthday Party

Ella had a "Princess Party" for her birthday. We celebrated with some family friends and had a great time.

Ella was excited to show all her friends her new "big girl bed". She tucked her little buddy Hunter right up! Aaron will probably stop the practice of letting boys in the girls' bedrooms very soon, in fact, someday boys may be banned from the house all together.

Gift opening!

Olivia, Ella, Lauren and Madeline goof for the camera. They are the daughters of our close friends, Scott and Eileen, and live in Portland. Madeline and Olivia are only 3 weeks apart in age, while Ella and Lauren are only 3 months apart.

Ella's "Actual" Birthday!

We celebrated Ella's Birthday just like Madeline's: with a cupcake after dinner. She's happy to be "free" (toddler-speak for "three")!

Madeline's Actual Birthday 2-1-07

Madeline had a Birthday Breakfast with her family because Dad had to work that night. After dinner, though, Mom had some cupcakes waiting for the Birthday Girl and we opened a gift from Grandma & Grandpa Gordon.

Madeline's 6th Birthday Party

Madeline's birthday party was held at the new bowling alley in town. The kids had a blast during the "Cosmic Bowling" session, which included cool light shows and music while everyone bowled. It was a whirlwind 2 hours.

My Future's so Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades!

Self explanatory!

Ella's Mini-Haircut

I finally broke down and cut Ella's hair. Okay, I just cut some bangs. I'm slowly working towards cutting some length off, too. But bangs are fine for now!

Ella's First Pumpkin Pie!

We had to "practice" making our pumpkin pie since Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Ella helped me make a pie for the first time, and she was so helpful! It was fun to watch her sniff and smell all the ingredients as we put them in. She was the "stirrer" and kept telling me what I needed to do next, so that was a big help also...

Cuddle Monkeys

I have to take a picture of them whenever I find them getting along and being SO CUTE! :-)