Happy Easter!

We had some sickness in the house and it was raining, so the Easter Bunny hid the eggs inside the house this year. We would call him lazy, but he did manage to find the time to mow our lawn! We were so lucky this year. Thank you, Easter Bunny!

April Showers bring May Flowers!

Rainy Day with "Littlest Pet Shop" Pals

The "Littlest Pet Shop" animals are all the rage these days! Recently, on another rainy day, the girls set them all up and played all afternoon. Unfortunately, Ella has a few giant dinosaurs that threaten the peace and order of the game. Poor little pets were running for their lives...

More Carousel Party Photos

The BEST photo of the day!!!!

Birthday Party at the Carousel

Madeline and Ella celebrated their birthdays together with a party up in Salem. We got a party room next to the beautiful wooden carousel they have there. Lots of friends and family helped us celebrate and we rode the carousel quite a few times!

Ella and her friend Maddie

Lauren, Olivia, Madeline, Olivia and Matthew

Maddie, Ella and Olivia

Waiting for a turn on the Carousel

Madeline turns 7!! Ella turns 4!!

Yes, I'm almost 2 months late posting the pictures, enjoy them anyway! We celebrated Madeline's and Ella's birthdays on the actual day, and then we had a party for them the following Sunday. They each enjoyed their special day!

MORE Snow!

This time there was enough for Snowmen and Snowangels...

It's SNOWING!

A rare occurrence here on the Willamette Valley floor.
The girls are having a blast!

Christmas 2007

We are so grateful that Grandma and Grandpa were able to come visit us this year for Christmas. We were sad to see them go and we miss them already!

Opening Christmas Presents

Santa was good to everyone this year! The girls were overwhelmed with all of their gifts and all of the action that took place the week of Christmas.

Christmas Cookies with Grandma Gordon

Grandma and Grandpa Gordon came to spend Christmas with us and we had a GREAT time! The girls enjoyed making some yummy butter cookies with Grandma, while Grandpa looks on. As always, licking the beaters is the best part...

Santa Checks In!

The girls got to visit Santa a little bit at the Albany Police Department Kid's Christmas Party. Santa left them each a gift. They are so excited for Christmas and for Grandma and Grandpa Gordon's visit!

Halloween!

Okay, these two learned how to cross their eyes recently... no more explanation needed!
(WHACK-JOBS!!!!)

We also went to pick out the pumpkins last week and they had a corn maze, a "cow ride" out to the pumpkin patch and some other fun activities.

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!