Do the Puyallup!

Aww, the fair. Nothin' beats the fair right? Yummy greasy food, mullets galore, creepy carnies, and parents who put their kids on leashes... Fun times for everyone!

Getting ready to enter the petting zoo, and all I can think is, "We're going to have to pour hand sanitizer on the kids after this. And they had better not pet that bird!! NASTY!"
Troy wanted to give all the animals kisses. Yuck.

He's not quite as soft as Brooklyn was at this age. He LOVES animals!

He seriously just wanted to maul the poor goats.

Getting ready to watch the mutton bustin'. Erik is determined to get Brooklyn on a sheep next year, and Troy in 2 years. Ummm, I don't think so! But it sure is fun to watch other people's little kids fall off and get run over by the sheep.

Brooklyn's 1st ever pony ride!!! She was in HEAVEN! I stood close by...just in case. Yes, I'm THAT kind of mom.

Bangin' the drums with Daddy.

Hey Brooklyn, you've got a monkey on your back! Yes, we put OUR kids on leashes too. Guilty.

"I wanna be Pop-u-lar!!"

Last week I was able to have a girls night out and we all went to "Wicked!" Oh man, was it AWESOME!!! Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. We started of with dinner at Buca de Bepo's (yumm!!), then RACED to the theater and made it just in the knick of time (literally, we were all running in our high heels trying to make it in time, very funny). They shut the doors pretty much right after we were seated. Anyway, the show was incredible, and the company was a blast! I can't wait to do it again! I really wish I could go see it again. If it comes to your town, I HIGHLY recommend it! Another cool thing about the show was the gal who played Glinda (one of the leads), went to my alma mater, AMDA!! It was fun to see someone actually putting their expensive education to use. :)

Before the dinner and show in our "lovely" front yard. :)

After the show with Stephanie, Alexis, and Kelly.Stephanie, me, and Codi...we miss you Codi!!!! Come back! :)

It's hard to believe...

Troy is 13 months, 7 days old. When Brooklyn was 13 months, 6 days old, I brought home sweet baby Troy from the hospital. It is so hard for me to believe that just 1 year ago, I had 2 babies at home. Troy just seems like a baby to me still, and Brooklyn seemed so grown-up to me at this age! I hope I haven't made her grow up too fast. I know I probably expect way too much out of her, being that she is still only 2. I have to check myself sometimes (ok, actually a LOT) and remind myself that she is only 2 and still a baby! She is, and always has been such a GREAT big sister. She was always so sweet, gentle and caring with Troy (well, most of the time). But especially when he was tiny, she was so sweet with him. Even shared her snacks with him! :) I've just been reflecting a lot this week on our different perspectives we take on life. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful little family. I don't know what I would do without them! Well, I'd probably get more sleep, and not have such a messy house, but I try not to dwell on that. lol

Oh the places you'll go!

We went to Boise a couple weeks ago, and had a blast! I know I say this every time, but it's so fun to see everyone we can, but also stressful trying to get everything and everyone in. It seems we never have enough time to really spend quality time with everyone. So...I guess you all just need to come to Seattle! Anyway, we had a blast. We drove down after work Wednesday night and the kids were great! After stopping for dinner, they settled in with a DVD, then hit the hay. The next morning the kids had a blast getting reacquainted with cousins, aunts and uncles, and of course Grandma's and Grandpa's. They loved feeding the cows (or Dog-dog's as T calls them), sliding down the big slip n' slides, swinging on the swings, jumping on the tramp, running through the "forest", hot-tubbing, boating and tubing, painting (with markers AND paints!! Grandma is much more brave than Mommy), eating TONS and TONS of popsicles, and of course getting tons of undivided attention. Erik and I enjoyed dining out to some of our favorite Boise places (Blimpie, Costa Vita, Mongolian, just to name a few). I even got to enjoy a great girls night out with my sister Melanie and sis-in-law Cassie. Fun! I wish I had been more consistent with taking pictures. I didn't get any at the big Paternoster dinner! And even though I have about 500 pictures to go through from the week, there were still a lot of things I didn't get pictures of. So if you have any pictures, send them on to me! We can't wait to head back again in November. And we're happy to be flying this time. And I'm just glad I won't be flying alone. (We drove there, Erik drove home, then I left a few days later and flew home. The kids were actually very good on the plane. I'm a lucky Mom.) Enjoy yet another over-load of photos! :)

Fun times at Grandma & Grandpa Pat's.

Fun times at Grandma & Grandpa Hill's.

On the lake with some awesome friends!

Just a small sample from my parents garden. Erik took zucchini, pumpkins, and tons of cherry tomatoes. Yummy!

On the plane Ride Home.

Just putting it out there...

I went to Wicked last night. Brilliant. You know, I always miss performing. I miss the lights shining on you, the nasty make-up, the big hair, the applause, the standing ovations (I think people were probably too generous with me!), the anticipation and butterflies before opening night, the anticipation and sadness of closing night, the bonds of friendship you make with people spending countless hours rehearsing. I miss it all. I always do. But it comes back with a vengence when I go to a show. I can't even count how many times I teared up thinking about how much I miss it. I'm a goober. I guess that's what happens with old age. :) I wish I could have been better and gone further with musical theatre. Not that I don't absolutley love my life now. I just miss it. I wish I could have it all. A wonderful husband, wonderful, beautiful children, performing on stage, running whenever I feel like it. Do you ever miss the fun things you did before "real" life set in? I doubt I'm alone. I wish I knew then what know now. I think my New Year's resolutions this year will include auditioning for something. If I get it great, if not, at least I tried. Man, I just miss it!

"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful..." lol

Per a few people's request (and to document for myself) I am putting up some pictures the photographer took at the triathlon. So,here you go. Be nice. I was really excited. lol Did I mention the first thing my mom said when she saw the swim picture? "Wow, you look just like (your brother) Mike!" Ummmm, thanks, I guess. :)

What's next???

I finished my first triathlon this past weekend (sprint distance: 1/4 mile swim, 14 mile bike, 3.1 mile run). It was such a blast!! I left my house at 5:30 am in the POURING rain. When we got to the lake however, it wasn't raining! Yippee!! I was pretty nervous about riding my bike in the rain. So there we are, all standing in our various heats before the swim start, and it starts pouring again. Bummer. I guess I shouldn't have uncovered all my stuff at transition. Needless to say, my shoes, socks, and everything else were soaked. But, we all pushed on anway, and I actually did pretty well I think. I did witness a few people crash on their bikes around slippery corners, so I really took my time on the bike. My shoes probably weighed about 20 lbs when I started the run because of all the water, so that made it fun. :) I took my time during transitions because I really wanted to soak everything in (not the rain, the experience). It was actually pretty comical watching everyone stress out about getting all their gear on or off. I especially liked the REALLY serious competitors with all the high-end gear, but don't look like they've ever actually used it, if you catch my drift. You find all kinds of body types at these things (don't worry, I realize they were probably wondering how I would make it through as well)! Anyway, I ended up finishing in 1 hour 33 min. Thanks to Erik for supporting me through all my training and very rarely complaining! You're the best honey! So, now I need a new goal. I'm going to continue with 1/2 marathons, and probably do a full marathon in June. I'd like to stick to tri's too, they're just so much fun! I'm throwing around the idea of training for a fitness competition (my friend Ashlee inspired me, she looks AMAZING!!!). But I'd rather not do the actual competition. I just want to do the training. We shall see. It takes a LOT of time and effort, and I'm not sure my little family is ready for me to be gone working out all the time again. Any other suggestions?

Coming to the finish line and waving to my biggest fans!

The kids waiting for me to hurry up!! Troy was thrilled to be there. :)