A dream come true

Josh and I went and saw the Phantom of the Opera at the Paramount Theater in Seattle, and it was as dreamy and surreal as I'd imagined. Everyone was great, but the best of course, was the Phantom! Josh had to remind me that the Phantom was a murderer, but with that voice, I don't know ladies...he could sing me to sleep every night if he wanted to. wink wink... It was a great date, Josh was ever the gentleman, opening my door for me, being so sweet. Like usual of course. And the Flanders watched our kids for us...thank you so much!!!

If you ever get a chance to see this production, go and do it. It is SO worth it. I'm looking for someone to head to Vegas with me now and see the Phantom show playing down there. And I'm also looking for the airfare and tickets...anyone?

Frogs and Fire

I decided to grill a few burgers last week, and in the process I saw a little green frog hop onto the grill side burner, so I swiped him up and ran...well...walked quickly into the front yard to show the kids. They loved that little frog and each took a turn holding him, except Liam. Liam tried to eat him. So we agreed to return him to the backyard, and as we were trekking to the backyard, Josh gasped. Serious, it was a gasp. I looked around, thinking I burned the burgers to a charbroiled crisp (it could happen...for sure..) but instead it was something a little more exciting.

Have you ever seen a side burner plate on fire like that? Or a pipe? It was amazing. As Josh was grabbing the hose I grabbed the camera. A true blogger I am! The kids were excited to see a real fire right on our very own deck, and now we have the charcoal wood to memorialize this day forever. By the way, the frog made it home safely and the burgers were great!

Big Zucchini

I had to put this picture in here of the kids displaying our proud harvest from the garden out back. We grew a monster zucchini that survived a massive slug assault and horrible neglect from the gardener. It's our miracle zucchini, and so we treated it as such. It sat in its place of honor on the counter for about 5 days, and now resides in baggies all shredded up and frozen, minus about three cups that ended up in our zucchini chocolate chip bread. I may have to go have a piece of it right now...is it too late to eat?

The Fair

Sliding with Grandpa!


Milking Millie the Cow



On the train ride, and Liam trying to get into that pop can




I love fair time! The kiddie rides, greasy food, crowds, odiferous livestock, amazing handiwork (my favorite section...4H, arts and crafts), questionable lavatories, fudge samples...and that's only a small part of it. The kids and I went to the fair on Friday with our preschool friends and toured the animal and kiddie sections, even Aunt Susie and cousin Shelley came to hang out. Then today we went again with Daddy and did the rides. We also met Grandma and Grandpa and aunts, uncles and cousins from Josh's side...it was great! A mini-family reunion of sorts. Ammon and Shayla LOVED the rides, trains, cars, miniature roller coaster...The favorite was the big yellow slide, they did that three times. We were diehard fair goers for two days, and now I think it's time for a rest. :)

The Three Amigos

Aren't brothers and sisters awesome? Ammon and Shayla have been spending more time with Liam as he interacts more with them. Shayla always asks, "Mom, can I pet Liam?" So cute. We got cute sibling photos from our trip to the park and a nice little cookie moment on the living room floor...which led to a nice little vacuum moment and a multiple baby wipe moment. They are the greatest!

Ammon's Big Ride

Ammon wanted to go to the park, so Dad made a deal...we'd go to the park if Ammon would take his training wheels off his bike. So he did! He took off on his first try, with Daddy close behind. He rode straight down the road and he was so proud, so was Dad! We ended up going all the way to the park, about six blocks from our house. After some swinging and sliding, the ride back was with a little less confidence, but with Dad's hand on his shoulder, Ammon made it all the way back home. Yay Ammon!!