Atlanta - Roswell Rooster and the Telus Museum

We got to go to Atlanta for Memorial Day again this year - the first day, we checked out the GIANT rooster and then made our way to the Telus Science Museum.  There, the girls got to check out old cars and buggies, see a space movie, and best of all, pan for gold!

Real dentist, real cool

Do the girls love the dentist so much because of the cool glasses or the gi-normous teeth??  

Monroe for lacrosse, Lake Tye, indoor soccer and family time!

We had a great day up in Monroe - Gabe taught Macie and Caroline how to use the lacrosse stick and fish, then we got to watch Jon at an indoor soccer game (he was moving too fast to get any clear pictures!) and then a family dinner with everyone.  

Great-grandmother Mary Lou and Macie

Looks like Macie got her looks from Mike's maternal grandmother, Mary Lou!!!  We can't believe the resemblance - especially in the expression :)

The jogger that just won't quit

We may not go fast, but we still take the jogger for a spin every once in a while!

Caroline doing Math!

Warms a mother's heart :)  - especially this mother!

Dentist?

At least she has gloves on...

Edmond's Beach + algae

Look at that red water!  Fun day with peeny ice creams (girls' word for puny/teeny :), building forts, and checking out the algae that made the water red.

Daniel's Impassioned Reading of Amelia Bedelia

We love having Daniel impart his acting/dancing/singing skills on the girls!  (And, Miles!)

Hard Knock Life - learning Annie!

Beach Excited!

Actual Mother's Day

Golden Gardens

Our annual get together to remember my mentor and fellow teacher, Karen.  Beautiful day at Golden Gardens!

Mother's Day Tea Party

I am the luckiest mom!  The girls invited me to their school for a tea party - they had drawn cards for me, MADE earrings, and sang me a beautiful song!  They even cleaned up afterwards!  So sweet and thoughtful.  Love love love!

Lacrosse and milkshakes!

A bunch of my students played lacrosse this year for one of the big public HS's - Garfield.  The girls and I became regular fans!  After our first game (hard to figure out what was going on!), we needed some Kidd Valley milkshakes - yum :)

Oh, Macie

I'm not sure how she found out about Bieber (Today Show?), but Macie loves him!  She even chose a JB sticker from the grocery store over all the cartoon characters - what's happening!!?!?!

Vancouver 1/2 Marathon 2013

Mike and I went up to Vancouver, BC for the 6th (?) annual time!  This year, I decided to not run (which ended up being a really good thing, since I had just started antibiotics for strep!), but Mel and I got to cheer on all the runners.  Mike did a great job, despite the heat.  Fun day!

Opening Day 2013

Go HUSKIES!  They didn't need our cheering though - total domination by UW.  What a fun and beautiful day for a race - - here's a picture of the Jr Boys 8+s with some of my students in them.  And, our annual family picture at Opening Day - the girls first came when they were just 2 months old!

Strep

Well, as we found out later, I wasn't the only one in our family with strep... but it hit me hard!  While I was not getting up from bed, the girls were making me sweet cards and getting Mike to buy me colorful (fake colors?) flowers :)  Almost a week later, we finally got the girls tested and yes, they had it too... no sore throats, just crankiness and fever for about 2 days a whole week before I got sick!!!

My Teacher of the Year colleague!

My coworker in Learning Support, friend, and mentor when it comes to having twins, Megan, won the Teacher of the Year for Washington Independent Schools.  She deserves it with her incredibly hard work and investment in each and every kid that comes across her path.  YAY!!!

Teaching dad to play guitar

Cheryl gave Mike a guitar she'd had in garage for 10 years for Christmas - I gave him guitar lessons this spring - and boom, we have a guitar player in our house!  It is so fun to hear Mike practicing and just have music around.  The girls love playing it, too!

Coaching Q13 News Crew

Before the big Seattle regatta - Opening Day - the news crews from King 5, Komo 4 and Q13 come out to learn to row and then race each other a few days before the cover the real race on the news!  It is hilarious!  I got asked to come help coach this year and got paired with the Q13 boat.  Let me tell you, there were some athletes in that boat!  They may not have been rowing well (or at all), but they wanted to win!  And, they did!  What a fun experience!  I loved seeing some of the outfits from the other boats - gloves, hair blown dry, and best of all, heels on the dock!

Flower drawings

Because I took a drawing class this spring (specifically flowers), I decided to offer to teach drawing one day at Macie and Caroline's preschool.  It was fun and exhausting to work with 5 kids at a time and try to get them to draw the tulip they were each looking at!  But, they loved smudging the pastels and the pictures turned out great.  A few days later, the girls asked to do it again at home, so here's the process and product of that day.  Nice work, girls!