The Stark Family

Christmas Time Is Here!

2012-01-16T15:56:00.000-08:00

We hosted Christmas this year with the Reynolds crew and it was such a fun week! Nana, Papa, Uncle Brian, Aunt Alli, and Uncle Mike were all here and here are some of the highlights of the week.

Christmas Eve: We had prime rib, and D's famous mashed potatoes, the green bean casserole Aunt Alli can't live without ;) and some other yummy sides. We'd been baking different kinds of cookies for days, so those ended up being our dessert.

As a tradition the kids get to open their new jammies and ornaments from FarFar and FarMor, their cousin gifts, and a new book from Mommy and Daddy that we all read together that night before going to bed.

(pic above) Christmas Eve: Miss K opening her ornament from FarFar and FarMor, she was obviously pretty stoked to add that to her 4 foot nothing tree in her little room.

Will's jammies and ornament

Jonny's cousin gift from Niklas--a sweet remote control car! Our baseboards and furniture have been loving this thing. ;0)

K's pretty nightgown

Posing with their new jammies on and their new books. Right after that it was time to read them and then set out cookies and milk for Santa, and some carrots for his reindeer, and head to bed!

Santa CAME! . . . I won't show the tree, it was pretty out of control how far out the gifts stretched into the living room.

Will holding his stocking, J making a beeline for his new batcave!

Katie was thrilled with her dollhouse! She didn't know what to do with herself.

Jonny with his Bumblebee mask from Uncle Brian

Chilling while the kids go to town

SPY GUYS!

I think Jonny got all the animal loving genes in the family--he LOVES this bucket he got of farm animals.

Papa showing Miss K how to sport her Barbie purse and accessories

Will's sweet new hat! (Jonny got one two of course, but his is red, but still crazy looking!)

Aunt Alli played Santa handing out gifts . . . Katie needed help opening her barbie set . . .

Will showing off his spread of goods . . . all organized--he's SO like his mommy.

K in her new purple boots--these are a necessity where we live!

All her goods in one shot

Jonny's pile of presents

The adults delved into some poker and dice games the rest of the day while the kids broke in all the new stuff. Another tradition we have is having Chinese take-out for dinner on Christmas day, it's been fun doing that the past couple of years--it makes the day a lot more relaxing and we have leftovers for days. :) Fun times

Will's B-Day

2012-01-16T15:21:00.000-08:00

Will turned 7 on December 8th and we were so excited that FarFar and FarMor were able to be here to celebrate with us. We all went to Red Robin for dinner, Will's Fav, and came home to open presents. Can't believe you're 7 already big man! We love you!!

OH the LOVE

Will had been asking for a DS for months before his bday--his face was awesome when he opened it!

Family Photo Shoot

2011-12-06T20:48:00.001-08:00

Yeah! We finally did a family photo shoot! Our photographer, Andrea, was AMAZING! She did a wonderful job of capturing the kids' personalities and was a dream to work with! These are a few of our favs!

It was SUPER chilly that morning, so Miss K took to Daddy's shirt to keep warm.

LOVE this one of our Jon

the boys

the girls

Get Will!

Our sweet girl

bros

Will's BDay Party

2011-12-06T16:32:00.000-08:00

Will chose JJ Jump for his party place this year--the kids had a great time running amok! Will loved celebrating #7 with his friends and cousins.

some of the party crew

the girls: Annika, K, and Callie

Will is definitely set for a Nerf battle. :) Thanks everyone for coming to help make his party so fun!

All Things Halloween

2011-12-06T16:22:00.000-08:00

We procrastinated this year and carved our pumpkins the day of Halloween, getting them done in just enough time to eat dinner and go trick or treating. Thanks Daddy for being such a good sport!

Miss K and her "baby pumpkin"

Hulk style

The finished products

Ready to go collect some CANDY!

Summer into Fall

2011-12-06T15:59:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pics to sparsely show our summer and fall. Does anyone else seem to notice that they take way more pics with their phones now a days than with their cameras? Maybe it's just me, but I have tons of pics on my phone over the past few months, and not quite as many on my camera. :)

Will kicking

Jonny taking his fifth water break ;)

our left-footed cutie in action

yes, i'm just now posting first day of school shots :) here's one of Jonny's many signature looks

Jonny boy showing off his backpack, just like big brother's

my big first grader!!

In August, we went to Utah for a family reunion with the Stark crew--here are all the cousins posing on our last day at Aspen Grove. Look at all those blondies! Can you tell they have Swedish blood in them? :)

And back in June, yes, June, I co-hosted a baby shower for one of my besties, Julie, with her sister Windy. Baby Beau arrived in July!

UTAH

2011-05-31T20:50:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Derrik and I jetted off to Utah just the two of us--thank you Nana and Papa. :) We were able to visit Derrik's parents, his sister, Chaunda and her crew, and his brother, Mike and his family. It was absolutely wonderful to catch up with everyone.

We then spent our last afternoon and night up at Sundance . . . we used to drive up there and shop/eat there when we lived in Utah and it was just as gorgeous as we remember.

The tree filled view off our deck

D attempting a nap

We strolled the paths around the lodges

Pretty waterfalls

Dressed up for dinner at the Tree Room restaurant

Pouty face cuz we have to return our sweet chevy malibu :( . . . and leave our cozy retreat

SPRING!

2011-05-31T20:25:00.000-07:00

This post is a mish mosh of things from the past month . . .

Tis the season . . . I have two friends expecting babies soon--can't wait to get my baby fix! :) My friend, Windy, and I hosted the first one a couple weeks ago for our friend, Alyssa. She's having a baby girl and it was a blast putting together the party. It all turned out SO cute I had to take some pics to document it all before we dug in.

Candy jars and goodie bags to go

YUM!!!!

Alyssa (on the right) and Kelsey who's also due soon showing off their rootbeer bellies

Miss K strutting her stuff in her favorite outfit (this week)

Will had his Kindergarten Singing Concert last weekend and we had to warm up the camera in the stands while we waited, so D got some cutie patootie shots of the kids while we waited.

Will did SO good! He was so animated and loved performing . . . shocker :) . . . he's in the second row, 3rd in from the left.

Nana and Papa came to see Will perform and since Nana's bday was coming up we had a little celebration for her when we got back from the concert. Happy Bday Nana!!! We love you!

The kids always have to help blow out the candles.

Easter Time!

2011-05-09T15:53:00.000-07:00

My parents were here to spend Easter with us this year . . . very fun having them so close! We had a ball dying eggs, hunting for them, and playing with all the new goodies the Easter Bunny left the kiddos.

dying eggs with Nana and Daddy

EEW! Grody boys ;)

Pinwheels!

miss Kate trying to get the hang of it

Jonny showing off his eggs

K trying to pose like her big bros

Sadly, this was the best shot i got of the three of them . . . we had to wake K up so we could start the egg hunt already

a sweet shot of K with her daddy

Happy Girl with a belly full of chocolate!

Flashback

2011-04-07T18:25:00.000-07:00

So I started skimming through iPhoto and got carried away with flashbacks, so I decided to do a little photo flashback on our blog since some of these were taken before we even had a blog. I got a bit teary eyed since looking at all these makes me realize how fast the last 6+ years since Will was born have gone by . . . and my baby is already 2, and Jonny just turned 4, and it's just been one of those days. :) The timeline is all jumbled, but they're some of my favs.

Will and Jonny meeting for the first time, he wasn't quite sure what to think of that little peanut under the blanket.

Will and K in the tubby

Jonny with his baby blues eating a cupcake

Jonny in his lion costume . . . there's a pic of W in this same one later in this post :)

I love these two of Jonny--he's got such a great smile-- you never know which one you're going to get

Jonny on his blessing day

this is the one we used for his baby announcement -- again, we have another of W in the same pose later on

Will fell asleep eating in his high chair

*Great shot of his cowlick that is identical to Der's and FarMor (Der's mom)

Jonny only a few days old, good thing I bought two of those green blankets because he still has to have his "little one" blanket at night time

Will when he had enough hair to spike

Will in the lion costume he handed down to Jonny

Will in his bouncy seat . . . this was his THING that we had to take everywhere with us because it was the only thing he liked to sit in

Will

Will (loved this one with the toes clenching together)

Will

Will (GQ)

Katie and I

These two are almost the same taken 4 months apart--both at Chuck E. Cheese of course

OMSI

2011-04-07T18:13:00.001-07:00

We FINALLY made it to OMSI today! The kids had a ball so we bought a membership so the fun can continue . . . we didn't get through everything, so we are excited to go back again soon.

Jonny broke out in dance as soon as we went in the science playground

Miss K spent the first 25 min staring at the stamp they put on her hand upon entering the museum, the novelty finally wore off.

Looking at butterflies

Jonny had one of those days where almost all of his smiles looked painful and or awkward . . . he cracks me up.

like i said, painful . . . here he is dressing up as a chipmunk . . . i swear he had fun doing it :)

Will waited and waited for this exhibit to open up so he could create his own roller coaster to experiment with

Katie needed a lift from Daddy to the car by the end of it all . . . she was played out!

Portland ZOO

2011-04-07T17:49:00.000-07:00

Der and Will both have Spring Break this week, so we started off by going to the zoo on a day when it was at least slightly sunny and not raining. We wore our gear just in case . . .

the boys

watching the seal swim up

D and his baby girl

Katie watching the leopard up close

Jonny boy

Jonny's 4th Birthday

2011-04-07T17:31:00.000-07:00

Just like his big bro, Jonny had to have his bday celebration at Chuck E. Cheese . . . it was fun and busy! Thanks to the Nielsens, Joe, Brian, and Rachel for making his day so much fun.

Miss K on a ride

Will showing Kiki how to play skeeball

Jonny and Mark-o

Rachel, Brian, and Chanel watching Kevin and Joe make fools of themselves. ;0)

Jonny just wanted to eat some cake...

Presents!!!

The big green cupcake!

Uncle Brian and Missy

New House Pics

2011-03-01T11:50:00.000-08:00

sooo. . . . haven't posted anything since Christmas--oops! January and February were filled with packing, getting ready to move, moving, and trying to get settled in our new place. we've been here a little over 2 weeks and this is how it all looks so far--we still have a ways to go with rugs, window treatments, etc . . . but it's been SO much fun doing a little bit at a time and really taking our time getting settled. D has been quite a trooper--his "honey do" lists are quite a tall order and he's been awesome.

hope this isn't too boring--i'll post pics of the kiddos later on. ;0)

kitchen looking out into great room

upstairs landing . . . door open into toy room

kitchen nook

standing behind the couch

looking back towards kitchen from great room

front door opens to this entryway

at the bottom of the stairs

master bedroom--unfortunately this will prbly be my last project . . . i need to get the downstairs done, the kids' rooms done, and the guest room first -- can't wait!

Christmas Morning

2011-01-12T12:47:00.000-08:00

The Bros with their "rockstar" guitars

Miss K with her new pillow pet

Their new "light up" shoes--Santa found some that weren't super cheesy ;0)

Jonny with his Zhu Zhu pet

This girl changed into her new clothes/shoes every time she opened something--it was hilarious.

Zhu Zhu pet warriors

SHOES!

My boys

super hero costumes

chilling after the presents were all opened

boys playing their new wii games--K in the background smiling for the camera

little sis finally got her turn in the super hero get up

Post Holiday Fun

2011-01-12T11:57:00.000-08:00

Katie enjoying her new chair and pillow pet

My Aunt Reba came and stayed for a night with us . . . the kids LOVED having her here. She was a good sport and watched a show with them in the toy room.

My parents came right after New Years and we got to celebrate my Dad's bday with him. We had beef stroganoff as he requested and german chocolate cake--YUM!

Happy BDay Papa! We love you!!!!

Will trying on the golf shirt he picked out for Papa.

Happy 6th Birthday to Will!

2010-12-20T13:39:00.000-08:00

Will turned 6 December 8th . . . we had a fun family evening: dinner, Christmas lights downtown, and movie night. We love you Will!

My BIG kid!

Katie got in on all the fun

Will saying, "Thank you" to Jonny for his new Leapster game

Jonny had a hard time being happy for this pic

Will was dead set on ringing in his 6th bday at Chuck E Cheese . . . lets just say I am grateful that I had no set up or clean up to worry about, BUT we were one of about 7 bday parties that night and it was a Friday, sooo it was a bit crazy, but Will had a ball and didn't seem to mind all the chaos. :)

Katie of course chose to NOT take a nap the day of Will's party, so by the time 6:00 rolled around she was a bit clingy to say the least. But we got some good smiles out of her anyways.

The party crew

Jonny with his usual cheesy smile

Katie and D

Will in the Ticket Blaster--he loved this thing! He grabbed almost 500 worth of tickets!

Spiderman Cake . . . if this looks familiar its because Jonny had the same one for his bday, Will wanted the exact same cake. I didn't mind not having to bake it. ;)

Blowing out 6 candles!

Thanksgiving in Redmond

2010-12-20T13:15:00.000-08:00

This year we went to Redmond to spend Thanksgiving with the Reynolds clan. Here are the highlights:

Look at those teef!

All 3 in their jammies ready for a show

All the "Rentals" together

Papa, Aunt Alli, and Miss K

The boys playing Liars Dice

we attempted a little photo shoot while we were there . . .

Will Michael--almost 6!!!

Sissy sitting pretty

the bros

Jonny cracks me up in this one

cheese ball

The day before we left we had a bit of snow, school was late start so Will got to play on the trampoline . . . he didn't last long though. :)

3 of my BEST BLESSINGS

Pumpkins and Costumes

2010-12-20T13:04:00.000-08:00

My parents were here for Halloween this year and stayed home to pass out candy while we took these 3 cutie pies trick or treating. We came back with a mother load of candy and they had a ball--our pirate, knight, and our butterfly. (SIDE NOTE: Jonny's costume is a Knight, he kept thinking he was a Guard, and bless his heart, our little JB has some pronunciation issues, so when people asked him what he was for Halloween he said "guard", BUT it sounded like he said "God". It took a lot of convincing for him to just say Knight so there wouldn't be any confusion. :) )

Katie showing us the pig at the pumpkin patch.

All 3 Stark kiddos on the haystacks

The First Days of School

2010-10-10T17:13:00.001-07:00

SO . . . I'm a little late getting these first days of school pics up. A month or so late isn't too bad right?

Jonny holding up his card from Mommy and Daddy for his first big day!

Such a ham

Katie and I dropping him off

He made himself right at home . . . I was worried about Jonny, he's not as gung ho independent as Will, but he did a lot better than me.

Will with his KINDERGARTEN teacher, Mrs. Clegg

The principal walking the new kindergartners from the bus to their class.

Running on the bus!

Waiting with his friend, Brody, at the bus stop. These two were SO excited to get on that big yellow bus

Walking to the bus stop . . . that's Katie bringing up the rear

I can't believe my Will is in kindergarten. He is getting so big, way TOO fast. We are so proud of you bud!

This and That

2010-10-10T16:45:00.000-07:00

Some Brotherly Love

Jonny fell off his bike and broke his fall with his adorable face. oops ;0)

Will passed out in his chair

The 3 Stooges

Miss Thang in her new shades--she LOVES these things and won't take them off!

Will's first soccer game

Jonny loves to climb into the top bunk and sleep with Will in his bed . . . we find them in many positions like these when we check on them before going to bed. So funny

Oregon Coast

2010-08-23T14:07:00.001-07:00

Yeah for VACAY!

D and I were blessed to be able to go and spend 6 whole days together just the two of us earlier this month. Nana and Papa took all 3 crazies and let us have a mommy/daddy trip. Thank you, thank you! We started off at the Belknap Hot Springs in OR, spent two days there--it was beautiful . . . we did trails, lazed in the HOT springs, and played cards at night, it was so relaxing! Then we headed straight out to the coast, had lunch in Florence, OR . . . kept driving up the 101 and stayed in Newport one night. Got up and went to the sweet Aquarium they have there, and then headed further north. We stopped along the way whenever we wanted to hop out and do something or take in a better view of the coastline. It was wonderful! Our last two nights we stayed in Lincoln City. It was by far our favorite of the places we drove through--very cute town! Our hotel there was amazing and we loved being able to walk on the beach, walk to dinner, and do a little shopping (of course) along the way. The OR coast is beautiful! Side note: so we were SO lame and forgot our nice camera, or any camera for that matter, so on our way to Florence we bought a sweet little $40 digital camera from Target and used that and an old disposable camera we had to document our trip. The pics turned out pretty decent for $40. ;0) Ok, here are some high-lights:

Loved our twice daily walks!

This aquarium had the most amazing jellyfish! I couldn't believe it--we spent 4 years going to the Baltimore Aquarium and this was way better!

The sharks!

Greeted in style in Lincoln City

Even in August this fireplace got a lot of use, the nights were cold~

Random . . .

Even more random . . . D insisted on capturing a pic of this poor one legged seagull that kept hopping along after us in the parking lot.

Hot tub on the balcony . . . AH-mazing

Depoe Bay--famous for whale watching . . . maybe there were some behind the fog somewhere

Our sunset view

5 Datenights in a Row!

My 3 Favorite Kiddies

2010-08-23T14:01:00.000-07:00

Katie enjoying some veggies

Hamming it up for Mommy's camera

LOVE this shot!

My little men

My 2 blue eyed babes

SUMMER TIME!!!

2010-08-23T13:43:00.000-07:00

WOW! I can't believe it's already August 23rd and I haven't updated my blog since May. OOPS! Well, here we go . . . we have just been having a ball, enjoying the sunshine (oh happy day), and keeping ourselves as busy as we can.

Miss Katie is a bit of a sass-a-frass these days, but she cracks us up! She went to nursery for the first time this past Sunday--18 months already!

Derrik has instigated many a water balloon fight here in the cul-de-sac . . . but he and the boys had to practice in our backyard first.

OH the trampoline! It has been amazing to have one of these this summer, we are so glad we got one!

Jonny's hair is almost white nowadays!

Filling up our sweet kiddie pool!

chillaxing!

Girl Time in Houston

2010-05-25T15:40:00.000-07:00

My mom, Katie, and I flew out to Houston 10 days before Alli's wedding. It was SO much fun to have so much time with all my girls before the wedding festivities. It was SO HOT there, so we did lots of indoor things like shopping, mani/pedis, and running all around town doing last minute wedding errands. I'm so grateful I was able to be there for all those little things. Thank you FarFar and FarMor for coming to stay with the boys so we could have this special girls' trip before Alli became Mrs. Jacobs.

Getting pedis our first day there
Alli's fitting a week before the big day

Katie and I dressed up and ready for Alli's bridal shower.
Miss Alli decked out for her Bachelorette extravaganza!!!
Both times we went for Alli's fittings Katie was SO entertained with all the mirrors everywhere, she was a hoot to watch!
My GIRL!
Alli and Mike have a dog named Astro and Katie couldn't seem to resist her bed . . . i was wiping white hair off her all week

Allli's Wedding

2010-05-25T15:26:00.000-07:00

I think it hit Alli when family started arriving a few days before the wedding . . . we were able to have dinner with some family we haven't seen in forever--I love that about weddings--so many people to catch up with.
Katie loved going out to dinner, she did so well!
Alli and I with our hair and make-up did just chilling in the Bride's Room.
OH my-- the chocolate fountain!!!!

Mom and I
The Bride!!!
Love the back of my little girl's head, especially with her little curls now!
Their first dance as husband and wife. Congrats you two! We are so excited to have Mike join our family.

Jonny Boy is 3

2010-04-21T13:30:00.001-07:00

Our second little man turned 3 on April Fools Day and we had a sweet bowling party at Big Als. The Nielsens came down from Oly-town plus Joe and Rhonda, Laura and Colby's crew came, and Nana, Papa, and Uncle Brian were there. Thank you everyone for making it such a fun day for him.

The birthday boy and his big bro scoping out the bumper lane
Thank you Kevin for refereeing all the kids! You were all over that and they loved it!
Katie Bug and her Aunt Chanelly ;0)
The Dynamic Duo together again!
The lone wolf . . . I think he had too much birthday
The sweet cake! I SO wish I could take credit for this bad boy, but alas, I have to give it up for Safeway's bakery. Those of you who know me wouldn't believe it anyway. ;0)

Happy Birthday Bud! We love you so much! MWAH

Happy Easter

2010-04-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

The spread of good left by the Easter Bunny

Both boys got umbrellas--they loved playing with them outside in the rain the next day.
Showing the goodies inside his Spiderman Egg
Katie didn't know what to look at first! She sure loved that cookie-pop wrapper though.
On the hunt . . .
Katie trying to keep up, her dress got in the way a little bit :)
And she found one~very proud girl!

It's Been Awhile . . .

2010-04-21T13:06:00.000-07:00

Howdy all! Ok, so I've been a bit of an absentee blogger lately. :) We have had a few crazy months since my last post . . . we've had 3 bdays back to back: Der was March 29, Jonny, April 1st, and me on the 10th. We also had a full week of drama with our car being broken into, one other car breaking down on the freeway, and all 3 kids having either pink eye, hives, or ear infections. WHEW! On a good note though, D got a new toy for his bday: a new camera! It is amazing and we have loved playing with it and taking even more pics of our little kidderoos. Enjoy!

Katie was the second victim of pink eye, but her's turned into this on day 4 and she could barely open it. Poor dear!
Jonny with a sideways grin

These last two are just random to show how our fridge looks any given day lately: covered in oversize "cars" pictures, and how OCD Will is, even with his toys--I know he came by it honestly. :)

Katie threw a major hissy one night and finally just gave up and passed out on the floor. We sat on the couch and listened to her snore for almost 20 minutes before we moved her up to her crib.

Tee Ball and A Picnic

2010-03-16T13:57:00.000-07:00

Will's opening ceremonies for tee ball were this past Saturday, he and I went on a mommy/Will date and I loved watching my little man play in his cute uniform--go Braves! :0)
Lil Slugger--and no, we didn't buy our son a pink bat, the coach thought it would be funny to have the whole team use his daughter's pink bat when they got up to hit.
Sharing some goldfish snacks with his teammates.
We had an amazingly warm and sunny week here in Washington a couple weeks ago and went to the park and had a little picnic--the boys were a blur so I didn't capture any pics of them--only Katie and I sat on our blanket and enjoyed the sun together. ahhhh . . . .

When we got home we had a little dance party in our living room--Will was rearing to go showing off his moves and Jonny played it coy for the camera--notice the nerf gun--Der bought these high-tech nerf guns for our boys, but he uses them to shoot them more often than not . . . I should've known.
Busta move!

Happy First BDay Katie Bug

2010-02-24T13:07:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Miss Katie! WOW! I can't believe my baby girl is already a big 1 year old--it's too crazy . . . we had a fun little party for our Kiki. Thank you everyone for helping make her day extra special.

It's A Zoo

2010-02-24T13:02:00.000-08:00

We went to the zoo with our friend Rachael and her 3 kiddos. It was a super fun way to spend Presidents Day.
Katie was in the stroller the entire time, but didn't seem to mind a bit.
Will and his pal, Zachary posing for us.

A Few More . . .

2010-01-10T16:19:00.000-08:00

Instead of having the traditional turkey/ham for dinner, we had a prime rib that was to die for! The boys even chowed down on it . . . but we had to tell them it was a hamburger and give them ketchup to dip it in.
SO ready to get our eat on

Anniversary and Snowmen

2010-01-10T16:07:00.001-08:00

So I realize it's kind of lame to only have these two pics in this post, but I'm going to go ahead and do it anyway. :) The top one is from the sweet snowy day we had a few weeks ago--Will, Jonny, and a few of the neighbor kids were out in the snow for hours and built this snowman on our driveway--sorry about the angle, I took this pic from inside the garage. :)
We celebrated our anniversary (6 years!) a little late and went away for the weekend the day after Christmas. We just drove across the river and stayed in Portland. We ate yummy food, shopped, saw a movie, and enjoyed all the holiday sights around town. It was a great getaway right after the holiday craziness. Thank you Nana and Papa for taking all 3 kiddos so we could enjoy some mommy and daddy time: no strollers, no sippy cups, no baggies full of goldfish and pretzels, and no diapers/wipes, you get the idea. :) My purse felt so empty. ;)

Christmas Eve and Day

2010-01-10T15:53:00.000-08:00

The holidays went by like a flash! We hosted Christmas here at our house this year--it was a fun, crazy couple of days--here are some of the highlights. Enjoy! :)

New Hannah jammies from FarFar and FarMor, and new books from Mommy and Daddy--part of our Christmas Eve tradition.
Christmas morning: Katie LOVES her new Cabbage Patch dolly, as you can see.
The boys in their new chairs from Santa, tearing into the pile of gifts. :)
Will TRYING so hard to be patient and wait for another gift to open
Christmas dinner--tables set . . .

The favorites I think, at least for the day, were the light-sabers Santa left the boys. Let's just say they've (the light-sabers) been in time out quite a bit in the last month. :)
The "kid table" at dinner time.

Will's Christmas Program

2009-12-18T12:53:00.000-08:00

Will's PreSchool class put on a holiday program on Wednesday and I was able to go represent the family. :) Thank you Uncle Brian for staying with Jonny and Kiki so I could be there for my little man.

Sadly, this is the best shot I got of him during the program (he's in the center row, second from the left) he did a great job and I was excited to hear the songs he's been practicing for the past few weeks.
Snacks after the show!

Santa showed up and Will sat on his lap when his name was called and told him what he wanted: "a Hawkman show and a Wii Batman game" This kid hasn't varied at all--it's been those same two things since November. :)
Will and one of his buds, Zachary

Superheroes Unite

2009-12-14T18:16:00.000-08:00

We had a Superhero themed bash for Will's 5th this year. Batman, Spiderman, Superman, and a few others showed up for the part-ay. Thank you everyone who came to celebrate our little man.
My parents and Uncle Brian were here to help out--we couldn't have done it without you guys! Thank you!!!!
Mia and Jonny checking out the big boys. :)
Katie spent most of the party in her exersaucer--or being held--she ADORES her cousin Annika. :)

Go Tanner, GO! We needed his big muscles to break open the pinata.
Making our tangled web like Spiderman . . .

Enjoying the goods of the pinata
So excited for his new puzzle. :)

Will Michael is 5!!!

2009-12-14T18:08:00.000-08:00

Will had a great 5th birthday! I can't believe he's 5 . . . and he'll be in kindergarten next year . . . it's going by way too fast.
Derrik and Will went on a special bday dinner date . . . K, JB, and I stayed home and let these two ya-hoos enjoy some quality time together.

He had a little party at school on his special day, I was able to be there with Jonny and Katie bug.

Jonny thought he was pretty hot stuff hanging out with Will and all his friends at school. He was in heaven.

Smiles Holiday Parade

2009-12-14T18:03:00.000-08:00

Derrik's office does a float in the local holiday parade each year and we got to be a part of it. The boys, Kiki, and I were on a float, while lucky Derrik :) got to wear this sweet Frosty the Snowman Suit. It was freezing and he was probably the only one there hot.
What a good sport!

We had fun riding on the float and waving to everyone, the boys loved seeing so many people, especially all the kids and wishing them a Merry Christmas as we went by.

Christmas Tree Time!

2009-12-03T20:07:00.000-08:00

This was the first year our little family of five has gone to cut down a Christmas tree. It was quite the undertaking. :) We had a ball roaming around the "Tree Wisemen" Tree Farm, but we finally found a winner! The boys were quite proud of themselves for helping daddy and I find the perfect tree!

This was the best pic I could get since we were all looking directly into the sun. :)
Derrik was a trooper and cut the tree down all by his lonesome. . . it took him a while to get it down, and as you can see he eventually had to straddle the tree and just sit in mud to finally get the big bugger down.
On top of the car and ready to go!
Decorated and set! (Pardon the little hands at the bottom, Will was dancing under me while I took this pic)
I wish I had gotten more pics of our time in Idaho! While we were at FarFar and FarMor's house for Thanksgiving with all our cousins Katie fell asleep in her crib there like this--leaning on top of this stuffed bear--I wanted to capture it.

Will just being silly and making a comfy spot to watch Tom and Jerry in the ottoman.

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T15:37:00.001-08:00

This year we went to do a yummy soup dinner and trick or treating at Derrik's sister's house in West Linn. The boys had a ball hitting the town with their cousins.
Superman and Leonardo ready to go get some candy!

Will and Jonny were the wee ones and their cousins and their friends were so patient waiting for them to keep up. They loved going with the big kids. :)
As you can see Derrik was a big banana for Halloween, what a good sport to wear this out and about. Our nephew, Tanner, happened to be a banana also, we thought they looked pretty great together.
Our little munchkin!
Will laying out his goods . . . mommy and daddy will be enjoying their spoils as well I think. :) YUM!

Pumpkin "Decorating", Etc.

2009-11-01T15:28:00.000-08:00

So Will really really wanted to decorate his pumpkin all by himself, he refused to carve it or let us do it for him, so we busted out the stickers and markers, and he and Jonny Boy went to town. Derrik carved our bigger pumpkin with a traditional jack-0-lantern face--it was good times. :)

The finished products!
Katie kept busy under the tables while we did our pumpkin thing, she was quite happy doing just that.

Our newest addition. :) Will loves having his own special space in the third row. He and Jonny do car rides much better now, and I keep my sanity much better. :)
Derrik ordered and put the running boards on himself. I must say I was quite proud of him, he was in the garage for about an hour and didn't swear once, throw anything, or break anything. Way to go honey! :)

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-26T14:07:00.000-07:00

Will's class had a field trip to Bizi Farms Pumpkin Patch and Jonny, Katie, and I tagged along for the ride. It rained and rained and rained the days leading up to it, fortunately we weren't rained on while we were there, unfortunately, it was a big muddy mess! :) So we donned our raincoats, rain boots, and cheesy smiles for our fun day!
The boys were quite taken with all the animals they had there. The pigs were wrestling and showing off, I had to pull the boys away from their sty. :)

Will's class posing on the huge haystacks piled high--he's the one in the front with the cheesy grin.
Jonny carried his own pumpkin-- I made both the boys pick ones they could carry on their own in their bags--I had Katie strapped to me in the bjorn and wasn't going to attempt to carry the huge pumpkins I knew they'd want. They picked some good ones! I must say, they look pretty tiny on our front porch though.
Zachary, Will, and Jonny waiting for everyone to find pumpkins so we could ride the tractor back to the farm.

Redmond Visit

2009-10-17T22:27:00.000-07:00

So Will, Katie, and I went down to Redmond, OR to pick up Jonny boy and stay for a few days. It was great! I do wish I'd taken some more pics though . . . we woke up to snow one morning and went in the hot tub everyday . . . it was a very chill visit. Thank you mom and dad for everything!

My mom and I took Katie with us to a CABI party--it's a clothing line I'd never heard of before--Katie was the bell of the ball and our little shopper in training. :) Much to Derrik's dismay. :)

She already has her Papa wrapped around her finger. ;) (JK dad) . . . well, kind of . . .

Will and Kiki Tubbing It Up

2009-10-11T08:33:00.001-07:00

Jonny has been with his Nana and Papa the past week and Will and Katie have had some fun times together. Will can't stand taking a bath by himself and in the absence of Jonny Boy we had Katie step in. She loved it!

I have to admit, she's smiling like this all the time, unless she's tired, hungry, or needs a bum change. :) We are pretty blessed with such a good baby girl.

Cinetopia Date Night

2009-10-11T08:21:00.000-07:00

So props to my amazing hubby for finding this place called Cinetopia. It's here in Vancouver and basically its a pimped out movie theater. :) He took me to the restaurant attached to the theater, called Vinotopia. The food was amazing and it was a very lounge-y set up, tons of people were there to just eat dinner and not for a movie. After we ate we went into the theater-- the seats were all plush leather with a tray for your concessions. We were only sitting for a few minutes when a waiter came to take our order--the people next to us ordered food from the restaurant, we opted for soda and popcorn--the waiter brought them to us and we just sat with our feet up and enjoyed our yummy snacks while we watched the show. They also had live music in the theater while you waited for the show to begin--non of that elevator tune-age going on. It was a great date night! Thank you honey! And thank you mom and dad for watching all 3 kiddos so we could have a night to ourselves. :)

Don't let his face fool you, he had a ball. :)
The leather ottoman we pulled up to rest our feet on. :) In case you haven't guessed, we highly recommend seeing a movie this way if you can! :)

Playing Around

2009-10-11T08:10:00.000-07:00

Derrik's parents (Far Far and Far Mor) came to visit us a few weeks ago and the boys had a ball playing with their Far Far. It was so fun!!!

We went up to Olympia for Mark's 4th birthday -- it was at Chuck E Cheese and Will and Jonny were in hog heaven! Happy Birthday Mark-o! :) Will is stoked that you're four now!

Jonny was pretty serious about this horse ride, he went on it several times.
Will's incessant lip licking shows here--the blue ring is from the frosting on the yummy cupcake he ate. :)

Will's First Day of PreSchool

2009-09-18T12:32:00.000-07:00

So Will has one more year of preschool before he starts kindergarten. Last year he went 2 days a week and now its 4 days. He goes in the afternoon during Jonny and Katie's naps, so I'm loving it too. :) He loves that he's making new friends and he always tells me how busy he is at school. My biggest baby is growing up too fast.
The backpack he picked out is down to his knees, but he loves it!
So excited!!!
This is Will last year at this same time, he seems more enthused this time around. :)

Peas and Carrots

2009-09-18T12:29:00.000-07:00

Katie's first time eating baby food-- we started with veggies of course and it was a colorful mess. :) She wanted to help feed herself and kept grabbing the spoon and putting her fingers in her mouth while she ate. She favored the carrots over the peas. :)

ZOO

2009-08-31T11:46:00.000-07:00

My parents just moved to Redmond, OR which is about three hours drive from us. It's so great having them so close! We went down last weekend and Derrik came back for work, I stayed the week with the kids. Then my parents drove us all home and stayed this weekend with us. We went to the Portland Zoo, helped Will and Jonny learn to ride their bikes, and had a few poker nights. Thank you Nana and Papa!
The boys
The girls ;)
Will and Jonny watching two hippos take a nap.

Katie is 6 months!

2009-08-31T11:41:00.000-07:00

So I cannot believe my little girl is already six months old. Time has flown by! She is the smiliest baby and always so cheery. Her brothers adore her and love taking care of her. She is cooing like crazy, so so close to crawling, and can't get enough of her binkie or thumb. We love you Katie Bug!
Up on all fours, but not quite there yet, I'm sure it will be any day now.

Backyard Camp-out and Smores

2009-08-31T11:32:00.000-07:00

Derrik decided to do a camp-out in our backyard with our boys. We got the tent put together (it had never been opened before so that was quite the chore:) ), then we busted out the aerobed and sleeping bags. Katie and I roughed it in the house. :)
They loved playing in the tent . . . they took lots of treats, watched KungFu Panda, and told stories til the wee hours of the night, and were up with the sun of course. :)

They filled their backpacks with camping essentials as you can see: leapsters, leggos, dinosaurs, heroes, and trains.
Smores in the firepit! YUM!

Mariners Game

2009-08-31T11:27:00.001-07:00

We went up to Olympia to visit our good friends, the Nielsens, for the weekend. They watched our kiddos for us while we went with people from Derrik's office to dinner and a Mariners game in Seattle. It was SO fun spending the weekend with Chanel and Kevin's crew--our boys have missed Mark and Mia like crazy, it was just like old times in Merry-land. :)

Oh, that's Ken Griffey Jr. up to bat, Derrik grabbed the camera to capture that moment.

Daddy and Katie

2009-07-21T14:09:00.000-07:00

This girlie girl loves her belly time . . . if we put her down on her back she rolls herself right over so she can hold her head up and look around at everybody.
Can you believe he's a doctor? Would you want him working on your teeth? ;) I think he was trying to look like Wolverine.
Katie's first dip in a pool. We went to visit Chanel and Kevin at her parent's house in Boise and loved swimming the days away.
So cute!

Stark Kiddos Kidding Around

2009-07-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

We all had a ball staying with Derrik's parents (aka FarFar and FarMor) while we waited to move to Washington. The boys had lots of ice cream cones while they were there. And of course, they are in their superhero jams. I had to wash those things practically everyday!

Our one casualty of the summer . . . . so far. :) Jonny is quite the shadow and followed his FarMor into a wet shower and slipped, ouch! He got 7 stitches and though he threw a fit while he got them sewn in, he was sure to say "bye bye" and "thank you" to the doctors on the way out. What a trooper! Daddy took these bad boys out a few days after we moved into our place in Washington and he's healing great! :)
Katie is all smiles these days! She's quite the belly laugher too . . . Will loves to be a goofball to make his baby sister laugh at him.
This pic was taken right before we left Maryland, I guess it's Will's way of saying "adios!" to good ole B-More. He took the 2 balloons he and Jonny got at Red Robin and did this all on his own. Nice applebottom! :)
Katie in her bumbo with her pink toes! This was my first time painting them, she had a hard time sitting still for me.

Superheroes!!!

2009-07-21T13:54:00.000-07:00

Will and Jonny got superhero jammies while we were still in Maryland and I swear they already have holes in them because they were them so much. They love running around the house with their capes on fighting bad guys that threaten our home.
Even superheroes need a break with some pretzels and Scooby Doo. :)
Up, up, and away!!!!

Katie's Blessing

2009-07-21T13:47:00.000-07:00

We blessed Katie a few Sundays before we left Maryland. It was great to have Becky and Dave's crew come down for the big day. Her big brothers were so proud! I can't believe our baby girl is growing up so fast. :)

Kate, Kate, Kate

2009-04-27T10:12:00.000-07:00

So I wish I'd waited to do the earlier Stark Babies Post til I had this pic of Katie bug, she's in the same pose as the two I posted of Will and Jonny and she is such a Stark baby! :)
Katie is now 9 weeks old and this girl loves her baths! She lays in there on her back just enjoying the peace and quiet away from her brothers (I think it reminds her of being in my belly) and is never quite ready to get out. She has been so smiley too! Will watches her for me and every few minutes he'll say, "Mommy, that's 4 smiley faces she's made at me!" He gets very excited!
Bright eyed girl

Easter Fun

2009-04-27T10:04:00.000-07:00

The boys Easter morning with their loot from the Easter Bunny.
The 3 kiddos with their baskets

Easter Outfits! :)

Miss Kate
Jonny wasted no time at the Dunn's Easter Egg Hunt, he was double fisting eggs in the rain.

Stark Babies

2009-04-10T08:11:00.000-07:00

So I've been super nostalgic lately . . . having Katie, getting ready to move--packing things up, looking through old pictures, etc. . . . and I found myself looking at pics of my babes when they were all babies and finding similarities-they all have Derrik's nose. :) I am amazed at how fast they have grown up, how much love they have to give, and how blessed I am to be their mommy. Here are our babies when they were still babies (well, Katie is going to be in the baby phase for a while longer . . . thank goodness. :) )
Will Michael Stark
Jonny Boy
(in case the pink outfit didn't give it away . . . ) Kate Olivia

Jonny's 2nd Birthday Party

2009-04-10T07:53:00.000-07:00

Birthday Boy! We had Jonny's party at Pump It Up. It was a great party . . . Jonny had a ball, thank you everyone for making it so much fun for our little man!
Chanel and I sparring . . . I hate to admit it, but I got taken out about 3 times before I snuck up on her for a win. ;)
Will and Mark going to town . . . they loved hitting each other with these things, good thing they had helmets on.
The party crew!
He wasn't too thrilled about sitting in his throne while we sang to him. :)
All the party animals enjoying cake and juice after partying hard.

Derrik's Birthday

2009-04-10T07:44:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Derrik's 28th the day after he got back from Vietnam. He spent most of his birthday jet lagged recovering from a 20 hour flight. But when he was feeling chipper again we went to Chili's with our best friends, the Nielsens. Then we randomly decided to go entertain ourselves at the nearby Kohls and then we went home for cake. Happy Birthday honey!
Kevin, Katie, and Chanelly

Derrik sporting a fedora . . . and striking a pose.
Happy Birthday D! We all love you so much! Thank you for all you do for us.

Bath Bums

2009-03-25T15:23:00.000-07:00

Will and Jonny love their baths together . . .
I think they were pretending to be alligators here--ferocious aren't they?
Derrik and I went out his last night before leaving for Vietnam for 10 days and Will and Jonny hopped right in the picture and hammed it up with us.

Our Little Katie Bug

2009-03-25T15:14:00.000-07:00

Hairbands! Bows! Tights! So many fun accessories to play with. ;)
She loves her belly time! She's already rolling over onto her back and pushing herself up -- she's one determined little cookie! :)

In her favorite chair making cute faces.

Cowboy Round Up

2009-03-07T15:28:00.000-08:00

This is one of the boys' new favorite past times: putting on their cowboys hats, grabbing car tracks and using them as guns to play cowboy. Fierce looking aren't they?
Those baby blues get me every time!
Cheese ball!!!
Wearing Mommy and Nana's UGG boots to keep extra warm.

Katie's First Week At Home

2009-03-07T15:11:00.000-08:00

Her first outing!!! Going with her big brothers to Jump Zone to play with friends.
My baby girl!
Her brothers adore her. Will loves holding her in mommy's "boppy".
She really likes her belly time.

Nana and Papa spoil her already. :)
She loves her cozy blanket and bouncy seat . . . and her binkie.

Welcome Home Katie!

2009-02-26T12:36:00.000-08:00

Her big brothers watching over her . . . and trying to share their pretzels with her.
In her carseat for the first time, ready to leave the hospital.
Daddy is in awe of our girly girl.
Going home outfit . . .complete with huge hospital binkie!
Kate Olivia Stark arrived Friday, February 20th at 4:42 pm. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 2.2 oz and measured 19.75 inches long. We got to the hospital at 8 AM and waited in the lobby to be called back til almost noon! We were almost sent home . . . thank goodness we made it in a room. :) The nurses started me on pitocin and an IV drip right away and I asked for my epidural not long after that. :) My mom, dad, Derrik, and I watched some TV while we waited for it to be time for me to push. Finally, at 4:42 she made her debut! She even has a little bit of blonde hair, her brothers were both bald, so I was excited to see some hair on that head! :) She is a doll and has been so much fun. Her brothers are loving having her around . . . Will is constantly watching her and wanting to hold her, Jonny on the other hand is not quite sure what to think of her yet, I think he's still thinking she's just visiting for a little while. :) She is a good little eater and sleeper. We love love love listening to her coos and grunts . . . I can't believe she's here and that we now have 3 little ones in our home--how fun . . . and crazy!

Katie's Arrival

2009-02-26T12:18:00.000-08:00

Me waiting with my ice chips in hand, epidural kicking in . . . ahhhh. :)
Derrik, Papa, and me
The boys meeting their baby sister for the first time.
Mommy's girl! ;)
Jonny keeping busy in the hospital room when he came to meet Katie.

The NIght Before . . .

2009-02-19T15:54:00.000-08:00

So here we are, it's the night before my due date and our baby girl still has yet to make her debut! So tomorrow morning I am getting induced at 8 AM--kind of exciting to know already when it's coming, I feel very prepared. :) We had the whole surprise, middle of the night experience with both boys so this is definitely different.

This week has been quite crazy . . . last Friday Jonny came down with a nasty flu bug and it hung on for less than 2 days, we thought we were in the clear, but Sunday Nana got it, Monday Will got it and had to go to the doctor because he couldn't keep anything down, today is the first day he's been able to eat solid foods and keep them in his belly. He's been drinking lots of "bug juice" aka pedialite, and sleeping constantly . . . he was not our crazy Will this week. Tuesday morning I woke up with the same bug and had to go to the hospital and be hooked up to an IV for 3 hours until I was properly hydrated. They sent me home with a prescription and tonight I'm finally feeling better. BUT, now Papa has the bug and is in bed for the night already. SO SAD! What a crazy, long week! We can't wait for tomorrow to come so we can meet our baby girl . . . let's keep our fingers crossed that Derrik can make it through the weekend or not get it at all! :) We will post pics and all the fun info about Baby Girl as soon as possible.

Inner Harbor

2009-02-11T15:10:00.000-08:00

We had a freakishly warm day today so we loaded up in the car and drove down to Inner Harbor for some lunch and some running around outside--it was a fun afternoon, the boys loved looking at the water, birds, and chasing around near the piers (Nana about had a heart attack a few times).
SO READY for my baby girl to join us already! :)
Mellowing out in the tub before bed . . .
Will crashed early in Nana and Papa's bed, it was an exhausting day.

Girly Baby Shower

2009-02-11T15:00:00.000-08:00

My dearest friend Chanel threw me a beautiful shower at Harryman House Grill. She had everything perfectly set up and coordinated--I loved the pink and chocolate theme. So cute Chanel! Thank you so much everyone who came and made it such a special afternoon. :)
Chatting while we decided what to eat . . .
I was SO excited my mom was able to be there to celebrate with us!
What a fun lunch! The table looks amazing Chanel--the tulips are still blooming in my house. :)

Baby Girl Bump!

2009-02-05T17:01:00.000-08:00

It's getting close . . . we are ready for her to arrive! We have the carseat, the bouncy chair (both Will and Jonny's favorites when they were babies), and the hospital bag is packed. We just need her to wait til after Saturday because Chanel planned an amazing shower for me that afternoon and Papa flies in that night! :)
Ready to be big brothers!
Any day now . . .

Stark Boys

2009-02-05T16:53:00.000-08:00

Watching a show while they eat some quesadillas at their special table.
Hamming it up for Nana . . .
Jonny and Nana having some one on one time while Will and I went on a date.

Much Thanks!

2009-01-20T12:38:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to thank everyone for voting on our Baby Girl names. Keep voting, more than once is fine . . . we're getting close now. I went to the doctor yesterday and am already dilated 2 cm and 50% effaced. My doctor said many women can be like that for weeks before delivering. So we shall see if she waits a few more weeks . . . I'm not due til the 20th of February, BUT both my boys were early: Will was 5 days early, and Jonny was 11 days early. So who knows? We can't wait to meet our little girl! :)

Snow Angels

2009-01-20T12:29:00.001-08:00

Jonny tried, but didn't last very long laying on his back in the snow, he sure had fun trying though!
Will was so excited all day to get out and play in the snow! He watched it fall most of the day from his window and FINALLY daddy took the boys outside to make snow angels, a snow man (which was quickly kicked down by Jonny and Will), and have a snow ball fight. Will's snow angel is pretty darn good! :)

Santa Came!

2008-12-29T10:05:00.000-08:00

Jonny trying to figure out where in the world his car went . . . this gift from Santa was by far the biggest hit!
Will got a Leapster for his birthday and some new games for Christmas to go with it . . . he and Daddy spent a lot of time together while he learned how to play them.

Daddy showing the boys how the race track works. . .
Will is so happy that Santa came! He's already talking about next Christmas . . . yikes!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-29T09:57:00.000-08:00

We had a traditional turkey dinner for four (thank you Safeway :) ) The boys downed the rolls and Martinellis of course.
Ahh . . . brotherly love
The boys wearing their new jammies from Far Far and Far Mor--thank you both! They love them and didn't want to wear any other jammies for awhile after they got these.

Church Christmas Party

2008-12-18T10:10:00.000-08:00

The evening began by visiting Santa. Will did okay. "Mommy," he says, "Santa sounds just like Uncle Kevin!" Jonny had a rough start as you can see.
Things got better . . . now they had their treats from Santa and were enjoying their suckers . . .

And even better!

Happy Fourth Birthday Will!

2008-12-18T09:48:00.000-08:00

Will waited for his friends to arrive to celebrate with him . . . he was so excited to help me bake and decorate, it was quite the day for him.
Jonny boy on the other hand wasn't as patient and had to dig into a cupcake before anyone arrived. He looks content.
Blowing out his 4 candles!
The Candy Cane pinata was a hit . . . it was pretty solid so the daddys had to weaken it a bit so the kids could actually break it open.
Oh the Candy!!!
Opening presents at last . . . thank you everyone who came to help Will celebrate his big day! He had a ball!

A Little Late . . .

2008-12-18T09:44:00.000-08:00

Will had a little birthday party at his preschool and Jonny and I were able to come share it with him, he was so excited!
Will's class did a little Christmas Program for the families . . . Will played Joseph . . . doesn't he just look thrilled to be there? :)

So this the "a little late" part . . . We spent Thanksgiving with our good friends, the Hartleys. Will and Jonny have a ball playing with their 3 girls . . . we are going to miss them when they leave next month.
Here's Will in his Thanksgiving program (also a little late) . . . what a face!

Fun in the Snow

2008-12-18T09:26:00.000-08:00

The boys went outside to enjoy the snow . . . they were so excited to get on their snow gear and throw snowballs at mommy and daddy.

We're ready!!!
Some boy time together after playing outside . . . aren't my 3 boys adorable?! :)

Florida with Nana and Papa

2008-11-23T11:38:00.000-08:00

Thank you Nana and Papa for a wonderful week away from chilly Baltimore! It was great to bust out our summer attire again and enjoy some warm weather. We had so much fun going to the beach, seeing big critters, and visiting the sights. The week went by way too fast, thank you for a fun break. We loved spending so much time with you! We miss you already!!!

Burying Papa in the sand was very amusing to both boys.
My cheesy little beach bum!

Will let Jonny bury him in the sand . . . when he was done Jonny laid a towel on Will's face so he wouldn't have the sun in his eyes.
They even picked up a few games of shuffle board while they were at it. Now they're set for a cruise!

Everglades Alligators

2008-11-23T11:14:00.001-08:00

This was one crazy alligator wrestler . . . he showed us a few tricks to charming alligators. I couldn't even watch half the time!
Will and Jonny got to pet this baby alligator a few times . . . Will kept pulling its tail and Jonny wanted to poke it - not the best ideas, but at least they weren't scared of it like their Mommy.
We went on an Airboat Ride through the Everglades. Will had a ball looking for alligators, fish, and iguanas.
We found one! It came right up to the boat and Will was only a few feet from it.

Miami Children's Museum

2008-11-23T11:04:00.001-08:00

Will filled his baskets at the "store". I couldn't believe he chose fruits and veggies over almost everything else in the store. I played cashier and rang him up . . . it reminded me of when I was little and my brother and I would play store . . . if only we had somewhere like this to pretend!
Jonny did some fishing in the sea . . . we had to give him some pointers on his technique.
Derrik was raised in Idaho! :)

What a cute fireman!
Following in daddy's footsteps?

Butterfly World

2008-11-23T10:58:00.000-08:00

Will loved looking at all the bugs. He even got to watch as a couple butterflies came out of their cocoons right in front of us! It was hard for him to not hit the glass to get their attention.
Papa was the bell of the ball with the birds . . . maybe because he had a cup full of seeds for them.
Derrik got up close and personal with this butterfly . . . he was showing his animal lover side.

Fun Times

2008-11-08T05:03:00.000-08:00

Brotherly Love!
Will was chasing down his balloon and backed himself right into this basket, luckily he found it more funny than anything else.
While Derrik was away interviewing in Washington a few weeks ago Will made this Pirate Pumpkin from a Mr. Potato Head kit. He loved putting it all together.

Trick or Treat

2008-11-08T04:50:00.000-08:00

Our good friends, the Fairbanks, hosted a Halloween dinner before getting all our kids dolled up and going trick or treating in their neighborhood. The food was delish and the kids were rearing to go gather candy! They couldn't wait to say, "Trick or Treat!"
Jonny was hamming it up for us while we ate dinner . . . I swear one of this kid's favorite words is "CHEESE!" as he makes that face for the camera.
Will and his buddies posing in their costumes for all of us parents. They could barely sit there long enough . . . you'd think they were already on a sugar high. :)

Will and Luca stood on the window sill to greet everyone as they came in!
This was taken at Will's Halloween Party he had at his preschool . . . we thought it was pretty cute that we had Dorothy, a Scarecrow, and a Lion all together. Where's the tin man?

Trunk Or Treat

2008-10-26T16:40:00.000-07:00

Our two little lions got all dressed up for some trick or treating at our church building . . . Will had a ball . . .Jonny was more interested in eating candy than filling up his basket so I obliged.
My biggest fuzzy lion!
My baby lion after eating a few blue suckers!
This was the best one we could get of the whole family . . . Jonny was tired of me flashing the camera at him by the end of the night. I was obviously a witch (it was easy and I got to wear some fun eyelashes) and Derrik based his entire costume around his hat you see here . . . the robe was a few aisles over at Target and he paired them with long johns and slippers -- maybe a version of Derrik a few years down the road. :)
Maddie, Mark, Molly, and the Stark lions resting from all their hard work and enjoying the fruits of their labors.
The Lion and Mickey Mouse having a pre-trick-or-treat snack.
Jonny and Will munching on some rolls during the Fall Festival dinner. They're so excited to get their trick or treating on. :)

Pumpkin Picking Time

2008-10-26T16:20:00.000-07:00

We went to a pumpkin patch with our best friends, the Nielsens to go on a hayride, brave a corn maze (thank you Kevin), and pick pumpkins. Jonny was obsessed with the goats at the petting farm. He didn't want to leave to go see the other animals.
Jonny found some corn stalks laying around and entertained himself while we waited for the hayride to come around.
Will sat on his pumpkin to mark his territory once he found the perfect one!
Jonny happily found one just perfect for him . . . he could carry it around and ended up using it as a bowling bowl most of the evening when we got home. Amazingly it's still in one piece!
Best buds on the hayride . . . and no Chanel and I didn't plan on the matching vests, we just both have good taste. :) They both sport them well don't you think? :)
Jonny had a great time running around looking at pumpkins, running through the corn maze, and following his big brother and Mark around the entire pumpkin patch.

Girly Girl

2008-09-30T16:03:00.000-07:00

Yes we are having a girl! She will have two big brothers to look out for her. This is the outfit we bought the day we found out. It was SO fun to pick out girl clothes!
Sorry if this looks a little weird . . . Derrik thought it would be cool to include a profile shot of our baby girl from the ultrasound. She looks healthy and is growing fast! I can feel her moving around all the time now!

Napping on the Toybox

2008-09-30T16:01:00.000-07:00

Will fell asleep for his nap on the toybox . . . I thought this was a kodak moment. My parents actually have a picture of me when I was about his age doing the same thing. I wish I had that on hand to post with this one. :)

Will's First Day of Pre-School

2008-09-02T13:01:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my little boy started pre-school today . . . I have to admit I got a little choked up when Jonny and I dropped him off. I know it's only pre-school and all, but it was a big day for our handsome little man!

He made a bee-line for the train table and I could barely get him to look up at me to smile and say goodbye. I had to force my hug and kiss on him because he was too busy playing.
Jonny was very excited for his big brother . . . he jumped right in while I was taking pictures and gave me a big cheesy grin as he said, "Cheese!" Will didn't seem to mind sharing the spotlight.