I still love my pups

Nala and bandit and I snuggled in he morning when Travis was gone. I still love my crazy pups! Bandit and nala are such good dogs and so gentle with mason. They love our new place and having room to run and actually listen and come back now. Ha ha. They don't always get a shout out anymore but they are still the best pups around!!

Hamilton Lowe stake pool party

Every year the stake rents out the pool for a big pool party. The only time they do rentals though is from 8-10. So the sun goes down and it gets pretty chilly. Our little fish baby didn't mind at all. He swam and splashed his little heart out. H

Laying on the heater

Silly boy rolling around 

Enjoying a snack after. 

The next day Travis had to go to Spokane so Mason came to work with me. It worked out great because we went to Hamilton Lowe for a field trip. Mason impressed everyone with his fearlessness. He was going under. Jumping off the side and going down the water slide (that looks like a frog) all by himself. He scares me but he is so happy! 

Wheat field family photos

For the past three years since moving to pullman I've wanted pictures in the gorgeous colored wheat fields that surround the Palouse! My friend Karyn took these for us (at 41 weeks pregnant) if you can believe it!!) and it is seriously my dream come true! I love love love how they turned out. Oh amber waves of grain how much I love you!!

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First Sunday in nursery!

Mason got to go to nursery! In our church the babies get to go to their own  class when they turn 18 months! Mason was seriously ready ten months ago!! He hasn't wanted to sit on my lap since he's been mobile so I was so excited. He loved it and only cried when it was time to go! He colored and did puzzles, sang songs and played with toys and ate snacks! What more could a toddler want!!

Body painting

Mason came to my work for the day a week or so ago and we did body painting. Since I work with kids we do a lot of really fun things but since they aren't my kids I can't really take photos and post them here. At first mason thought we were crazy but then he ended up loving it. 

This summer we have also went to lots of parks, to get ice cream and lots of water play. We turned the slides into slip n slides with both a hose and shaving cream. We've done car/ bike washes and painted with water. We loved eating Popsicles and slushies and going to the Hamilton Lowe aquatic center! I change jobs in a few days and it will be weird not being in the classroom but I am really looking forward to my new adventure and to help the families of Pullman. 

Blowing dandelions

Our Friend Karyn taught mason how to pick and blow dandelions in her back yard. She took this picture a while ago and just emailed it to me. I love it! It documents the moment perfectly because right now he tries to blow them with his nose. He does the same thing with hot foods and candles! Silly boy!

MeetingSawyer

A very important reason for visiting the west side was to see Jaimie and Nayt's new baby Sawyer. He is so tiny and absolutely perfect. I got my baby fix in for sure. And an added bonus was our friend Ashlee and Jared Maui came too so we got to see them a well. It was a beautiful blessing and a great visit with a tastey brunch after!

Watermelon recreation pictures

These watermelon pictures have hung in our home for years. The first one is from 1998 at our house in Everett. The second is from 2002 in our house in lake Stevens. The third was just taken this past week (2013). Fun memories of my siblings and how we have grown!

And in this one we were cracking up as mason rolled around in the grass dragging his head in the grass like a snake or something. 

Shark suits

My mom got this swim suit for mason and its adorable. He was playing in the sprinkler and I just thought he looked so cute!

Drinking the sprinkler silly boy!

Mowing with dad

Travis was mowing the lawn and mason ran up to him (safely) Travis grabbed him and let him ride along. He sat on his lap without squirming for 45 minutes and then fell asleep! Cute or what!?

The Grove fire.

This is a day I will never forget. At about 3:30AM I heard and explosion. I stirred in bed only to hear my phone start ringing. I didn't answer but opened my eyes to see my room was completely lit up orange. I hopped out of bed to look outside. I couldn't believe my eyes. I turned to wake up Travis and said "it's on fire" he asked "what? What is on fire" " I turned back to the window and said "everything!!" It looked like the world was ending as the complex from across the street was completely engulfed in flames.  I realized why my friend Josie had called And called her back. We talked for a bit about what I could see. She lived further down and could only see fire at the top of the hill. We were completely safe but I couldn't believe the amount of heat and explosions going on so close to me. The plume of s oke was over a mile high. We sat and watched the destruction for over an hour. It was insane! Each building fell to the ground as the firefighters surrounded the area to keep it from spreading. In the dark it looked like the entire housing complex (8 buildings) were destroyed. We ended up being able to calm down and sleep for a coup,e more hours. In the day light we were surprised to see that only four buildings burned down. It could have been so much worse. Luckily no one lived in them yet however people were supposed to move in next month. There will probably be about 150+ needing to fin new homes. I am just so grateful we were safe and that the firefighters stopped it from spreading. The heat of the fires melted the siding off of neighboring apartment complexes! We sat out and watched it in shorts feeling like we were at a camp fire. Mason slept throughout the whole thing. When we we t to church today lots of people were talking about it. News stories have come out to say they suspect arson because there was no heat or electrical in the buildings yet. There were no injuries but all four building plus numerous cars that were onsite were completely destroyed. Here are the pictures I took.

Masons 18 month pictures

My good friend Karyn took some pictures for me to document mason at a year and a half. I can't believe how big he's getting!  We had to use lots of starburst and teasing to get these but Karyn was awesome. But when mason was done he was done! Once he saw the pool at the park we were at, it was all over ha ha. But I love what we got!!