Congratulations Alyssa!!

Alyssa has been in Girl Scouts for a couple of years now. Monday night she graduated from a Brownie to a Junior.

We are very proud of her. She is doing very well and absolutely loving Girl Scouts. She has a great leader who always has something for the girls to do which has allowed them to earn so many different badges. Alyssa will now start wearing a green vest instead of her brown vest. She leaves for her Girl Scout Camping Trip tomorrow afternoon.

Being in Girl Scouts has taught her many different lessons; so I really hope she continues to be so active. It has also given her the chance to become really close with everyone in her troop. They are a great group of girls.

(there are more pictures from her graduation in the "Alyssa" album on our Picasa page)

Take Me Out To The Ball Game...

Friday after work we met Dion, Kala & Sheldon at Paul’s house. Then we all went down to Safeco Field to watch the Mariners. We got there nice and early so we were able to walk around the stadium. Sheldon got to catch some fake fly balls. We finally found our seats at the very top row off 1st base. We were surrounded by 45 high school students that were on a Mission from Texas. It was Adrian Beltre Booblehead night, so we all got one of our very own! It was a very nice night for the game. The roof was open all night, which made for a great city sunset.

We ended up spending the night at Paul’s house Friday night and since he was working all weekend, we decided to take the kids. The four of us went to Chris & Sarah’s house to see Chris’s new patio. We were hoping it would get hot enough for the kids to be able to swim, but no such luck. So they played Wii instead. Kala and I made Fried Bread for Indian tacos for dinner… they turned out GREAT!

Sunday morning we all got up and went to the Brewery in Burien for Father’s Day brunch. The kids had a great time seeing all of the cars. After the car show, we went back to Paul’s house to unwind. Much to our surprise Dion and Rylie were there napping when we showed up! They had just gotten done watching KungFu Panda. We had such a great weekend with Kala & Sheldon, it was very hard to leave them.

They seem to be having a good time, but we can also tell that they are getting homesick. We’re hoping that they can come spend some time at our place next week. There’s not a whole lot to do during the day while we’re at work, so we might need to introduce them to some hobbies to keep them busy. (you can see all of the pictures from our weekend on our Picasa under the S.O.S Album)

Early Father's Day

The three of us celebrated Father’s Dan last night, since Alyssa will be with her dad this weekend. We had BBQ’d Cheese Burgers, Fries and Salad for dinner while watching Smallville. After dinner Alyssa and I surprised Dan with his Father’s Day gift.
We framed a bunch of pictures of the two of them...

This is my favorite picture, so it got it’s own frame!

She also gave him a poem that said:

MY DADDY'S HAND

Daddy, Take my hand in yours and you will plainly see,

How very much I need you now to love and care for me.

As my little hand grows, I will need you even more,

Everything I do in life, I have never done before.

Teach me to be kind and loving, sharing and forgiving,

Show me through your acts of love the pure joy of living.

The years will pass by quickly and one day I will be grown,

I will pass what you have taught me onto children of my own.

Hold me always in your thoughts and remember when we are apart,

The special love between a child and a daddy's heart.

Happy Father’s Day ~ 2008

Needless to say it was an emotional moment. Earlier in the week, I wanted Alyssa to come up with the one reason she loves Dan so much. Without even having to think about her answer, she said “I love him because he loves you so much mommy!” We are both very fortunate to have him in our lives. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t wake up realizing just how lucky I am to have him. He has a heart that keeps on giving. He always knows exactly what to say to bring a smile to my face. The fact that he can love Alyssa like one of his own means more to me then he’ll ever know and I know it means a lot to Alyssa too.

He absolutely loved the gifts. He said it’s the best gift ever!!

Dan stopped by to check on the kids at Paul's last night. When he called me, I could hear them doing karaoke in the background. It sounds like they were having a great time getting spoiled by Grandpa.

We just purchased our tickets for the Seattle Mariners game tomorrow night. Looks like the weather might actually be on our side for once! We're hoping to get down there a little early to show the kids around. I will have the camera... so check back for lots of pictures!!

A really really quick catch up...

Oh wow!! It has been quite a while since I last posted. We have been extremely busy and absolutely loving it. Since my last post my sister came to town for a Surprise Birthday Party (Theme: Black & White) for our friend Amy. The following weekend we met up with a great group of friends at Lincoln Park in West Seattle (on what seems to have been the only nice day so far) followed by another night at the Ivy’s. I also planted my first garden!! I have never planted a full garden before, Paul let me plant his. So, I guess we’ll see how it turns out.

We are more then ready for this weather to go away… Snow in June just isn’t acceptable!! Dan’s niece (Kala, just turned 15 on Saturday) and nephew (Sheldon, 10) arrived bright and early yesterday morning. After picking them up, we spent the rest of the day at Paul Senger’s house. I made a feast of a breakfast including French toast, bacon, sausage, eggs, watermelon, cantaloupe and pineapple. Then we did some yard work while waiting for Dion and his family to show up. Dan, Alyssa & Sheldon spent all morning draining and scrubbing the hot tub (while Kala was sleeping); so after dinner we all got in to enjoy it.

It’s so great to have the kids here. It has been YEARS since they’ve been out here. We’ve all been searching for activities for all of us to do, so if anyone has any recommendations we would appreciate it.