Views from the sky

The great Salt Lake:

Mt. St. Helens

Mt. Hood:

DMB in SLC

We had a lot of firsts this summer and for the first time ever, I decided to go see my beloved DMB in another venue. I got free tickets to the Salt Lake City show and conveniently enough, it was a great time to visit Jenn & Craig since they're temporarily (hopefully back home soon...) in SLC right now. It was a whirlwind trip, I flew in with another friend, Karly, and her and I enjoyed some "me" time, away from the kids for 24 hours! Huge thanks to my cousins Nico & Danice for holding down the fort for me and to my amazing husband who lets me do anything that my heart desires. I had an amazing time spending the day with Jenn & Karly, exploring SLC. The show was amazing (as expected) and went by way too fast. It was too short of a trip, I wish we were there longer, but I was also missing the kids and wished D & the kids were there with me.

Leading the way...

Finally captured them walking together, holding hands. Aden just loves holding his sister's hands and leading the way. One of the rare moments that she lets him control her.

Summer 2010 Recap

Where did summer go?!!! I CANNOT believe that it is October already. I have definitely been slacking on the blog lately. We had a fun summer, very busy and the lots of outings with the kids. We did lots of trips to the beach, camping trip with the Lims, Darin's family reunion and just enjoyed the sunshine! I took the kids to different parks and playgrounds to enjoy the sunshine and we had good memories with every outing we had. I'm so sad that summer is over, it seemed like it went by too fast

A room with a view

This might not be the best view for others, but I love that every time I look out of our bedroom window, this is what I see:

Is it pathetic that this toy structure is such a great sight for me? Maybe it's the fact that we were able to haul this thing to our home. Or that Darin and I moved this thing around multiple times by ourselves before we agreed to leave it in this perfect spot. Or that our kids love it so much. Or maybe, it puts into perspective the stage I'm at with my life, that I am a mom with TWO kids, who so enjoys being with my kids so much and seeing the joys in their eyes every single day.

Best surprise

Took the kids to one of our frequented toy stores knowing that a certain monkey will be there. I wasn't sure how Aden would respond to him, but this smile says it all:

July 4th weekend

We had lots of fun celebrating the holiday weekend at the beach with friends. At one point, I looked at the kids and it dawned on me that we have more kids than adults. It's sad to see that they are all growing up too fast but we're so glad that they are all so close in age that we know they will grow up as close friends!

Footprints in the sand

I just love seeing the happiness in Aden's face whenever we're at the beach and we are extremely thankful that he appreciates nature so much. Just the simplicity of walking on the beach makes him so happy!

Little girl

My baby is growing up so fast, I took these pictures while we were walking on the beach and she looked like a little girl!

Holding hands

This morning after Aden's swim class, as we were leaving the complex, Kadence finally held on to Aden's hands. Aden has been trying for MONTHS to have his sister hold his hand and she always gets so irritated and won't let him. I don't know if she feels like he's trying to contain her or what. It was one of those moments that I will always remember and I wish so badly I was able to capture on camera. The look on Aden's face was pure joy and pride. When I asked him if he's happy that Kadence finally let him hold on to her, he said "yes, it means that she loves me a lot". It was the sweetest thing - it brought tears to my eyes. I told him that his sister will always love him, whether she lets him hold her or not. He's the best big brother and he loves her so much, I just hope that growing up, they'll stay so close as they are now and feel so lucky that they have each other.

Little Miss Talker

Kadence is starting to talk a lot now, words that we can actually understand. It's been fun figuring out that she actually is saying stuff to us, we just couldn't figure it out before! Here's a little sample of her cuteness...

Slidin' fun

Pure Joy

Don't you wish that something so simple as water can make you this happy?

Water kids

Pool Fun

I tried to get better shots of the kids but it was a little difficult to get decent shots with 2 overly excited kids in the water. You'd think the amount of time we're in or around water, I'll have a waterproof camera. That will definitely be a nice investment!

Water fun

We had a lot of sunshine on Saturday which prompted me to head to Target and pick up one of those pools for the kids to play in. Aden was so excited to blow it up and when we finally get around to doing it on Sunday, Kadence was down for a nap. I was thinking to myself that we should wait to fill it up until she is awake so they could go in together, but since Aden was so excited, it will be torture for him to have to wait for his sister. So I didn't say anything and just watched them set it up and put water in it.

Turns out, my son had the same thought. I was gardening in the front yard and after they setup the pool, they came out to join me. I asked Darin why he wasn't in the pool and Darin told me that Aden wanted to wait for his sister. It brought tears to my eyes and another proof to how much he loves and thinks about his sister. I told him it's ok if he wants to go in and he doesn't have to wait for her, but he wouldn't budge. He said he wants to play in it with her. He is my sweet boy and I love the way he loves his sister so much.

First Pony

I've waited for this moment ever since I found out I was pregnant with a girl...somehow being able to put her hair up in a pony and all other hair-dos were the first thing that came to mind why I was looking forward to having a girl. Not the clothes, shopping or all that other stuff that makes you want to have a daughter. Mine was being able to do her hair. I don't know why since I'm really not very good at it - and I am terrible at doing my own hair. But somehow, this moment is what I've been waiting for and look how amazing she looks!

I'm sure in 6 months, I will be complaining about having to fix her hair all the time. But for now, I still can't believe I am fortunate enough to be able to do this.

Fun with Dad

Some moments of our little miss with her daddy....

Beach lover

I was really worried that Kadence wouldn't enjoy hanging out at the beach, and in our family, that is just not an option. It took 3 trips to the beach before she actually immersed herself to the fun of being on the beach. You'd never know now that she used to cry whenever her feet touched the sand. Now we can't get her off of it! I was amazed how much she has changed and she was just happy to be covered in sand!

Memorial Weekend 2010

This memorial day weekend marks our 4th year having the beach house and it was fitting that we spend it with friends - although we were hoping that our co-owners could've joined us. Oh well, next year, right?! We spent 4 glorious days walking on the beach, checking out the Tide Pools, hiking the dune and watching 2 or 3 whales hanging around the Cape. We had great weather - no wind and partly sunny, which is perfect when you're talking about the Oregon Coast! Some highlights from the weekend..

The kids eating lunch on the beach:

Liam & Aden observing Liam's 'catch':

Hiking up the dune:

Our expert 4-year old dune-climber enjoying his snack with the best view: