100/365

Gymnastics!! Leia started gymnastics this week. Today was her second day and she started to get the hang of the routine. She's a big fan of backwards somersaults assisted by Coach Patrick. The trampoline is a big draw, though not much jumping happens yet. She'll get there.

100/365

Unconditional Love at its best. No matter how many times Leia pushed, shoved, stepped on, threw dirt at, or took toys from Rylee they were still able to hug at the end of the day. Thanks for that Rylee.

99/365

An evening was spent with the Cook's eating donuts, drinking assorted beverages, and playing this game. Once I made it on the board a good time was had by all.

Garage Cleaning Day

While out for a hike Scott worked on organizing the mayhem that is our garage. When we got back he had put his creative skills to use and made a box house for the girls complete with Sharpie drawn curtains, table, refrigerator..... all the cozy home decor you might want. As more cardboard was extracted from the garage place mats with plates and utensils entered the box home. Making lunch of grass and weeds became an important activity. There was also a styrofoam climbing area, and a box canoe complete with oar (unpictured). It was quite the afternoon in the yard. Nice work hubby.

94-98/365

94/365: Such a girl, she found a cozy spot in the sunny grass to relax and.....watch boys play basketball. Sigh.

95/365: Practicing her pumping on the big kid swings.

96/365: 3 years old, 36 inches, and 30 pounds. It's about time!

97/365: At the Scratch Patch exploring hundreds of shiny rocks. Leia put them to good use and gave me a rock foot massage. Surprisingly relaxing. Thanks kid.

98/365: Snack break mid hike at Lund's Gulch. An awesome 1.25 mile hike down a gulch to Puget Sound. The hike back up wasn't so bad. Next time we'll stay all day.

93/365

Training run Monday is in rotation. Kate gets excited to head out for a run like mommy. Today she requested to run with Bryn (my running partner) instead. I was bummed but pleased she was excited about the run. As soon as Bryn walked in the door she ran to her shoe bin and picked out a good pair of running shoes. Then she was off, chatting the whole way. We may need to lengthen her run next week!

92/365

First timer with the baby Bjorn.


Checking to make sure baby is still there. After much dog-esque circling, we put baby on the front. That was greatly appreciated and the doll was quickly smothered in kisses and cuddles.

Mommies Thoughts: "Oh great, another item to fight over."

91/365

Kate and Aunt Margaret ending a long Nebraska themed day cuddled up with books. It was fantastic to see how quickly Kate warmed up to Aunt Margaret, she did come prepared with new books. She's a smart lady.
The day started with a boat cruise landing us at the Husky/Nebraska game. Then more boating back to the car after a harsh Husky beating (Woohoo!). After collecting the girls from various friends (and their mommies) we settled in for some pizza and bonding. We were all smoked by 8pm! Thanks Browns for a great 12 hours of quality bonding and catching up!

90/365

Picking strawberries at Aunt Susan's family farm. This was our last of 5 days in Eugene, OR. It went incredibly fast and was wonderfully relaxing. Thanks for hosting us Susan!

Rock Out

I got to Skype with my girls today. They're still in Oregon, but are coming home tonight, and we're all excited to see each other. So excited, we had a little rock out session over Skype.

89/365

5 kids napping, 2 mommies sipping tea. That's what I call an afternoon well spent.

88/365

Sometimes you need to release your inner animal and eat like a dog. At least she held her hair back.

87/365

Today I did a hike with the girls that was one of my favorite's as a kid. The drawback: it's in Eugene, OR. The bonus: We're in Eugene. OR for a few days! We did the hike with a good friend and her 3 small kids. We did not truly anticipate making it to the top so it was a pleasant surprise when the kids made it easily up. The last 1/4 mile is a rock scramble over big boulders and flat slabs. Kate was dirty from head to toe. Somehow the boys stayed mostly clean. We decided to try the steep short trail on the way down. We got in a little over our heads but everyone persevered and made it down safely. It's not an adventure until your heart is racing!

In case you're wondering, Leia's mouth is full of Mango. It was a good bribe to get all the kids up the hill.

86/365

Exploring the mini trails in the fairy garden that is Aunt Susan's backyard.

85/365

On a hike again... Scampering along Tradition Lake in Issaquah.
(This picture makes me motion sick)

84/365

Went to an event called Touch the Truck, Kate had more fun with touch the dirt. Leia reveled in the dirt madness as well.

83/365

This is what nap denial looks like. She was adamant a nap was not necessary. An hour later she created a cozy space, crawled in, and passed out.

82/365

Killing time waiting for friends to join us for lunch.

81/365

Privacy please.

80/365

Testing out the new rain pants. Looks like Leia's have speed power.

79/365

Practicing their dress up skills for Halloween.

78/365

Excited to take her new buddy to REI.

77/365

Lacking a recent photo of these two ladies, you get one that is 8 years old. Lucky me got to spend a full night with these gals (no kids, no husbands) relaxing. It was just what I needed.

76/365

Sometimes it's hard to tell which girls are BFF's. These two look pretty cozy.

75/365

One last trip to the beach for a dinner picnic. It was a little windy and we had the place to ourselves. We didn't stay long enough for the sunset (to Kate's dismay).

74/365

Today you get Kate photography as well as mine.

My shot:
The best seat in the house.

Kate's shot:
Obviously this kid cracks me up.