Mason Update

This is one he will kill me for posting one day I know, but I just couldn't help myself! We made paper airplanes the other week and I wish I would have thought of it sooner because he was SO into them! We seriously made about 10 different ones. He even asked to pull out the crayons and markers to color the paper before we folded them. Coloring isn't something he's ever been very interested in. It was also his idea to grab his pilot hat while flying his paper airplanes... I was laughing so hard!

I took him to Smitty's the other day for his first haircut there. It's a barber shop that has been in Lynnwood for years, and only charges $5 for a haircut! He was the youngest one in there by 50 years (no joke) but he loved it and all the men there got a kick out of him as well.

Mason finished preschool last Friday! He starts Kindergarten in September, which is already throwing me into a panic, but I'm excited for him at the same time! He attended Preschool Pals through the City of Mill Creek Parks and Recreation Department and we all absolutely loved this school! He went through some serious separation anxiety after Christmas break and freaked out crying and screaming every time we dropped him off anywhere, including grandma and grandpa's, which is seriously his home away from home! The teachers were amazing in helping both him, and me, work through it. We had to simply push him through and there were a couple morning where the teacher literally pulled him off of me screaming (which was absolutely horrid to deal with) but he got through it and was back to being dropped off with no tears or issues by the end of the school year. Not sure where it came from, nothing major changed in his schedule or life, and he wasn't being picked on or challenged in any different way at school, but from what I read and heard from both his doctor and teachers, was that its fairly common and often does occur after a break from school, and pushing them through is the best way to deal with it. Itll be interesting to see how going to Kindergarten each morning will be, but he's also been going to the gym daycare while I workout 2-3 days a week, and we have him signed up for 5 week long camps (M,W, & F 9-12:30PM, counts as a week) spread out from the 2nd week of July to the last week of August at the YMCA, so I'm hoping both will help prep him a bit for the daily drop and added mental stimulation come September!

The above two pictures are of Mason and his best buddy Hudson. His sister Charlie is also in the last one. They came over for a play date last week, and they got into costumes half way through the afternoon. Above, they were eating fruit snacks and watching a movie! Not sure if you can really tell from this pic, but Mace was a ninja with a light savor, and Hudson was Superman with Hulk hands - LOL , LOVE, LOVE it!

This was a fort we made a couple days ago and its still up! I'm about tired of it, but both Mason and Beckett have been continuously going in there to play. Surprisingly, Peyton hasn't torn it down once, yet....

... well, I could go on and on but I guess that's a decent update for now! More on Mace to come soon! Summer break is just starting and once our weather gets it together there will many more adventures to come I'm sure!

back to blogging!

I'm baaackkkk! The first gen iPad doesnt support flash (the most annoying and disappointing feature) thus my hiatus, but I have Johns old lap top available to me for at least a while, so I will make the most of it and get back to it - yay! I have missed being able to provide updates on how we are all doing in more detail. Facebook works and most people can catch up enough through it, but I do love being able to express more! Its especially helpful with all we are constantly doing with Peyton, and the progress she is luckily always making, not to mention being able to expand what I like to refer to as Mason-isms :) He can make at least one great story for me to tell a day!

unfortunately i have already fulfilled my allotted blog time for the day (LOL) so this is it for now! I hope to provide a fresh and short update for us all with in the next day or so!

ahhhh ... its good to be back!!!

Good Bye Grandma

We had to take an unfortunate trip to Spokane earlier this week. My grandma Dean passed away last Friday, after suffering a major stroke. She had been suffering from dementia, which had really accelerated over the past few months. She had finally been moved into an assisted living home just over two months ago. As you can imagine, this has been an extremely hard time for my grandpa. While I'm obviously sad, and will miss my grandma terribly, thinking of my grandpa and what he's going through, is what truly hurts my heart. They were married for 63 years and had a love that was so inspiring. Always holding hands, smiling, and sharing little whispers, even well after her mind was starting to go with less familiar things. I'm worried about him, but he's has a great family support over there, he's strong, and I know he'll keep on keeping on; that's just my grandpa! :o)

Despite having a bunch of family there I hadn't seen in a while, pulling out the camera and snapping tons of pictures of the events while there just wasn't at the top of the list, or too appropriate, but here are some pictures of the kids during our visit.

We tried to make the most of it.... my mom bought Mason a haunted house decorating kit. He had SO MUCH fun doing it!

not the best pic of me, but a cute one of my sis

John watched the kids during the services but was able to see everyone afterwards for the gathering at my mom & dad's house. Unfortunately, miss P snuck away from daddy while he was trying to get brother's lunch situated (one of those turn your back for 2 seconds moments) and one of the caterers came barrelling through the door, hitting Peyton smack in the head with it! :o( of course it was moments before 40 people were about the show up at the house. Poor daddy, and poor baby girl! Despite having a good bump and bruise, it didn't take too long for her world to be happy again, and the rest of the evening was very, very nice.

Random Pictures

Mommy & Sissy

At the park!

Pulling herself to stand - all over the house now :o) - yay!

Tuckered after causing trouble all morning ...

pretty scenery at Mason's soccer practice; I love fall!

I let her play in the pantry while I tried to get dinner finished - you can see the outcome in the background - ha ha!

Having a snack at Bro's soccer game

A very CUTE and SOAKED little soccer player!

We are all over the place here lately! Mason has soccer twice a week, and preschool. Peyton has her therapy / school weekly, and we still watch Beckett four mornings a week. Mason LOVES soccer and school. He's sad that his soccer season is over on the 30th of this month, but I'm looking into indoor soccer as a replacement until spring / summer. Although we've completely lucked out on weather thus far, it's getting COLD out there. Especially at the evening practice!

Peyton is coming along nicely. She's crawling everywhere, pulling things down off of everything, and pulling herself to stand all over the house. She's hasn't started creeping along furniture yet, but I'm hoping that won't be too far off. Our ultimate goal is to have her walking by April when we take our family vacation to Disneyland! We're also trying to work through some of her major sensory issues by then as well. We have a good plan in place with her therapist, which includes a practice flight to Spokane as it gets a little closer. It's a super short flight, but will give us more insight to how she'll react to take off and landing, along to being in close quarters during the flight. We're hoping the practice flight will allow us to be a little more prepared for the longer flight to CA. Either way, I simply can't wait to go and see Mason's reaction to Disney everything!!!!

Catch up #3 - Week in Spokane

I took the kids to Spokane for a week to get one more summer visit in with my family the last week of August. We had a wonderful time seeing family, friends, and hanging out in town for a while. We hit quite a few parks during the day as my mom & dad still had to work most of the time. Here are some of my favorite pictures:

She loves the swings even more when brother pushes her!

Sitting in the grass ...

At Cabellas, hanging with the fish

super cool swing

In the dino egg

We even made it up to the boat for an afternoon lunch & ride

Catch up #2 - 10K Run

About 3 weeks ago my sister flew over so we could run the Covey 10K Race in Woodinville (benefiting Seattle Children's Hospital). This was the first 10K race each of us ha d participated in, and it was a great time! I was a little worried about the run because my knee was flaring up again but it felt great the entire time, and while I felt like I was working, I wasn't as winded or tired as I thought I would be at the finish line. The course was my favorite that I've run so far, it was around the beautiful wine valley, starting and finishing at the Red Hook brewery. It was also the flattest, the weather was perfect, and my sister was right there with me the entire time.

Here are our finishing results:

My time was: 58.17, in my age group I was 44th out of 108, and 127th out of 287 woman who finished.

My sister's time was: 58.16, in her age group she was 44th out of 88, and 126th out of 287 woman who finished.

We are both doing the Seattle Iron Girl 10K around Green Lake next Sunday. We also both started training for a half marathon this November in downtown Seattle - I can't wait! I really hope I can complete the half, as it is a HUGE goal of mine I'd love to achieve!

Pre-race - Not the best picture of me but oh well. It was a bit chili out, we had already checked our jackets so I think I'm clinching my body in attempt to stay warm & keep the teeth chattering to a minimum, ha ha!

a quick kiss & hug from Mason before starting!

I'm not post the one post race picture John took. We just finished running 6.2 miles, I'm sure you can guess our cuteness level ;)

Catching up again...

The above & below picture was the view from our cabin deck. I absolutely love it here! Everything about it screams relaxation!!!!

Mason was still obsessed with fishing! I'm pretty sure that will be a favorite activity for several more years to come!

Peyton only wanted daddy after her nap.. notice the scowl on that face!

Can you say little stinker?

On the dock!

My mom & dad enjoying an evening cocktail on the deck

John water skiing for the first time - yay!

The kiddos with auntie Annie

Mike and Mason showing off their muscles on a warm evening!

We've stayed pretty busy this summer, thus causing me to fall behind again on blogging, oops! Well I'll start the catch up by posting about our annual trip over to Coeur d'Alene lake on my parents boat. Their marina started renting out cabins this year! Luckily my dad snagged one early on so we were able to stay right at their marina opposed to the hotel in Harrison across the lake. Either way is nice but having the cabin with a huge deck worked out so much nicer with the kids. John and I were actually able to socialize after the kids went to bed instead of retiring ourselves to a hotel room way before we were ready to sleep. Our cabin deck became the evening gathering place for cocktails, appetizers, and dinner, it was wonderful!!!!

The days were spent playing in the water, lounging in the water, going for an afternoon boat ride, fishing off the dock with Mason, playing on the beach, and lots of eating and drinking! John tried water skiing for the first time ever and got up without much trouble, and I went tubing for the first time in about 15 years (gulp!). We saw many close family friends that moor at the same marina throughout the week and the weather couldn't have been more perfect: 85 - 93 with clear blue skies each day! We got tons of pictures of course so I'll try to narrow it down to some of the best. Can't wait to do it again next year!!!!