Our Journey Through The Valley

I am back!!!!

2010-08-20T18:57:00.004-05:00

Ok so I know that it has been close to a year since I have posted anything on our blog, and there are no excuses except just living life. I am at home with tonsillitis and pink eye and am tired of watching TV and so I decided to update my blog. We have been up to a lot this year. Scott joined the S.O.R.P organization and races his quad once a month sometimes twice a month. As a family we all camp out at the track for the weekend. We have met some really great people and Riley has even had her first Battery operated quad race, and she got 1st place!!! Riley has been a busy girl this summer. She had a lot of play dates, two cousin camps, the circus, many trips to the pool, pro baseball games, pro soccer games, and more. She is almost three and definitely keep us on our toes. She talks non stop whether she has something important to say, or just sing, or just make noise. She loves to play with her babies and take care of them. She will be starting Mother's Day Out in Sept. at a new school, and we are very excited. Some of her friends are even going to be in her class. As for me I have been enjoying playing, teaching and learning from my precious baby girl. I have also found my crafty side. I have started my own bow business, and am really being creative and making cute, adorable creative bows. Well I think that about wraps up my summary, and I am going to try and keep things updated better. Oh, and if you forgot what we look like here is a current picture of my beautiful precious family, I am sooooo blessed.

The Sanders New Camper!

2009-09-02T14:12:00.005-05:00

Here it is! Our new camper! It is a 26ft, 2006 Keystone NRG Toy hauler camper trailer! We are so excited and can not wait to go camping and make many memories together with our friends and family!

Queen bed in the front of the camper!

Bathroom sink and queen bed in front on camper!

Shower and potty!

Looking to the back of the camper from the front on the camper! The couch and the table turn into beds, and there is two electronic queen beds that come down in the back!

What you see when you walk in the front door!

What you see to the left when you walk in the door!

Looking to the back of the camper from the front of the camper!

Looking to the front of the camper from the rear of the camper!

Kitchen sink, it is immediately to your right when you walk in the door!

This is how the 4 wheeler rides in the camper. The back wall of the camper opens up and becomes a ramp for Scott to ride the 4 wheeler in the back. Then there are tie downs in the floor to tie the 4 wheeler down, and then we close the back! That is why it is called a toy hauler!

Trip to the Oregon Sand Dunes

2009-09-01T14:34:00.008-05:00

In August we headed to the coast of Oregon to meet some friends at the Oregon Sand Dunes! We were going to experience the Sand dunes on the coast on the 4 wheelers! We headed to Oregon Friday afternoon when Scott got off of work. We went about 3/4 of the way and decided to call it a night and get some rest! Then we woke up the next morning and drove the remainder of the trip to Reedsport, OR! The home od the Oregon Sand Dunes!! We had to get Scott's 4 wheeler registered and then we were ready to hit the dunes! The dunes are right on the coast of oregon, and so while Scott went and road the dunes, Riley and I played on the beach! It was pretty cold and windy that day, so it was not a day for bathing suits and playing in the water. We were wearing jeans and jackets...if that tells you how cool it was...and so we just played in the sand, dug for sea shells, watched horseback riders ride down the beach, watched people fly kites, and put our feet in the water! We had a great time! That afternoon Riley and I went to the hotel in Coo's Bay, where we stayed, and took naps and Scott road some different dunes! Then that evening we went to dinner and then called it a night! On Sunday, we met some family firends Donna and Dode at the dunes for us all to go out and have some fun! We jung out in the parking lot and played and visited, and then the guys went out on the 4 wheelers,and Donna took me and Riley out on the razor to experience the dunes as well! It was the first time for the both of us, and it was so much fun!!! Riley really enjoyed it...she was yelling WHEEE the whole time and waving at all the other riders on the tunes! It was too cute!! Then that afternoon we headed back on the long 8 hour hourney home! It was s long drive, but so worth it in the long run! Donna and Dode thank you so much for inviting us, we had a GREAT time! Riley has not stopped asking about yall yet!

The Oregon Dunes

Scott's tracks from rising on the beach!

Just chillin!

Scott putting his paddle tires on his 4 wheeler!

You have to ride with a flag on the dunes so people can see you!

Look no hands!! Woohoo!!

Scott riding the dunes!

Riley playing in the sand!

Riley looking for sea shells!

Me and Riley on the beach!

Hey there is something on my feet...is that sand...LOL!!!

Riley reading the map of the dunes so that she can tell us where to go!!

Dode, Riley and Scott walking back from washing their hands!

The boys heading out to ride the dunes!

Riley in Donna's hat...she loved wearing it!

Riley sitting with Donna!

The family on the 4 wheeler at the dunes!

Taking a break!

Me, Riley, and Donna going out on the dunes in the Razor! FUN!!

Some Elk that we saw on the side of the road! Too Awesome!

Scott and Riley's Date Night

2009-08-27T15:25:00.004-05:00

Scott got some tickets to the Tri Cities Dust Devels Minor League Baseball game here in town, and wanted us to all go as a family; but I was still battling the stomach bug. Therefore, Scott decided to take Riley on a date with him to the game! She was so excited! They had a great time at the game, and did not get home until 10:30pm!! Way past curfew...they were both grounded...lol!! When they got home Riley was absolutely WIRED!!! She was talking 90 to nothing and she was telling me all about the game, the boys, and the ball! It was so cute! She did not stop talking about it for days! Here are some pictures of there special night!!

Riley and Daddy at the game!

Riley cheering them on!

2009-08-26T15:23:00.003-05:00

For those of you that do not know....Scott has started racing his 4 wheeler at a little track here in Richland that is just around the corner from the house! He loves it, and it is a great stress release for him! Riley and I enjoy watching him and cheering him on! We have also made some friends at the track and so we enjoy hanging out with them! Scott's first race he got last place, and then in his second race her got 3rd place! WOOHOO!! He is getting better every race! The next one is not until September!

Go #10!!

Scott taking the checkered flag and getting 3rd place! WOOHOO!!!

Riley cheering daddy on!! Go Daddy Go!!!

Scott and his work buddies that came to cheer him on! His pit crew!

Riley made a friend...they squirted each other with the water bottle of water to cool off!!!

Riley playing with her new race track friends!!

Summer Fun with Nana & Bopa

2009-08-13T12:48:00.005-05:00

While Nana and Bopa were here we did lots of fun and exciting things! We spent almost every evening at the pool and in the hot tub! Friday night we even grilled Steaks and ate dinner at the pool! If was great! We also went to the Columbia River Park and the water park! Riley had a great time running around with Nana and Bopa exploring the Fort playground swinging, sliding, jumping, and driving things! The water at the water park was a little cold...so it took a lot of hoaxing to get Riley to even touch the water....lol! Then one day we went to the Darigold Dairy Fair and took a cheese tour! It was not what I was expecting, but it was fun! We got to read about how they make cheese, and then the best part was that we got to sample all the different cheese! That was great! Our favorite was the white cheddar...its nick name is squeaky cheese; because it squeaks on your teeth when you eat it! We had a great time! Here are some pictures of some things we did during the week!

Bopa pushing Riley on the BIG swing!

Riley driving the jet boat! Vroom! Vroom!

Bopa pushing Riley on the tire swing!

Nana helping Riley jump from tire to tire!

Riley and Bopa at the top of the Fort Playground!

Nana and Riley at the water park!

Scott, Bopa, Nana, and Riley arriving at the Darigold Dairy Fair

Nana, Bopa and Riley at the Dairy Fair

The family at the Darigold Dairy Fair

Bopa, Riley and Scott sampling all the different cheeses...or favorite was the squeaky cheese! It was white cheddar! Yummy!

Scott, Nana and Riley hangin out in the pool!

Friday night we grilled steaks at the pool...so much fun!!

Riley and Bopa lounging around!

Happy Birthday Nana!!!

2009-08-13T12:12:00.004-05:00

On Tuesday, July 21st it was time to celebrate Nana and the day that she was born! Happy Birthday Nana!!! We love you, and are so glad that we got to spend this special day with you! We started to day off going to IHOP to get Nana a BIG birthday breakfast! It was Yummy! Then after breakfast we headed back to the house and changed into out bathing suits and headed to the pool to relax and have fun! After the pool we went back to the house and had naps and then got ready to go to Anthony's Seafood Restaurant for Nana's birthday dinner! Riley wanted to get all dressed up for the occasion, and so she wore her beautiful Tutu and butterfly shirt! She was so funny...she loved it...she twirled around all night long, and every one that she saw she would tell them that she was wearing her Tutu! She was so precious! we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Anthony's and then went back to the house for presents! It was another great day!

Nana, Bopa and Riley at IHOP waiting to order birthday breakfast!

Riley got a create a face pancake....it was yummy!

Then we were headed of to the pool to relax and have fun!

Nana and her fruity birthday drink...Yummy!

Nana and Bopa at dinner!

Riley showing Bopa what she wants her next bite to be off of his plate!

The five of us celebrating at Nana's birthday dinner!

Riley is ready to relax...lol!!

Riley loves watching the chef's make the entrees!

Riley dressed up in her TuTu for Nana's birthday! She loved wearing her Tutu!

Riley helping Nana read her cards!!

Nana's new wine opener!

Riley colored Nana a picture and made her a magnetic clip for her fridge!

This is the cross that Riley painted for Nana!

A Day of Sampling

2009-08-13T10:07:00.007-05:00

While Nana and Bopa were here; Nana was going to have a birthday! So we wanted to give her a birthday presents that was very memorable and that she would never forget. So, we new that Nana likes wine, and we are living in wine country, so what else would be better than taking Nana on some wine tasting tours at some of the local wineries! Woohoo!! Sounds like fun!! We decided to go to three different wineries that were all with in walking distance of each other! We had a GREAT time sampling the different wines, and we even bought some! We bought Nana a bottle of wine for her birthday, and a bottle wine opener!

This is the barrels in the wine cellar

Riley having a breadstick to clear her pallet!

Scott and Nana tasting some wine

This is the second winery that we went to Bookwalter!

This was the third winery that we went to Barnard Griffin...it was our favorite!!!

Riley and Bopa having snacks while the rest of us are wine tasting!

The three of us tasting wine at Barnard Griffin

We even got Bopa to try a little...he is not a big wine person!

Riley is just like her daddy and Aunt Holly...she wanted to try all the cheeses!!!

Bopa taking Riley for a ride in the Wine Limo!

Nana and Riley

Nana is showing Riley the grapes growing on the vines!!

This is the first winery that we went to...Tagaris....and it was good!

After we did all of our wine tasting...we were ready to eat some dinner! You can not come to Richland, WA and not eat the famous pizza and brewery place here! It is so yummy! They have very unique and different types of pizzas, but they are soooooo good! So for dinner we went to Atomic Ale Brewpub & Eatery! While looking at the menu we decided that we wanted to try a sample of several of there pizzas. So when the waitress cam he told her that we could like a sampler (of pizzas) and he told her the ones we wanted. The next thing we knew she brought us a sampler of the different beers that they brew there. It was too funny!!! So we had to try them all. Some were really gross and some were pretty good! It was a first for Nana and me, and Bopa and Scott enjoyed it too! We had a great dinner! It was a wonderful day!!!!

Nana and Bopa sampling some beer!

Scott and I sampling the different beers

This is the brewery that we went to

Riley being silly...trying to wear her fruit cup as a hat!!

This was the blackberry cobbler dessert that we got to share!

Can you tell it was Yummy!!!

Nana & Bopa Came to Visit

2009-08-04T22:47:00.005-05:00

Woohoo....Nana and Bopa came to visit us for 9 whole days!!! They flew in at 10:30 am on Saturday, July 18th and we were there to pick them up at the airport when they arrived! Although it was suppose to be cool when they got here....it happened to be the hottest week that we had had all summer...imagine that! They brought the heat with them...lol! The first day that they were here we decided to hang out around the house, because they were exhausted from their flights and the time change. So for dinner we decided to have a Seafood feast! We had Alaskan Crab Legs, Snow Crabs, Scallops, and a salad! It was so yummy!! We had a nice relaxing day!

Nana and Bopa are here!!!

Welcome to Kennewick, Washington Nana and Bopa!!

Ohhh...Nana & Bopa brought me a present...I wonder what it is?

Is it a hat???

No...it is a purple and two flowers shirts...thank you Nana and Bopa!

Nana and Bopa got Riley a farm felt board....and she loves it!

The first night that they were here we had a Seafood feast with Alaskian Crab Legs, Snow Crabs, and scallops.....it was soooooo yummy!!!

Anniversary in Seattle

2009-08-03T18:07:00.002-05:00

Scott and I celebrated our 8 year anniversary on July 7th! Woohoo!! We decided that we wanted to go to Seattle to celebrate our anniversary! Since our anniversary fell on a Tuesday we decided to grill out for dinner. Scott grilled steaks, and I made some asparagus to go along with it! Scott brought me some beautiful white roses. He is so thoughtful and sweet! Then that Friday we left around noon to head for Seattle! We got to stay at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle! It was the most breathe taking, amazing place that we have ever stayed at! When we got there Friday afternoon, we checked into the hotel, and then we were headed to go to the top of the Needle! We stopped and ate at P.F. Chang's on the way. Then we had to catch the monorail to get over to the Needle. Riley was so excited to ride on the train..lol! When we got to the Needle there was a carnival all around the base of the Needle! It was really cool, and it is there all year round! Fun! So we went and got some tickets and let Riley ride some rides. Riley and I rode an elephant, and then she drove a truck, sailed her own ship, and then went on the Ferris Wheel with daddy! She had a great time riding all the rides...she experienced her first carnival! Then we bought our tickets and took the long and scary elevator ride up to the top of the Needle! I was absolutely gorgeous up there! You could see the ocean and the city all from the top! We were also up there right before the sun set, and so we got to see the sun setting behind the mountains! It was beautiful! Then we headed back to the hotel and called it a night! We had a full day planned for tomorrow!

Saturday we woke up at 8:30am and got up and got all dressed up in our Dynamo soccer gear! That is right, Riley got Scott some soccer tickets for Father's Day to watch the Houston Dynamos and the Seattle Sounders soccer game! And of course we had to support our home team....the Dynamos!! After we were ready we headed out to go and tour the Pike's Place Central Market. It was so cool! The first thing that we saw was the famous Pike's Fish Market...yes it is where they throw and catch the fish when someone orders something! It was cool to see it is person...we got to see them throw stuff several times! Then we went and saw a pasta market, vegetable market, flower market, etc. You name it, they had it....it was a lot of fun! After we had lunch at the market then we had to head to the soccer game. Woohoo....Go Dynamos! It was a great game, and we had awesome seats! We all had a really great time! We got harassed a little for cheering for the Dynamos, but it was all in fun! Then that evening Scott and I were going to go out to dinner to celebrate our Anniversary! Our good friends Jacob and Aubree had some really close friends that live in Seattle, and they set it up for them to watch Riley so that we could have a romantic celebration dinner alone! Thank you so much Aubree for setting that up, we greatly appreciated the romantic evening! So after the soccer game we headed over to Kyle and Wes's house to drop Riley off! They were so great with her, and of course she had a great time! She was the center of attention for the whole evening....who wouldn't like that!! After dropping Riley off Scott and I went back to the hotel to get ready for our romantic evening! The restaurant that we ate at was on Pier 70, and so we decided that we were going to walk across the coast to our restaurant. It was so nice! Then we arrived at Waterfront Seafood Grill, and it was just a romantic, fancy little restaurant....there was a piano playing...it was awesome! Scott had reserved us a window table, and so we looked out at the ocean all night! It was very romantic. We had heard that we needed to have seafood, because being on the coast Seattle was know for having great fresh seafood. So we order a sampler dinner platter called seafood bacchanalia, it had scallops, Alaskan crab legs, prawns, steak, salmon, lobster tail, potatoes, asparagus, and roasted tomatoes. It was soooooo yummy! I had never had Alaskan Crab legs, ans they were sooooooo good! It was my favorite thing on the platter! Then we had to have desert, and so we had Creme Brulee, and they wrote Happy Anniversary in chocolate around the rim of the plate....it was so nice! Then after desert we both had lattes.....we were at dinner for over 2 hours.....it was an awesome Anniversary dinner! I love you so much honey, and I have had the best 8 years of my life with you, and look forward to many more wonderful years to come. I thank the Lord for you daily, I am truly blessed to share my life with you! I love you! After dinner we walked back to the hotel room and changed clothes, and went to pick up Riley! When we got there she was asleep and had been since 8pm that evening....they said she was soooo tired! Kyle and Wes said they had a great time coloring, dancing, watching movies, reading books, and having tea! Now that sounds like fun! Thank you so much Kyle and Wes for watching her for us so that we could have a quiet evening together.....we greatly appreciate it! Then we headed back to the hotel and called it a night at 12pm....whooo what a busy day!

Sunday morning we did not wake up until 9:30am....can you believe it....Scott slept until 9:30....I am training him a little at a time to sleep in!! We got up and got ready, packed our bags, and then headed out for lunch and then to the Seattle Aquarium! Riley really enjoyed seeing all the fish. She was not a big fan of the touch and feel portion of the aquarium, she did not want to stick her hand in the water.....but she loved looking at all the first in there tanks. She really liked the jelly fish too....we watched them for a LONG time! Then we went outside to the outdoor exhibit and got to watch feeding time for the otters and the seals. She enjoyed watching them eat nummy nummies! Then after the aquarium we were headed back home! It was an awesome, relaxing, and fun filled weekend! It will definitely go down in the books as one of our most memorable trips ever!!!

Pretties In the Sky

2009-08-03T14:37:00.006-05:00

We had an awesome 4th of July! The city had a festival/carnival down at the Columbia River City park with LOTS of fun activities to do, and then they had fireworks from a barge on the river! We started the day by having a BIG breakfast, packing for the afternoon/evening, and then we all took naps! YEAH for naps! After naps we loaded up and headed to the park! We played at the park, shopped at all the vendor tents, had the clown make us a flower balloon(Riley was terrified of the clown), ate dinner, listen to some bands play, ate snow cones, and watched the pretty fireworks in the sky! We had a great time! Riley LOVED the fireworks! When they were over she signed and said 'MORE' it was too cute; she wanted more fireworks! We had a great day and got to see and AWESOME firework show!!

Daddy and Riley

Mommy and Riley

Having a little snack on the way to the park!

Riley swinging at the park....her favorite thing to do!!!
Which fry do I want to eat...there are so many to choose from??

Dip it in a little ranch dressing

Oh Yummy...that is so good!!!

Which balloon do I want the clown to make for me???

Well, this is as close as we got to the clown...Riley was really scared of him!

Riley leading her own 4th of July parade with her flower balloon!

Riley enjoying her first snow cone! Yummy!

She had a great time laying and jumping on daddy!

A nice man gave her some glow sticks to play with after it got dark!

Riley LOVED the fireworks!

Riley signing and saying she wants MORE fireworks!
Tuckered out after a LONG day!

Trip to Texas - Day 11 - Fairwells until next time!

2009-07-28T17:17:00.006-05:00

Today we were headed back to Washington to see daddy! She was so excited, she really missed her daddy! We left that morning and went and got my Granny and my Aunt Sharon Tant; because they were also flying out that day to head to Big Spring; and so my mom took us all to the airport at the same time! We were two hours early, because we did not know how long it would take, and me being by myself with Riley I wanted to have plenty of time, and believe me we did!! LOL!! We had lunch at McDonald's and then we had to become very creative to keep little Miss Riley entertained until the airplane arrived! Then we had to have plenty to keep her entertained while we were on the airplane.....exhausting! She did a great job though..she is such a trooper!! It was funny though, when we got to Washington, I told her that we were going to go see daddy. She was so excited, and when everyone started getting off the plane, she started yelling 'Daddy, Daddy!' As if he was going to hear her and come and get her off the plane....it was cute! Then when we were walking out of the terminal, one of the guys that sat in front of us saw Scott, and he said 'you must be daddy, she has been calling for you!' It was sooo cute! When she saw him she just ran and jumped in his arms!! It was so sweet, she missed her daddy!!! We had a woderful visit to Texas, and enjoyed visiting all of you! Thank you so much for all of the fond memories, and see ya soon, hopefully mid October! Love yall!!

Headed to the airport lookin cool!

Since we got to the airport two hours before our flight left, we played musical chairs a lot!

Then we watch all the planes coming in and out!!

Then we danced a little!

Played with our dragon that we got in our McDonald's happy meal!

This is Riley trying to buckle her seat belt on the plane

Then she watched a movie on my I Pod!!

Then we had cookies and joo joo

We colored in her Mickey and Minnie Mouse coloring book

Then we had to get out the Elmo stickers

Then she became her own work of art....the human Elmo sticker board!!

Trip to Texas - Day 10 - Mommy & Me Pool Party

2009-07-28T16:41:00.002-05:00

Today was such a fun day! My mom and I had a Mommy and Me pool party at her house for some of my friends and family, so that I could see them before we went back to Washington! My neighbor Aubree and Riley's best friend Jayda, my cousin Danyel and her two kids Eli and Mia, my friend Rachael and her son Jake, my friend from high school Jamie and her daughter Braeley, my sister Angela and my nephew Allen, my Aunt Sharon Tant from Big Spring, my Granny, my Aunt Sharon Kemp and her daughter in law Amanda and her son Everett, and my Aunt Claudia all came to the pool party! It was a packed party, but it was so much fun! We all had a great time swimming, eating, talking, and playing together! It was so awesome to get to see everyone at once, since I would not have been able to see them all otherwise! For lunch my mom and I made homemade corn dogs, and then we had fruit, Popsicles, cookies, and chips and dips to go along with it! We had SO MUCH FOOD!!! It was yummy! Thanks everyone for coming and spending the day with us, we had a great time and enjoyed seeing you all while we were down to visit! See you when we get back! Miss you all!!

Trip to Texas - Day 9 - Chillin on Sunday

2009-07-27T15:39:00.014-05:00

This morning we woke up at Nana and Bopa's house, and Bopa took Riley to the donut store with him to get us all breakfast! She was so excited, and she got to sample some donut holes while they waited in line! Too Fun!! We also had a little Father's Day Celebration with Bopa that morning, and Riley helped him open his card and his present! She loves to open things!! Riley went to church with Nana and Bopa, and then we went to lunch at Chili's afterwards! It was yummy! There are no Chili's up here in Washington where we live! Then that afternoon we went back to my parents to chill out and relax for the rest of the evening! Riley enjoying swinging and sliding on Nana and Pappy's playground, and then she enjoyed some bubbles, and then stripped down and went swimming once again!!! She LOVES the water!!! It was a little more of a relaxing less active day than we have had so far! It was nice!!

Riley helping Bopa open his Father's Day present

Yummy donut holes!!

Just chillin at Nana and Pappy's House!

Pappy pushing Riley...WHEEEE!!!!

Nana and Riley swinging in the back yard!

Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles

I LOVE BUBBLES!!!

Bubbles...I want to play with bubbles in the pool

Enjoying bubbles in the pool...she is not spoiled is she??

Riley wrapped up in a Hello Kitty towel!

Trip to Texas - Day 8 - Lake Livingston

2009-07-17T17:30:00.016-05:00

Today we are going to Grandmommy and Grandaddy's in Onalaska to go out on Lake Livingston in Nana and Bopa's boat! Woohoo!! Riley is going to go tubing for the first time!! FUN!! Aunt Holly and Riley went tubing, and Riley liked it, but she kept saying 'No Pash!!! No Pash!!' They did not stay out long, because she did not like the splash!! We really had a great time going out in the boat cruising around and tubing! After that we went back to the docks, and went swimming in the lake! Then we had hamburgers and the girls took a nap! After they woke up from their nap, we decided that we would go out in the boat, IN OUR CLOTHES, and just cruise around and eat the homemade ice cream that Grandmommy and Grandaddy had made! We were not going swimming, and so we were not going to get wet at all! GREAT!! Not so much!! Bopa hit this HUGE wave, and all of us in the front of the boat got SOAKED!!! SO much for driving home in DRY clothes!!! LOL!! The ice cream was yummy though!! After cruising around, we went back to Grandmommy and Grandaddy's house, and Holly and the girls got ready to go back to their house, and Riley and I were going back to Nana and Bopa's for the night! We had a great time visiting everyone, and miss you all so much! It was so great to see you all and spend some time with yall while we were there!!! Sharesd many great memories together!!!

TaTa reading to her young sister and cousin before we head to the lake

Kenadie going potty like a big girl....and Riley is getting her some toilet paper....how much did you say you needed Kenadie???

Aunt Holly and Riley going tubing!

Riley squirting Grandaddy with her water!!

Riley liked watching the water splash on the boat

Captain Bopa and Co-Captain Riley

BOPA....we were not suppose to get wet...this is all the clothes I HAVE!!!

Riley staying hydrated on the boat ride

Grandmommy got Riley a baby doll

Kenadie and Riley saying goodbye

Giving TaTa sugars bye

I love and miss you Aunt Holly

Trip to Texas - Day 7 - Water park

2009-07-17T16:51:00.014-05:00

Woohoo! We get to go and see Nana, Bopa, Aunt Holly, Tatum, and Kenadie today!!! We are going to go have a pajama party this morning, and then this afternoon we are going to go to the water park in Conroe in the Candy Cane park! We had a great time playing, swimming, and visiting with family! There was a HUGE water slide that Riley loved to go down! Aunt Holly would take her to the top, and then let her go down, and I would catch her at the bottom. She LOVED it!! The second I got her off the slide she would look for her Aunt Holly and say "whee"..."side" and they would go again! I think she wore her Aunt Holly out! After the water park we went back to Nana and Bopa's house and Riley had a slumber party with her cousins! It was so much fun!!

Riley and Bopa having tea before going to the water park!

Nana and her favorite girls!!

Aunt Holly gave Riley a really cool hair do for the water park

Sweet Cousins holding hands on the way to the water park!

One, Two, Three.....JUMP!!

Can anyone help me get out of the pool?

Nana teaching Riley to kick her legs

Holly, Tatum and Kenadie

The girls in the pool

Aunt Holly and Riley next to the BIG water slide!

Riley going down the BIG water slide!!!

Aunt Holly brought some yummy yogo snacks!!

Three girls taking turns jumping in the water!!

Trip to Texas - Day 6 - Picture Day

2009-07-16T17:12:00.013-05:00

Today my mom, my aunt and I took Riley to Portrait Innovations to get her 18 months pictures taken! I wanted to get some pictures of her in her bathing suit on the beach, and then some others in a beautiful dress!!! They turned out AWESOME!!! I hope that you enjoy them as much as we do!!

Trip to Texas - Day 5 - Riley's first haircut(trim)

2009-07-16T15:59:00.015-05:00

Today was going to be a fun day! We were going to meet Nana, and my Aunt Sharon from Big Spring at the mall and go SHOPPING!!! WOOHOO!!! We are going to try and find Riley and beautiful dress to where when we get her pictures made tomorrow, and then we are going to go and get her hair trimmed for the first time!!! Oh my goodness....my baby is big enough for a hair cut! OMG she is growing up so fast!!! Sigh!! I know she does not have a lot of hair, and she did not NEED a hair cut, but we just wanted to trim off all of the fuzzy baby hair that was on the ends! And now it looks so much better!! I even got some of her little curls that they cut off for her baby book! She was such a big girl, and did a GREAT job!! She was very cooperative and had fun! After shopping we went back to my parents for the night!!

Picture of my hair before

Coloring a picture while waiting for my turn

Got to watch TV while I got my hair cut...woohoo...this is the life!!

She trimmed the fuzzy baby hair off the ends

Layered my hair in the back so my curls would be full and beautiful

She trimmed my bangs

She gave me some pig tails with purple rubber bands

Some butterfly and flower shaped gems

Add a little sparkle with a little purple glitter

BAM..Princess Hair!!! Isn't it beautiful!

Woohoo...my very first dum dum sucker

Riley was suck a big girl that she got to go to the suprise machine

Look Mommy I got stickers....my favorite

Picture of my hair after...beautiful!!!

Trip to Texas - Day 4 - Children's Museum

2009-07-16T15:22:00.016-05:00

Today we went to the Children's Museum in Houston with Aubree, Jayda, Aunt Holly, Kenadie, Tatum, and my mom! We had not been there since they had remodeled the whole place, and so we thought we should go and check it out, and it was so much fun! Riley was so excited to see her cousins, and they were happy to see how big she had gotten, and they enjoyed showing her around the museum and helping her with everything they could! They had a lot of fun playing together! We only got to stay a couple of hours, because Riley had a doctor's appointment that afternoon, and so Aubree, Jayda, my mom and us went to eat lunch at Panera Bread! That is when all the fun started!! Some how when we were walking into Panera Bread, they key to my mom's suburban came off of the key ring! GREAT!! So we called on star and they were going to bring us another key for the car within the hour! Ok good, but we were going to miss Riley's doctor's appointment, but oh well, we will deal with that later. Then about 2 hours later the guy finally shows up. Yeah, we can go home, because the girls are fading fast being 3pm with NO NAPS!! AHHHHH!!! Oh but wait, it is going to take and hour for the guy to cut the key! Fine, so we had to entertain the girls for another hour and woohoo we made it...let's go home! Oh but wait, it is going to take another hour to program the key!!! AARRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!! We are going CRAZY!!! So finally at 5pm we got a replacement key to the suburban, and we all headed home! It was a CRAZY day! So that evening Aubree invited us over for dinner, and then we put the girls in the bath together, and got them ready for bed! After a long and exhausting day, we both needed each others support to get through the night! Thanks Aubree for being there! Could not have made it without you! The girls had a great time playing in the bath together! They were too cute!!

The officer and her troops

Nana, I need some ice cream!!

Working hard checking out her groceries

Riley and her FULL shopping basket

Look at the masterpiece the girls are creating

Riley and her cousins sliding together!

Riley and Jayda feeding the cow snacks

Aunt Holly showing Riley how all this works

Ta Ta and Riley running through the water falls

Kenadie, Riley and Aunt Holly shooting water guns

After the museum we went to Panera Bread for lunch!

Jayda and Riley taking a bath before bedtime!

Trip to Texas - Day 3 - Visiting friends in Sugar Land

2009-07-16T14:50:00.010-05:00

Today was a little relaxing! I had a doctor's appointment first thing this morning, and so Riley went next door and played with her BFF Jayda! They had a great time catching up and playing together! After my doctor's appointment I went back and met the girls, and we decided to go and have lunch at Chick-fila and then let the girls play! They had a great time playing together! This was the first time that Riley explored the jungle gym play area at Chick-fila, and she just followed Jayda around, and did whatever she did and went where even she did! Good friends! Then it was nap time! After nap Riley and I went and visited with the Sterns for a little while and the kids played, and then we went and had dinner at the LaFleur's! It was a busy put fun filled day!! It was great to see everyone and catch up, and Riley enjoyed playing with all of her friends!

Hello Jayda

Where is Riley...there she is in the rear tire of the Chick-fila car!
Riley following Jayda through the maze Riley & Jayda going down the slide together Jayda going down the slide at Chick-fila Riley sliding down the slide and Chick-fila Sweet friends Riley and her bud Jayda reading books
Riley and Jayda and there dance moves!

Trip to Texas - Day 2 - Father's Day

2009-07-15T16:20:00.018-05:00

Today we spent the day with my dad/Pappy! We went to church that morning with my mom and dad, and then we went back to there house and played in the pool, and grilled out that night for dinner! My sister and her family came over after church and joined us for the days festivities! We had a great time! Then that evening Riley and I drove to our house in Sugar Land for a couple of days! Home Sweet Home!!

Nana got me a beautiful necklace and bracelet to wear to church! Too Cute!!

Riley and Pappy are ready to go to church!

Me and Riley swimming

Sweet Cousins

My sister Angela, her husband Allen, and their handsome baby boy Allen!

Riley's wish came true...Harley went swimming with us too!!

We love our Nana!!

There is nothing more fun than swimming in bubbles!!

The family in the pool

Riley and turtle going down the water slide!

Nana & Pappy and their grandbabies!!

Riley and Nana swimming

Chillin after swimming

Pappy and all his Father's Day treasures!

Riley colored Pappy a picture for Father's Day

Trip to Texas - Day 1

2009-07-15T15:55:00.010-05:00

Riley and I took at trip to Texas to visit our friends and family, because we missed them all so much! So on June 20th, Riley and I landed in Houston, Texas around 4pm that afternoon!! It was so great to be back in Texas, but it was HUMID and HOT!!! That would take some getting use to!!! My parents picked us up at the airport, and then we went to Papasito's Mexican Restaurant for Dinner...Yeah Mexican food!! Then out to my parents house! Riley saw the water in the pool in the back yard, and so we stripped her down to her shirt and let her play in the baby pool for a while! She had a blast!!

Riley wanted Harley to play in the water with her!

Nana's towel had built in flip flops, and they fit Riley perfectly!! LOL!!

Father's Day

2009-07-15T15:14:00.014-05:00

Since Riley and I were going to be in Texas the weekend of Father's Day, then we decided the celebrate Father's Day with Scott the weekend before we left! Saturday morning Riley and I woke up and made him a special breakfast, and then he opened presents! Then that evening we went out to dinner at his favorite restaurant, Anthony's! It was very yummy! Then after that Scott wanted to go to the race track and watch the motor cross and 4 wheeler races that evening! It was a lot of fun, and Riley had a great time! She did a lot of cheering and clapping for the racers! Sunday Scott wanted to go riding at the race track, and wanted us to go and watch him, and so that is what we did!! Riley was scared of Scott when he put on his helmet, because she did not recognize him! He had to take it off fast for her not to start screaming! Then that evening, we made him a very special dinner, hi favorite Ship Wreck Kelly!! Happy Father's Day Scott, we love you and are very blessed to have such a wonderful daddy and husband!! Since we were going to be gone on Father's Day, Riley painted him a picture frame, and got a voice recording card, and recorded her talking on it; and we put it where he could not find it! Then on Father's Day we told him where he could go and find his surprise!! It was great!!

Riley helping her daddy open his Father's Day card

Riley got daddy soccer tickets to the Houston Dynamos and Seattle Sounders!!!

Riley helping daddy open his present

Daddy got a GPS for Father's Day!!

Scott and Riley at Anthony's Seafood Restaurant!

Scott and Riley at dinner looking at the boats on the river!

Scott and Riley at the race track!

Riley cheering them on!!

Riley watching all the racing on the track, very attentively!

Riley painting a picture frame for her daddy!

The finished picture frame that I made for my daddy!!

Weekend Trip to Utah

2009-07-08T15:45:00.010-05:00

At the first of June, we went to Utah to my parents house that they just got there! My sister and her family, and my parents were all there, and it was so great to see family!! When we flew in Thursday night to Salt Lake City, we had about a 4 hour drive to there house! We finally arrived about 9pm! Friday the guys went to the Sand Dunes and rode 4 wheelers, and the girls and kiddos went shopping! It was lots of fun!! Then Saturday, all the adults went 4 wheeling through the mountains, and it was so awesome and beautiful!!! Then that evening we had some family from the area over for dinner, it was really great to see everyone.....it has been a long time! Then on Sunday we just vegged out and stayed in our pajamas all morning and played with the kiddos! Then after lunch we headed back on our 4 hour journey to the airport and arrived back in Washington that night! We had a GREAT time visiting and seeing all the family, although we wished we could have stayed longer!

Me and Scott going on an adventure through the mountains!

Pappy giving Riley a ride around the block!

The family in Utah

Sweet cousin lovin! They held hands a lot in the car!

Nana and Riley

Riley showing Allen how to honk the horn!

Scott and I riding through the mountains

Riley and Allen racing their cars on the sidewalk (with help from their dads)!

A bunch of us that went 4 wheeling

18 Month Celebration

2009-06-10T17:00:00.018-05:00

Can you believe it, my baby girl is 18 months old!! Where has the time gone? She has grown up so much, and is learning more and more each day! There is an awful lot that goes on in the day off an 18 month old. I thought that I would share a little bit about her likes, dislikes, and what she has been up to!

Her Likes:
Coloring
Playing in the water or Outside
Blowing the Dandelions
Stickers (any kind)
Playing with her baby dolls (she likes to feed them, put them to sleep, and take them for walks in her stoller)
Popcicles
Watermelon
Taking a bath
Watching Abby Cadaby, Elmo, Special Agent OSO, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Reading books
Swinging and going down the slides at the parks
cows
motorcycles
Singing and dancing to music
having pretty painted toes
SHOES!!!

Dislikes:
Teething...it hurts!
Holding your hand when walking in the street
Putting up her toys
When you tell her NO!

Since she was turning 18 months, mommy had a big day planned to celebrate her half birthday! We started the day off with breakfast and then we went to the Tri-Cities Children's Museum, and she had a BLAST!! Then we went to McDonald's for lunch, and then headed home for a nap. After nap we got up and played outside until it was time to make dinner. Riley and I made homemade corndogs for dinner, and they were yummy!! Then I got her a special Rainbow Sherbert(favorite ice cream) clown cone for her dessert! What is a celebration with out presents?? So she got to open a present full of summer time fun toys!!! We had a great day, and I can not believe my baby is getting so big!

My Sweet, Precious 18 month old!!!
Pictures while we were at the Tri-Cities Childrens Museum

I wonder where she learned to cook an talk on the phone at the same time...multi tasker!
Look out kiddos here I come!!

She LOVED pulling this little phone all over the museum...it went everywhere she went!!
Throwing a tantrum because she did not want to leave!! Having too much fun!
Making dinner, having dessert, and opening presents!!

Memorial Weekend Trip

2009-05-27T15:14:00.002-05:00

After having a lazy day on Saturday, which was greatly needed and enjoyable, we decided that we wanted to go and see some of the things that were on our list to do while we are here in Washington! Sunday morning we packed our bags, got in the car, and headed for Oregon to drive along the Columbia Gorge! The first stop that we went to was that we went and looked at the Bridge of the Gods, which is a bridge that crosses over the Columbia River that connects Oregon to Washington. The bridge was just really awesome looking, the part that you drive was completely see through, so that is does not freeze in the winter! It was very interesting! Then we went on to the Bonneville Dam! We took a tour of the dam here, and then went down to the fish finding windows under the dam to look for fish! Then when we were heading out, we decided to stop and look at one of the locks of the dam, and they were getting ready to open the lock and let a barge and tug boat pass through the dam, it was awesome! I have never actually seen it before, and so it was a great experience! Riley loved looking down into the water!! Then after the dam, we went over to tour the Bonneville Fish Hatchery. It was very interesting! We got to see a LOT of fish, and some HUGE fish at that!!! Riley wanted to go swimming with the 'ish'!! After the fish hatchery, we went on our journey along the different water falls that are along the gorge. They were absolutely breath takingly beautiful!!! Some of the waterfalls we visible along the road and others we had to hike to, which was very interesting and challenging with a 17 month old and a stroller or dad carrying her! But in the end it was all worth it, but we were all exhausted at the end of the day. We went and saw a total of 5 waterfalls in all! After an exhausting day getting in and out of the car and hiking, etc. We decided to go to Portland to eat dinner! Scott called a friend of his to find out a good place to eat, and so we went and ate at Laurelwood Pizza and Brewery, and it was yummy! After dinner we went to Hood River to check into our hotel at the Best Western on the river...it was awesome! Outside the hotel we could see the Columbia River and Mt. Hood! It was beautiful! After a long and exhausting day we had a great nights sleep, and we did not wake up until 8am, can you believe it, Scott slept till 8am!! I am training him good!! Then on Monday we went across the river on a HUGE bridge, if you know me you know bridges are not my favorite thing, and then we went and saw the three largest mountains in Washington. We saw Mt. St. Helens, which is an active Volcano, SCARY! Then we also went and saw Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier! It was a very long day of driving, but we got to see some beautiful country and mountains! Riley was such a great trooper with all the driving and exploring!

Splish Splash at the Waterpark

2009-05-27T15:06:00.003-05:00

Yeah! Scott did not have to work this weekend, ad so we had a GREAT weekend! Saturday he just wanted to be LAZY and do plan nothing, and just do what we wanted when we wanted! He hasn't gotten to so that in a REALLY long time! So that is what we did. We got up, lounged around for a while, and then we decided to take Riley to the HUGE park on the Columbia River. They have a huge fort play area for the kids to play in, and then they also have a water park. Yes, Riley had her first experience at the water park! It was so funny. Most of the time she just stood in one place and let it hit her, and wonder where the water was coming from? Then towards the end she would walk around in it and try to grab the water! She had a GREAT time! We are going to have to go more often!!

Relaxing Weekend!!

2009-05-20T16:02:00.013-05:00

We had a nice relaxing weekend, finally!!! We just hung around and did whatever, whenever we wanted. One of Scott's co-workers and hunting buddy, Cory, came up this past week to help Scott and work, and so he stayed with us! We had lots of fun all playing in the evenings! Saturday, Scott and Cory had to work, and so Riley and I went to the park and played, and she had a good time making new friends and going down the slide! Then on Sunday; Cory, Scott and Riley went to the Gun Show here is Pasco and then went to McDonald's for lunch! YEAH!!! They said that is was a REALLY small show, and so they did not stay long, but had fun! While they were out, I enjoyed a morning to my self around the house, and then I went and got a pedicure! WOOHOO!!! It was soooo nice! It had been a while, and it was CHEAP!!! A lot of thing are more expensive up here, but you can get a GOOD pedicure up her for $20. I may go more often! Once a week...lol....just kidding!!! Then that evening we played in the back yard and grilled steaks and had baked potatoes! It was awesome! We needed this nice relaxing weekend!

YEAH...we get to go to the park!!!!

This twirly slide was her favorite, and the hardest to get to...imagine that! LOL!

Sometimes she came out head first, feet first, side ways.....it was too funny!

Peek - A - Boo

We had to walk around and find Dandelions so that she could blow them!!

She loved this flower that was in the Water Park there!

Trying to drink and walk as we are leaving the park...fell down a few times but kept trying!

Thank you Nana & Pappy for my cute outfit and shoes!!! Darn I'm Cute!!!

Headed to the Gun Show!!

Cory and Riley

Picture Perfect

2009-05-16T17:11:00.009-05:00

Last week Riley wanted to color, and so I got out her GIANT Princess coloring book that Easter Bunny got her, and she spent about 30 minutes coloring Cinderella! It was so funny, I put the coloring book on the floor, and she would get a color and lay down on top of the coloring book and color a little section, and then she would stand up and get a different color from me, and then lay back done on top of the coloring book and color a different section! She knew that she had to tackle this HUGE project, and she did!! But of course it was not complete until she put her stickers on it! She absolutely LOVES to play with stickers!! I have to manage the stickers; she can only have so many at certain times; otherwise they would be EVERYWHERE!!!! We were all so proud of her beautiful picture that I taped it up on the closet door in the living room, and she tells her daddy about it every day when he gets home from work, and admires it often! Just thought I would share her picture! She did a GREAT job!!

My Mother's Day Blessings

2009-05-16T15:44:00.023-05:00

I hope that all my mom friends and family had a wonderful Mother's Day! I had a wonderful weekend spending time with my wonderful husband and sweet blessing of a daughter! I feel so honored and blessed to be her mommy, and am enjoying every minute of it! Although there are stressful and frustrating times, there are way more happy, joyous, memorable moments that out weigh the other! Although we were in Washington for Mother's Day, and did not get to see mine or Scott's mom, we got to see them on the web cams that we got them for Mother's Day! That was so awesome....it is so neat that we get to see and talk to each other; and Riley LOVES it!!! She comes up to the computer and goes through a roll call of everyone she has seen on the web cams to see if they will just magically pop up! It is really cute! Scott and Riley pampered and spoiled me on Mother's Day, and I enjoyed every minute of it! Scott and Riley got up Saturday morning and washed my car, polished my leather, and cleaned the wheels! That gave me some much needed alone time, and they also worked very hard cleaning my car! It was great! Then that afternoon after Riley's nap we headed to Walla Walla, WA where they were having there 35Th Annual Hot Air Balloon Stampede; it was about an hour away! We had read all about it, and there was a car show, children's museum, arts and crafts show, hot air balloons, fire works, concerts, etc. We were looking forward to a fun filled afternoon.......well......things didn't turn out the way we had planned. The car show was over, and we got to see the cars driving away as we were arriving, the children's museum had closed at 3pm and it was 3:05pm, the arts and craft show was a garage sale, and there were no hot air balloons to be seen. So we decided that we would get something to eat to try and waste some time, because it was still 3 hours until the concert and fireworks. When we went to check out the food, it was a bunch of those taco stands on wheels ( the roach coaches if you will). I refused to eat at one of them, so we found one set up that looked like the knew what they were doing, and everything looked pretty clean and sanitary, so we got corn dogs and lemonade! That wasted about 30 more minutes, and I was beginning to feel more and more uncomfortable about where we were, so we decided to go ahead and head home and just hang out there! As we were heading to the car we saw a bunch of hot air balloons laid out getting ready to blow up and take off. Woohoo!!! This is what we wanted to see, and there wasn't and kind of barricades at all, you could just walk right up to all the balloons. It was awesome. Riley really liked seeing all the balloons, but she got really scared when they would blow their torches and make the loud noise. So we sat around on the grass and watched all the balloons blow up and take off. It was really cool! Then we went to Baskin Robbins for Ice Cream...yummy!! Then on Sunday they took me to IHop for breakfast and I had yummy strawberry crepes! Then we went shopping at Best Buy to get my Mother's Day present....a new digital camera....YEAH...I really needed one. I am a little embarrassed carrying around my taped up camera!! LOL!!! Then we went home and took naps, and then they took me to dinner at Olive Garden!! Thank you so much Scott and Riley for the wonderful Mother's Day! I am going to enjoy my camera and really enjoyed all of the pampering! I love you both to pieces, and am so blessed to have you for my husband and daughter!!!

Riley sneaking some lemonade out of her daddy's cup!!! LOL!!!

Riley pointing to all the different balloons taking off in the sky!

Bye - Bye Bawoons!!!

Drinking MORE Lemonade!!!!

Riley had her first real drink of lemonade at the Stampede.....take a look and come to your own conclusion on whether you think she likes it or not! I think she likes it a lot....LOL!!!

Riley helping mommy open her Mother's Day cards!!!

The Boyd's Visit

2009-05-13T15:25:00.026-05:00

I have been getting a little homesick, and so it was great to have some family come and visit!!! Scott's Aunt Pat (GAP) and his Uncle Tony (GUT) came to visit us for the weekend!! YEAH!!! They arrived Thursday evening; just in time for dinner! We stayed up late visiting and catching up, and planning our adventures for the weekend. Scott had to go to work on Friday, so we went to Pendleton, OR and went shopping at the Pendleton Woolen Mill! It was a lot of fun! We took a tour of the Mill, and got to see how they make the wool and the blankets! After shopping we went to McDonald's and had a Happy Meal, and played in the play land for a little while! Riley had a great time! Then we headed home because GAP and GUT told us that they would watch Riley so that Scott and I could have a date night!! WOOHOO!!! Thank you very much GAP and GUT date nights are extinct up here since we so not know anyone! Scott and I went to dinner at PF Chang's and had some of there AWESOME Lettuce Wraps; and then we went to the movies! It was a great time!!! I think that Riley had a great time as well, because when we got home GAP was in bed....Riley must have worn her plum out! Saturday we went and took a tour of Scott's job site, and then we went and drove around the Hanford Nuclear Reservation Site. This is where the government made plutonium for atomic bombs. In the process they were releasing radio active materials in the environment! Anyways, it is still a very high security place, and there are lot of places where you can not go unless you are BADGED...which we were not. I don't know why, but I just felt like we were doing something wrong or going somewhere we shouldn't and we were going to be gunned down. I know silly!! Anyways we went to this one point where there was a guard gate and this HUGE guy stepped out of the building and he had a gun strapped to his leg, and behind him on the wall was a poster that stated the 10 reasons to apply deadly force!!!! I was FREAKING out!!! He told us that we could not go beyond that point unless we were badges, and so we turned around and came home. I was majorly STRESSED and FRAZZLED!!! We came home and let Riley take a nap, and let me calm my nerves a little; and then we went to dinner on the Columbia River at Cedars! It was DELICIOUS and had a GREAT view of the river!! Sunday morning GAP and GUT left to head back to Texas. Thank you guys so much for coming to visit us. We had a great time, and it really helped ease the homesickness a little!! Here are some pictures of the weekend!

The girls outside Pendleton Woolen Mills!

Riley enjoyed running through the rows and rows of blankets!!! GUT was not far behind her chasing her around! Thanks GUT!!!

GUT holding Riley up so that she can pet the HUGE sheep!!!

Riley helping mommy pick out the blanket that GAP and GUT got for us. Isn't is beautiful. Thank you guys....we use it all the time!!!

Gut and Riley shopping ....aren't they cute!!!

Riley loved looking at this posted of all the different blanket that they have!

Riley listening to the the lady tell us all about the Pendleton Woolen Mills history! She was concentrating pretty hard, trying to figure out where that voice was coming from. LOL!

GAP, GUT and Riley on the tour!

While GAP was here she tried to teach Riley how to blow the Dandelions!

The first day was kind of tricky, she ate more than she blew!

GAP wanted to hold the flower so that she would not get it close to her mouth and eat it, and as you can see, she wanted to do it all by herself!!!

Riley practicing her blowing!!! LOL!!!

The second day was much more successful, and she also discovered that she could shake them and they would scatter!!!

Scott and I leaving for our date night!!

GUT and Riley drinking there joo-joo in the morning!!!

GUT attempting to get Riley dressed for the day!

What part goes through this hole?

Then she decided that she wanted to play, until he figured out what body part went in what hole!! LOL!!
GUT and Riley playing with the baby doll. You are going to be such a great Grandpa!!!

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

2009-04-28T15:19:00.060-05:00

One of the attractions up here in Washington that we were told that we had to go to was the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Mount Vernon, Washington. I am so glad that they told us, because it was the most beautiful things that I have ever seen. Tulips are my FAVORITE flower, and so I was in HEAVEN surrounded by every kind of tulip and miles and miles of them! Absolutely awesome!! It was about a 4 1/2 hour drive to Mount Vernon from our house, and so we left Saturday after lunch so that Riley would sleep in the car on the way up there. We had to go through 2 mountain passes to get there, and there was still a LOT of snow in the mountains! It was beautiful! We got to Mount Vernon about 5:00pm that evening, and checked into our room at the Best Western. We had dinner at a Steak & Chop restaurant there....and we were really disappointed...not like Texas!! Then we decided to call it a night so that we would be well rested for the next day.

We started our day off at the RoosenGarde Gardens. It was beautiful. They had garden after garden of over 100 different kinds of tulips, and it was gorgeous. I had no idea that there were that many tulips, and there were some really different ones! In front of each section of tulips there was a chalkboard on a stake that told you the name of each tulip!

There were all different sizes and shape so tulips as well. Some were really tall, as tall as Riley, some short, some with HUGE bulbs, and some with small bulbs. It was amazing!!!

This was an interesting one...it blooms like a rose!!

Riley wanted to 'walk' everywhere, and so we just let her go, and she would walk up to each flower and say 'ooooo'!!! She got so excited about all the flowers!!

Riley had to smell each and every tulip!! It was so funny!!! And let me tell you...she shoved her face down to the bottom of the flower to smell it...so she did get a good old whiff of them!! LOL!!

Then she thought that she should see what they tasted like....don't worry we didn't let her!!

After we looked at the garden's then we decided that we wanted to go to one of the MANY fields of the tulips and walk around. So went to one of the RoozenGarde fields, and it was so amazing!!! There were miles and miles of Tulips that you could walk through and take pictures!!

Riley was so excited about it...she loves walking through the tulips and then she would stop and smell a few of them periodically!!

This is Riley getting excited about being in the tulips!! LOL!! Then she wanted to play peek-a-boo, and so that was fun for a while!!!

This is a picture from the back of the field all the way to the front of the field where we took the first picture of me in the red tulips! It was HUGE!!!

Then we asked Riley to take a few pictures of Mommy and Daddy...didn't she do a great job...LOL!!!

I have always wanted a kissing picture in flowers...so no time like the present!!! My favorite man surrounded by my favorite flower...looked like a perfect time to me!!!

Then we went to our next stop which was another place called Tulip Town. It was about 4 blocks from the field we were at!

Tulip Town was a huge field that had every kind of tulip in it...it looked like a rainbow....it was beautiful!

They had these really HUGE kites that they were flying over the field of tulips!

This was my FAVORITE of all the tulips that we saw!! It was gorgeous!!!

This is when we asked Riley if she was ready to go bye bye, and she plainly said 'NO'!!!

This is Scott's favorite...of course it is Orange......his favorite color!!!

Doesn't that look like a post card! It does not even look real! It was AWESOME!!!

Then on our way out of town we took some pictures of some other fields that we saw! You could see them a mile away. They were so bright and colorful, you could not miss them!

Then we were on the road heading home! We left about 2:30p and got home about 8pm. When we got in the car Riley decided that she needed to get comfortable after the long day, and so she took her bows out of her hair, took her socks and shoes off, and then was ready to take a nap!!! We had such a great time, and so glad that we went! It was great! It was a little chili, but overall was GREAT weather for being outside all day!!!

Our Casa in Washington

2009-04-27T14:58:00.029-05:00

Scott and I arrived at our town home(temporarily) on Sunday. YEAH!!! It seemed like for ever before we got here!!! We are now unpacked and cozy on our town home, and liking it here so far. The town home is a little small, but is manageable for a temporary basis! We are loving the weather up here, and it is absolutely beautiful! Just this past week we have been having Spring weather, and all the trees and plants around here are blooming..so gorgeous!! It has been pretty cool here since we arrived, between the 50's - 60's, but we have had a couple of days that has gotten in the 70's! The biggest difference here in the weather is that it is always WINDY and there is NO HUMIDITY!!! YEAH!!! We are enjoying it a lot! Riley and I have been scoping the are looking for things like Texas, and then also some new things. We have a lot of common things that we had in Texas: Walmart, Bed Bath & Beyond, Target, Sonic, Lowes, and we even have our own Toyota Center here!!! There are also some things that we miss.....Chickfila, HEB, donut/kolache stores, full service car washes, but mostly our friends and family!!!! We have a mall, and we can get from our front door to the mall door in 5 minutes or less.....it is that close!!! The only bummer is that they do not have a play area for the kiddos....what the heck is that about!!! I know that you have all been curious, so here are some pictures of the town house, and so pictures of the area!!! This is the entrance of the Apartment Complex.

Grandridge Place!

This is our Town Home, and my car fits in the garage....YEAH!!!

This is the view from the front door. Downstairs is the living room, dining room, powder bath and the kitchen. Upstairs is the master bedroom, spare bedroom, laundry room, spare bath, and Riley's room!

This is the view as you walk to the end of the hallway from the front door. The kitchen is to the left of the dining room!

Living Room

Dining Room

Looking into the kitchen from the Dining Room.

Kitchen

Spare Room

Spare Bath

Guess whose room this is??? The first two don't count!!

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

This is the view of our back yard. There was a rainbow when I went to take the picture! We have a state park that backs up to the apartment complex, so there is a walking track, a ball field, and then some Tennis Courts....lots of room for Riley to play out side!!!

This is the pond that has ducks and a waterfall that is at the entrance of the apartments!

The Pool

The Mailboxes! We check it everyday!!! Looking forward to hearing from you all!!

These two pictures are the view form the front of the apartment complex, it looks down into the valley of the Tri Cities!

This is a before and after picture. The first picture is the beautiful white blooms that covered a LOT of the trees int he area for about a week, and then the second picture is a week later when all the blooms were gone, and it was just green!

There are so many colors and blooms around the Tri Cities are right now, and it is so beautiful to see it changing!!

This is a close up of the beautiful pink blooms that are on some of the trees in our front yard!

Well, I hope that you all enjoyed the tour. We look forward to you all coming to visit and see it in person. But for those that can't I will be keeping my blog up to date on what is happening!

Day 4 - Boise, ID to Kennewick, WA

2009-04-23T17:34:00.081-05:00

Well we had a good nights sleep!!! But do we really have to get in the car again? I am so TIRED of driving....can we just hang out for a while. Ok, so we are getting on the road, and man is it windy outside. Here comes another storm, straight for us!!! Storm chasing AGAIN!! I am retiring after this trip!!! Ok, so on the road again!!!!

You could hardly see the mountains in the horizon due to the snow storm going through the mountains.

I took this picture of a flag, to show how strong the wind was blowing!!!

Then about 1pm we rolled into Oregon!!!! The Welcome to Oregon sign was at the end of a bridge, and so we did not feel safe getting out at that location to take a picture....so we stopped at the first rest stop to see what we could find.

While we were at the rest stop we realized that the route that we had taken so far was the actual Oregon Trail route. It was really awesome....I remember playing the Oregon Trail game in Computer Lab when I was in Elementary school. I loved it!!!

Oregon was a really GREEN state as well, and the difference in the mountains was that they seems to be rounded, rolling type mountains. They were still REALLY HUGE, but they seemed to flow and have more rounded curves than the other mountains we had seen so far!!

It was so CRAZY...the wind was blowing really hard, and so there were all these tumble weeds blowing across the road. I had never driven through a tumble weed storm before, but we had these storms from Oregon until Washington!! So of course I had to take a picture....lol!!!

This was kind of scary....we were just driving along through the mountains, and then all of a sudden there is a train coming out you head on! It was really cool to see the trains going through the snow and mountains just like we were!!! Reminded me of my Papa!!!

I thought this was a cool picture to see the clouds shadows on the mountains!!!

Oh know is that the snow storm in the mountains we are heading for???

Yup it is...now we are driving in the snow. Not to bad....we had done it before a time or two, and so as long as there was no ice on the road, we were going to keep trucking!!! The visibility was so low that you can faintly see the mountains in the horizon!

So we were driving along, and then I see all these truckers pulled over on the freeway, and they have CHAINS on there tires. So I called Scott, and asked him why they would have chains on their tires if the road is clear. And I suggested that we exit and see what was going on, because I was NOT going to get stuck on the top of a mountain again with ice and snow. So like a good hubby, we pulled over and asked around at the gas stations and found out that the mountain pass a few miles ahead had been shut down all morning, due to ice and heavy snow, and there had been about 16 car accidents on the pass. The guy at the gas station said that the only problem really with the mountain pass was that the last 6 miles out of the mountain was all down hill, and so the ice was causing a BIG problem and people were losing control and sliding off the road!!! OH NO!!!! That is all I needed to hear, I am not going through that...we will just wait and sit it out!!! The road had just been opened back up, but they were demanding chains on truckers and anyone towing, well Scott was towing the trailer, and we did not have chains (not that if we did have chains my bottom was going through that storm, oh no!!!). So we decided to hang out a while in La Grande, OR and see how things progressed.

So we went to Pizza Hut, and had some lunch...we were pretty hungry!!!

Then after lunch Scott wanted to go to the police station and see if we could get a current road report, but no one was there! Darn!

Scott was thirsty!!!

And I just wanted my picture taken in the snow..lol!

So then we decided to go to Starbucks and use there wireless access so that Scott could check the weather and road reports and try to make a decision on whether we were going to stay the night and wait or if it was clear to go ahead and go!!! So I read book while he was researching!

This is what it looked like outside while we were waiting....I have never seen it snow this much before!!!

Scott could not find much out on the internet in regards to the roads and stuff, so we went back to our gas station to wait and call the 1-800 number that they had given us that give road reports. While we were waiting there was a motor home getting gas at the gas station, and so Scott said that he was going to go and talk to him and see which way he just came from. What a coincidence, he had just driven through the mountain pass, and said that the roads were all clear and that there was no ice, and it really wasn't snowing all that bad; we called the 1-800 number and they had taken the chains restriction off, and said it was clear. So we decide that we were going to go ahead and get on the road!!! AAAHHHHHH!!!! I was freaking out!! I was so nervous, anxious, scared, etc. about what we were about to do, but I had done much worse before, and so I tried to suck it up and go!!! I was hanging on to the steering wheel with a death grip, and I was praying, and praying, and praying X500, that the roads would be clear, and there would not be ice, and that we woudl both make it safely to the other side of the mountains!!! PLEASE JESUS!!! PROTECT US!!!

When we got about 2 miles into the mountain pass, the LORD answered my prayers, all the sudden you could see the sun shining through the trees, and it was melting the snow and ice that was on the roads! Praise you Jesus, you are an awesome God and answer prayer without a doubt!!! Thank you Jesus!!! SO my prayer from then on was; thank you Jesus for the sun, and please let it stay out till we get through the pass!!!

This was the crazy part. When we got to the down hill part, the last 6 miles, this is what we saw coming down, and there was NO snow at all!!! How weird is that....it doesn't even look like anything like what we were just driving through....it was CRAZY!!! But beautiful!!! The last six miles was very stresssful, it was all down hill, and there were several out of control ramps for the big trucks (and we could tell they had been USED a LOT!! SCARY!!), and we were winding and curving through the moutains!!! I was so ready to be on flat ground again. I really wanted to get out and kiss the flat road when we got through it...lol!!! Praise you Jesus, we made it to the other side safely!!!

I have to take a few minutes or lines and brag about my wonderful husband for a minute. He was the most supportive and encouraging man through the whole trip!!! He knows that I am a worry wart, and that I do NOT like storms or bad weather; and through the whole thing he would tell me how proud he is of me, and what a great job I was doing!!! It was awesome. What another wonderful blessing from God, by wonderful husband!!! Thank you Jesus, I could not have done it without you or him! Your the best babe! Love ya!!

Once we got through the mountain pass, it was not long before we saw the first road sign to exit for our destination: Kennewick, Washington!! WOOHOO, we are almost there!!!

Through out our trip we had seen a lot of the field sprinkler systems, and I kept telling Scott that I wanted to see one actually watering, because I have never seen one before, and right before we got to Washington we saw one!!! Had to take a picture!!!LOL!!!

There it is...the bridge that divides Oregon from Washington.....the border between the states is the river!!!

So therefore, the Welcome to Washington sign was in the middle of the bridge, and so we did not get to stop and take a picture in front of it, so I took one as we drove by!!!

Here we are coming over the mountain where we can see our Extened Vacation Destination!!! YEAH!! Almost there!!!

Kennewick, WA

That is the bridge that goes over the river from Kennewick to Pasco!

Yeah, we were finally here!!!! And our back, bottoms, hands, heck our whole bodies were screaming in excitement to get out of the car!!! It was funny though Scott had prepared so much on getting us to Kennewick, that he forgot to get a map for us once we got there to get to our townhouse. So we took a tour of the Tri Cities, until he figured out where he was and remembered how to get there....lol!!! It was a great time to look at the area though!!! It is gorgeous and awesome weather!!! It is going to be a great 8 months! Next I will blog about the town and our townhouse!!! See ya soon! Oh, thank you all so much for your prayers and support, we could not have done it with out yall. It was all greatly needed and appreciated! We love and miss you all already!!!

Day 3 - Rawlins, WY to Boise, Idaho

2009-04-22T12:02:00.050-05:00

Good Morning....wow that was a rough night! Not much sleep at all. The hotel that we stayed at was horrible! We got a non-smoking room, but the whole second floor reaked of SMOKE!!! But we were too tired and exhausted to do anything about it. So our allergies acted up really bad and we did not sleep well at all. So the next morning I was really upset that we paid that kind of money for a non-smoking room and it was not; so I told Scott that I was going to go complain to management about it.(those of you that know me......I very RARELY do this.....but i was mad). So I went and talked to the manager, and he said you know when I came in last night I realized that the hotel did reak of smoke....I will let my boss know, and we are sorry! I told him that you can't claim that you have a non-smoking room if it smells like smoke, because that is not what I paid for, and he said I am sorry, we will take care of it. I was so mad that I just walked out....I told Scott what he said, and so now he was mad and went in to talk to him. He told him that you have a card in our room that said if we were not happy for any reason you would make any accommodations to make the situation right, and all you can say is sorry, you won't even credit our bill. The guy told him that your wife did not ask for a credit...........oh I was steaming now.......I told him that I should not have to ask for a credit, you have an unhappy customer and you should show some hospitality and make the situation right. I was SOOOO MAD!!!! Scott looked at me and told me that we were not in Texas any more and so there was no such thing as hospitality.....lol. God Bless Texas!!! I miss it already!!! Needless to say we got a LITTLE credit,and we left.....I didn't even want to eat at their continental breakfast I was so mad! So we went across the street and filled up with gas, and got some breakfast at McDonald's! Then we were on our way out of Wyoming!!!

It was crazy.....you would be driving along in the mountains......nothing around for miles and miles......and then all of a sudden you would see these HUGE plants out in the middle of nowhere!!!

Then we got REALLY close to the windmills on the side of the road!!! They are HUGE!!!

Welcome to Utah!!!! We entered Utah about 11am and where anticipating driving through the Rocky Mountains!!! We knew that it would be a better trip through the mountains than when we went through Wyoming, because it was a beautiful day, no rain, snow, etc., and so we were looking forward to getting to see some awesome country!!! Of Course....there was still some HEAVY winds!!! Here are some pictures of our journey through the Rocky Mountains! One of the things I liked the most about Utah is that it was amazing how green the mountains were, and there was a LOT of the red clay rock mountains.....how does anything grow on rock mountains! AMAZING!!!!

This is a picture of the Devil's Slide...it was very interesting...when the snow melts it becomes a waterfall down the side of the mountain!!!

This is a picture of the Rockies behind....we drove through that!!!! Once we got through the mountains we were hungry, and so we stopped in Ogden, UT and ate lunch at Chili's!!! YUMMY!!! This little town was so BEAUTIFUL, as you can see it was really close to the mountains, and they had this view from everywhere in there town. Can you imagine! It was breathe taking! Everywhere you looked there were HUGE beautiful mountains with snow on them!!!

The following pictures are of us leaving Ogden, UT and headed to Idaho!!!

Then about 5pm we arrived in Idaho!!! Welcome to Idaho!!! Idaho was very green and had very uniquely shaped mountains! Very different from Wyoming and Utah!!! It was breathe taking in it's own way!!! Here are some pictures on the way to Boise, our destination for the day!!!

It was so neat that you could see for miles and miles, and then you would see this circle of tree's and then you would see a house right in the middle of the trees. Because it was SOOOO windy on the crop fields the surrounded their houses with really tall trees to help block the wind some!!!

These were the trees that they used to block the wind. They were REALLY cool...so tall and skinny!!!

Then we came up on tree farm that grew those tall trees! It was really cool looking!!!

There were also LOTS of cows in Idaho, and so I had to take some pictures for Riley, because she LOVES Moo's!!!

About 5:30 we arrrived in Boise, Idaho!! YEAH!!! I was so ready to get out of the car.....my bottom was numb, my back hurt, and my hands were sore!!! We decided that since we had been ahead of schedule and cut a day out of trip that we would splurge and stay at a nicer hotel then we had been, and so we decided to stay at the FairField of Marriott, and as it turned out it was cheaper than any of the hotels we had stayed at prior on our trip....lol....we got a good laugh...which was needed!!!

So we checked in and then we decided that we wanted to go to a local popular restaurant for dinner. So we asked around and decided to go to the Stage Coach Inn!!! It has been around since the 50's, and they are famous for their fried Prawns. Well if you are like us......we did not know what the heck prawns were...anybody? They are fried shrimp, but HUGE fried shrimp, about twice as big as Jumbo shrimp in Texas!!!! And they were YUMMY!!!

Dinner was YUMMY, but I was soooo ready to get back to the hotel and go to bed. After not sleeping well the night before, and driving for three days, i just wanted to go to sleep. So that is what we did....Good Night!!!

Day 2 - Kansas to Wyoming

2009-04-14T15:30:00.043-05:00

Had a GREAT night sleep, and got up ready for another day on the road. When we looked out side.....this is what we saw:

Therefore, we decided to check the weather and see whether we should stay put or continue on our journey. It did not look good!!! There was a HUGE snow storm headed or way coming through Denver. CO which was our next destination (turned out to be the biggest storm they have had all year). So therefore.....change of plans......Scott and his dad talked and figured out that we could go further North and hopefully go around the storm. Good idea...so on the road we go!!! So about 9:30 am we left and headed due North to Nebraska!!! I had never driven in snow before...so I was a little nervous driving this morning....it was snowing, and the wind was blowing, so it was blowing the snow across the road as well....pretty nerve racking!!

It was a very stressful hour and a half, but when we got close to the border it was pretty good weather again. It was crazy!

Welcome to Nebraska!!!

As you can see...it was VERY windy and COLD!!!! It was amazing to see what was different in each of the states...so, what I noticed that was different about Nebraska is that it was a lot more green!!! You could see for miles and miles and there was more green vegetation everywhere!!! It was beautiful!!! There was also LOTS of cows in Nebraska!!!

We stopped for lunch in North Platte, Nebraska, and we ate at Taco Johns.....which is another place that Scott use to eat at back in his hometown....he did a lot of walking down memory lane this trip!!!Then across the highway was the Fort Cody Museum, and so we decided to stop and walk around and learn a little more about Buffalo Bill himself!!!

After we left the museum then we got back on the road....then suddenly we saw ever man's dream(well at least it was Scott's):

CABELA'S WORLD HEADQUARTERS!!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen we missed the exit, and so we had to go several miles down to the next exit and turn around...we had never been to a Cabela's before. It was really awesome!!!

After we spent a WHILE at Cabela's we decided it was time to get on the road for a WHILE, because we were running out of day light! It seemed like we were in Nebraska FOREVER!!! Since the day before we had already been through 3 states, and today we were in the same one ALL day....I was ready for another state!!! About 3/4 of the way through Nebraska we entered Mountain Time and so we gained an hour...Woohoo!!! We needed it after all the fooling around we had done earlier that day! Then about 5pm we entered Wyoming!!!

Wyoming was absolutely BREATHE TAKING!!!!
It was so gorgeous. This is the point when we started seeing all the breathe taking mountains and snow! Wow!! God created some beautiful, breathe taking country. Praise Jesus!!! Wyoming had a LOT of green land and vegetation, lots of snow, lots of mountains, and also some flat lands in between. It was amazing how you would look around and it would be flat as a pancake, and then all of a sudden there was this HUGE breathe taking mountain covered in snow. This is when I really started taking pictures....there was just so many beautiful things. Although I will not be able to share them all with you...I picked my favorites!

We stopped in Cheyenne, WY for dinner and ate at Perkins. It was really good. After we finished dinner, there was still daylight, and so we decided to keep on driving because there was another snow storm on the horizon headed our away.....so again we wanted to get as far as we good in case we got stuck somewhere. Storm Chasing #2, and for those of you that know me well I do not handle storms well at ALL!!! I am being a trooper!!!

I loved seeing all of the Christmas trees all over the place...it was beautiful!!!

This was when we stopped for gas, because there was not another town for about 100 miles and we wanted to make sure we had full tanks. The snow was very thick!!! Little did we know that the storm was upon us, and the cashiers that worked at the gas station had already gone home to bunker in for the snow storm....oh but not us....we kept on going!!!

Then the wind started to blow and the snow started to fall....but it was on and off, so we can handle that...no ice on the roads....we are golden!!!

This was the beautiful sunset that we saw as we were driving into the mountains! Breath taking!!! Well see those mountains back there...well little did we know that was our destination, and it was NOT pretty. The sun went down by the time we got to the mountains, and then here came the snow, wind and ice. We were winding left and right, and up and down through the mountains. As we got closer and closer there we signs flashing changing the speed limits lower and lower... the signs got as low as 45 miles and hour, but we did not drive over 25 and sometimes as slow as 10 or 15. Scott suddenly got nervous, he realized that the only reason they would slow everyone down was because there was ice on the road, and a snow blizzard raring through the mountains! Well, he was right!!! It was the worst night of our trip!!! We drove for 2 hours in the ice, snow, and wind. The semi trucks were all lined up in a row and we were all trucking all like a train. There was no way to turn around, and so we were in it for the long haul!! Sometimes the visibility was so bad that I could not see the lines on the road, and so as long as I stayed behind Scott I figured I was ok. It was so Scary!!!! I saw the good old Uhaul trailer slipping and sliding all of the road in front of me.....freaking out that Scott was losing control, and where was I going to go, how would I prevent from hitting him, is he going to slip off the side of the mountain, and oh my gosh I am fixing to hit the same patch of ice. Let me just say I have not prayed so much in my life, and my hands were so tightly gripped on the steering wheel that when we got to the other side of the mountain.....I had to pry them off one finger at a time. We saw many cars that had slid off the road and were stuck in ditches. Once we got to the other side I had a big crying sessions to relieve all the anxiety, stress, tensions, and emotions that I had held in through our journey through the mountains. After that I felt MUCH better but was ready to get to sleep!!! It was a CRAZY night, but the Lord led us through it,and we reach our destination safely at 11pm in Rawlins, WY and was more than ready to hit the sack and call it a day!!! Thank you Jesus, and thank you for all that prayed and supported us through this trip!!! Good Night!!!

Day 1 - From Conroe, Texas to Hays, Kansas

2009-04-13T14:53:00.010-05:00

Thursday morning we met my family at Cracker Barrel for breakfast before we started our Journey. It was really hard saying 'see ya later' to our families....really hard!!! After breakfast about 8am we headed on the road!!! At about noon we made it into Oklahoma!!!

About an hour later we stopped in Adamore, OK to have lunch! Of course we had to eat at BRAUM'S (one of Scott's favorite and memorable restaurants from his childhood!!). But you are not going to believe this...they are known for there ice cream, and we did not get any, because it was SOOO cold outside. Bummer!!!

On the road again.....sorry I did not take many pictures of Oklahoma...not much to take pictures of, and not that much different than Texas. But I did take a picture of the view that I had for whole trip...the beautiful Uhaul trailer.....isn't it beautiful!!!

Then we arrived in Kansas....and it was REALLY cold....it was in the 50's and VERY WINDY!!! And we were still dressed in Texas weather clothes!!!

Kansas was absolutely beautiful!!! It had a beautiful gold color that you saw everywhere you look...and just flat plains everywhere.....it just seemed like you could just look to the ends of the Earth!! Breath taking!!! My favorite thing in Kansas was these beautiful trees that were covered in purple blooms. They was no green on them at all...just purple (and as you know that is my favorite color)!

Our goal for the day was to make it to Wichita, Kansas, but by the time we got there we had a lot of the day left, and we wanted to go as far as we could the first day so that we did not have to drive as much as the first day!!! So we passed through Wichita and went on to Salinas, Kansas and stopped for dinner at Logan's Roadhouse, it was delicious!! While at dinner we were talking about whether we should keep driving or whether we should stay there for the night. Scott's dad had been looking at the weather reports for us and keeping us updated. He had told us that there was a big snow storm heading our way, so we decided that we would go as far as we could, so that maybe we would get close to the storm and then it would pass us and then we could get on the road. Yes you heard me right...we were storm chasing...hehehe!!! It was kind of scary because sometimes we drove through some snow patches! Finally we arrived in Hays, Kansas around 10pm and decided to stayed at the Best Western!!! Good night!!!

Extended Vacation

2009-04-13T14:49:00.002-05:00

For those of you that do not know, we have moved to Washington State for about 8 months while Scott finishes up a project up here for his company. I promised that when I got up here that I would put up pictures and tell you about our journey up here. It was definatly an expereince, and one that I will not forget! Scott and I left on Thursday morning to drive to Washington, and then Riley and my mom flew up on Tuesday. So here is our day to day journey to Washington!!! Hope you enjoy.

Ri ~ Ri's 1st Birthday

2008-12-30T21:38:00.008-06:00

Ok, I know that you all have been patiently waiting for a long time for these pictures, and you have probably given up on me, but as you all know around the holidays things are just CRAZY!!!! Then on top of that we add in Ri~Ri's first birthday party! Happy Birthday to my precious baby girl! I can not believe that it has already been a year. Ri~Ri is absolutely blessed by all her friends and family that came to celebrate her big day, and boy was she spoiled rotten!!! Time flies when you having fun!!! Here are some pictures of her birthday party!!!

Here is the birthday girl!!! The BIG 1!!!!

Here she is ripping into her presents!!!

My dainty eater trying to figure out how to eat her cake!!!

What the heck...shove it in by the fist full!!!

Playing with her friends and cousins in the ball pit!!! Fun!! Fun!!!

Pulling Up

2008-11-11T23:02:00.005-06:00

WOOHOO!!! We have reached another mile stone! Although we may not be crawling or walking yet.....Riley has learned to pull herself up on things. We had her sippy cup up on the coffee table, and she pulled herself up to the table so that she could get it. She did it several times, and after about the third time her muscles were just mush, and she cried because she did not have the strength to pull helself up again!! She got a good workout!!!

Sanders Deer Processing

2008-11-11T22:52:00.009-06:00

Scott went hunting during opening gun season which was the first weekend in November, and he got a deer!!! WOOHOO!!! His grandparents have been asking him to get them a deer so that they could have the meat, and so their request was granted. They came down the Monday after Scott got back to help him process the deer right in our very own back yard!! YEEHAW!! While they processed the deer, Riley and I enjoyed playing out side and swinging in her new swing! We really enjoyed the visit although it was short!!!

Halloween 2008

2008-11-11T22:19:00.014-06:00

Ok, I know that I am way behind, but I promise that I will get better at adding updates. So here goes....On October 31, 2008 Riley experienced her first Halloween!!! During the day Riley and I carved a pumpkin! She did NOT like sticking her hands inside the pumpkin, but she liked playing with all the slimy stuff in the bowl, she even tried to taste it a couple of times. We had a great time starting a tradition together!!! Then that evening Nana, Pappy, Aunt Angela, Uncle Allen, and baby Allen came down for some dinner and fun times at the Fall Festival!! WOOHOO!! We had Crispy Salsa Chicken, with rice and veggies for dinner, and then I made a spice pumpkin cake!! It was DELICIOUS!!! After dinner we were getting the kids dressed to go to fall festival (Riley - Minnie Mouse and Allen - Mickey Mouse) but baby Allen had had enough and fell asleep, and so they called it a night...poor baby!! It is a rough life!! LOL!!! Anyways, we got Riley ready and then our neighbors and Riley's buddy came over, Jayda, and we got some cute pictures of them together. Then we headed off to the Fall Festival at our church, and let me tell you Riley had a good time!! She bowled, bobbing for ducks, toured the fire truck, and bounced in the bounce house (her absolute FAVORITE thing to do!!!)! Then Nana and Pappy headed home, daddy headed to the deer lease to go hunting, and Riley and I came home and went to bed. What a fun filled evening!!

Riley and the pumpkin...soon to be jack-o-lantern!!

Riley playing in the slimy stuff!!!

Riley helping mommy carve the pumpkin!!

Tada...the finished product!!!

The yummy spice pumpkin cake I made for dessert!!!

Minnie Mouse and the Longhorn Cheerleader!!

Nana, Pappy & Riley

The Family!!!

Bobbing for ducks!

Bowling with Daddy!

Bouncing in the Bounce House with Mommy!! WOOHOO!!!

Nibblin on a little mouse treat!!!

I LOVED the lights on the Fire truck!!!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-29T11:18:00.010-05:00

Yesterday, the family went down the street to the Pumpkin Patch that was being held at a church, and we took a lot more PRECIOUS pictures, and then we picked out a bigger pumpkin for the front porch!! Riley was having the BEST time she was just hamming it up the whole time. She was smiling so big that her little chubby cheeks squeezed her eyes closed....it was so funny!!! She was having such a good time that she started crying when we were leaving, because she wanted to stay!! Here are some pictures we took!!

Going to the Pumpkin Patch.......just follow the arrow!!!

This is one of my favorites....She is so excited about the piece of hay that she found....not that she is sitting on a big stack of it!!! LOL!!!

The whole family at the pumpkin patch!!

This is my FAVORITE picture of Scott and Riley...I told you she was hamming it up!!!

Mommy and Riley.....I guess daddy is not a goofy behind the camera...lol!!!

Can I eat this???

Riley and the Scarecrow!!!

Dewberry Farm

2008-10-29T10:46:00.012-05:00

Well there has been an awful lot going on around here, and not much time for getting our blog updated in a timely manner, but here goes. I have quite a few posts to make and so here is the first one! On Sunday we went to Dewberry Farm in Brookshire, Texas! We went with our neighbors the Paschals and there little girl, Riley's best friend Jayda, and Jayda's granparents went with us as well! This place was sooooo much fun! Here are just a few things that we participated in while we were there.......picking a pumpkin in the pumpkin patch, hay rides, corn maze, corn tractor ride, petting zoo, puppet show, pig races, and much , much more!!!!! It may have been a little more fun if Riley could walk and she could explore a little more, but she had a GREAT time, and of course, we got lots of GREAT pictures, so here they are!!

All of us on the Hayride, going to pick our pumpkin in the pumpkin patch!

Riley sitting on a pile of pumpkins in the pumpkin patch.

Riley and Jayda...trying to get them to look at the same time was impossible! LOL!

They are on the search for the perfect baby pumpkin to pick!

We picked the PERFECT PUMPKIN!!!!

Riley is a field of orange flowers!!!

Riley and Daddy going down the slide. WHEEEE!!!!

Mommy and Riley going on the Corn Tractor Ride!!! Riley had so much fun that she went a second time with daddy!!!

Doesn't it look like I had a great time!!!

Psalm 23

2008-10-27T15:00:00.003-05:00

A Psalm of David

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

This is the inspiration of starting this blog is to share with my friends and family what the Lord is doing in our lives and share our memories and pictures with you. May you enjoy walking through this journey with us!