Happy Father's Day

Happy Fathers' Day to our wonderful Dads and of course, the world's best Daddy :-)

G's best present this year was finding out that our little Guppy is another BLUE fish!!!

Let's just say that the little guy takes after his big brother and was not shy at all ;-)

10 years ago today . . .

I was spending the morning with some very lovely ladies 

as I anxiously awaited the moment when I could walk down the aisle to marry this handsome man

Just a few short hours later, my dream came true

Now, here I am 10 years later, anxiously awaiting the return of my one true love and best friend

as he is currently in Arizona on business but due home this evening ;-)

The past 10 years have been an amazing journey, that, although not always easy or fun, has always been one worth taking and I cannot wait to see what the future journey holds for us.

I love you more now than I could have ever imagined Garrett!!!

Hot Rods

Last night, when we got home from running some errands, we found a new car in our garage!

As you can see, Alli and Eli were quite impressed with their new, cherry red Mustang. 

 Ducky Gramma and Papa love to hit the casinos and thanks to all their points, we have two fancy cars!

Needless to the say, the kiddos LOVE them both and did a great job taking turns in the driver's seat.

For more pictures of them playing in their cars, check out here.

Our trip to Cannon Beach

As we mentioned in a previous post, we decided to celebrate our 10 year anniversary a weekend early and drove down to the Oregon Coast at the recommendation of our friends. WOW! They could not have recommended any place better than The Stephanie Inn in Cannon Beach. It was absolutely amazing!

The above pictures are the backside of The Stephanie Inn (taken from the beach) and G enjoying the fabulous view of the beach and Haystack Rock from our patio.  It was so relaxing and peaceful!

We arrived Saturday afternoon and immediately went to the beach.  It was such a sunny day.

A bit chilly but the clear blue sky and sunshine more than made up for it! 

We checked into our room and found a lovely anniversary present waiting for us . . .

They knew we are expecting as I had to book the prenatal massage ~ how sweet is that????

Once settled, our massage therapists came to our room to get us for our massages ~ they were Heavenly!

We were so relaxed.  After getting cleaned up, we enjoyed the complimentary wine (I had sparkling cider!) and appetizers in the library/game room before heading back to the beach where my crazy hubby decided he had to go for a swim ~ BRRRRRRR!  I was content to stay on the beach and take pictures ;-)

 We had dinner at the dining room in the Inn that evening and the food was so yummy.

As with everything else, the service was above and beyond.  On our dessert plate, they had written Happy Anniversary in chocolate ~ we loved all of the personal touches!

After dinner, we enjoyed the complimentary night caps (more sparkling cider for me!) and chatted with a lovely couple from Bellevue (the husband works for Merrill Lynch so we had lots to chat about).

That night, we watched a great movie Social Network about Facebook.  Okay, so I fell asleep halfway through it but G was willing to watch the second half with me again in the morning ~ such a great hubby!

After enjoying the incredibly yummy, complimentary breakfast, we spent more time on the beach.

 Once again, my handsome and somewhat crazy hubby decided to go for a swim while I took pictures.

While we were there, we decided to try and get a couple "belly shots" of our little Guppy.  Sorry to disappoint but I still don't have much of a belly ~ oh well!  Gotta love the background though ;-)

It was hard to leave as we had such a wonderful time together there, so much so that we decided to return for my birthday weekend and already booked the exact same room!  The kiddos were happy to see us though when we returned and as much fun as we had, home is always great too!

It was just so nice to spend the time together reflecting over the past 10 years of marriage.

Celebrating 10 Years of Marriage

So our anniversary isn't actually until June 16th, but G and I decided to celebrate this weekend by going to the Stephanie Inn in Cannon Beach, OR.

What an AMAZING weekend we had!!!

We drove down Saturday morning, enjoyed walking around downtown and having lunch at a local brewhouse before checking into our hotel, which was the BEST we have ever experienced.  We thoroughly enjoyed our massages that afternoon, relaxed by the ocean and had a fabulous dinner.

We could not have asked for a better weekend.  We loved it so much that we decided to return in September to celebrate my birthday.  Such great service that made for the perfect romantic weekend!

Pictures & Posts

We've posted quite a few updates since Memorial Weekend, scroll down to see them. 

We also added lots more pictures to our June album if you're interested!

A Perfect Beach Weekend

Since it was such a beautiful weekend, we took full advantage by spending out on Treasure Island.

G had to work Saturday morning so the kids and I entertained ourselves by decorating cake pops (I attempted to get very creative!), going to our neighbor's garage sale (where I scored big time with a swing, playmat and tub for $50!), hitting up Costco and playing with the Lynch girls. 
G got home a little after 1 and we headed straight to the beach.

What a fun day!

We were so excited to go on the first boat ride of the season but Eli was NOT a fan.

Garrett was driving faster than Eli liked so he got scared and wanted his Daddy (who was driving).  Eli tried to get on G's lap and managed to fall off, splitting his lip open causing blood to gush.  To be clear, Eli was FINE and as soon as he and I were on the beach, he asked to eat ~ silly boy.  After some blueberries, he wanted to go for a bike ride.  Since everyone else was still on the boat, I took Eli on a ride to Uncle Wes and Aunt Bev's house, where he had fun exploring.  We got back to the beach house in time for dinner, followed by some scrumptious (Alli's word that day!) cake pops.  Like I said, I tried to get creative with the red, white and blue but I definitely need more practice.  Still, they tasted quite yummy and were a hit! 

 Eli didn't get a nap, making him a bit cranky and not at all interested in dinner so he explored, still wearing his helmet, which he refused to take off ~ yep, he loves it that much!

After we finished dinner, we gave Eli a "bath" in the kitchen sink and put him down for bed.  He was mad for about a minute and then zonked.  We weren't sure how it was going to go staying the night out there but got a mattress for the pack-n-play so we were hopeful.  Unfortunately, he woke up when we put Alli to bed but laid right back down when we told him "sissy" was there to sleep too.  Alli sat up and smiled at him and he laid right back down and went to sleep.  He woke up a couple times, but would see her and go right back to sleep.  Alli slept like a log!  Eli decided at 5 a.m. he would rather sleep with Mommy so I enjoyed the snuggles!  When he got up at 7:15, he gave me the biggest, toothy grin ~ LOVED THAT!

As soon as he heard Alli up though, he ditched me for "sissy."

Sunday morning was beautiful and after breakfast, it was back outside to enjoy!

Alli was so excited to still be at the beach, and much like her Mommy & Daddy, she loved looking out at the calm water that looked like glass.

Eli couldn't quite decide if he was awake enough to play.  He's not allowed to bring his blankie outside, so he spent a lot of time standing by the door snuggling it ~ too cute!

We finally convinced our dear friends and neighbors, the Lynch family, to join as at the beach for the day and Alli could not wait for her friends to arrive.  She patiently played with her toys and tossed the frisbee while waiting, all the while asking, when it would be 11 ;-) 

When they arrived, the girls got in their swimsuits and went to the beach.  It was a bit cold for swimming but Garrett and Joe took the big kids for a boat ride, Sarah and I stayed behind with Abigail and Eli and got lunch (hot dogs, sausages and hamburgers) started.  The kids enjoyed eating the cake pops after lunch.

Eli thought Emerson had the right idea chillin' on the raft with the cake pop :-)

After eating, we took them on a walk around the island.  Eli rode his bike the whole way!  Okay, so I pushed his bike the whole way but he stayed on it so that's something.

We had s'mores when we returned from the walk, then Alli decided to show everyone how to dig for clams!

Eli wasn't interested in going back down to the beach (he was tired but wouldn't admit it!) so we watched.

We had 6 tired (and somewhat cranky) kiddos by that point so we cleaned up and headed home.

Alli did not fall asleep but Eli finally gave into sleep about 10 minutes before we got home and didn't wake up when G got him out of the car so he put him on the couch to rest ~ I couldn't resist taking his picture.

How cute is he???

He was TICKED OFF when he was awoken by rolling off the couch ~ not hurt but very MAD!

We had to try very hard not to chuckle :-)

Another perfect weekend at the beach and we are looking forward to many more this summer.

Lots more pictures in our June album if you're interested.

Friday Family Fun Night, Outdoors

Today was a beautiful, warm, sunny day.  What better way to spend the afternoon and evening than running around in the backyard and playing with the water table.  Add dinner on the patio and we had the perfect Friday Family Fun Night!!!

Eli was digging his new flip flops and loved having the freedom

to run and explore the backyard while enjoying dinner.

Alli taught Eli the fun game of chase and the two spent much time running and falling on the grass while giggling and squealing.  Whatever "sissy" did, Eli had to do ;-)

Another perfect Friday Family Fun Night!
We are looking forward to lots more outside editions this summer.

It's Official, Nikki Can Practice Law in WA

This afternoon, the whole family headed over to the Pierce County Courthouse,

where I and 13 others were sworn in to the Washington Bar.

It was very different from my first swearing-in but the same type of speeches were made . . .

Congratulations!  You're a lawyer now!  What a noble profession, how proud you must be, etc.

Certainly kind words and mostly true but it felt different

as I have been a practicing attorney for nearly 7 years already ;-)

I was most entertained by Eli saying "Mama" when he saw me ~ too cute!

Both kiddos gave me big "congratulations" hugs after the ceremony

and I have to say both were incredibly well behaved!!!

 They were both a little confused though to see Mommy wearing a suit ;-)

Hopefully neither one gets any ideas of becoming an attorney!

Afterwards, the family went to the Ram for dinner, where both kids lost a balloon but handled it well.

 My mom was there too (of course!) but she was the wonderful photographer ;-)

So now that I'm officially able to practice in WA, I keep getting asked if I plan to switch to a WA law firm.

Let me be vey clear ~ NO!!!  I love my firm and have no plans to make the switch,

however, my firm has a number of cases pending in Seattle so this is helpful.

I just figured it was time to be licensed in the state in which I live ;-)

Alli's Last Day as a Teddy Bear

Today was Alli's last day as a Teddy Bear at Noah's Ark Preschool!

She had a great year and really came out of her shell.

She will miss Mrs. Weaver and her buddies but she is very excited for Summer Vacation ;-)

She has grown so much since the school year started last September.  Although initially nervous, it didn't take Alli long to be very comfortable in her class and she really enjoyed show and tell!

Look how cute she was on her first day!

Alli's last day was simply a class picnic where I got to go with her and meet her buddies.

She loved showing Mommy how she learned to do Hopscotch and climb the big toy outside this year.

She would have never done this at the beginning of the year!

How wonderful and amazing to see how much she has grown this year.

 Sadly, this was Alli's last year at Noah's Ark Preschool.  Due to schedules, we have decided to move her to Chapel Hill preschool next year where she and Eli will both go.  She is sad to be leaving Noah's Ark but really enjoyed Chapel Hill when we visited and she is very excited that she gets to carry a backpack (no more bucket) next year and that her baby brother is going too!

For now, it's time to enjoy a fun summer!