Doug Turns 38!

Q: How much better could it get for Doug than going to see the Mariner's with his kids on his birthday?

A: Going to see the Yankee's on his birthday with his kids.

Father's Day

Father's Day got off to a slow start after our late night out for our anniversary. However, we had a great day at Burfoot Park!

Our 10 Year Anniversary

Ten years is a big milestone for marriage and Doug and I wanted to do something a little different to celebrate it. Going somewhere overnight wasn't an option, so we had to come up with something we could do during the day or evening. About a week before our anniversary we were still pondering what to do. Then, some friends at Doug's work told him about a restaurant called the Herbfarm. All the food and wine is from the local area and they serve a nine course dinner with a different glass of wine for each meal. I was a little concerned when I discovered that the Herbfarm would be deciding what we would be eating since I haven't always been the most adventurous eater. Also, due to the amount of wine that would be served, the restaurant has a car service. We decided it would be advantageous to have someone drive us, so our driver picked us up and had us there in plenty of time to tour their wine cellar and go on the tour of their herb garden. While were talking to the owner of the restaurant in the wine cellar we saw a crate of Argyle wine. It always catches our attention and so we told him that my cousin owns the winery. He seemed very surprised and then said that him and his wife know Rollin very well. After the garden tour, which his wife actually gave, they sat us all down to eat and despite my initial reservations about the food it ended up being the most amazing culinary experience of mine and Doug's life. They served raw fish tail, slightly cooked tuna, along with caviar for the first course. Normally I wouldn't have even consider trying it, but I knew I would be experiencing true artistic talent so if they couldn't make it taste good, no one could. Also, the portions were so small that they weren't intimidating. What I quickly discovered as I took my first bite was that the flavors and seasoning were so amazing I not only tasted it, but I finished it. I don't know half of what I ate that night, but it didn't matter because all of it was beyond description. I never realized food could take on the dimension it did. Doug and I were opened up to a world we had never experienced before and what better time to do it than on our 10th anniversary!

Haag's Visit

We were so excited to have my sister's family come and visit us! We had an amazing weekend together. Our first day was spent in Seattle. We visited the Space Needle and took a cruise around Elliott Bay.

On Friday we drove to Olympic National Rainforest. Our hike wasn't quite as picturesque as we had hoped for but it was still fun. We also had a picnic lunch near a lake before the hike and everyone had a great time practicing their rock throwing skills. The weather ended up being warmer then anticipated which was great, except for the fact that we all wished we were wearing shorts.

The last full day they were here Doug took everyone to do a sim in the C-17. They had a great time and Faith and I had fun hanging out at the house with the kids. That night we took advantage of the teenagers/adults in the house and Doug and I went to a movie with Faith and Scott! That was a treat for us!!

Audrey's Big Day

Two major events happen for Audrey on Wednesday. The first was getting her new furniture delivered. She was very excited to have a big girl bed and was more than ready for it. After discovering that she could climb in and out of her crib on Monday, her furniture couldn't get here fast enough. Unfortunately, the focus of her big day had an unexpected detour when she broke her arm that afternoon. After an ER visit to Madigan, they said nothing was wrong, but I wasn't convinced. However, as we always seem to do with the military doctors here, we played the waiting game. So, on Friday I took her to the McChord clinic. After a quick look the doctor was pretty sure it was broken. Pediatrics at McChord and Orthopedics at Madigan couldn't find where the brake was from the x-rays they took, but it was serious enough to put her in a cast which I was so thankful for. She had been miserable since it happen, but after she got over the trauma of having a cast she was a happy little girl again. However, we still had another child to help deal with what was going on. The injury happen when Jacob slid over her arm on the slide in our backyard. She was standing on the ground and had her arm across the slide when Jacob decided to go over it. Needless to say it was a huge learning experience for him and great opportunity about asking for forgiveness.

Sparks Awards Night

Jacob did such an amazing job in Sparks this year. He was so motivated to complete his book that he finished it by Christmas. For the rest of the year he worked on his Extra Credit book and learned all the scripture versus in that book also. He recieved the highest award he

could have at Awards Night and I had very little to do with it. He was always so excited to go to AWANA and the best thing that came out of it was that he made a personal commitment to follow Jesus! It doesn't get any better than that!!

Ethan Started Swim Lessons

Ethan started swim lessons on Tuesday and loves it! I realized very quickly after we told him we signed him up that he believed he could already swim. He watched Jacob for half the year in his Homeschool PE class and was just waiting for his chance to get in the pool. Days before he started his class he was uncontainable with excitement. One night I found him still awake in bed and asked him what was going on and he said he couldn't wait until his swim class. Tuesday couldn't come quick enough for him. It was also difficult for him to understand that his class wasn't until Jacob's Homeschool PE class was over. I picked him and Audrey up in the childcare and he began taking his pants off right there. I told him it wasn't time for his swim class and he was confused as to when it was going to start. Finally, the time came for us to go into the locker room to get him changed. He was so excited he could have jumped out of his skin. Unfortunately, we were ready about 5 minutes early, so we had to stand and wait once we got to the pool. I could feel his anticipation building and it was killing me. I just wanted the class to start for his sake. Finally it was time for him to get in. He got in the water so fast I thought he was going to take off and go under because I was still pretty sure he thought he knew how to swim. Thankfully, he realized he wasn't allowed off the steps without the teacher. It was exciting to watch him in his class because he was having so much fun, but the funnest thing for him was jumping into the pool. Both Tuesday and today he tried to get in two jumps, but the teacher was only letting each kid have one jump. He took his disappointment in stride which was nice to see, but he was pretty upset when his class was over. Thirty minutes is not enough time for him. If I had known he wanted to take swim lessons this much I would have started him months ago. Audrey's also let me know that she is ready to get in, so I'll be signing her up next time too.

Potty Training Audrey

It's official. We started potty training Audrey last Thursday. So far it's going a little slower because our schedule is busier than it was when we potty trained the boys. Although, she surprised me last night at Ethan's Awards Night. Right in the middle of it she told me she had to go potty. I took her to the potty and her pull-up was still dry. Yeah!!

Ethan's Cubbies Award Night

Tonight we went to Ethan's Award Night for Cubbies. It was so much fun seeing him on stage. It took him a few minutes to find where we were sitting, but once he did he smiled and waved to us the whole time. Ethan did such an amazing job learning his scripture verses this year. Although part of his motivation was to earn patches for his vest. He would always look in the back of his book at the picture of a completed vest to see what he still needed to get. So, he was very excited tonight because he got 5 more patches and a little cubbie bear to add to his vest. Towards the end of the ceremony they brought in Cubbie Bear and Spark. The pre-K kids will be Sparkies next year so they wanted to introduce him to them. Afterwards, during the reception, Cubbie Bear and Sparkie walked around and Ethan couldn't wait to go up to them and say "hi". It was so much fun for Doug and I to see him so excited and happy. For a long time I thought he was our quiet, reserved child, but he loves being in the spotlight.

Audrey's 3rd Birthday

Audrey's Disney Princess Birthday Party was on Saturday. She turned 3 and talked about having a Princess Party for a few months. Doug and I decided to invite our friends from the squadron since we've been to all of their kids birthday parties but haven't had an opportunity to invite them to one of ours. We ended up with 15 kids and 10 adults. I knew I was behind on the planning for Audrey's party when I had to send out E-Invites. I also ran into another obstacle when I couldn't figure out exactly what I wanted to do for the party. Everything from the cake to the decorations was up in the air. I finally got some creative ideas on Wednesday, but Thursday was pretty much out. I spent the afternoon at Southcenter Mall before picking Doug up at the airport around 8 pm. So, Friday and Saturday was a mad dash to the finish line. As Doug and I were putting everything together for the party (i.e. making wands for the girls and swords, shields and tunics for the boys) I said to myself that this was either going to be a waste of time or a big hit. Thankfully, they were a big hit! Amazingly we pretty much got everything done, including the cake. I found a castle cake kit on Wednesday night and after reading the instructions when I got home I realized it was going to be pretty involved. I didn't finish the cake until 30 minutes before the party started. It seemed to be going well until I carried the cake out to the garage. One of the columns fell and icing and sprinkles were all over the floor. I had enough time to clean the floor before the doorbell rang. Unfortunately, the decorations were not completed the way I would have liked, but it was going to have to do and I just needed to move past it. Thankfully a quick repair to the column and it was back on the cake. I had to enlist the help of Dawn and Kim to help me with the goodie bags. After that the party went smoothly and it turned out great. I've tried really hard to have everything planned out with enough time to spare, but with Doug being gone and us getting back from Oklahoma the week before, I just couldn't do it all the way I'm use to.