Tuesday, July 7, 2015

April Wrap up

April was another busy month for us! Lots of fun things to do and the weather started warming up a little bit!

Family bingo night at the Parks and Rec. We didn't win any games but we did win a raffle prize. We won admission for the family to our favorite children's museum. We are pretty excited about that! We also won a book about Puyallup or local art or something, I don't really remember. We traded it with the family at our table that had won some little kid toys and games. Her kids were teenagers. :)
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We have been working hard on reading and writing with this guy. Trying to find a comfortable pencil grip for him. I am so amazed at his drive and desire to read and spell!!
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This girl is such a sneak! We often leave the pantry door open and she ALWAYS goes in there, climbs on the step stool and helps herself to snacks. Can't blame her for loving those snacks!
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We were able to attend the Spring fair in Puyallup. We sure do love that place. The 2 older kids were both tall enough to go on the huge Ferris wheel this year. I happily took them while Daniel stayed on the ground with the 2 littles!

Fair donut holes! Yumm.
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In this house we are all about Groupon and Amazon local. If we go somewhere fun or try out a new place to eat it's most likely because we got a deal from one of those places. One Saturday morning we ventured to Epic donuts. Not only were these things fancy but they were HUGE! I think Johnny picked the biggest one there! They were all pretty tasty and didn't disappoint.
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Opal is the worst teether. She takes it pretty hard and I feel so bad for her. Not only is she cranky but she also has the yuckiest diapers and she throws up! Not cool. So we have been doing lots of snuggling and lots of laundry around here!


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There is a trail not far from our house called the Orting Trail. It is pretty popular for walking/running and biking on. I like it because it is flat. It's the perfect place to take the family for a jog/bike ride. We tried to get out one day and ride bikes and it was all fun until I wanted to take a picture. Then people got cranky. I think we ended up going about 3 miles. Poor Daniel got to jog while pushing the two little ones in the heavy jogging stroller. One day I will buy a bike trailer to put them in and we can all ride!

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We added 2 new additions to our family in April! Meet Frank (the green one) and Lily (the blue one). We really want a dog but figure this is just not the right time for us and Daniel said absolutely no more cats so we settled on some birds. They are not as outgoing as I was hoping for. They actually freak out every time we go near their cage. But they are fun to look at and I do like the quiet chirping all day. They are not too loud which I am happy about. The only time it kind of bothers me is when (on a rare occasion) I am trying to take a nap. I need it to be quiet. :)
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We got Johnny's room all painted and moved him in! I need a few more decorations up then I can post the final pictures!!
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I love it when these 2 get a long and play nicely!
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 Another Groupon deal we purchased was a field trip to Auntie Anne's Pretzel. We got a little history lesson on where pretzels came from and how they are made. Then the kids got to try it out. They twisted and rolled the dough in to pretzels! After that they each got to eat one (made by an Auntie Anne's employee) and sip on lemonade. They had a blast!




My other kids were there too, I can't seem to find all the other pictures!!
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April Travels Part 2

Our second trip in April was to Chelan, WA. Daniel was going for a work conference so I decided I needed to tag a long! Our original plan was to go just us to since we didn't do anything big for our anniversary and we weren't going to Cancun for my friend's wedding. Opal had her own plans and just wasn't ready to let me go overnight. She still wasn't sleeping through the night consistently and we didn't want to leave her with anyone. 

We stayed at Campbell's Resort. We have stayed there a few times and I really like it. It is right on the water so every room has an awesome view and they have pools, hot tubs and a beach area! We got up early each day and we went to (a free) breakfast with Daniel. The conference gave them breakfast and lunch each day and a BBQ dinner one night! It was such an inexpensive trip for me to tag along! We did manage to sneak out to the hot tub (that was right outside our room) one night. Gotta love cell phones and their ability to turn in to baby moniters. :)

We were able to go out on a few walks while Daniel was busy and explore! She wasn't too sure about the samd!

She did love watching the ducks! We may or may not have fed them a few crackers. :)

This was the view one evening from our balcony! Such a relaxing place to be. I do like it better in the summer thought. For some reaosn I was thinking since we were going to Eastern Washington that it would be warm. Not the case in April. I didn't pack enough warm clothes for Opal and I. We were in sweatshirts and pants the whole time!

The second afternoon during their 'snack' break between speakers, they had a huge ice cream sundea bar! Daniel woke me up from my nap to bring me this! Soo yummy!

On our way in to Chelan I noticed a sign for a zipline. I really wanted to check it out when we left. Friday morning we checked out from the hotel and headed out. I called first to make sure the ziplines were open and luckily they were not busy and they had 2 guys working right then so we drove over to check it out! We were going to go 1 at a time becuase we had the baby but one of the employess mom happened to be there and she said she would watch her so we could both go! I was a little nervous because Opal doesn't do well with people and I didn't know this lady at all. I could see them the whole time we were out on the lines and Opal did great!

The zipline was built on a huge piece of land. The beginning of our 'tour' started at this rock ledge. You can see all the way down the river. It was so pretty! Then we continued higher up the hill until we reached the first zipline. There were 3 total. The first one was pretty easy, not too crazy. The second was a little longer/steeper. The third was the big one! It was about 120 feet up and they said you get going close to 60mph! I didn't get nervous until I stood up on the little platform and the wind was blowing. I was brave though and went off backwards! The tour guy told Daniel I got my money's worth by doing it that way! I wish I had gotten viedo of Daniel going down it!

It was a quick, fun trip! I am still looking forward to going somewhere with no kids!! Some day.


April Travels Part 1

We were able to go on 2 mini trips in April! Since Opal is still young, she got to join me in Vegas then she came with Daniel and I to Chelan, WA. Spoiled little girl!

Our first trip to Las Vegas was for my Grandpa Jack's memorial service. He was about 5 ft. even, a war veteran, pilot and speed boat racer. He once had a helipad at his house and was a gun lover. I'm glad I got to know him just a little bit over the past several years!

While I was there I was able to see family and friends and eat out a lot! Unfortunatly I did not get to take Opal swimming to enjoy the pool one last time before my parents sold their house! I was bummed about that!

Waiting at the airport! 


Have to get a picture at the piano at the Pedersen's!

She is not used to having warm wind blowing in her face all the time!

While I was in town I was able to go to one of my high school best friend's bridal shower! I was so happy I happened to be there that weekend. Of course, I would have loved to go to the wedding in Cancun but that didn't happen!

Opal and Garrisyn, cousins! We hung out with my sister and Garrisyn just about everyday that I was there. These 2 are so fun because they are so close in age. Wish we loved closer to cousins!

Shopping with the girls!







I'd never been to a military service before. It all sinks in and gets a little emotional when Taps starts playing. 

My mom and her siblings from left to right, youngest to oldest!

My siblings and I from youngest to oldest! It's always fun when we are all in town at the same time!!