Birthday Girl...

I know it's a little late, but we finally uploaded all our camera pictures to the computer, and this one is too cute! Kyla turned ONE on March 29th and is the sweetest baby girl I know. She is learning new things each day...time seems to slip away even faster lately! Happy Birthday Kyla Joelle...you are a gift!

Spring Time!

Is it seriously almost May? I can't believe how time has flown by...I can't say I am bothered by it though, in fact I almost appreciate it these days! This week went by so fast I didn't even realize it was Friday by Friday afternoon, and a second grader had to inform me...seriously?

Here are the updates for us:
-Ben is coaching track again this year and it's officially in full swing.
-Believe it or not, football is in the near future already! The schedule for Spring and Summer is hanging on our fridge and football camp is marked on the calendar.
-I have turned in my National Board "stuff" and taken the written exam...now we wait...until NOVEMBER! I'm glad it's done, and I think it will be good to have some time to process everything before I get my results.
-I am finishing up my masters this quarter, only taking one class at night. I'm feeling like I'm on the home stretch now, the end is in sight and the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter. I have one more major presentation in front of a board of professionals and that will be the cherry on top of this entire thing.

Despite our busy schedule we still find time for our sweet niece and nephew. Such sweet babies...I can't get enough of them! Kyla loves to say "Hi" and now pairs it with a precious little wave. She is changing daily. She is devoted, ambitious, determined, and a touch stubborn. :) Landen is officially registered for pre-school...could he really be starting school already? His daily growth as a little man, son and brother is astounding. He is caring, generous, thoughtful and kind-hearted. We love these kiddos to the moon and are so lucky to get to see them as often as we do.

We also find time to go in our new hot tub...although it's never often enough! This was our big treat...it's a part of our "date night in"...because let's face it, a trip to Costco can't be the "date" all on it's own, so now we can at least take a dip in the hot tub after we put groceries away!

We are SO looking forward to the summer. We are praying for a relaxing, uneventful summer with no hospital visits, no emergencies...pretty much nothing but sun on our faces, a great tan, and a drink in hand! Could we be so blessed?

Long lost blog...

Realizing I haven't blogged in...well...forever...I decided I would push myself over the hump. So here we are, February 1st! WHAT? I am not even going to try to go back through the last three months, let's just keep it short and say:
-Ben is 30!
-We had a great Turkey Day!
-Christmas was a blast with two sweet kiddos to spoil!
-New Years went by in a flash!
-Ben flew on a plane for the first time!
-We've been married for 6 years!!!
...and here we are, up to date! I'm not going to make excuses for not blogging, anyone who reads our blog knows how crazy life is these days. Tonight I actually had to go back to work after I was the last one to leave (not unusual) un-set the alarm because I forgot to turn off my lights in my classroom! Grr...I considered letting it go but then remembered I had left my laptop right by the window...the laptop containing ALL national board information, entry drafts etc. Needless to say, I ran home, got my key, went back, turned off the lights, moved the laptop and shut my blinds...and even managed to remember to reset the alarm!
Life is lovely and Ben and I are enjoying our evenings...now that I have a quarter "off" of night classes...I am only going to WWU one night a week, every other week...completely manageable! Weekends are packed full of national board fun, and Ben has been a trooper and is my official video recorder!
We are taking one day at a time at this house and enjoying all the blessings our Lord gives us on a daily basis. BLESSINGS to you and yours! XOXO Happy Love Month!

Beautiful Babies...

If there were ever any questions about who Kyla looks like...I hope these pictures help clear that up! (Kyla Joelle - 7 weeks, Landen Douglas - 8 months)

Happy Monday everyone!

Trick-or-Treat

Landen and Kyla were the cutest trick-or-treaters we saw tonight! Landen decided to be "Bruce the Shark" for the second year in a row...given this was his plan B when his mommy couldn't find an apple costume...what four year old wants to be an apple?

There's no candy for these cuties...it's a book every year! Kyla LOVED her book and was grabbing at the pictures like crazy!

This sweet baby cow is growing up WAY too fast!

Happy Halloween!

Fall is here!

We are welcoming the autumn season at our house, this is my FAVORITE time of year! I have all my fall decor out and there is a constant fall scent in the air (thank you Scentsy). Life is continuing to be busy around here, which we seem to be surviving so far. Ben has been keeping busy with subbing and coaching since September, and the Nooksack boys managed to take first in league, which means onto district! (and the football season continues!) I am about half way through my quarter of classes at WWU, and I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, it's still a REALLY small light, but none the less, it is there! Next quarter I'm not taking any classes at night...we are both excited for that. By not having to be gone one or two nights a week I can focus my time and energy on my National Board portfolio, which I have scheduled to be done with by the end of February! People keep asking me what I'll do with all my time when I am finished...and the truth is, I haven't had time to think about that...so when the time comes, I'll start brainstorming.

Today was Landen's birthday party! The good auntie would have had her camera in hand, but guess what? I forgot it, along with his birthday card! He didn't seem to mind however, because I did remember the present! (Hot Wheels track that sticks to the wall, he saw it on TV apparently, sorry Kate!) We had a nice relaxing time with friends and family and of course ate way too much food, and put together toys!

Kyla is growing like a little weed (do I say that every time I post?) she is already inching up on 7 months! She has two teeth on the bottom...I promise to get a picture of those little chompers soon. And believe it or not she is starting to get some hair! She is getting better at sitting up, and rolls over in a snap! She continues to be a mommy's girl, but is a little more generous with the smiles these days. She is such a precious baby...and is loved loved loved by our family!

My grandma is starting to make some serious progress! Before it felt like "really is this progress?" but now, she is walking (sometimes without a walker), talking much more (most of it makes sense), and is able to eat food! She is able to go on more outings now, but is ready for a nap when she gets back to the center...it is looking like she will be able to come home before the holidays!

Holidays!!!!??? Can you believe we are talking about them already? Tis the Season...hope you are enjoying the festive time of year!

Summer 2011

It has been a crazy summer I tell ya! I haven't done a lot of blogging these days because honestly it didn't seem like there was much to blog about in our life! Some of you have known what our summer has entailed...incase you haven't, here is a brief recap! -Abbie went to WWU for classes Mon.-Thurs.-Ben painted (with Ken AND on his own) off and on -Grandma (mom's mom) had a brain aneurysm burst...-Dad and Mom spent EVERY weekend of July and part of August in Seattle-Mom got a mini kitchen make over! (whoo-hoo) Due to the business, we have spent a lot of time down in Seattle with grandma and my family...it hasn't been a fun summer really, but a summer that has drawn us closer as a family and closer to our Lord. When I got home from our much needed Costco Run today, I noticed my hubby had uploaded the pictures off our camera... the last pictures taken was July 4...the day before grandma's aneurysm! These were awesome pictures are worth sharing...these events are the highlight of our summer and definately deserve to be blogged about! Kyla got dedicated on July 3, 2011 at Christ Fellowship!!! This was an exciting day for our family!We had a 4th of July BBQ with friends and family...Landen got a few fireworks and we watched the fireworks everyone who lives around us lit off.
I don't know why but I just love this picture of Landen...he seems like such a big boy now that he is a BIG brother...!