Happy New Year!

I've tried New Years Resolutions over the years...nothing ever seems to stick. I, as always, have some aspirations, but what they collectively all seem to boil down to is Family...This year, I want to focus more on my family and the simple joys of hearth and home.  I am blessed with a job that allows me to see my children throughout the day and gets me home (most days) at a reasonable hour...no excuses, right?  The problem is that I frequently mismanage my time and do not get all that I want/should accomplished. My husband frequently reminds me to prioritize and so I shall!  I have a few specific things I want to "work" on as the new year begins, but I don't want to jinx myself by actually making Resolutions, so I won't list them here. What I do want to post here are those "Simple Joys" that make my life as wife, mom and teacher worthwhile.  I have been blog-surfing lately and found some wonderfully inspiring blogs with a common theme: 365 days of Joy.  One that I like in particular is Shannon Joy's...you should check it out!  Many of them are photo blogs and since photography is among my many plans for the year, I thought I'd jump on the band wagon and give this a try.  No guarantees that photos will be found with EVERY post, but my goal is to find one simple joy in each day and share it with you.  Wish me luck :)

Things that make you go "hmmm"

Do you ever wonder how you got on a subject when you are talking to a friend?  Or why a particular train of thought got so sidetracked?  I stopped by to chat with a friend of mine today and she mentioned my blog, then asked about our chickens.  I set out to update said blog with info on the chickens and in fact, had originally entitled this post "Late Chickens"... when I ended up in WWII!  The following is what was the beginning of that blog:

I've recently been listening to "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" books on CD.  It is something that helps me look forward to (or at least somewhat enjoy) my ironing.  One of the things I appreciate most is the language that the author uses...the stories take place in Botswana, and although they speak English, the verb usage isn't always what we are used to.  For instance, we might say "my late grandfather", whereas they would say, "my grandfather is late".  (This is where I was going to mention my chickens, what with them being "late" and all...but got sidetracked)  Another thing I like is how patriotic Botswanians are... they love their country.  I wish we, collectively, loved our country with as much enthusiasm as they have for theirs.  On this 69th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, we should all stop a moment and remember the sacrifice that so many offered on that fateful day and in the many days of war that followed...(then I realized there was no getting to chickens from here).

And Jackie, since you are probably the only one what will read this, all of our chickens are dead...between the coyote and the dog, we are now chickenless and will no doubt remain so for the foreseeable future.  I'll keep you posted.

Thankful for friends

Dear Jackie,

Thank you for the reminder that it had been so long since last I posted...July??  REALLY??? Feels like another lifetime ago.  I have no good excuse, save being too busy with life to comment on it, I guess.  My plan is to blog "just a little" every day and hopefully more when I have time.  I'm still trying to work out the details, but Casey Ray is doing something called 364 simple joys and I might try that.  When I googled it, I found this blog   http://365simplejoys.blogspot.com/  which is actually pretty cool.  I guess you could just follow her ;) New year, new resolutions and all of that... anyway, thanks again for a slight push in the right direction.  It's good to have friends :)

Sincerely,
LaDawn

Meet Bailey

We bought a new puppy from our school auction last spring. The litter hadn't been born yet, so we've been anxiously awaiting our new arrival since then. Once the puppies were born, we visited the litter several times, trying to decide which puppy should be ours. We finally decided on a very cute tri-colored female.

MEET BAILEY

She's an English Setter, which are great bird dogs. Kevin would love to train her to bird hunt and they are supposed to be great family dogs. She is very affectionate and playful, which the kids love! I doubt she'll be hurting for attention, with our three.

Addison is especially interested in holding and cuddling her so we have to keep a close eye on both of them!

The chickens frequently get into our backyard and their first encounter was an interesting one. I don't think the chicken was very intimidated! Since then, they've learned a bit more respect. Bailey likes to chase them... Maybe that'll help keep them out of the yard!

We are all looking forward to having a new puppy, although it's already proved to be a lot of work!

Pool Party

We've had some amazing weather this past week, with temperatures in the upper 80s and a day or two in the 90s, so our pool has had plenty of opportunity to warm up. Since Kevin had the boys out our church's annual Father/Son camping trip, Addison and I invited some of her friends over for a pool party!

This is Riley, with him mom and new baby brother Lincoln. Baby wasn't too sure about the water, just yet, but Riley sure was having a good time!

Addison loves the water and it was extra fun to play with friends in the pool.

Pool's Up

Our long awaited and much anticipated summer weather has FINALLY arrived. We were beginning to wonder if it was January or July! The pool was set up last night, but only half filled before bed so we had to let it finish filling today.

The boys were so excited to finally get to swim...I don't think they realized how cold well-water can be! Their entrances were both rather hesitant...

But once they got in, Raymond said it wasn't too bad. It was a hot day, so I'm sure it felt good to cool off, but I wasn't getting in there, yet!

Maybe after a few more 90+ days, it'll be warm enough for me! Until then, they boys will have it all to themselves!

Independence Day

We met up with some friends in the very small town of Roy this year to celebrate Independence Day. The main attraction to this "venue" was the opportunity to light off our own fireworks while we waited for the show. The whole town comes out and lines up along the railroad tracks to do the same. You not only get to see your fireworks, but everyone elses, too.

The kids had a great time with their sparklers and a roman candle or two. Kevin and Raymond did most of the "work" while I sat and visited with friends and watch the two little ones run amook.

When it was finally time for the town's firework display, we all found our seats and enjoyed the show. For a small town, it was pretty impressive (unlike my photographs!)
 

Seattle Museums

We headed up to Seattle yesterday to take advantage of their free Thursday Museums... I brought along a couple of my favorite students, who also happen to be sisters, to help me keep track of the kids and Raymond invited his friend Jeremy to come along, so we had a carload! Our first stop wasn't a museum at all, but Volunteer Park. We decided to wait to explore this until after we'd hit the museum.

.

The Asian Art Museum is part of SAM and located right there in Volunteer Park. I gave Raymond the camera for most of our tour and he had fun taking pictures.

When we came out, I noticed a piece of artwork, I think it was called Black Sun or something Sun... anyway, I realized you could see the Space Needle through the opening if you stood at the correct angle. I'm sure this was by design, but I thought it was pretty neat!

Next was an old water tower. Raymond and Jeremy counted the steps up to the top and there were 108, not counting the steps up to the doorway... I'm so out of shape that my legs felt wobbly-weak when we came back down!

After that jaunt, we decided it was a good time to stop for lunch, so we found the play area and had a picnic. 

 

The kids really enjoyed being able to run around and play (after being on their 'best' behavior in the museum) for awhile. In fact, they really didn't want to leave!

Before we left Volunteer Park, I thought it would be a good idea to find the restrooms and make a pit stop.  The Conservatory was along our way, so we decided to peek in there and I think it was my favorite stop all day! 

 For such a small area, it was absolutely packed with the most gorgeous and interesting plants.  I really enjoyed looking at all of them and I know Raymond enjoyed photographing them!

Next stop...Sculpture Park...

The artwork was interesting and the kids enjoyed just being outside.

Of course, Seattle is full of really fantastic views and the Space Needle is always one that I look forward to seeing.  Our final destination was The Seattle Art Museum.  I'd never been inside so was interested in seeing what they had.  Raymond, of course, took pictures of his favorites!

On our way home, we stopped for Chinese food and everyone, including me, was exhausted!  We had a very busy, very fun day.

Addison's "big-girl" bed

Addison has been ready to move out of her crib for quite some time, but somehow, we never got around to it. Kevin thought maybe we should get her a toddler bed to transition but I argued that we might as well spend the money on something she could use longer, so we started looking. Kevin is an avid Craigslist fan, so we "shop" that site frequently. We found several beds that we likes, but they were more than we wanted to pay or too far away. Addison kept asking for a "big girl" bed so Kevin finally told her she would get one when she successfully completed potty training. Once that happened, the impending purchase became more urgent!

We scored BIG on Craigslist today! First, we found a four-poster canopy bed that we couldn't quite tell the condition of from the pictures. So after work Kevin headed over to have a look at it and ended up bringing it home. Not only was it in great condition, but it matched the furniture she already had almost perfectly! While Kevin was looking at the bed, I started looking on Craigslist for bedding and found a set that had just been posted in University Place. I called the lady, who was quite surprised at the quick response, and we agreed to meet around 6pm. So, as soon as Kevin was home with the bed, we unloaded it and headed off to check out the bedding. I loved it immediately! It is just so colorful and perfect for our baby girl... who finally has her "big girl" bed!

Another day, another park...

This afternoon, when Kevin got home, we decided we'd all head down to our next park destination...Bradley Lake Park. It's only about 15 or 20 minutes from us, but it was the first time we'd ever been there and we LOVED it! They had two separate, but adjacent play areas with plenty of benches in between for parents to watch their kids.

Everyone had a ball going back and forth between the two. When they got tired of that, we decided to explore the lake part of the park. The kids each brought something to ride and Zachary and Addison traded off a few times. I really liked the smooth, asphalt surface...it made "riding" so much easier!

I don't know how far the loop around the lake was, but we went all the way around, stopping frequently to check out different things. We saw several people fishing from different spots along the shore and also from the docks that were there. There were lots of walkers and joggers, no doubt enjoying the shade of the trees.

One tree, inparticular, was a huge hit with our kids because it almost beconned you to come and sit on it! Of course we did, although Addison wasn't too sure about being left alone up there! We had a wonderful time and I was so happy that Kevin was able to join us. He doesn't usually get to join us on our summer destinations, so when he does, it's a nice treat for everyone!

Staying Home

As busy as our summer days always seem to be, and as fun as it can be to pack every last bit of entertainment into our schedules, it's nice (and necessary!) to "plan" a day to just stay home. For my kids, this usually means getting to sleep in and stay in pajamas late into the morning and sometimes past lunch! The whole day is relatively unstructures and we just do...well...whatever we want!

Today, Raymond went off to work with Kevin and Zachary and Addison had a day all to themselves. Funny how well any 2 of them can play together! After a late breakfast, we brought out the train tracks and played at this until lunch. Addison still needs help getting the pieces to connect, but she's perfectly happy to drive on tracks that Zachary has put together. I normally help out with the corners and trying to get the ends to eventually connect. Zach's favorite thing is the bridge and that is always where he starts!

On days we sleep in, I usually let both kids skip naps, so after lunch we finally got out of our pajamas and headed outside to try our hands at a little artwork on the patio. The weather here has been mostly overcast, with frequent rain. Even by Washington standards, it's been a wet summer so far, so we take every opportunity to head outdoors that we can. The kids love to be outside and we can hardly wait for warmer weather, then we can justify putting the pool up!

Puyallup parks

We are exploring local parks that we've never been to this summer. We already have our favorites, but you never know what else is out there unless you go and see!

Not a great picture, but the view of Mt. Rainier from Heritage Park was amazing. This is located near Rogers HS.

Nothing else about it was all that impressive. It is just a small play area in the middle of several baseball fields. My kids enjoyed, but I prefer someplace with more shade for mom!

We were all hot and sweaty after about 30 minutes, so decide to head off to find another park. As it would happen, the sprinklers came on in one of the outfields just as we were pulling out of our parking spot, so we seized the opportunity to cool off!

I wasn't sure if my kids would actually run through these huge sprinklers, but they didn't hesitate and had a wonderful time getting absolutely soaking wet!

After they got tired of the water and were getting hungry for lunch, we found our next stop...South hill Park. I really liked this park. The play area was nice and clean and there was a huge field were we could bring our dog or some kites to fly.

As an added bonus, there is a rather extensive, paved trail that winds around behind the park and through some woods. It apparently connects to Heritage Park, where we started! We took an abbreviated loop that was maybe 1/2 a mile, or so and enjoyed a walk in the shade. Definitely some place the kids would enjoy bringing bikes and scooters.