Washington, Boutique and Wedding!!

Sam and I came back about a week ago from a truly fantastic weekend in Washington where we got to visit a Bug, a Bean and a Boo ( my nieces). Our first adventure was at a Children's Museum. I was totally blown away. It was so interactive! I tried to get a picture of all the cousins together but they were all wandering in different directions. Sam of course stayed close to the train section for the majority of the time.

My little niece Norah, is the happiest, most joyful baby I have ever met. She turns over with joy at every smile she gets. She absolutely melted my heart. Sam was also entranced by her charisma but showed it in less than appropriate ways...like throwing a tub of blocks on her head. He wasn't malicious, he just couldn't control the cuteness! Life will be interesting when Milo enters the picture.

                                           Sam " Tats Av'ary, Tats Av'ary, tats Av'ary", 

                                          Avery "Why does he keep saying that?"  

                                          Me "because he likes you" 

                                          Sam "Tats Avery" 

                                         Avery "Why does he say that again?" 

                                         Me "because he likes you a lot Avery" 

                                         Avery "oh I see....tell me why he says that again?". 

                                         Sam loved following Avery around and doing whatever she was doing and Avery 

                                         Liked "being the oldest cousin here" and of course being liked.

The real adventure was on Saturday when we hiked throughout this nature park in Seattle. We started out expecting a nice nature trail to a lighthouse but it ended up being fairly long with lots of muddy climbs and slides. I loved it! and Sam was dancing in mud so he was thrilled. I was impressed with Sarah and Mike and their ability to guide their three girls on the up and down journey. Sometime I hope to be a super parent like that!

We reached a beach probably halfway through. It was so beautiful and peaceful. Sam ran straight into the water and would have kept going if Mike didn't pull him out. That's when I realized that boys and girls really are different.

After the beach incident, Sam had an appetite for water. The only way we could keep him going was to announce the next puddle that was coming. He would splash and splash until he saw another one. Avery was just beside herself with laughter since in her mind this was probably the most ridiculous thing you could possibly do, especially since it was freezing out.

My sister makes really gorgeous children, do you think? My niece Elliott who is on top just captured me on this trip. She is three and is just a girl of sophistication. She asks so many thought provoking questions and you can tell she is always trying to find a really clever way to get what she wants or at least the best end of the deal. It's actually pretty amazing to watch her at work.

After quite a trek we made it to the lighthouse. My goodness, isn't that pretty? I don't know why I didn't take more pictures of the weekend. I wish I had more of the cousins interacting. The whole experience was just delightful and now I wish I could just visit more often.

The Holiday Boutique! About six months ago I because the VP of Charity for my MOMS Club. As a board we have spent the last four months planning a fundraising boutique to raise money for families in the community who have really desperate needs. The event finally came and we raised twice as much money as we did last year so in a lot of ways it was a huge success! It was also so fun to be a part of. This is a picture of a few members of the club helping out at the boutique.

I was in charge of the vendors which was a bit overwhelming because we had over 40 participate. Fortunately the board has been very collaborative so I had a lot of help. I have learned a lot from this experience and have made a lot of close friends. It's been really rewarding.

Busy week! Saturday my two dear friends Brandy and Anthony got married. I thought the groom was in this picture when it was taken so I am sorta sad he's not.They have been investigating the church for two years and finally decided to get baptized. They needed to get married first so the ward threw together a gorgeous wedding in a months time! I was in charge of coordinating it the day of and was really nervous about it. There were only a few stressful moments like I having to DJ last minute (it ended up being easy) and calling animal control to get a rattle snake out of the building, other than that it went well. The baptize was where the really special moments were at.

I think the wedding atmosphere got to him!