Our journey

Drumroll please...Introducing Levi Gabriel

2011-11-17T09:03:00.000-08:00

Levi Gabriel Simmons

Born November 6th, 9:09pm

7 pounds 13 ounces, 19.5 inches long

Mom and Levi minutes after he was born

Luke and Jonah meeting baby brother for the first time.

Big brothers were so excited to see him!

Precious little Levi. I'm in love!

Dark blue eyes and dark brown hair at birth.

Baby Belly #3

2011-10-06T17:03:00.000-07:00

I took a few pictures of baby belly #3 this afternoon. While I'm looking forward to meeting this little one, I absolutely love being pregnant! Just knowing this is the last time makes me a little sad, but I've enjoyed it very much. We only have 1-month to go.

In the news!

2011-08-18T15:03:00.000-07:00

Below, Luke Simmons, 6, of Manson, looks under the gurney to watch a donation bag fill with his father's blood. Daddy Steve Simmons and Luke later enjoyed a snack of juice and a cookie at the American Red Cross blood drive.

Featured 8/18/2011 at lakechelanmirror.com.

Cowboy Up!

2011-07-23T15:46:00.000-07:00

The Lake Chelan Rodeo has become a July family tradition over the years. Even though none of us are real cowboys, we're all cowboys (and cowgirls) at heart! Jonah was so excited this year that he asked everyday, at least three times a day, "is today the rodeo?" Everyday since he has donned his cowboy hat and ridden his stick horse through the house yelling, "Buckin' cowboy, woo-hoo! Buck off!!" Makes us laugh every time.

Waitin'.

All 5 of us!

Cowboy-up!

My three guys.

Me and my babies.

Little stinker. I asked him to smile and this is what I got.

Chicken chaser, Jonah, ran before the announcer said, "GO!"

Sittin' on the bleachers waitin' for the next
event. Gettin' a little chilly.

Watchin' intently for the cowboys!

The grand finale--buckin' bulls!

Total amazement during the entire night.

Our exhausted little guys. In Jonah's words, "we had
wots of fun at the radio!"

Beautiful Boat Ride

2011-07-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

Valeri and Mark visited this summer in early July. On their last night here, we went for an adult-only boat ride. Our goal was to make it to Safety Harbor in order to explore the camping area. Around Fields Point, the wind picked up and the waves were getting bigger. Unfortunately, we only made it to 25-mile creek before the waves became too much for our little vessel. We made a large turn and headed back towards Manson. We did stop at a little camp area on our way home for a pit-stop and a little exploring. Looks like lots of fun for our families sometime in the future!

Beautiful ladies of the lake, Valeri & Kalee.

Co-captain Steve-O.

Our Captain for the evening cruise, Mark. Thanks for keeping us all alive!

Beautiful view on the way down lake.

Sun shining through the clouds.

Rock a bye baby

2011-07-11T09:28:00.000-07:00

Woke up this morning to find my baby sound a sleep in the rocking chair. I have no idea how long he slept there, but the looked pretty comfy. He even brought his blue blankie and his cousin's soft blankie with him for a little added comfort.

Love the toes hanging out.

Snuggin' with blankies.

Tee-ball, Season 2

2011-05-24T19:22:00.000-07:00

Luke's second season of tee-ball was great! He really enjoyed playing with his friends this year and learning to run the bases after hitting the ball off the tee.

Luke's second year of tee-ball.

Luke and his bestfriend, Caelan.

My baby turns "free"

2011-04-23T19:09:00.000-07:00

Jonah's 3rd birthday party was lots of fun. His excitement over each present was fun to watch and be part of on his special day.

Present #1...

...a cowboy hat and horse from Grammie LaChapelle!

And a plastic snake...thanks Great Grammie!

A big-boy car seat just like his big brother Luke's.

And his very own "motorcycle" courtesy of
Grammie Wells and Mr. Terry.

Vrrrrrmmm!!

Our motocross cowboy. Yee-haw!

Blowing out 3 candles on his chocolate, strawberry shortcake.

A big bite for a big boy!

Yum!

Crunchy Pizza Crust vs. Wiggly Tooth

2011-02-11T18:55:00.000-08:00

"You lost your first practice tooth!"

It's a Friday night tradition in our family to have pizza, whether home-baked or at 'the pizza place.' Today was shaping up to be a great Friday night pizza night--2 happy kids, 2 happy parents, a pizza and a movie! As we chewed our delicious dinner and discussed the days events, Luke looks up from his plate and says, "this pizza crust is too crunchy." "Really, why is that?" his dad questioned. "Well, it's too hard to eat with my wiggly tooth." To that, Mom and Dad look up to find our little boy with a surprised look on his face and a tooth balanced on his lip in a little puddle of blood. "Oh my gosh, your tooth just fell out!" We all laughed out loud to see such a sight! And now to top off the first night of the weekend: banana splits!

Friday Night Fights!

2011-01-21T20:41:00.000-08:00

Jonah and Luke begged Steve all through dinner, "Please, Daddy, can we wrestle tonight?" After many replies of "yes, in a little bit," the throwdown began! While I sat on the couch, a glass of red wine in one hand and my new camera in the other, the 'boys' wrestled on the livingroom floor. It was a sight to see and hear--giggling, screaming, screeching and pleading was heard from the little ones.

"Daddy, wets wet-sow!" cries Jonah.

Photos by Abby K.

2011-01-16T11:09:00.000-08:00

My niece has a good eye for photography. She picked up my camera last night and shot some great still life.

And a couple funny pictures of Jonah and me. Thanks Abby for capturing the silliness in our household!

Remembering

2011-01-16T10:46:00.000-08:00

Treasuring memories of my dad and grandpa.

My hat!

2010-12-30T08:18:00.000-08:00

Toy Story 3 was the trendy basis for Christmas presents this year. Everything from the DVD to legos litered our living room floor on Christmas morning. By far the most popular of all the toys is the 18-inch Woody that Jonah recieved from his Great Grammie Carole. He became even more intriguing after we discoverd a new trick--when his hat comes off, he knows it!

"Hey howdie hey, my name's Woody."

"Woah, ha-ha-ha, I think the wind took my hat!"

"Well, thankya kindly. A cowboy ain't a cowboy
without his cowboy hat."

And that's just the beginning. He talks every time his string is pulled, he expresses yet another Cowboy Woody saying. A big thanks to Disney/Pixar for your creativity!

My Punky Monkey

2010-12-27T22:02:00.000-08:00

I cought Jonah dancing around the livingroom in his undies with Luke's sock-monkey slippers shouting "ho, ho, ho!" in the microphone.

"Mommy, ta pi-uh my Woody."

I love my Punky Monkey!

A New Love

2010-11-07T15:05:00.001-08:00

Many of you know that when we moved in to our new house in July, we discovered the hard way that our oven didn't work. We had purchased 4 take-n-bake pizzas as a thank you for our friends and family after a miserably hot day of moving. I spiced up the first pizza with additional toppings and some secret ingredients, tossed it in the oven and set the timer. The countdown began; we all waited, impatiently as the seconds ticked away. Twelve minutes later, I opened the oven door as the beeping commenced. It wasn't done. Not only was it not done, it was barely cooked. I checked the temperature setting...right on. "Hmmm, that's strange" I thought, cranking the temperature up. Anyway, to make a long story short...we ended up broiling the pizzas in the span of about 2 hours.

Steve and his brother-in-law, Mark, tried to fix the problem the next day; it didn't work. We tried several things to fix the stove, but nothing worked. While we were disappointed that we would have to spend our "house money" on a new stove, I could see the sparkle in Steve's eye as he pondered it. You see, he's always dreamed of having a gas stove. He has said for many years that he would have some day have one.

Well, after several months of planning and hardwork, his "some day" has arrived just in time for the holidays!

In the Lord's Army

2010-10-31T22:51:00.000-07:00

We went round and round about Halloween costumes this year. Luke really wanted to be Iron Man, but we're not real keen on cartoon costumes. We finally decided on Army Soldiers--complete with flag patches, specially made dog tags and face paint. Not to mention they each got new pants and a shirt that they can use as play clothes. The boys loved it, and we were happy too!

Gettin' in the Zone:
Luke Simmons
Lord's Army Soldier
Atlanta, GA 1-10-05

All smiles:
Jonah Simmons
Lord's Army Soldier
Chelan, WA 4-23-08

Trick-r-treatin' downtown Chelan.

Too many to choose from!

Knockin' on Great Grammy's door.

Look at all that CANDY!

Which one should I eat first???

"Mommy, I can eat this? Really? All of them? Really?"

And the winner is...

2010-10-31T09:24:00.001-07:00

Proud recipient of the WILD HAIR award.

Luke was awarded the WILD HAIR award at Frenzy tonight! He was so proud, and so am I. Putting teeny tiny rubberbands in a boy's hair is very challenging. We both did a great job and it paid off!

Punkin Carvin'

2010-10-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

Our first pumpkin carving in our new kitchen! The kitchen island was the perfect place to 'gut our gourds.'

Jonah had no reservations about sticking his hand in the mess!

Look at all those seeds! Too bad we don't have an oven yet.

I have overcome my aversion to slimy things...well, when it comes to pumpkin carving anyway. ;)

"Not all pulp is gross, right Dad?" Luke says as he's cautiously poking through the pumpkins pulp looking for seeds.

Two proud little boys.

Final product: two cute-as-a-button pumpkins for our porch.

Our First Graduation

2010-06-10T21:59:00.000-07:00

Luke graduated from Pre-School tonight.

So proud of his diploma!

Best buds: Caelan and Luke.

Viva Las Vegas!

2010-04-26T21:04:00.000-07:00

My favorite type of picture and it turned out really good!

On the Cathlemet from Whidbey Island to the main land.

The view from our hotel room. Beautiful sand bottom pool surrounded by palm trees and a vineyard. Peaceful and fun all at the same time!

Our gorgeous bathroom!

Robes included, nice!

Yummy dinner at Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ!

Twins!

Triplets!

M&M World

Sight seeing from the double decker DUECE bus...can you see us?

There's no crying in tee-ball...well, maybe just the first day...

2010-04-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

Luke has waited in anticipation for this day for over a month: Tee ball started today! Luke had fun practicing throwing, catching and hitting! He only cried 4, maybe 5 times. He's sensitive when he's not perfect; boy do I know that feeling!

Listening intently to Coach. He was telling the team to practice throwing at home with a partner, or throw at a tree in the back yard. Luke speaks up so innocently, "I don't have a tree in my backyard...but I do have one in my front yard."

Ready to catch!

Pretending to have a mit.

Fielding stance.

Crying.

Luke catching a ball personally tossed by Dad! I love this picture.

Thumbs up = All is good in the end!
Fun was had by all!!!

Who's there?

2010-04-08T19:07:00.000-07:00

Luke has taken to telling knock, knock jokes lately. His favorites:

"Knock, knock." "Who's there?" "Canoe." "Canoe who?" "Canoe get a plug and stop this leak!"

"Knock, knock." "Who's there?" "Banana" "Banana who?" "Knock, knock." "Who's there?" "Banana" "Banana who?" "Knock, knock." "Who's there?" "Banana" "Banana who?" "Knock, knock." "Who's there?" "Orange" "Orange who?" "Orange ya glad I didn't say banana again?"

I'm guessing that you're not nearly as tired of reading the last one as I am of hearing it over and over...and over again! I love 5 years old that are learning new things and repeating them over and over again...

We do exist!

2010-04-06T22:18:00.000-07:00

Photos by Luke:

16 and Counting

2010-04-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

Luke informed our family today that he doesn't believe in the Easter bunny or Santa Clause; they are just a "BIG FAT FUN GAME!" he shouted at the top of his inside voice. "Oh, and you know what else is a game? My sisters and brothers." Yes, Luke has invisible siblings: 3 big sisters, 9 little sisters including baby girl twins, and 2 brothers. "Their names are Millie, Tinkerbell, Claire, Jessie, and Jess. My brothers are Bot and Geo. Well, Jonah, too. And the twins are Jessica and, um...(eyes rolling up and looking around the room) um...I don't remember the other one. Well, we can name her Mia since you like that name, Mom," he says in the most serious 5-year old voice.

I'm sitting in my living room, looking around the house thinking, "No wonder my house is always a mess! Not only do I have 2 very active, rambunctious little boys, I have 14 children that I can't even see! Huh, it's all making sense now."

What an imagination!

It's Spring, or is it?

2010-04-02T22:28:00.000-07:00

"Spring" break started 6 days ago and yet it snowed today! We've had lots of fun with the boys, even though we haven't left town.

Monday.
Morning with Mom ::: met Grammy for coffee and cake (blueberry muffins) at Starbucks,went to the Super Store for kid supplies at work, lunch.
Afternoon with Dad ::: napped until 4! Lucky him.

Tuesday.
Morning with Mom ::: colored pictures, played Super Why on the computer, visited Grammy's house, lunch.
Afternoon with Dad ::: nap, helped Dad make soup for dinner. It was wonderful, as always.

Wednesday.
All day with Dad ::: went to Don Morse park to slide, climb and swing, lunch & nap, cleaned the carport and front porch, played ball in the back yard.

Thursday.
GRAMMY!!! The boys were so excited to spend the day with Grammy ::: throwing dirt clods and a walk in the meadow at Bent Tree, a long nap, then an afternoon at the ball park watching baseball practice and sliding on the round slide. They were so sad to see her go at the end of the day, but I'm sure she was looking forward to a quiet night to herself. Oh, did I mention that she cleaned the boys' room and did their laundry? Amazing!

Friday.
GRAMMY'S BACK!!! Bring on day two with Grammy ::: first a trip to the Super Store to get egg dying supplies, watched it snow all morning, lunch & nap, watched it snow more while coloring Easter eggs for the hunt on Sunday.

All in all, a great week. Looking forward to a wonderful weekend of more fun and relaxation.

Lucky & Charming

2010-03-17T22:19:00.000-07:00

The St. Patrick's Day Kid Parade was a big hit with the boys! Luke was chosen by his teacher to carry the banner for Precious Promise Preschool and he was soooooo excited. He did an impeccable job wearing his homemade hat and following the center line; when he marched passed us on the parade route, I could hardly get him to look up to smile for the camera. Since they were the first in the parade, we were able to run back up the street and be with the family to watch the rest of the parade.

Jonah was happy hanging out in the wagon with his grammy.

We came home with a proud little boy, a sleeping munchkin, and a handful of candy.

Brilliant!

2010-02-28T22:08:00.000-08:00

Luke thought it would be 'cool' to put Jonah in his PJs. So, with a little help from me, we made a two-headed, two-legged, four-armed giggle monster!

Turns out, it was brilliantly funny!

Reading Corner

2010-02-26T21:58:00.000-08:00

We rearranged the boys' room a few days ago. We now have a reading corner with my rocking chair, the little rocking chair and our small bookshelf in between. Jonah thinks it's wonderful to have his own chair to read in. Every night since the move, he sits in his chair for bedtime story. I'm missing my baby on my lap!

Stomp, stomp, clap, clap HOWL!

2010-02-19T19:55:00.000-08:00

Our Great Wolf Lodge surprise birthday celebration was a big hit!

Mom, Jonah and Luke bear huggin'!

Jonah pullin' his very own suitcase. Such a big "little" brother.

The boys in the waterpark!

The birthday kids: Luke (5), Jack (4), and Emma (7). They got to sleep in the kid cabin in honor of their special days.

Luke with cousin Jack in front of the storytime tower.

The talk

2009-12-26T09:05:00.000-08:00

Steve had the "Santa is pretend, we play along because it's fun" talk with Luke yesterday. They talked about God's love for us, His amazing gift to us and St. Nicholas' generosity in Jesus' name.
It's probably pretty confusing for a 5 year old since everything in the Big Box stores and on TV is about Santa and presents, presents and more presents! We've talked a lot over the last week about Jesus' birthday and that's reason we celebrate Christmas and that we give presents because we love others and want to show them that, like God showed his love for us by sending Jesus to earth.

Fastforward to today. My uncle stopped by and was talking to Luke about Santa coming tonight. Luke looked at him for a minute, then said point-blank "Santa isn't real ya know." My uncle seemed shocked that a 5 year old would say such a thing. I'm sure he was surprised that we had told him the truth, ultimately "ruining" Christmas for Luke. He looked at Luke and while pointing to his heart said, "Well, but he's in here and in here" motioning to Luke's heart. Luke paused for just a moment then said, "And so is God!" I was so proud of him!

All dressed up with places to go

2009-11-01T13:58:00.000-08:00

I think I can

2009-10-30T15:12:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, this went on for over 5 minutes! It was so hilarious; we were laughing hysterically!!!

Halloween

2009-10-29T21:39:00.001-07:00

Luke is going to be the red Ninja Turtle, Raphael. We've had this costume for almost a month and 2 days ago Luke says to me, "but mommy, I wanted to be the blue ninja." Who knew?!?

My little green monster, rrr, I mean dinosaur.

Jonah thought the insides were gross to look at and yucky to touch, yet fun to fling around the table with the carving spoon.

Smile!

Ooooooo.......

The end result:

Happy boys and awesome jack-o-lanterns!

School starts again!

2009-09-18T19:24:00.000-07:00

Luke was so excited for the first day of school! He got to wear new "cool" pants and a "cool" belt. His "cool dude" pose.

Luke's cubby and new school supplies.

Mrs. Jenkins let the kids open their paints on the very first day!

Meeting Jonah

2009-09-11T20:48:00.000-07:00

My grandparents, Wally & Barb, live in Kennewick, Washington. We don't get to see them very often, which is why they didn't meet Jonah until he was a year and a half. We had a grand time visiting with my kid's great grandparents! I love them both dearly; spending time with my grandpa Wally reminds me how much I miss my dad.

Jonah is a curious one...he tried really hard to get in to the cat house. My aunt had a little chat with him and he moved on to another exploration.

Teeth brushing 101

2009-09-08T21:04:00.000-07:00

Jonah is learning to brush his teeth, but really all he does is chew on the toothbrush. He's required to sit on the bathroom stool while he "brushes," otherwise I find him brushing things that shouldn't be touched with a toothbrush...the sink, the floor, the mirror, oh, and bath toys. After he spends a few minutes chewing on the bristles, it's my turn to finish up. He doesn't like this part which is evident by the fight he puts up by hand over hand hitting. I usaully have to hold him down on the ground in order to get the toothbrush in his mouth. Don't worry, we both come out giggling in the end!

Hiking between the raindrops!

2009-09-06T21:57:00.000-07:00

We planned to camp for Labor Day Weekend this year, but the rain scared us away! Mom and Terry braved one night of camping, so we drove up for the day. It was raining when we arrived, but it lifted just long enough for us to hike to Silver Falls.

We made it to the top and got wet under the falls...oh, wait, we were already wet from the rain!

Fair is fair, let's ride!

2009-08-30T10:29:00.001-07:00

We made it to the Waterville Fair this year! The kids had fun at the baby animal petty farm...chicks, bunnies, piggies and more!

Despite the look on Jonah's face, he LOVED all the animals!The Super Slide was really high up, but we weren't scared...well, I wasn't. The look on Luke's face speaks louder than his reassuring words, "that was SUPER!"Jonah thought fishing was the best! Luke hit all 3 cups with the cork gun. He won one of the pandas in the background.

Safety First

2009-08-05T10:15:00.000-07:00

We stopped at Pig n Pancake for breakfast on the way home from Pacific City. While we were waiting for a table, Gumby caught Luke's eye so we purchased one on our way out the door.

Jonah thought Gumby was pretty neat, but after a few minutes of play there was a frustrated squeal from the backseat of the van. I looked back to see Jonah struggling with Gumby by his seatbelt. I reached back and slid Gumby in his seatbelt strap and, boy, did he light up! I guess he thought Gumby should be buckled up for safety!

2009-08-04T16:34:00.000-07:00

I'm always up to something...

The Climb

2009-08-04T09:22:00.000-07:00

Jen, Valeri, Sarah, Abby, Emma, Caleb and I climbed the HUGE sand mountain at the end of the beach in Pacific City. It was even harder than it looked; the last 50 feet was extremely steep!

I stood as straight as I could to take a picture of the incline. This was before the really steep part! Me at the top. I took a picture of myself, can you tell? The view of the beach from the top. The sun was down by the time we made it to the top. We could start to see camp fires light up the beach.

The Hodson's at the top! I love this picture of my girls!

I have a great video of us running down the hill, but it won't upload to my blog. I'll research and try again later.

A day at the beach

2009-08-01T08:46:00.000-07:00

Our vacation at Pacific City, OR was filled with relaxation and exploration! Luke got buried up to his neck in the sand. If you know Luke, you know that this is a HUGE step towards "boyhood" as he really doesn't like to be dirty. Smashing sand "rocks" with his bare hands; he's sooooo strong!
Jonah on the other hand is all about dirt. He was literally rolling in the sand from head to toe!
We drove to Lincoln City to buy kites and Luke picked the 3D shark kite. It was our first time flying kites as a family. I have very fond memories of flying kites with my dad when I was a kid. I hope the same will be true when my kids are older.

Random Acts of Jonah

2009-07-25T21:10:00.001-07:00

Jonah is definitely my random baby. He's into everything...closets, buckets, drawers and more!

My mom taught him to help unload the dishwasher by getting all the plasticware and putting it in the drawer. This day, he decided to roll on the floor and play with all the clean lids.

He's learned a few signs so he can communicate basic needs. This means "up."

Kisses for Mommy.

Cold watermelon on the front porch. What more could a kid want...besides another shoe!

Cousins

2009-07-25T18:06:00.001-07:00

From left to right:

Abby, Sarah, Caleb, Emma, Isaac, Luke, Jack, Hannah, and Jonah.

Goody's Candy Shop

2009-07-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

Luke had his pick of candy at the candy shop. He chose the colorful lollipop! Boy was his tongue black by the time he'd had enough. We put it in a cup to "save for later." It's still in the cupboard; I'm pretty sure he'll ask for in a couple months! He's got a memory like no other!!

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One Day Riders Unite!

2009-07-12T14:47:00.000-07:00

After training for months, the guys rode from Seattle to Portland in one day. The left Seattle at 5 am and rode across the finish line at 10pm! What a day, I'm sure they'll never forget the experience! Cheers!

Cave Adventures!

2009-07-10T15:32:00.000-07:00

We explored a lava tube cave near SunRiver Oregon. We rented a lantern from the Parks Department, then headed down, down, down into the cave. It was only about 45 degrees. Just inside the cave, we could see our breath in Luke's flashlight light. He was pretty impressed!

Biker stud-muffins!

2009-07-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

Steve, Mark and Drew trained for months in order to ride the Seattle to Portland in one day. Our trip to Sunriver Oregon was strategically planned just days prior to the ride. On one of our trips to town, the women found them matching shirts:

Sunriver to do list:

go biking,

eat,

more biking,

sleep,

some more biking.

"Are we crazy?"
"You betcha!"

Fun @ the Playground!

2009-06-25T14:50:00.000-07:00

Jonah playing peek-a-boo!

Jonah's frustrated face! He's not getting his way.

Super Hero of Choice

2009-05-25T21:38:00.000-07:00

Some of my favorite times with my children are when they don't even know that I'm there.

The other day, I picked up the boys from daycare and was informed by Daneile (our daycare provider) that all the children colored pictures of superheroes. "Luke chose Wonder Woman," she said with a smirk on her face. Sure enough, he was beeming from ear to ear with a half colored picture of Wonder Woman in hand.

As soon as we got home, he disappeared down the hall to the play room to finish coloring his picture. A few minutes later while walking quietly down the hall, I could hear him talking to himself. I stopped outside the door, just out of sight. As he sat coloring his masterpiece, I could hear him saying over and over again, "She may have star panties on, but she can save the day!"

It was all I could do to make it back down the hall, my hand holding in my laughter. I was laughing histerically by the time I made it to the kitchen.

Kids say the darndest things!

Jonah's 1st Birthday

2009-04-23T14:25:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Jonah's first birthday with homemade strawberry shortcake! He loved eating his desert all by himself. Luke chose to have just an "L" on his hat. I didn't think about how it would look in pictures...he's really not a loser!

"Oh, what a mess my mom is letting me make. I love this!""My great-grammy gave me a big empty box?"

"Let's play! I'm having great adventures with my big brother!"

Family Pics

2009-01-24T20:20:00.000-08:00

My boys!
To be completely honest, in the beginning I was really nervous to have boys. I had no idea what I would do with boys. Now, their smiles melt my heart, while Luke's magic wand turns me into a princess, I'm addressed as "Your Highness," and half of our "castle" is cool for the 3 kings and the other half is pretty for me. I wouldn't change a thing!

Can you feel the brotherly love? They are soooo cute together!

Baby Jonah is all smiles! He loved traipsing around the leather couch while I tried to capture the look of freedom and excitement in his eyes. Caught ya!

This is our first family portrait since Jonah was born, unless you count the one of all of us in the hospital bed...nah!

Luke's 4th Birthday Party

2009-01-10T09:15:00.000-08:00

Every year, Luke gets a big balloon on his birthday. It's become sort of a tradition for him. A big cheery sunshine kite greeted him for his party!!! Along with 10 other balloons for all his friends. This was the first year that we've thrown him a party with friends, not just family. As you can see, most of his friends are girls, mainly because most of ourfriends have girls...from left to right:

Lizzy, Annabel, Ellie, Maddie, Luke, Parker, and Caelan (his "bestfriend").

They all played pin the tail on the puppy. The birthday boy went first and ultimately won!

Luke was so excited to blow out his candles. He's always been a fan of this tradition.

I had planned to make a two layer confetti cake, but then Luke saw a picture of these ice cream cone cakes on the back of the cake box and decided that he wanted those instead! So, I hunted down ice cream cones (the woman at the grocery store looked at me with a puzzled look when I asked for them...probably since it's the middle of winter!) The cones turned out great and all the kids loved them!

Steve and I bought Luke a scooter for his birthday. Believe it or not, this is the first time he's ever ridden one! Check it out!!

Sledding

2009-01-10T08:44:00.000-08:00

What a change from last year...Luke was very brave this year! He went down the hill all by himself and absolutely loved it!

Then he talked me into going with him. We went "superfast" down the hill...
hit a bump...
then tipped over at the bottom where he proceeded to tackle me in the snow bank! We were laughing so hard!!!

Steve and Luke at the bottom of their sledding hill.

Luke's Photo Gallery

2008-12-27T20:55:00.000-08:00

On Christmas morning, Luke asked me if he could use my camera to take pictures. Here are the results for your enjoyment. In order: Great Grammy, Mom, Jonah, Terry, Grammie, Uncle Kendall, and Dad.

He did really well until he started taking pictures of our pajamas!

Christmas on Stage!

2008-12-20T21:46:00.000-08:00

Luke had his first Christmas program since he's in Preschool now! He had a lot of fun practicing his songs at home. He did a great job for the entire program...well, he picked his nose part way through and he was the only one that bowed after EVERY song.
Listen closely at the end of this video!

Splish, splash, I was takin' a bath!

2008-11-20T18:26:00.000-08:00

Luke and Jonah have a big time together most days, but bathtime is especially fun for both of them!

Fridgidaire Masterpeice

2008-11-16T16:21:00.000-08:00

Fridge art started last month with mysterious "stackings" every time we opened the door. At first, it was just yogurt on the milk carton, but now it has branched out to more creative stackings.

Leaning Tower of Yogurt

Dairy, Dairy and more Dairy

Brought to you by Luke.

If you get lost

2008-11-09T14:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I was quizzing Luke on the specifics of his life just in case he ever gets lost. He was quick to respond with most of the answers. His full name is "Steven Luke Simmons." He is "3 years old." His mommy's name is "Kalee" and his daddy is "Steve." His grammy is "Claudia" and great-grammy is "Carole." And he lives in "Lake Chelan."

I was proud that he knew all the answers without even as much as a blink of an eye. I have to admit, we've had this conversation couple of times. This time though, I went one question further than I ever have before. "What street do you live on, Luke?"

He paused, pondered, then cocked his head a little and looking at me squinty-eyed with a quirky smile said, "Seasame street." We both laughed out loud!

Jonah: 6 months

2008-11-06T20:17:00.000-08:00

Jonah has been crawling since he was 5 1/2 months! He's become a pro over the last month and a half. The other day, he pulled himself up to his knees to grab a blanket out of the overstuffed chair. I just about fell over...then he did! Ooops!!!

What a cutie--love you Jonah!

Handy Man Luke

2008-10-25T15:43:00.000-07:00

My mom found this entire tool kit at a Big Box store in Wenatchee this week. It came with everything you see except the clothes he's wearing. Luke is now prepared to pitch in and pull his weight (only 35 lbs!) around the house! And it makes for a great Halloween costume. He was a bit disappointed that he wouldn't be Larry Boy or the red PowerRanger, but once he saw the hammer and tape measure, he was all in!

**Kendall Construction is my uncle's construction company in Chelan.

We went to the petting farm at Banjo Creek today. Luke was a little apprehensive of the animals at first, but after strong encouragement and reassurance he actually wanted to feed the goats out of his hand. By the time he came around to the idea, the goats were full and only one would eat.

He was very proud of the "Most Original Costume" ribbon that he won!

He's kinda creepy looking, but he's made of plastic!

Secret Artist

2008-10-23T19:28:00.000-07:00

Most of you that are followers of our blog know that Luke has this funny way of stacking yogurt on top of our milk jugs in the fridge. Well, I have three more funny pics to add...all within a weeks time. Our little artist at work--

First we have

"Two on Three"

Then,

"Little Milk, Big Milk"

And last, but not least,

"La Leche con Limon"

Picking Apples

2008-10-18T17:34:00.000-07:00

Steve and Luke harvested our apples today. We have three trees in our backyard. They picked 3 large tubs full of apples. I'm not really sure what we'll do with all of them...apple pie, apple cobbler, apple crisp, applesauce, baked apples, apple butter, apple chutney, apple...

Where's Steve-o?

Jonah's crawling

2008-10-16T21:38:00.000-07:00

I know what you're thinking, Jonah's crawling already?!?!? That's right, he's 5 1/2 months old and he's crawling and sitting up by himself.

Adam's present

2008-10-16T21:25:00.000-07:00

Luke told me a bedtime story tonight about God's present to Adam.

"Adam was lonely, so God gave him animals but he was still lonely. So God put him to sleep, took out a soul, got some dirt and made Adam a present...Eve. Then he wasn't lonely anymore."

I love that Luke learned this at preschool today! He's getting such a great beginning, thanks to Mrs. Jenkins.

Luke added a cute ending to this story!

Family fun Autumnfest

2008-10-12T21:16:00.000-07:00

Autumnfest with our Couples In Action group was lots of fun for all ages. The kids carved pumkins; Luke and I won the "smallest pumkin" contest. I actually bought it thinking it would be less work, but little did I think about fitting my hand in a tiny squash! Hmm. Now I know. At least he had fun pulling the seeds out!

Can you see Luke on the left?

Everyone brought a pot of soup or chili, yum! Steve and many of the adults tried their hand at making fresh apple cider. After some discussion about all the parts of the cider press, we made quite a bit of tasty cider! Here's to the first annual Autumnfest! Hope to see ya'll there next year!

Oktoberfest

2008-10-11T21:40:00.000-07:00

Met our good friends, Michele and Walter, in Leavenworth today for Oktoberfest. Drank some beer, ate some brats, had lots of fun! Luke had a big time trying on funny sunglasses and jumping in the balloon house with Wyatt. Jonah had big eyes looking at dad's HUGE new beer mug.

Luke's stacking ability

2008-10-04T21:09:00.000-07:00

This summer, Luke took to stacking small yogurt containers on our milk cartons. Steve and I got a chuckle out of opening the fridge to see this site. Today, I opened the fridge to see this...

...we're out of yogurt.

Family Camping

2008-07-12T23:50:00.000-07:00

Mom and Jonah at the beach.

Jonah snoozin'.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?"