Cave Adventures!

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!

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!

Jonah playing peek-a-boo!

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

Super Hero of Choice

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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!

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

Fridgidaire Masterpeice

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

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

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!