a new stripe

So Caden gained a new stripe on his belt yesterday at the Dojo. He's doing an excellent job with his training. Last Monday he achieved his goal of staying his creed to his teacher and in front of the class... which gained him the Discipline badge. Need to get a pic of that... In the mean time... Here he is getting his new stripe. Don't think it will be long before he earns a new belt.

first day

it's the first day of school! preschool that is. he was so excited when i dropped him off that he had to be reminded to say goodbye to me. lol. sweet boy. i'm so proud of him! (and for the record, he decided what he wanted to wear to school today all on his own). and he LOVES his transformers backpack!

last days of summer

so while caden doesn't have any concept yet of how summer ends when school starts... i certainly do. so last night after dinner caden got to spend his last day of summer jumping through a sprinkler in the backyard. he had a blast!

sledding?

this is going to be a good sledding hill in the coming winter! in the mean time, daddy and caden are practicing...

my uncle brian

Amazing... and so appreciated... Uncle Brian and Aunt Roberta stopped by a few days ago to bring us some of Mere's old bedroom set. Many thanks!!!

a few kitchen adventures

So I made a version of Michael's Peasant Marinara with Zucchini Noodles... Then added some pretty Sockeye Salmon. It was a winner...

Ryanne decided that she wanted to start eating solids. She really digs fresh peaches.

And then I decided to try to make my very first pizza crust. For all the cooking I do, things that require yeast have always made me nervous. Theoretically I know how to do bread... but in action, yea, makes me nervous. But this turned out pretty well for a first go. Will have to do it again. And for the record, no cheese on my section... didn't miss it at all!

playin' swords with daddy

5 months old

It's hard to believe but the girl is 5 months old today. How did we ever live without her?!

bubbles and rolls

he wanted a picture taken, but then wouldn't smile. such a goose

mommy, look at my beard

rollin' over

yes, wearing a pink tutu

he did good!

my anniversary present came early this year!

and this was me getting crafty. i have been looking for an earring hanger for about a year now and haven't seen any that i've liked. so i decided to make one. a frame, sheet of aluminum, some hot glue, a spare guitar string, and some picture hangers stolen off an unused frame... and here we have it! I'm really happy with how it turned out.

i'm on a roll!

my scottish marine?

i knew it wouldn't take him long before he started climbing the willow out front. yes, he totally got high enough that he started freaking out that he wouldn't be able to get down. he was fine.

"mom, it's bright out here"

awe, i'm cute, i know.

"i wonder what else is out there to discover..."