My New Piano!!

Two days ago, my Mom called me and told me that my Grandma had gone to a Goodwill by their house and they had a piano there for sale for $39.99! Grandma tested out the keys and the tone and said it was a nice one and wanted to get it for me!! My Mom told her that she didn't think I would have room for one, but I told her I could make room. Our place we're in now has more room than our little duplex in Eugene had! I was so excited and they said they would get it for me!! They know how long I've been wanting my own piano in my living room!!
She told me that my Dad and Uncle Dan would be loading it for me from their house they would be bringing it out on Friday, and then we would have Jason and Celso help him bring it to the house.

So, yesterday, I organized the living room a bit, emptied the bookshelf and moved it closer to the corner about 2 more feet or so and it gave me a good spot for the piano.

This morning, my Mom called me back and said that my Dad would need to bring it today because he starts a new job (YAY!!! He only ended his other job on last Friday!!)and would be going tomorrow to Pendleton to start on Friday.

So, he and Annie came to bring it. Luckily, Uncle Chris left his flat dolly in their garage to use and that helped to put it into the rented U-Haul trailor, and also to bring it out of the trailor and into our house. The three of us were doing ok bringing it, but was having a hard time getting it go up the two steps we have on our front door. So I went next door and asked our neighbor if he could help. I haven't even met them yet, they just move in a few weeks ago. He said that he's seen and met Bella (She's met most of my neighbors somehow!), but I had yet to be introduced. Anyways, he came right over and with no time, they had it in my house and situated at the right spot!!

It's so wonderful to have a piano in my home. I had a beautiful one that my Mom bought for me when Boni was working at the retirement home and it stayed in my garage in our duplex in Eugene, but sadly, with the elements of the cold and heat, and just the age of it, it got into pretty bad shape.8 or so keys lost the ivory on top and it has always needed to be tuned. I played it many times, especially when I served at the pianist for the ward choir and for the primary.

I'm hoping that after it gets tuned up and looking nice enough, I'll be able to teach lessons and bring in a bit of income that way. My piano teacher, Ruth Hall, was an awesome teacher. She stayed home to care for her physicially disabled son, and she always had at least 30 students at a time. She taught so many, that when we would have our recitals, she would have 2 seperate ones so that it wouldn't have been a 4 hour recital!

So far, both Girls are enjoying it, and I'm hoping that I can teach at least one of them soon to play. I'm not sure if Sofy would ever understand how to play, but I think Bella would!

Princess Bella

I wanted to write this down so I don't forget it, it was just too cute!

A conversation with Bella and I:

Bella: "Hi Mommy, can I tell you a story?"
Me: "Sure, I'd love to have you tell me a story."
Bella: "Ok!" "once upon a time there lived a pretty princess. Her name was Me!".
Me: "Wow, Bella. You are the princess in the story?"
Bella: "Yes! I want to be Cinderella when I grow up!"
Me: "That would be fun!
Bella: "Oh, yes, Mommy! I really really really want to be Cinderella!"

I just thought that was so cute. Another funny thing was when I was getting her ready for church, I found her Cinderella shoes for her to wear. They are light blue and clear, and light up when she walks, and so pretty. They are REAL Cinderella slippers. I was putting them on her and I was having a hard time getting them to fit, and I didn't realize that she's almost outgrown them now. and I say to her, "Wow, Bella you're one Cinderella's step-sisters trying to fit into her slipper." and she says to me, "Oh no Mom, I AM Cinderella." and she proceeded make them fit and sure enough she got them on. Not sure how tight they must have been on her, but she got to wear them for church at least for one more day!!

Sofy's Tooth!

I heard Sofy up this morning, and took one look at her and found she had a hole in her gums. Sofy's lost another tooth!!!!
What's so funny is that the tooth next to it (The top front left one) has been loose for several weeks, if not a couple of months. Sofy just doesn't get what most kids do when they have a loose tooth, most wiggle it around until it comes out, which usually only takes a few days or weeks for the it to come out. But with Sofy, it's SLOOOOWLY coming out and even still not ready. It's quite attached to the gums. So, I was surprised to see the tooth next to it to come out first, and it didn't even seem loose!!

Oh, and I searched around her bed and couldn't find the tooth anywhere. When she went to bed, the tooth inside her gums, and she woke up with it gone, so my guess is that she lost it during the night in he sleep and she probably not even realized she swallowed it!

So, Sofy will get a visit from the Tooth Fairy tonight!!! Growing up, we would get a $1 bill and a pack of gum. But since she doesn't chew gum or care about money yet, she'll be getting a "Super Size" bag of M&M's, her favorite candy!!! It's the next size bag up from the normal size, and they cost only cost a Buck!!

I know it's been several weeks since I've updated my blog, but I just kind of let it slide for a while and thought I would share what's been going on lately!

The kids ended another great school year. Alex did well on his testing and got excellent grades! Social and other issues arose and in May, the school disctrict and I came to undertand that Orenco is not the right school for him, and in September he will start to go to Quatama Elementry. It's a smaller school geared toward Special Education and for children at his grade level that have social and behavior issues. I'm hoping and praying that he will take the transition of a new school well. His teachers, the Autism Specialist, and I feel that it will be the best place for him!
Sofy had an awesome year of 1st grade! Somewhere around December, she was integrated with the regular 1st grade class for her reading, math, and writing. She also was in a modified PE and the teacher said that her motor skills are improving so well! She didn't realize that she was a slow walker, and she said that it makes sense that she still has difficulty with kicking and running, but has made improvements all around! Her Autism teacher just loves her and she said that she is amazed at her progress and how much she has improved. I am so grateful that she is doing well. Since her diagnosis at age 3, that is what my worries were about, about her to be educated and to understand it, and I have been in awe at her writing, reading, and math abilities! It's awesome!
Bella ended her preschool life and had so much fun being in Preschool! The teachers and bus drivers just loved her and it's great f0r me to have a child that LOVES school, is interactive in her classroom and with her peers! On May 19, Bella had her little graduation.

The end of May, Boni and Lexi, Mom, Grandmama, and Annie went to Disneyland and brought the girls along with them! Every day, Sofy would ask if would go EVERY DAY, and I am so grateful to them for taking them! It was a magicial 3 days for both of them, but most of all for Sofy. Sofy loves the classic characters and her favorite are Mickey and would hug him as if she was meeting her idol for the first time. In her own little world in her mind, these characters are real to her and she just loves them! It was awesome to hear (And to see the nearly 300 pictures taken) of how she would run up and hug them all! She NEVER hugs anyone, even me and I'm her Mom, and here she would be so affectionate to them!
Bella loves Disneyland and her favorite character is Cinderella! She loves all the princesses too and it was magicial to see her meet those beautiful women!

Here's a few pics of their trip! I have ALOT more on my Facebook page, but thought I would share my favorites!




Bella and Grandmama

Bella and Sleeping Beauty. Her favorite, Cinderella had

to leave just before they got up to the princesses, but Bella

was ok with it, she was told that she was late to see her

Prince and they were to have a Tea Party.

Bella and huge stuffed Pooh Bear

Bella and the Classic Mickey Mouse.

This one you meet at his house at Toontown!

Sofya and her favorite, Mickey Mouse.

Sofya, Lexi, and Bella, doing their cute posing!

My Favorite from their entire trip!

This picture is priceless and I love how

she is hugging him so tight!

Bella and Sofy meeting Minnie

The kids are having a great Summer so far. We've been able to sleep in, relax in the mornings, and not having really very much planned for the day. It's been nice! We've seen a few movies, I've taken them to the park, and just yesterday I took them all out for McDonalds for Lunch and for them to play in an indoor playplace! It's been a cooler Summer and even rained alot in June, but now on July 7th, it's suppose to get to 95* and could break a record for warmest day! I got about 2 or so weeks ago one of those little 6ft. kiddie pools and Bella's been having alot of fun playing around in it and will be nice to use it today to cool off!!

Our 4-Day Weekend!!

Last week, the kids last day of school for the week was Wednesday because of parent/teacher conferences. It was nice having a couple of extra days off!! It was also gorgeous and in the low 70's and so nice and warm out during the Spring time!!

On Thursday morning, Sofy had her IFSP meeting and it went well enough, even though I had to bring the 3 kids with me to it. The girls were great, Alex got kind of bored and when he does he gets to bugging Bella. Luckily, the meeting didn't have to last long.
Sofy's teacher said that she is doing SO well, and we're both amazed at her phenomonal progress this year. She's spends her day with the mainstream 1st grade class, and has the SC (Social Communications Classroom, fancy name for Autism room), as basically her home room. She has grown so much this year, and I'm so amazed at her progess with the academics. She's reading, writing, spelling, and doing fantastic in math. She also has music and is in a modified PE. That teacher didn't realize that Sofy was a late walker until the meeting. She works on Sofy's kicking, throwing a ball, both under and over-hand, running, jumping, and all the other physical movements.
Because Sofy has been in the mainstream class, she's qualified for summer school this year!! Last year, she was the only student from the SC class to NOT qualify for it. They need to show either a slow growh, or a regression, to qualify for it, and this year they went based on the normal 1st grade curriculem.

After the meeting, the kids and I found a park near our house so that they can play, and I brought some sack lunches to eat for a fun picnic outside. They played for about 30 minutes, but it was already getting pretty warm, and the play equiment was kind of hot already. So we thought we would go to a nearby pond and feed some ducks with about 1/2 a bag of hamburger buns that had gone stale. The kids had fun, and there were some new ducklings with the Mama that LOVED the bread!! Bella LOVED feeing the babies.
Afterwards, we were just driving home when I noticed a huge rock on the road next under the sidewalk and I thought, "Is that a turtle?" So, I stopped, and had Alex get out and check it and he came back excited and said "Yeah, it's a turtle!" It was very dirty and probably came from the pond, but I've never seen a wild turtle out from a pond before, only those as pets. We saw a guy walking by and I asked him if he thought it was ok (I thought it had wandered pretty far from the pond), and he offered to take it back and away from the road.
We went home after that and Bella still had preschool about an hour later.

On Friday, we spent it as a great free day off, and I spent it cleaning the house, made cookies with the kids, and felt great to just relax all day!!

Jason has been the past several weeks working on helping to restore a PT boat, so he was doing that both Thursday and Friday. The boat is set to be shown during the Rose Festival in a couple of weeks and he's been having so much fun, and in his element working with historical ships. If he wasn't type 1 diabetic, he would have been in the navy so quick!! But, because of that, he could never serve in the military. I think I'm actually kind of relieved to not have to be a navy wife!

On Saturday, we knew we wanted to spend the day together outside (It was still in the 70's that day), so we thought we would go to the beach. We usually go to Cannon Beach or Newport, but we thought we would go to Tillamook that day. In all honesty, I WAS the one that wanted to go, I was having a need for some good ice cream! Hahaha.
So, we drove to Tillamook, which I realized we're only an hour away. It has been a while since we've drove out that way, and it's nice to know that we're just as close to the beach than we were when were in Eugene and only an hour to Florence.

On the way out, we went through the Taco Bell drive-thru and we ate our lunch as we drove out. We drove a few minutes outside of Tillamook and got into Oceanside and found a nice, more secluded beach access. It had a small vacation condo rental area and so it was quite calm. We found though that the coast wasn't nearly as warm as it was back in town. It was very windy, but the sand was nice and warm, so as long as we kept our coats on, we were great!
We were at the beach for about 2 hours, and Jason (Who goes off the two dogs while I stay back with the kids), came back soaking wet. Apparently, he was throwing a stick to Boudreaux (The 6 month old puppy), and he went into the ocean to get it, and didn't quite come back up. Jason saw his little head barely up on top and he went in to save him, and Rocky (our almost 7 year old one), saw him struggling and also went into "Help". Jason got both the dogs back, but was soaked!! So, we figured it was time to end our day. As we were leaving, the girls found a cute play structure that was probably build for the condo rentals that had a couple of swings, slide, and they also had a pirate flag, a plastic cannon, and telescope. So we let the girls play for a few minutes and rounded Alex and our stuff up.
We then went to a Fred Meyer for Jason to get some clean, dried clothes. We then made it over to the cheese factory. Bella loved it, and Sofy was actually quite into looking down in the production room. We made it back downstairs to the tasting area and there was quite a line and Sofy got so antsy to get to her cheese! After we tasted them all, we met up with Jason and Alex who got some cheese to buy, including Sofy's Tillamoos! She LOVES cheese. It's probably her favorite food!
We then waited in the VERY LONG LINE for the ice cream. Jason got a malt, I got my favorite flavor of all, Wild Mountain Blackberry, Alex got a wafer bowl with chocolate and nuts coating around the top with his favorite cookie dough, Sofy got chocolate, and bella got Black Cherry! We enjoyed our ice cream and decided it was time to head back home.
Just as were getting back in the car, Jason got a call from his Dad to see if he could help move a couch in the house. Their house in December got flooded when a two pipes burst during a big freeze we had in Portland. They had been in renovations since, and when we got over there, we found that their new wood floor was all put in the living room, the walls painted in a pretty green and beige colors, and looked so great! The kid wanted to play at the Pirate Park and so I went with them and they got to play for another 30 or minutes. We visited a bit more with his folks and we were all so tired and left. It was about 8:30 by this time. We got some McDonalds for dinner (Too late and tired to have me make something!) and ended our day with Kids getting baths and going to Bed!!!! We had a fun weekend and it was WONDERFUL being able to sleep in (Even Sofy slept in until about 8:30, which is pretty late for her in the morning. She can be up at 6:30, even on our days off!), spend time with the kids outside, and be together as a family!!

Bella had her Pre-Kindergarten appointment with her pediatrician, for her 5 year check-up, and to also get caught up on the shots that would be required for her to go in the Fall.

She was measured for her height and weight. She is now 41 3/4 inches tall and weighs 38.8 pounds! They also tested her eyesight with a kid version of an eye test and they said her eyes are normal and also checked her hearing and is perfect!

The doctor came in and checked the rest of her and said that she is super healthy! Bella did great and followed all of their requests for her exam.
Then the time came for the nurse to give her the shots. She had to have 4 today!! I didn't know how many she would be needing, but I did prepare her that she would needed them. She kind of fought the nurse and I and I really had to hold her down, but once they were done, she was fine. She chose a sticker and a pencil for her reward and was eager to leave!

When we got to the van, I told her that since she was such a good girl, she could pick somewhere for her and I for lunch. She chose Costco! She loves their churros, and I love it that since I only had $4's on me, that it would be perfect to go there. I got the hot dog w/drink, and she got her churro. After we had ordered and got our food, there wasn't anywhere for us to sit, so we went out to the car to eat our lunch. We then went back in and got their swirl frozen yogurt for dessert! It was a perfect way for her to cheer back up and she's doing great now.

It's kind of funny though, because she thinks that she was going to go to Kindergarten today, but she does't quite get that she has until September for her to go! She's so ready to go and will have so much fun and will love it!!

Daddy/Daughter-Papa/Granddaughter Date

On Friday, Alex, Bella, and I picked up Sofya from school and headed over to my folks to spend Easter weekend with them. We had some yummy Pizza Hut pizza for dinner and during the evening, my Dad saw an Ad on tv for McGrath's and they are having their Shrimp Fest right now.

So, he said that he was taking Bella and I on a date with him for Bella to get some Shrimp!! Bella is a little shark when it comes to food! She's my one child who loves shellfish! Shrimp is her favorite food, and she also loves crab, lobster, and clams! She can be kind of obsessed with it times. Last weekend, Annie, the girls, and I went with my Dad to Safeway for some grocery shopping and at the fresh seafood section of the store, they have a big picture of shrimp on the wall and she saw it from way back in the isle!

On Saturday, my Mom and Dad had errands to run, and when they returned around noon, Bella and I were ready for our Papa/Granddaughter date! As we were leaving, Sofy started to get upset because she wanted to go too and he couldn't say no to her, so she came along too.

We had a fun lunch out for our date. The girls loved the pond next to the restaurant and would talk about what animals they would see as they were watching them. Dad and I got the shrimp Trio special, which was wood-fired skewers, shrimp pasta, and coconut shrimp! I got a salad with mind, and my Dad got the chowder, which he gave to Sofy and she ate it up! She loves soup!! We also got her the kids quesadilla, and Bella got her Popcorn Shrimp!! The kids meals were huge, and I tasted some of Bella's and the popcorn shrimp was really good. It was lightly battered, so the shrimp was nice and whole and had a better flavor than most.

After our meal, we went to a couple of grocery stores and got things that we needed for Easter dinner.

Growing up, we would have these fun times with just ourselves and my Dad and we loved it. For Annie and I, he was our first real date when we turned 16!! For mine, we went to Chang's for dinner (My favorite place in the world!) and we saw Mr. Holland's Opus, which at the time was exciting because it was filmed in Portland and it even had a few people in our ward in it!! My good friend, Dawn, is in the front section during the dramatic climax of the end of the film and the song that Mr. Holland directed. There is also our friends' daughter, Jenna, who is singled out in the audience when the character plays the music at the School for the Deaf.

Annie said that they went to out to eat (Can't remember now which place) and bowling.

Thank you Dad and Papa for the fun date with a couple of the girls in your life. We love you and are so grateful for all you do for us and for always being there. Thank you for being a fun and loving Papa to my kids!

A new Surprise and Our Weekend!

On Friday, I got a call from my Mom who was wanting the kids and I to come over for the weekend. It had been about 3 weeks since we'd seen them, and that's a long time for us! I wasn't really planning on it, knowing that Easter is this weekend and we'd be over then, but I said that we would love to come, and the kids were excited to be spending the weekend at Grammi and Papa's house!

When we got there, they had a fun surprise for the kids! A new play structure for the backyard. The kids were thrilled and had so much fun testing it. It took my Dad, Mom, Skyler, and Annie 5 days to get it all put together! But then, both my parents had to work, Skyler had school, and Annie couldn't do it alone, so it wouldn't have taken that long if they had like one or two long days to do it. Here's a few photos of the Fort and the kids trying it out!


The finished project!

Alex pushing Bella on the Swing

Bella posing at the window

Alexander posing at the window

Sofya trying it out. She only got up one step and came back down though.

I made a nice dinner for us all. My parents were still getting the fort all the way finished, so I thought I would help them out by making dinner for us all. I made some yummy Crunchy Chicken Nuggets, hash brown potatoes, corn, and jello.

By the way, Alex is eating a PB&J sandwich, while we all had the other food. He can be a picky eater, and all the food I made he didn't want to eat and since he was "Starving Mom!!", I made him a couple of sandwiches to eat. That's his new phrase I hear just about 10 times a day. He's not just hungry anymore it is "I'm Starving". I know now that I have a nearly 10 year old boy at home! All he ever does is want to eat!!!! Hahaha

Alex and Bella eating at the table that's part of the structure.

The rest of our weekend was fun at their house. Friday night, Annie and I went to the store and bought "The Blind Side" on DVD and had a nice movie night-In.

On Saturday, Dad, Annie, Alex, Bella, and I went to the movies and saw "How to Train Your Dragon". It was really cute and Bella never took her eyes off the screen the entire movie. At the end, I asked Alex if he liked it and he said, "It was Awesome!". It was a great family movie and we all enjoyed it.

Annie also gave a fun surprise for my kids. She got them the "Hungy Hungry Hippo" game. I kind have give the story about it though.
On Friday, the commercial for the toy came on the tv, and Bella said that she wanted it for her birthday, and I told Annie that she's been saying that for about 2 weeks now. Bella's birthday is December 23rd, which at the time I loved having a Christmas Baby, but now, we have to combine her birthday and Christmas together, which means that she's not like Alex who has a June birthday, so he gets to have a fun big birthday party with lots of gifts, and then months later have Christmas, with lots of gifts! Bella just get lots of gifts once a year.
So, Annie had saw that it was on sale (Only $15. It was $28 the last I saw), so she thought it would be a fun gift to get for Bella, and of course all the kids could enjoy it too. Bella was so excited and she played it all night! Sofy even played it and it is actually a great game for all 3 kids to play together!

Annie got some dominos too, and she and I spent the rest of Saturday night, playing Mexican Train and chatting and laughing like we always do.

On Sunday, I wasn't feeling to well. My allergies were kicking in (Thanks to the Spring Rain that Oregon gets, I get them quite terribly during this time of year), and so I stayed home from church with Alex and Sofy, who wasn't feeling too good either. My parents took Bella with them and when they got home around 2:30, we had a nice dinner of Lasagna. Annie and I played another round of Mexican Train and then the kids and I got ready to leave to get home. The kids were going back to school after a week off for Spring Break. We got home in good time and then we had a nice relaxing evening at home and went to bed for a new week!!!

The Ships @ Bremerton

Here'a a few photos of the ships we saw while in Bremerton. Jason took alot of more and you can see those on his Facebook photo page, but these were ones that I liked.


These are of the aircraft carrier that we first saw after getting off the ferry. It lies right next to the freeway and we were so close to it, we could almost touch it! I've never been so close to one before!








This one is taken through the periscope at the Naval Undersea Museum that the kids could look out of. It's kind of grainy, but you can see our van sitting there!
The next one is of Jason where they have the top of a sub sitting outside the front of the museum, and of Rocky and Boudreaux





These are taken at the USS Turner Joy, the ship that Jason took Alex and Bella on to explore!





And, these are of the shots taken from above on top of the hill overlooking the base. It's the same ship from the first photos.

Bremerton Trip Day 2

On Saturday morning, Sofy woke up around 8 and I had to get up to help her find the bathroom light so that she could use it. It was kind of high up on the wall. So, I thought since she and I were up, we would get dressed and go see what kind of breakfast the hotel offered. As we were getting changed Bella woke up, so I quickly had her changed out of her jammies and the girls and I went downstairs and found that they offered a full breakfast! They had just about everything to choose from! I made the girls waffles and we all had some yummy muffins (The really good fresh ones from Costco), some yogurt, and some juice. We finished our food and went back up to our room to find that the boys were up, so Jason and Alex took their turn to get some breakfast. I took a quick shower and then we all got our stuff packed up and the room cleaned to check out. We were ready to go out for the day at 9:30.

We drove around and looked at the same ships and aircraft carrier from the day before and took some more pics. Then we went to a fun little museum called the Naval Undersea Museum. It was kind of a small one, but they quite alot of things to look at and do. Best part, it was free!
When we entered the museum, the kind volunteer asked Alex if he knew anything about submarines. Alex answered a few questions and then he was given his own Navy Dolphins pin! He thought it was pretty neat and put the pin right on and wore the rest of the day on his shirt!
We were there for quite a while. They had a fun mock up of the inside of a sub, with the periscope that would look outside and we all saw our car sitting there. And all the kids got to "Drive" the sub! They also had a fun area where they could dress up like Navy Sailors. For some reason, we didn't get a photo of Bella all dressed up. She looked so cute, dressed in the same outfit as Alex. The shirt was so big on her, it came down passed her knees! Here's a few photos of the fun there!






And here's of the two kids dressed up as Navy Sailors! Sofy looks so cute and the jacket was quite heavy!



As we were leaving the museum, we all wandered around the gift shop and Jason got them all something. Bella asked for a small stuffed red Crab, and Sofy asked for one too, but really Bella has 2 now, she hasn't really done much with it. Alex got some Army Men, only they were Pirates and they had some fun extras like trees, fences, and such. Jason got a hat with the Navy Dolphin Seal.

We left the museum, explored a bit more of the town, and then we all realized that we were hungry for lunch (by this time it was about 12;30). We found a Taco Bell/KFC combined place and had a nice relaxing lunch, taking our time. After we were done eating, we drove more around, just doing some sight seeing. We crossed over a bridge that Alex thought was cool because when Subs come through, it lifts to allow them to cross! I think the boys were hoping to spot one!

We then decided go to the downtown area where they have a few permanantly anchored ships to see. When we got there, we had a hard time finding a place to park, so Jason took the dogs and kids out to explore and I stayed with the van since we weren't exactly parked in an appropriate spot! Here's a few pics of them when they were exploring them!





And here's a few of Alex and Bella aboard the ship!








Back at the car with Sofy and I, we found some pretzels to snack on and she and I colored to pass the time. She chose the colors and I did the coloring for her!
After about 30 minutes, she said she had to go potty, so I drove around for a few minutes and found a Burger King to go into. Once we got inside though, she said that she didn't have to go, so I decided to use it since we were there.

When we got back to the ships, the other guys were back, and they had some treats with them! They had some ice cream on a stick (The same kind the ice cream trucks would sell) and they brought Sofy and I my favorite; the cookie ice cream sandwich one! We all ate ours in the car. And yes, we did have some paper towels!
Jason then drove around for a bit, trying to get on top of the hill that would overlook the ships to get some cool photos. We found a great spot to step out and take one. Alex had to get out with Jason and here's a pretty cool shot of him above the ships!


We then decided it was time to get going home, it was almost 5:00 at this point. We decided not to back onto the ferry and thought it would be quicker just to drive around and it turned out better probably without having to drive in the Seattle traffic. We stopped for a gas fill-up and Alex got to "help" Jason with the gas, and then both girls just had to get out to help too, but Jason was having a hard time getting it to do it, so they didn't get to so much with it. Alex thought it was cool, though!

We then drove to Tacoma and we passed through Fort Lewis. My friend Becky and her family live here, and I had hoped to had been able to meet up with her somehow, but it just didn't work out that time, She hadn't gotten back to me in time. As we were driving through, I was wondering where she might be!
Alex also got to see some tanks and other military vehicles and thought it was cool. He also asked why the sides of the road had barbed wire fencing around and we had to explain that it was a military base and what that meant.
We drove for another hour or so and came through Olympia. We decided we were ready for dinner and found a nice pizza place. It had the brick-fired ovens and the pizza was so good! After dinner and letting the dogs out for a while, we got back on the road to our home. We had to stop one more time through for a bathroom break and we got home just a little after 10:00. Sofy was so tired! She is usually in bed by 8 and is never up that late! She went right to bed! Bella followed about 20 minutes later, and then so did the rest of us!

So, that's our fun, exciting, family trip! The kids were very well behaved, didn't complain much in the car, and actually got along for the most part. They had such a blast, and I hope had some fun memories made!
Thanks to my dear husband for providing to well for our family, and for providing for us to get to go on this much needed family trip and hope that we get to do it again soon!!!

Seattle/Bremerton Trip Day 1

The kids started their Spring break on Friday, so I had asked Jason if we wanted to go somewhere for it. Jason thought of going to Seattle. It's a great place for us to go, it's not too far of a drive, and it's relatively cheap, especially the things we wanted to in Bremerton, alot of which were free!

So Friday morning, I made pancakes for breakfast for us to start out being filled up and then I cleaned up the kitchen, got the kids dressed and ready to go, and then made the last minute check to make sure we had all we needed. Jason went to the store to get some snacks for the car and such. We loaded up the car and left a few minutes after 10:00. We had a good drive up, stopping a couple of times for bathroom breaks, and for the dogs to run around for a few minutes. We made it to Seattle around 2:30 or so. We drove around and found a parking garage that was good for the dogs to stay in and not get too hot being stuck in the car for a while. It was beautiful, around 60*. We walked around the city and made it to the Seattle Space Needle. I was so surprised at how expensive it is to go up to the top. It's now $17 dollars for adults, and $9 for the kids. But we all wanted to go up, so we had to pay it. The elevator ride is so awesome and the kids did well. Sofy was kind of scared going into the elevator, but calmed down and enjoyed the ride up, with the glass windows looking outside as we did. Alex said it was awesome! We got to the top and looked out for about 15-20 minutes. Bella had to look out of every telescope they had, and Alex would stop and say what direction we were standing at. Bella said that we were Giants and the cars and people below were toys! She's so funny!








We came back down and went to the car to relieve the dogs. I then made up some sandwiches for lunch. We also had fruit snacks and pretzels. We drove to the ferry docks and proceeded to the spot that the ferry would take us to Bremerton. We had about an hour wait, so the girls and I got out and we took a bathroom break and walked around for a bit. Jason and Alex took the dogs out and they also went up to where the walking passengers would get onto the ferry. We took the 4:20 ferry and the kids just loved it. It was about a 50 minute ride and we all enjoyed it. Here's the pictures of the kids on the Ferry! I love seeing the city in the background!








We got into Bremerton and found our way around the town. I didn't even know that Bremerton is a Naval Base and there are so many ships to see. We came across the place where they take apart uncommissioned ships and there were 3 or 4 of them just right next to the freeway, one of which was an aircraft carrier that we could practically touch. I've never been so close up to one, it was awesome! Alex loved it!

Here's the pictures of the kids with the air craft carrier. It was litereally next the freeway and was so cool!







After Jason getting several photos of the ships, we drove around to find our hotel and got checked it. It was a nice one too! We went across th street of our hotel to a Shari's for dinner. All 3 of the kids got pancakes (Gotta love their 24Hr, breakfast available!). Jason got a steak/shrimp dinner and I got an American style Pannini. It was so good, and I couldn't even finish it, it was huge! After dinner, we went back to our hotel and got settled.
We found a hotel that had in indoor pool and hot tub, so the kids and I got ready to go swimming! Jason forgot his trunks, so he went to the store to get some, while the kids and I went.
We had so much fun. The water in the pool was nice and warm! It was also nice that the water in the hot tub wasn't too hot, so it felt like a big bath tub. The pool was the same depth all around, at 4 feet, so Sofy stayed right at the steps the whole time, splashing and feeling like she was swimming while not actually doing any swimming! Bella stayed in the hot tub the whole time. Alex and I would go back and forth from the pool and hot tub a few times. Alex skinned his knee a little bit on the side of the pool, so after getting a band-aid on it from the employee at the desk, the kids and I went back up. I got Sofy out of her swimsuit and she and I got in our jammies. I was just going to get the other kids changed when Jason returned and the other two wanted to go back with him. He bought some pool toys too, so they went back for another hour or so. I got Sofy to bed (At 9:30 she was tired! That's pretty late for her), and I relaxed with the tv!
The other 3 returned and Alex took a shower and I got Bella dressed for bed and she went right to sleep. She was exhausted! After Alex got out, we all followed not to much later and had a great night sleep!!!