GREAT TO BE EIGHT.

8 reasons why we love our sweet Birthday girl…

Addison is a hilarious little lady.
Addison is a superb little (BIGGER) sister.
Addison is an excellent friend.
Addison is a splendid daughter.
Addison always has a gigantic smile on her gorgeous face.
Addison has strong willpower.
Addison has a huge heart.
When Addison laughs, she always gets the hiccups, which is extremely cute!

Happy Birthday baby we love you!

They did it…

Hannah & Addison got their ears pierced today, they had the day off from school & when I asked, what they wanted to do they both said, “Get our ears pierced!” How can I say no to such excitement? I did take them to their dad’s office to see their dad & to ask if he would be okay with them getting their ear pierced. Of course, he said yes I swear that man can never say no to his little ladies. We went to lunch with Josh, he took us to Doug Fir... if you live in Portland or nearby & have not gone there you really need to go, I got a Fir Burger which was fabulous. (I was told that when Justin Timberlake came into town he too had to have a Fir Burger.) After lunch, we were off to the mall. They sure do look cute with earrings & very grown up I wish we could keep our girls forever young!

Patience playing Volleyball

Patience played her first Volleyball game on Monday, which went pretty well they only lost by two points. She did well & has a powerful serve we are so proud of her. We love that she likes to play sports & does it well. Of course, there was a moment were I had to put a lady in her place, when Patience got up to serve for the first time this woman next to me whispered “she too little to play volleyball” I very gently told her that the “little” girl belongs to me… As I was going to tell her a few more things Patience served the ball, which went over the net & got her team a point, therefore I decided enough had been said with just one server from my “little” lady. I wish people would not judge my kids by their size since size does NOT matter!

Cute pix of the girls with Grandma &Grandpa.

The girls love hangin' out with Grandpa & Grandma...I know Grandpa & Grandma love hangin' out with the girls.

Good-bye dinner for Kim...

Friday night we went over to Stephanie & Kim’s house to “help” or should I say, watched Dad & Josh pack all of Kim’s belongings into her trailer. = ( Kim is leaving beautiful Oregon the girls took that news rather hard. They enjoy having Stephanie & Kim baby-sit & having sleepover with them. Hannah also said that she would miss going swimming with them to the Aquatic Center. After watching, the men pack the trailer with all the boxes Kim had packed & all her belongings we went out to dinner. We did tell the girls that she is only moving to Utah & when we go out there, we will see her again which made them happy to know that she did not move too far away & will be able to hang out with her again. = ) Good Luck in Utah Kim we will miss you!

We are so excited for the Driggs to come into town.

The Driggs...

Haylee

Reangan

Ian

Only 5 more days until we get to play with the Driggs.

Look, they are riding the bus...

It took a week to talk Addison into riding the bus to & from school but we did it… Hannah has wanted to ride it ever since we found out that they would have to ride a bus to school. Addison was very timid about riding it & not having me dive her to & from school. We are very proud of her, & she now loves riding the bus with her big sister. They hold hands & sit together it is very cute!

Josh & Sampson making new friends while I take pictures of our sweet girls at the bus stop.

More pix in Seattle...

We hung out at the mall while Josh had a few meetings the girls found the Rainforest Café & deiced that it was the place to eat & hang out at the gift shop. I know that I say it a lot in our blog however they are so dang cute how can I not say it?

Our sweet family in front of the Space Needle…for the second time we tried to talk the girls into going all the way up nonetheless Josh & I still have not been able to ride the Space Needle. : ( Of course Josh felt bad & promised that next time he will just take me to Seattle & we will do the Space Needle. I wish the girls would just try it once I think that they would love it. It is somewhat scary standing under it & looking all the way up I can see why they are a bit nervous. I can say that I will never stop asking them to try the Space Needle when we have a chance to ride it in hopes that they will say, “Okay we will do it!”

We love Seattle & always have a brilliant time when we go there.

I tried to take the girls to a Mariners game on Friday night however, they did not want to leave the hotel pool, which made me sad… I did enjoy the hot tub & watching them have a good time playing with each other. Kids what would we do without them?

Seattle was pleasant & incredibly quick…

We took the girls to the Woodland Zoo, which is down town Seattle it was tolerable we decide that the Portland Zoo is superior next to any of the other zoos we have been to! Although the Seattle Zoo did have Lions… that was amazing to see.

The bug are huge at Woodland Zoo.

Our silly little ladies hangin' out & lookin' very cute!

Look at those funny looking monkeys playing in the tree.

Sampson the new member of our family...

Look, what my sweet husband came home with… a little puppy named Sampson the girls & Josh are totally in love with him.

Josh also would like me to tell you all that Sampson was a surprise for the girls & me. The four of them have wanted a dog since we moved into our own house however, I was quite sure I told them all that I did not want a dog that barks, poops, needs potting training, & needs attention. So far Sampson has broke all those rules… Sampson is like a baby to the girls they have not let him walk any were, & fight over whose turn it is to hold him. Josh has a permanent smile on his face his nickname for Sampson is buddy. Sampson dad is an 80-pound Chocolate Labrador & his mom is a 65 or 70-pound Golden Retriever (I cannot remember what Josh told me). His is the only black Lab in a litter of 12. Josh was going to take him to work with him today but the girls were freaking out about coming home after school & not being able to play with him therefore Josh left Sampson here & on his way out he said, “take care of my dog!” My plan for Sampson today is to hang out in his new back yard. If that is not taking care of his dog oh well that is what he will get with me until he stops pooping!

Needing a little advice…

I have a huge crisis I have three wonderful little ladies who wake up every morning happy & excited to start their day. However, that is not the dilemma happy girls are my blessing. It is me… I am not a morning person at all it was a lot easier when I drank Mountain Dew for a little pick me up. Seeing as I stopped drinking soda, I am having a hard time waking up with a smile & song! Even with an amazing pep talk, which I give myself every night I still wake up with a smile upside down. My girls need happy not grumpy dwarf for a mother. What can I do to make mornings better for everyone?

A Personal Challenge going out to the Caldwell side...

We challenge all you on the Caldwell side who has not started a blog to do so now. If you all do, it will keep all the cousins in touch & do not to forget the grandparents who love to brag about all their sweet, smart, kind, wonderful, & loving grandkids… The question here is not “why” it is “why not?”

JUMPIN' with the Parrys...

Our sweet friends David, Kelly, & Grace Parry came over today to have lunch, play, & see our new house. It was a great time for us all & a treat for me, to have adult conversation after a week of hangin' with myself. Now that the girls are back in school, I find myself getting bored... I think I am going to get a JOB for a few hours a day while they are at school! Grace loved hangin' with the girls & playing with their toys & the girls loved having a baby around to play with. We sure do miss hangin' out with the Parry's! Kelly did not jump because she is a month away from having their second baby Grace is going to be a fanatic BIG sister to a little brother.

A Sneak with my Daddy...

Josh got Hannah up this morning & got her ready to go on a SNEAK with him... He took her fishing, which was something she has wanted to do for a while now. We all know why now she caught seven beautiful Rainbow Trout the two biggest were 17in long. It was extremely cute every time she caught one she would call me just as excited as can be telling me all about the fish and how big it is...She also thought it was funny that the only fish her dad caught was the runt at 6in. The girls love going on SNEAKS with their dad, & he loves it too! : )

Were did our Summer go?

Addie loves school & is very exited to start at a NEW school to make NEW friends & have them come over to her NEW house. All our girls are lookin' good & are very eager to make friends. We are thrilled that they are willing to makes friends & not be timid.

Hannah is ready for a NEW start & make NEW friends too.

Patience with her NEW hair cut, ready to make NEW friends at her NEW middle school. She looks very pretty.

Labor Day Weekend Yard Work...

I got to pull out bushes that we no longer wanted.

Josh planted new trees with help from the girls.

The Hike was Fun!

Our girls are the best!

Lunch was just OKAY!

We had a hard Labor Day weekend we did yard work all weekend long with only a little break to go to Church & on a hike. Monday, we took the girls to lunch to a little café at Multnomah Falls & hiked all the way to the top of Multnomah Falls, which was not a terrible hike however, it did take a while to accomplish since we were exhausted from all the yard work we did over the weekend. Nevertheless, we did make it to the top & stopped to play in the refreshing cool water, Patience & Hannah both fell in the water, which is extremely normal for those two. It was an incredible hike with stunning sights & amazing company…

Back 2 school is...

We are NOT morning people!