Aliah's Birthday Bash!

July 29th!  It is NOW kind of a big deal day!  It's my birthday, Ricky's Dad's Birthday, and Aliah's Birthday...(also the day we found out we were pregnant with Braxton:).  We went to Fred and Ann's for Aliah's big birthday celebration!  All the family was able to gather, and it was great to see everyone!  And I loved being able to swim with my boys!

STP 2012

This was our 3rd year going and being a support vehicle for my dad on his STP(Seattle to Portland) Bike Ride.  We had a blast!  We took Merrick along with us, and Braxton stayed with Aunty Mandy:)  It all seemed to go by way too fast this year...but always inspiring nonetheless.  We were up at 3:30 am, to make it to the startline by about 4:15am.  It is always so neat to see all the riders there ready to go.  We were able to get my dad right by the start line and in the first wave of riders.  I journaled below the pictures to give you a play by play:)

 Texting Mother Dear.....

This was absolutely beautiful, and my picture does NOT do it justice, but such a great view of the space needle!

Centralia 10:00am (100 miles into ride)

Merrick was LOVING every minute of this!

Ricky was a great navigator, and an awesome driver!

Time entering Centralia

Cemetary Hill, Just outside Castle Rock

 Getting ready to cross the Lewis Clark Bridge

 Coming down!

 Ten Miles Outside St. Helens about 20 to Portland

He said "SEE YA IN PORTLAND!"

 Crossing Bridge into Portland!

 Waiting for Dad to finish!

 WAY TO GO!

 The much anticipated Hot Dog:)



4th of July 2012

I absolutely love the 4th of July, it takes the cake as far as favorite holidays are concerned, followed closely by Thanksgiving and Christmas:)  I love everything about it, the colors, the bbq's, family, treats, fireworks, music, and the opportunity to remember and thank those who have served our country.  Mandy and I were REALLY in the 4th of July spirit and made this brownie cake balls, strawberries, and a few other goodies:)  We went over to my parents for a bbq and ate TONS of food!  My battery on my camera started to die towards the end of the night, so I didn't get any pictures of us all sitting around the fire pit, or the kiddos doing their sparklers:)  But they loved every minute of it:)  We sang songs, watched the fireworks from the fields, and played!