What'ch you know 'bout me?

Here it is...

Our first roadtrip of 2009 was to my brother Ben's stomping grounds, Portland, OR. We went down there for a whirlwinding 36-hour adventure that included: Maddie's first taste of authentic Pho, lots of downtown shopping (Buffalo Exchange, Powells, Nike, etc.), lunch at vending cart central by Maile's work, frog legs and mac and cheese at Montage, a trip to Mill Ends Park, with dessert at VooDoo Donuts, and lots of great hanging out in between. Maddie slept on the way down to Portland and the way back...what a blessing! The best part of the trip was spending such quality time with Ben and Maile in their element. Ben took the day off to tour us around the city while listening to mostly authentic Portland tunes in the car (ie, the Decemberists, etc.). I say mostly because Ben played "Lipgloss" by Lil Mama, saying, "If there was one song I came to love this summer here it is." He then hit play and the rest is as they say, history. Check it out for yourself after looking at the overdue pics from our early July roadtrip:

Maddie wasn't sure what Pho she was eating but she liked it.

She wasn't super thrilled to frequent the world's smallest park...go ahead, google it!

Maddie's first taste of frog legs...ours too. Please don't call CPS, she liked them!

Look @ Ben...enough said.

Leftovers @ Montage are put in foil sculptures...we got a whale, squirrel, rat, and flower.

Maddie poppin' her lipgloss on Ben and Maile's awesome front porch. They have a beautiful urban house!

Voodoo donuts...mmm.


Thanks for a great time!

Red Lobster Serves Animal Crackers?

We have been really busy with weddings, anniversaries (really just ours on 7.21), road trips, etc. So posting has been tough. I have lots of pictures from those events, so I plan on posting them well after the fact just to share some of the great moments. Some of those specific events in the order they will be posted include: a trip to Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, Nikki and Dan's Wedding, a road trip to Portland, and eventually our trip to San Diego. First, here are some pics from our trip to the new Spokane Red Lobster.

I love seafood and I love Red Lobster. I have long asked the CDA people if they thought Spokane would ever get a Red Lobster...they always told me flat out "NO." They said they liked keeping busy and that a Spokane franchise would impact their business. I think they were wrong with respect to both. They did build one (by Northtown Mall) and I think both are keeping plenty busy...according to the lines out front.

Maddie started her night at Red Lobster with animal crackers...this quickly progressed once she discovered the rest of their menu.

How about that "homemade" bib:)

She discovered that, like her dad, she loves lemons and limes. Of course, this was her first look upon realizing that they are both sour:)

With more to come,

Payback: the new game...

The video below speaks for itself. This is the new game being played in our home, and keep in mind that this is only 2 minutes. She would do this for hours!

Playing w/ Blocks...

Here is proof, as to why our Yellow Lab, Nils, is more of a terror than @ first impression.  We have called him hyper, hairy, and much worse, but some people don't believe me that his shedding and shear insensitivity to other people's toys is getting to a tipping point.  I am not saying that a six year old, 80 lb Yellow Lab is going to pop up on Craig's list anytime soon, but I am just saying.

4th of July Parade, BBQ, Swimming, and BBQ...

So last 4th of July, we woke up thinking it would be just like any other 4th of July...it wasn't. We looked outside to a huge firetruck in the street honking with hundreds of kids on bikes, strollers, wagons, etc. Our neighborhood has its own parade. We had to laugh...who wouldn't? But as time passed and this year's 4th crept closer and closer, we realized that it was pretty neat. Of course, last year I was about 8 months pregnant and this year we had a cute little red, white, and blue dress for the event. Granted we would rather own a lake place, but we don't (any donations?). So, we were fortunate enough to have a great parade, great friends with a great pool, great BBQs (yes plural), and great Spokane fireworks. Here are some pics.





What a great country to live in! God bless the USA!

Those eyes...

Wonder where she gets those eyes? People love to comment on Maddie's big blue eyes. They say, "Where do those come from?" What do you think?


Thanks for being a great Uncle and Godfather, Uncle Ben! We will update you all on some great Blackhawk 4th of July Parade pics in the next few days.