It's Gone!

Kiera has been begging me for awhile now to cut her hair. I did not want to do it but promised her I'd let her after she "earned" it by doing some extra things for me around the house. Needless to say those things got done in a hurry and this mom had to live up to her word.
I will say I do miss her long hair and about started to cry as I watched the hair fall to the floor but I know it'll grow back. Kiera loves her short hair too and it's just in time for summer.

That is a lot of hair!

 (I love our little photo bomber Emma in the background) And You look beautiful no matter the length of your hair. I love you Kiera!

Color Vibe 5K

I ran another 5K this month. It was the Color Vibe run. I have always wanted to do one of these and the opportunity came when I found out they were hosting one right here in Arlington! I joined a team with a few friends and we had so much fun. We even got together and made rainbow colored tutus. Here's the before pictures as I was getting ready to head out that morning. I was trying to get my entire wardrobe in the shot so that's why it's such a unique angle. I wanted to show off my pink bandana I had on my leg (but lessons learned that's not the best place for a bandana. . .I got home only to find it had fallen off during the race and was lost). But oh well, it was still a blast!

Here's our team before the race

Me and Sheila. She serves with me in our ward's Young Women's program. Also the one I went to Time Out for Women Seattle with.

Me and Kristi. Another young women's leader I serve with and have become good friends with

At the start line waiting for the race to begin

We made it! This was probably one of the toughest 5K's I've ever ran before. There were lots of steep hills and even a HUGE flight of stairs to climb. But we did it and it felt great!

A few of the team that I was able to round up for an after shot. You can't tell too much in the picture but we really did get covered during the race in all the colored chalk.

Found another team mate. This is Autumn. We've been friends since Ethan was preschool aged. She was one of the moms I did our preschool mom co-op with. She serves in our Stake's primary presidency too.

a better close-up shot to show how much we really did get colored.

The race was so much fun and I would definitely do it again. This is what I went home looking like. When I got home Ellie didn't know what to think and didn't seem to recognize me.  Maybe I should do this much more often. It's not everyday you can disguise yourself from your children. Might be a good way to escape once in awhile :) As soon as I came back down stairs from showering Ellie was much happier and eager for a hug. It's nice to be loved too.

Random May Happenings

The month of May flew by so fast! I think its a combination of the anticipation of family vacations and the end of the school year when everyone is just DONE! Its so funny how at the beginning of the school year you just can't wait for school to start but by the end you just can't wait for it to be over.
I am looking forward to the school year to end but I am not sure I am ready for the kids to be home all day every day. I sure hope I can find things to keep everyone busy but I also hope we can relax and make the most of it.

Here's a bunch of random happenings for the month that don't necessarily merit their own post

So this is something that is long overdue. I finally got hardware for the kitchen cabinets. Almost 5 years in this house and I finally got rid of the holes in all the cupboards!

Oh Ellie! This little girl is growing so fast! She has gotten more teeth and her little personality is showing more everyday. She lights up any room with her toothy grin and is known in our ward as the happy baby. I love this little girl!

I found a good deal on some fuji apples at our local fruit stand and since we were running low on canned fruit I decided to buy a box and do a little canning.

This summer is turning out to be much drier than previous years. We've hardly had any rain, however with the lack of rain comes the abundance of sunny days and opportunity for family outings. We've been enjoying taking family walks for family nights and even found a new trail. I believe it is call the Iron Horse trail. It used to be a railroad that they've turned into a nice walking trail. We took everyone out for an evening walk and even enjoyed a picnic dinner while we were out. It was very pretty!

Even Ellie had a good time.

 We rented the movie "The Book of Life" from RedBox for family night one night and the kids were enthralled. Just look at those faces!

I think one of my favorite things is this view when we are all out as a family enjoying nature. Summer time is for sure my favorite season here in Washington! 

Just a couple more weeks and the kids will be out of school! Ready or not!

Memorial Day Weekend trip to Seaside, OR

For Memorial Day weekend my mom rented out a beach house in Seaside and we had a mini family reunion. However we were missing a few members of the family. My sister's husband Benji couldn't make it due to some tests for medical school he had to take and my brother Tyler and his family weren't able to come either. We had a good time though.  It was a nice little retreat. You can never go wrong with a trip to the beach!

Ethan and Nathan spent a long time building a long tunnel in the sand. I think Ethan just enjoyed having someone other than his sisters to play with.

Dan holding Ethan upside down in the tunnel

Alexis playing in the sand with Grandma "Tutu"

Left to Right: Nathan, Ethan, Kiera, Emma, Kayla, Alexis, Brittany and Ellie.

I Love any time I get to see my sister!

Ellie's first time at the beach. She did really well and did what most babies do and tried to eat the sand. We're just gearing up for our trip to Fort Steven's in July. Hopefully by then she won't try to put it in her mouth as much.  I was very thankful however that the weather was wonderful for us! The beach wasn't too windy or cold either. We enjoyed sunshine and even had to apply sunscreen this trip.

Was also good to see my brother Nathan and for this trip he brought a "special someone" along with him. Only time will tell if their relationship will turn into something more.

It was fun to go and visit my Aunt Judi and uncle Les and it was their first time meeting Ellie. This is a picture of Les holding Ellie. I don't think Ellie was quite sure of that man in the white beard.

Kayla and Emma hanging around the fire pit and Judi and Les's before we ate dinner there

Ethan found a mini tide pool and thought it was the perfect place to cool off.

Ellie hanging out at the beach house

and no trip to Seaside is complete without bumper cars the carousel and a trip to the candy man for salt water taffy

So fun seeing these two together. So wish we were closer!

Kiera and Ethan playing with their cousin Alexis

I hope that as my side of the family grows we can make getting together for these kinds of  reunions more of a tradition.

Phantom of the Opera

I told Dan for Mothers day I wanted a surprise date all planned by him. So he did just that. He gave me the date and said to dress up. He kept it a secret really well and I had no idea what we were doing until he told me to give him driving directions to the address as we were on our way there. It was great. I even bought a new necklace for the occasion. This is me all dressed up and ready for my hot date. I even did my hair in a new up-do.

Here I am taking Emma and Ellie to the babysitter's. AKA Ben and Kara's house. Ethan and Kiera were still in school when we left. They ended up coming back to the house so they were there when they got home on the bus. It worked out perfectly. Thanks Ben and Kara!

The play we went to was in the historic Paramount Theatre in downtown Seattle. The inside of this building was sooo cool. The pictures don't do it justice. I just kept thinking of how long it must have taken the artists to build this place and the hard work and detail that went into all the walls and ceilings was amazing!

Sorry this picture is so fuzzy. My camera on my phone isn't the greatest, especially in low light. Thanks honey for the great date! I loved it. The play was amazing too!