We heart our cousins

Auntie Kate and her daugher Erin were in town visiting from Oklahoma and came over for lunch, accompanied by Auntie Mara and cousins Megan and Katelyn. It's hard to see in this picture, but baby Erin has the most gorgeous blue eyes you've ever seen. We wish you lived closer Kate!



The weather has been gorgeous so we just had to take another venture to the zoo with Auntie Sarah and cousins Miles & Christopher. I just can't get enough of that "baby fix" with that cute elephant romping around. Also witnessed a baby warthog. Not as cute as the elephant, but still worth a mention. Marin and Miles barely cared about the animals, they had too much fun running around and exploring off the beaten path.

And here is another random picture of my bathtub sweeties. Everytime I bathe them together, I get completely soaked. I keep thinking one of them is going to put up a fuss with all the massive splashing, but nooooo. I think they are conspiring to get Mom as drenched as possible. Oh well, that's what dryers are for, right?

Two happy holidays

I love having a birthday two days after Halloween. I used to have costume parties for my birthday growing up, and one of these years I am going to throw myself another one. But this year I had no need to throw myself a party. More on that later :)

For trick-or-treating, the little girls were ladybugs ~ yes both of them ~ of course they match!!! Marin was poring over her small stash of candy after we took them to Avamere Retirement Home to visit with the residents and collect some chocolate. After Avamere, we came home and visited a few neighbors before settling in for an evening of door bell ringing and take-out.

My 32nd birthday was on Sunday, and to celebrate, Kyle and I went to Park Kitchen for dinner Saturday evening while Nana babysat (thanks Nana!) ~ too bad we forgot our camera, because we were looking dapper that night! We spent half the time enjoying the place, and the other half making whispery fun of all the "HT's" that we could spot. Hoity Toity people are funny.

Then Sunday we had church, lunch, presents and lemon pie from my favorite: Beaverton Bakery. On top of the present pile was one which Kyle told me "you can't open this until 5pm". It made me crazy to wait, but I was a good girl.

So once 5pm rolled around, I ripped open the present ~ and to my surprise it was the first clue to a scavenger hunt! Devon and Sommer planned the most elaborate, funny and thoughtful adventure involving several of our other friends. All the stops included places with inside jokes, favorite stories and when I arrived at each place, a new friend was there to meet me and jump in my mini-van for the next leg! By the end I had a van full of friends and a heart full of happy :)
We ended the evening at Papa Haydn for dessert, and stayed out waaaaaay too late considering we all have young children who are not adjusted to daylight savings yet. Did I mention that I despise daylight savings? Never mind, I don't want to ruin my happy mood by thinking about it.

My birthday was so fun, and the best part is that I was not expecting all the attention and so the thrill of feeling special was that much more fabulous. Thank you to my besties and family for making my day!

And these pictures are just showing you how Maddie is becoming a ham.