Love Fest '08

Valentines Day! Just another reason to party!:) We had a few little ones and their mommies over for the special occasion.


Sweetie Ella. I loved this picture.


3 little ducks all in a row.


Candee, Amanda, and Tara (and Lizzy)


Our lollipops that Em and I worked feverishly on earlier this week. We used cut out hearts as the petals and the lollipop was the center! Thanks for the great idea, Nat!


Our heart pizza from Valentine's Eve. We like to make it a week long event around here.


Handsome Devil up to no-good.


Working on our craft surprise for the daddies.



The whole gang! Thanks for coming! We love you all!!!!

Daddy Date

On Tuesday Emme and Chad went on their first official "daddy date." They went and saw the new "Beggie Tales" (that's what E calls it). It was her first time in the theater, and I think she enjoyed it! All she told me that they got some "fruit duds" and the movie was really loud and that the seats were red...hmmm..not a thing about the movie, but hey! I'll assume it was a positive experience.:) Here are some pictures of the cute couple!

On the Road to Random

Some of you know how I crave a good field trip! Here is one of our excursion pics that I took from last week. Debbie (my mother in law) drove us through Toppenish, the town that she grew up in, while we were in Washington. This is her old house where she lived until the 3rd grade! I thought it was interesting hearing her reminisce about living here. I always like a drive down memory lane!:)

Chad's grandparents, Darrell and Peggy, with Debbie and the kids


Happy 30th Birthday Kelly! For my friend Kelly's 30th birthday we went to the Melting Pot restaurant downtown. It was delicious! We tried to surprise her, but being the detective that she is, she found out the day of the party...oh well! I still blindfolded her just for fun when she walked into the room!!:)



Just a random cute picture of Levi in his new snowsuit!

p.s. I realize that this is bragging, but I photoshopped the 2 pictures myself! It may have taken an hour, but it's fun playing around with the actions..;)

The Rest of the Story

Most of you know what happened last Saturday, but for those who don't.....we were visiting Chad's parents for the weekend in Yakima when the crash happened. Debbie (my mother in law), Emme and Levi were all in the car when it happened. I was attempting to drive through an intersection while the other driver, who was driving the opposite direction, was attempting to take a left right in front of me. It had been snowing and slick roads....needless to say, he did not allow himself enough time to get some traction and turn before I slammed into him.....and then I slammed into the person behind him and then hit a telephone pole. Thankfully enough, no one was seriously hurt. I have moderate whiplash and Debbie also has had some back issues for which we are being treated for. Emme and Levi are doing well..definitely shaken up after the air bags deployed (extremely loud!) and of course, the actual collisions..

Anyway, now we just have to deal with the insurance for this whole mess! Not easy..especially being out of state.. the car is fixable (amazingly enough)! And that's the rest of the story.....

Guardian Angels Score Some Overtime

Yep.

Not good.

Nope, not my fault.

Everyone is safe and sound. Praise the Lord.

Except Ol' Blue. Poor girl.

Just a little whiplash. I think.

Hey, we always like an adventure! That's how we roll! :)

No, we didn't roll, I'm just sayin'...

Hopefully we'll will be back home soon.

After the roads are cleared from the foot of snow that dumped today!

Yikes.

Pray for safety as we travel through the Blue Mountains if you can!

No, not travelling on our bicycles. :)

See ya soon.

Plants and Sew On

When I walk into someone's house for the first time and I decide that I really love their decorating style, I try to think about what it is that I exactly like about it. What makes it feel like a home. I think it's the amount of living things in the home. Namely plants. I think plants always look good and make a home look great. So when my Aunt Ramona came to visit this week, we decided to repot some plants I had that were looking rather sad. (read: all of my plants)



We repotted all the plants in the house and gave them fresh soil. This one looks much happier, don't you think?





She also is a sewing guru, in addition to a Plant Technician, so we came up with this little number for Emme's stained little chair. A cute little slipcover that can be pulled off and washed easily.


The finished product



My male model and the cute button accent




The main reason for her trip!! Emme's little curtain project that I had been wanting to sew now for a few months. Ramona taught me how to make the pleated ruffle and how to draw up the back with ribbon! It turned out perfectly.

Thanks Ramona for a wonderful visit and for all of your help!!

Merry Christmoose, belated of course

I am finally getting up the nerve to sift through 600 pictures of our Alaskan Christmas vacation! An daunting task for sure! I don't want to bore you with all of them (can I hear an AMEN?) so I am just posting a few from each event that I find interesting. See? I really do have your best interest in mind.

Update: Sorry some of the pics are sideways! I'm not ambitious enough to fix them now after blogging for an hour!!:)

A moose in the backyard! Now what a way to start our vacation!:)


Nat's first time seeing a moose. Nerd.


Our trip home started with awesome facials for Nat and I, and Gretch and Angie got massages. Definitely the way to begin a holiday!


My aunt Dorothy and I hanging out with my brother Bernie! As most of you know he is in Quatar right now, but he had this one-dimensional cutout made of himself so we could take him to all of our events! And he actually wore that elf costume while working! He is such a funny guy, even when he's not around.:)



A toast to Bern

Here are 15 of the 16 great grandkids from the Kale side!
What an awesome legacy.



Here are G-ma Batten's great grand kids!
She needs to get on the ball to catch up to the Kale side!:):)



Me and my boyfriend



We hardly got any presents this year!! Sidenote: I hope someone got Mom and Dad
game this year!


Em's new Christmas tent, also known as the "Tent of No Return". You'll have to ask me about it.




"Greta, have you seen the inside of my "Tent of No Return?"



Levi is such a monkey! Always climbing, and looking quite pleased about himself.




We had an AWESOME dinner of prime rib and crab legs while we were home.
So yummy. Great job Dad.



G-pop giving Levi a lesson in "how to ride a pony safely"




This is more Emme's type of pony



"Back away Mom, this is my photo op" Nephew Finn, age 9 1/2 mos.





Meet Angie! She will be the newest Kale come June! She is an awesome girl; Bern is a lucky guy.




Nat and I's first time seeing snow!!



Carsten, my cousin who is also 3 like Emme, enjoyed making sugar cookies with G-ma B. They used every last sugar crystal in the house.







An awesome gingerbread town fashioned after Tiny Tim's in Charles Dicken's book.




Chad trying to make out with me.


A whole family picture!



Christmas eve at G-ma Batten's house. Lots of family, busyness, and food. All things I love.




Cutie Aunt Ramona. I surprised her by taking the picture...and I know she looks at the blog, so I am posting it! Love ya R!




"sledding" with Carsten and Emme in the leaf-laden sled


A Phillips family pic in front of G-ma Kale's house. You perhaps
are wondering what Emme has on her eyes...well my peeps, that
is MAC spice long-last lipstick. And they weren't kidding about the long-last.


My beautiful 3 year old. With Nat holding the backdrop.




Levi during his photoshoot..umm..this is the best shot I got.





Cookie decorating party! The week before Christmas. The
fruits of her labor.



Levi quite enjoying his ride on the boogie board in the driveway!!



Nat's new myspace* picture, doesn't she look mysterious?

Guess Who?

Guess which one of my sisters is pregnant?





Could it be Nat?



She does this sick trick where she can puff her belly out super far. I hear that only the strongest of ab muscles can do that effectively..:) (Did I say that right Nat?)






Or Gretch?


Yep, it's Gretchen! She and Phil are expecting a bouncing bundle of joy this August!

Congratulations guys! We love you!! I can't wait to meet your newest addition.:)




Christmas pics to come....