Did Kim Really Update Her Blog?

Yes I did!  Not as much as I would like, but I wanted to post some pics from our Utah trip last month....

Our first stop was St. George with my Dad and the rest of the Hawker clan.  We had a great time, including a game of Balderdash that lasted until 2:00 am, swimming and a hike in Snow Canyon that the kids enjoyed beyond words.  Who wouldn't love playing in sand and jumping on and around big red rocks?? Awesome...

Lauren was very serious about her landscaping job here.  She worked for as long as we would let her replanting those plants she found- with Andrew as her helpful sidekick!

So, does it look like Olivia is lifting the rock?  Because that was the effect we were going for :-)

Having Andrew, Heidi and Brady with us was one of the reasons this was such a fun day- thanks for sharing this with us Prestons!

Fun in the pool!

Josh discovered the Captain Underpants books on this trip and inhaled them all before we even got home.  Oh well, anything that takes him away from his beloved DS is fine by me!

When we got back to Salt Lake, we were busy with Easter festivities.  First came coloring Easter eggs with Grandma Pam...

We still made time for Grandma's famous chocolate chip cookies (and only slightly less famous dough).  Livi is feeling really ripped off at this moment- we are all really concerned with how much sugar Heidi lets Andrew eat :-)

Easter morning, we met my Dad and Uncle Todd at Little America for brunch- lots of yummy food and great company!  Hmmmm...I wonder how the kids feel about their Grandpa...

One of the highlights of our visit was spending time with our beloved cousins.  There were fun activities like an Easter egg hunt, going to the zoo, aquarium and movies, and lots of sleepovers.  We wish they all lived in Seattle with us!

This isn't even all of the Goates cousins, they are quite a crew!

One of the last things we did was go watch Grandpa play softball with his (not kidding) Gold Medal winning team "Steel Strong".  That was so fun- and it made it even more exciting for Lauren to start her first T-Ball season when we got home!

More to come, I will try to update again soon! 

Winter Fun!

Well, I thought it was time for an update of the Goates happenings since Christmas- Thanks for looking in on us!

Josh just finished 6 weeks of ski bus.  He got to head for the slopes after school on Wednesdays with his friends and learn how to ski.  This was very important to me because I was 16 when I went skiing for the first time and it was very traumatic :-)  I think this will be something that Josh enjoys in the years to come because his main complaint was that they didn't let him "ski down the mountain".  The last two lessons were his favorite because he got to go up on a lift.  If the snow holds in Utah, Paul and I want to go with him when we are there in April.  It has been about 15 years since I have been skiing so I am sure Josh will be teaching me a thing or two!!

During winter break, we went to a new attraction here in the Northwest called Great Wolf Lodge.  It is a hotel with it's own indoor water park.  What a great idea for a place like Seattle!  It is totally geared for kids with bedtime story shows, magic wands that turn things on around the hotel, kid food in the restaurants and, of course, the water park.  We went with another family which made it that much more exciting for the kids.  We all had a great time and will definitely be going back!






Don't these two look like they could be sisters?  Someone asked us if they were twins.  No, just good friends.  But they are both named Lauren! :-)

Olivia's favorite activity this winter continues to be her prized dance class.  She is always so proud and every Tuesday announces to anyone who will listen that it is HER dance class day.


Lauren continues to love her dance class as well, but she also enjoys her Friday soccer class with Coach Scott.  He is so great with the kids, teaching them not only soccer skills but good sportsmanship.  The other day, Lauren asked me if she could give Scott a paper heart that she had made.  I think she has a little crush on him :-)

In February, Paul took Josh to Disneyland while he was in town for a business meeting. They stayed with Paul's little sis so Josh got to play with his cousins that he hardly ever sees and he was in heaven. I am so glad they were able to do this together but I can't wait to go with our whole family! (I have to say that we will definitely have more/better pictures when I am around!)




So, this is what I woke up to on Valentine's Day.  You need to click on the picture so that you can see it up close....I guess Paul saw this squash at the store and thought, of course, "this looks like a funny head!  I could make something out of this!"  Actually, I have no idea what he thought- but this was the result!  It made me smile for days......

Finally Wrapping Up 2008!

I just had to include this one. Our leaves fell a few days before the big snowstorm hit in December. The girls had a blast throwing and jumping in them for over an hour. I thought this was a really cute picture of the two of them...


As I mentioned, we had a snowstorm in December, a big one. This usually doesn't happen around here and so Seattle was in lockdown mode. Schools were closed for the 5 days before winter break, busses were sliding off the roads, people were stuck in their homes for days. We live at the bottom of a hill and neither of our cars are 4WD so we were stuck. Tracy really saved us. There were several times she braved the dangerously slick roads to get her Jeep to us so that we could get some shopping done and pick people up from the airport. Thank you Trace!! Except for a few of these trips, we were stuck at the house for 9 days! Thankfully we had Christmas activities like the gingerbread house and making Santa's cookies to help pass the time. The kids also loved playing in the snow and, with Paul's help, made some interesting snow creations and went ice-sledding down the street. Good times....









We were so grateful that my Dad came for Christmas. As usual, he made sure we were well fed (one of our dinners was Dad's famous dutch oven chicken that I hadn't had forever!) and he was so generous with his Christmas gifts. He gave me a beautiful necklace from Tiffany's because he wanted to give me something that made me "feel special". It made me cry! He sure was a trooper too. He got this totally tricked-out new bike for Lauren and spent hours on Christmas Eve putting it together. What a sweet Grandpa! We all got such a kick out of all the bells and whistles on this thing. Notice the flower in his hand that goes in one of the bike's two bud vases......


The scene Christmas morning.....





She loved it!!


These two beautiful dresses were made by my sweet Grandma Hawker who spent countless hours making them. She had made some for us when we were little girls that we wore until they were literally rags. Seeing my girls in dresses like mine meant the world to me. What a labor of love- Thank You Grandma!


On Christmas Day, Grandma Claudia came to stay with us and spent the next six days playing, cleaning, babysitting and cooking. I am sure she needed a big rest after her visit, but we sure loved having her!


I also want to thank my Mom. Once again she went way above and beyond and absolutely spoiled all of us. Among countless other things, she spent so much time racing all over town trying to find the exact Wii game that Josh wanted, and researching the best camcorder to get Paul and I. Thank you Mom!

This will always be such a memorable Christmas for us. We were so grateful that Dad, Claudia and Tracy were able to be here when most family parties got canceled because of the storm. Also, the obvious thought, love and preparation that went in to our gifts was so touching. We are so grateful for our family and friends who make life so special and we look forward sharing a wonderful 2009 with all of you!