Cannon Beach

Wow- I just had a very hard time choosing the pics to add for this post! There are so many great ones! We had a wonderful time with the Hawker clan and we were reminded that we need to do this often! It was our first time to Cannon Beach and we loved it. The cool weather was very welcome and the kids (and adults!) had a blast flying kites! The wind was so perfect that we basically just had to let go and it would fly into the air! Paul bought a serious two-string-with-handles one that we were sure was going to kill us all. When this thing came crashing down it sounded like a plane going down! Josh loved it- he did a pretty good job handling it on his own too! Lauren had a great time getting a ton of attention especially from Grandpa. She begged to ride with him EVERYWHERE we went. It was fun to see.

We had a great time going on the rides (tilt-a-whirl and bumper cars) in Seaside, collecting sand dollars on the beach, enjoying Grandpa's awesome cooking, and staying up late playing games. It was a blast- I can't wait for the next trip!

Livi's Birthday

Olivia's Birthday was so much fun. For the first time, we were able to have an outdoor party at our house! Livi is our first baby with a summer birthday and we love it. We set up the slip-n-slide and swimming pool, brought out the bikes and playsets, and had a great time. We are at the end of a cul-de-sac with no homes across from us so we pretty much claim the "circle" to ourselves. The kids were able to play and play while the adults got to visit. One interesting thing was Livi's reaction to her cake- she poked her finger in a little bit, but never dove in like Lauren did. She did like tasting the frosting on her fingers, though. She is still only walking behind a push toy. I was hoping that she would be walking before our camping trip next week so she isn't crawling in the mud- but no such luck! :-) She is a constant reminder that kids are on their own schedule and we don't have much say in it!

We had a wonderful trip to Cannon Beach with Grandpa Hawker and the rest of the Hawker clan a couple of weeks ago- I will download pics from that next time..

Fourth of July 2007

We had a wonderful 4th of July this year...first of all, it was our sweet little Olivia's first birthday! She is such a joy, and definately her own little person. She is standing for a few seconds, but that is about it. It will probably be another month before she is walking around. She just barely started crawling normally a few weeks ago! Grandma Pam made cupcakes to give to the kids when we went to see the fireworks and they all loved that. I think that will be a fun tradition for us.

Speaking of the fireworks, they were amazing! A friend of ours just bought a beautiful piece of property in Hunts Point, just a few minutes from our home. It is 1 1/2 acres of flat grass right on Lake Washington. Beautiful. The barge that shot off the fireworks was right in front of us. We had an absolute blast. The morning of the fourth was fun too, we decorated Josh's escalade and rode in our neighborhoods childrens parade. At the end, there was music, hot dogs, and strawberry shortcake. We missed it last year because I was in the hospital with Olivia so it was fun to be able to do it again.

We had Olivia's party last night at our house and it was so nice. But, more on that next time (after I have downloaded the pics).

Here We Go!

Wow- I am a little nervous about this! Maybe I won't tell anybody about it until I am sure that I will update it on a regular basis....hmmmmm :-)

This whole concept is completely new to me- but what a great idea! It is such a fun way for family and friends to check in on each other when they have a minute. I know that I have sure had a lot of fun looking at the blogs of some of my oldest friends! What is really fun is when people have links on their pages to the blogs of people that I know and have lost touch with. I feel like I have gone to a little high school reunion!

Here is a bit of info about our kids (the main reason we are doing this- they change every day!) :

Joshua Paul was born in November 2001. He is an absolute joy. We have yet to find a kid who is his age who is as tall as him so it looks like he will follow in the rather large footsteps of his dear old Dad :-)

Lauren Elizabeth joined the party in November 2003. Yes, it would seem that November is a really good month for us (or rather, February) :-) She is our little spitfire and has a personality and smile that light up the room. She is going to be an absolute blast...

Olivia Katherine was born on the Fourth of July (2006). She is an absolute replica (except for the fact that she is a baby girl) of her Daddy and can rarely be found without a smile on her face. Seriously, she is ALWAYS smiling. And it seems to be contagious! No one can look at that sweet little girl without grinning from ear to ear. :-)

Our lives are so blessed by these three precious souls. We are so grateful for them, each other and all of our dear family and friends. I think that this will be a fun way to keep up with each others lives and I look forward to getting word that more of you have begun a blog of your own!

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