Goodbye June, Hello July!

Towards the end of June we went to Fort Casey with Mark's family...

I'm scared, are you?

It's been lovely outside - so much so that we dusted off the kiddy pool and filled it up.

 The past couple of days we have seen nothing but beautiful blue skies. Although the hot rays are browning our lawn, we don't care, the vitamin D seeping into our pores feels too good.

You are beautiful to me.

"Mom, I don't need a brother, I have Parker."

July 3rd - At the Skiles' for a BBQ. Grace LOVES her buddy Camille.

July 4th - In the morning we went to the Sedro Woolley Parade. The highlight: Seeing our little girl walk in the parade with her buddy Camille. They went to a cheer clinic together and had a great time!

Princess wave :)

                              

We did it!!!

Waiting for Gracie after the parade was Kaylin - A.K.A. Gracie's B.F.F.

The girls hamming it up. The men apparently under a chainsaw carving trance.

At the Logging exhibition.

After the parade and logging exhibition we went back to our house for a BBQ and smoke bombs.

The girls watching intently as the boys light firecrackers.

The girls after the firecrackers went off.

Killing some time on a beautiful day.

My entire world. 

In the evening we went to the Sedro Woolley Carnival.

She's quite the handful.

A sincere thank you to all of the men and women who have sacrificed on our behalf. I thank God that I was born into such a privaledged nation and I am grateful that so many of my brothers and sisters serve as protectors of this blessed land.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

D days

D as in Daddy. For the past two weeks Gracie and I have had the privaledge of spending morning, noon and night with the man that we love (daddy) and we've made the most of our time with him.

We kicked things off by going to a Mariner's game with my family. Here we are at the end of the game with my brother Andrew...

Some of you might be asking yourselves, 'Where is Anne?' Look closer, I'm the one squished in the middle. Andrew thought it would be funny to squish me out of the picture at the last second, and like a knight in shining armor Mark came to my rescue and said.... "okay, hee hee hee." 

Round two turned out much better...

 A few days later we traveled to Tacoma (we went slumming) and rented a hotel room for the night. The next morning we woke up and spent the day at the Point Defiance Zoo. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and we really enjoyed ourselves. Here's Mark and Gracie on a camel...

I swear I heard the camel mumble "please no" when Mark hopped on.

Feeding the birds was fun! Well, for Mark and I. Gracie wanted nothing to do with them.

Puppy in a bird's nest?...

The zoo puts on a wonderful 40 minute show where all sorts of animals do tricks. Gracie was entranced the whole time and when they allowed kids to come down and pet the star of the show (a dog named  Harold) Gracie was one of the first ones down there (I'm pretty sure some elbows were thrown, but no one got hurt :)

Mark's childhood friend Jordan Dunn and his little family were up from Arizona and we got to spend some time with them at the Mukilteo Beach. Their two boys are simply adorable and super hilarious and we had a great time!

Bike rack tunnel...

(Mark putting out the vibe.)

A week ago Mark's sister Cami and her 4 kids traveled up here from Arizona and we spent the rest of Mark's vacation time with them.

We went to the Everett Children's museum...

We took a ferry boat ride over to Kingston...

then we stopped in Sequim at the Game animal farm where we nearly peed our pants on several occasions (if you've never been to this farm you MUST go!!!)

The animals get right up close to the cars

and sometimes in them...

Then we continued traveling to our cabin. When we arrived at Three Rivers Resort (Twilight headquarters), the boys set up camp for us people, while the girls and I set up camp for Barbie.

This was the original Barbie hut.

Then creative juices started flowing in the girls and Barbie went camo...

The next day we combed the beach.

This little hole in the rock is called "hole in the wall" (we have no idea where they came up with that name :)

Gracie was tickled orange and purple with all of the starfish!

On the trek back (about a mile walk in loose sand).

We found this poor, lifeless sea lion. Mark tried having a heart to heart with it - he's just a sensitive guy.

We hiked through the Hoh National rainforest. Here we are at a little part refered to as "mossey grove" but we prefered "orangutan forest".

'Group hug'. The grandkids with Grandma & Pop Francis.

Leaving the Rainforest, I spotted an Elk just 4 or 5 yards from the road. I got out of the car and got about three yards away from it but then I stopped - the thought of being gourded flashed through my mind.

It sure was magnificent!

At night we whipped out the graham crackers, marshmallows and hershey bars and made S'MORES!!!!!

On our final day on the peninsula we traveled up to Neah Bay on the Makaw Indian reservation. We hiked to Cape Flattery, the most Northwestern point in the continental U.S.

Gracie taking a break...

Vacation over. Time for Mark to shave off the beard and prepare to go back to work... 

Thank goodness this look doesn't meet the State Patrol's standards. Mark liked it a little too much :)

May Days

May has marked the beginning of pleasant weather in Western Washington, which has been very much anticipated by EVERYONE here, especially the Francis Family! FINALLY, we can thoroughly enjoy the outdoors! I'm no wussy, so a few play dates in the rain or cloudy day hikes are no big deal, BUT, every now and then a warm sunny day is needed and we have been deprived of those days LONG ENOUGH! The other day was an exceptional spring day so we ventured over to Fort Casey on Whidbey Island.

Gracie enjoyed watching 'Ariel' fly high in the sky.

Down in the bunkers...

Gracie modeling the "princess Ariel neckalce" mommy fashioned out of a seashell and seaweed.

May has marked the end of school for Gracie. First year of preschool completed! Here she is with her "graduating class"...

T-shirts read: "Our Toadally cool class"

and they have the children's thumb prints in green paint made to look like frogs.

Grandma & Pop Francis came to the "graduation" potluck...

Proud parents of a graduate :)

E.A.S.T.E.R.

E is for Edible decorations. These were the treats I made for Gracie's School Party. They were easy and fun!

A is for Accessories... Gracie LOVED the Easter hat, gloves and pearl necklace we found at Target for only $1!!! When I was a little girl my grandma bought me Easter accessories. Getting the chance to wear them with a pretty dress to church was one of the many things I loved about Easter! I couldn't (and still don't) understand why we only wore these fun things once a year!

S is for Shooting Guns. Not your typical Easter festivity, but we enjoyed it nonetheless! :) It was hot and sunny (cue the choir - "hallelujah") and Gracie was a very safe observer!

T is for Tulips. A few days before Easter we joined our friends at the Roozengaarde Tulip farm. So many beautiful flowers!!

E is for Egg hunts!! Last year there were a lot of tears, but this year there were just laughs! There were a lot of eggs and nearly just as many people, but after minutes of "coaching" Gracie seemed ready for the challenge! She was told to pick up as many eggs as she could, then run fast towards the back of the field, and above all, HAVE FUN! Here's what she did with our "tips"...

R is for Ressurrection. With all of the hoopla that surrounds us around each and every holiday there is always a story to be told;  the reason why we celebrate. The story behind Easter is the most important one that any one of us can ever hear - if we know it, then we are truly blessed, for there are many who have never heard it, or have simply forgotten. Here it is in a nut shell: There was a man who lived long ago (think over 2,000 years ago), He died an excruciating death, 3 days later He came back to life and He still lives today. Impossible? Not for the Son of God! His name is Jesus. He was the first man to overcome death (or be Ressurrected). He did this on behalf of EVERY person and we too can overcome death ourselves, and live with God in heaven, by believing in the man who made this all possible, Jesus Christ. If that's not a reason to celebrate, then I don't know what is!

( Gracie with her church pals )

FUNNY STORY: Some of you know just how much Gracie loves to eat. She is hungry from morning till night and sometimes in her sleep! While on a night walk, Gracie and I were talking about Jesus - I was telling her the story of His ressurrection - and after answering some of her questions, she looked up at me and said, "Mom, I don't want to go to heaven." I said, "Why not honey? Don't you want to see Jesus?" She replied, "I DO want to see Jesus but I think I will be hungry in heaven... does Jesus have any food?" LOL!! Funny girl.

Pictures of you

I went through photographs today.
I do this sometimes.
I stared into the eyes of my little one at the tender age of 3 months, 6months, a year, and so on…
Tears welled up.
One particular photo got me thinking…
It is a picture of Gracie, 6 months old, sitting in a moving box. She is completely nude except for a diaper and a pink bow in her hair. She is happy, and it looks as if I caught her playing peek-a-boo with herself. With herself. The questions poured…
Why with herself? How did she look when she crawled over to and under the box? Did I play with her for awhile? Did I pick her up, smell her sweet baby skin and kiss her neck? What did she sound like when she giggled?
I wish I could remember the details.
Photo upon photo this thought kept coming to me; I wish I could remember the sweet details.
Instead I remembered ridiculous things like how fat I felt or how much a ferry ticket cost.
Like a bullet piercing my heart I realized that I had missed out on so much.
I still miss out.
I miss out because I am too busy being busy. Often I do not contently listen to the gut wrenching giggles from my 4 year old as she rolls around with the dog, instead I dream of someday owning a dog that doesn’t shed.
Too often I trade minutes of watching the magic within my beautiful daughter for a stupid broom. Just a few days ago I missed out on savoring the sun shining down on my face, as I sat in the backyard with my family, because I was too immersed in taking mental notes of much needed home improvements.
Why do I focus so much of my energy on plotting, planning, and preparing for tomorrow as if tomorrow has already been promised to me?
I do not live in the moment enough.
This became perfectly clear once I realized that so many moments are already gone…


“ I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.”
-Anna Quindlen