Funny ways...

A lot of unnexpected things have been coming out of Gracie's mouth lately. So funny that when I think about them they still make me giggle - I figure if they make me smile, they may tickle you as well...
A few weeks ago we started teaching Gracie her last name. Once she learned it she found it neccessary to call everyone by their first and last names... I became 'Mommy Francis', Mark became 'Daddy Francis' and Parker became 'Parker Francis'. One afternoon, I was putting her down for her daily nap when she asked to say a prayer. I said, 'okay' and we said a short prayer. After it was over I asked Gracie "Do you love Jesus?" She got a big smile on her face and she said, "Gracie loves Jesus Francis!" I couldn't help but chuckle right then and there. So cute.

Two weeks ago we were sitting down at the dinner table when Gracie "cut the cheese" - it wasn't a small block of cheese either! - so big and loud that Mark and I began laughing hysterically out of sheer amazement, but we quickly realized that we were setting a bad example, so we shifted into "parent mode". In an attempt to encourage Gracie to use her manners we said, "What do you say Gracie?" She said, "Ummm... I farted?" We have since taught her to say "excuse me" when she toots. Needless to say that night our stomaches hurt from laughter!

Just last week Gracie was throwing a tantrum during clean up time. After a few attempts to get her to pick up her toys I put my foot down and said, "We can do this mommy's way or the hard way" she looked at me and said, "Daddy's way!" I think we all know who the softie is around here! :)

Yesterday we were driving home from runnng errands when a small bird flew into our windshield. We were on the freeway, going 75 miles per hour so I'm sure the poor guy is dead, if not he's probably hurting pretty badly since he left a small trail of blood. Gross, I know. Don't worry, I'm not sadistic, this isn't the funny part. The funny part is what transpired afterwards... immediately after the bird hit the windshield Gracie said, "Ooo, a butterflie Mommy!!" I replied, "Oh, no honey... that was a bird!" She then said, "A bird?" I answered, "Yes, a bird." She thought for a moment and then said, "Ooo, that's delicious!" I think she was recalling the book we had read the night before - it had birds in it and one of them was a chicken. She loves chicken. Funny little girl.

Then, today I had a Dr.'s appointment due to the fact that we are having such a hard time getting pregnant. After telling me that all we can do is try, try, try some more (sigh...) my doctor then informed me that I was due for my yearly papsmear - yeahhh... what a lovely surprise.:( I had no idea this was going to take place today otherwise I would have found a sitter for Gracie but we rolled with the punches. Gracie sat quietly while the doctor placed my feet in the stirrups. She then looked over at me and said, " You gonna be ok Mommy. Gonna get you some medicine!" I said, "Oh, that's good Gracie." She then got off of the chair and took my hand and said, "Hold hands" I said, "Okay baby. Thank you." She then began watching my doctor (she couldn't see anything because she was down by my head). When my doctor grabbed "the tool" (you ladies will know what I'm talking about) Gracie looked at me with a big fat smile on her face and said, "Ooo... a flashlight! Gonna be fun, okay Mommy!" My doctor and I got a big chuckle out of that. Perhaps this last story was a little too much information... oh well.

Hope you enjoyed reading all about my litle girl and her funny ways. Until next time...

July FUN!!!

July has been one busy month for us! - particularly the last two weeks... On the 17th we packed the Jeep up, and the following morning we threw Parker in the back, popped in a DVD for Gracie, said a prayer and began our trek over to Idaho. We met up with all of Mark's family (his brother and sisters and their families) in Island Park,just 20 minutes away from West Yellowstone. We stayed in a cute little cabin - roomy enough for 17 people and made the most of our time together. We went to Yellowstone on two seperate occasions and spent countless hours admiring the beautiful things that God created for us - Geysers, Waterfalls, Bison, Elk, and Construction Workers (Although I don't think the construction workers were intended to be part of the show but they certainly made a few appearances as the park is currently getting some work done in a few areas.) Also we went rafting down the Snake river and got some "Old Time Photos". A couple of nights we stayed up late, just us adults, and played some board games... "that's so unnattractive!" (Inside joke). We had a wonderful time, even if Gracie seemed to show her icky side a lot more than we would have preferred but I think Mark's family understood... 2 year old, no naps, lots of excitement... need I say more?!:) I'm already missing them and I honestly hope we are able to continue our annual family reunions that we have somehow magically been able to have over the past three years.
Enjoy the pics...


Gracie with her cousin, Kaylin.


I love this picture!!



Gracie with her cousin, Dylan. She just adores him!


Multi-tasking... A girl's gotta eat!



PJ party!! Thanks auntie Tia for the cute jammies!


Another one of my favorites.


Just the guys. (Minus Dylan who was sleeping in the car.)


Just the girls.


All of the grandkids.


Mark hunting down his next victim during an intense game of "Marshmallow Wars".

Also, since we've been home we've gone to Jetty Island with my little sister, maddy...

Parker update...

Okay, so my brother Andrew was bummed that my last post said nothing of Parker... so, here you go Andrew!



Somedays I would like to drop him off on the side of the road with a $20 bill attached his collar... you know, down payment for the "lucky" person who finds him, but most days I don't mind having him around. In fact, there are many moments throughout the week that I feel grateful we have him - he's Gracie's playmate (I can only imagine how much he dislikes all of her shinanigins - but he puts up with it), he's my jogging partner (by default - Mark takes the stroller so I'm stuck with the 80lb giant with 4wheel drive... it's frustrating at first when I'd like to start out with a nice steady pace but it's wonderful towards the end of the jog when I'm feeling too tired to finish - he sort of carries me home), he's the ferocious protector of our home (when there's a knock at the door he barks in his deep barotone voice like a warrior hungry for a kill but that ceases the minute we open the door and he sees potential hugs and kisses from the poor frightened person on the other side) and he's a constant wet mop for the messy spills on our kitchen floor - with a 2 1/2 year old, there's always plenty!
He can be rather annoying and even disobediant... but, all in all, he's a wonderful addition to our family and I recieved no stretch marks in the process! :)

Trying to catch up...

It seems like time has somehow created itself a new and improved set of wings with lightning speed capabilities... is it really already July? It's hard to believe that 3 months have slipped by me - so much to catch up on!
Let's see... in May we flew to Cleveland to visit Mark's brother Brian and his family - he graduated dental school then and we most definitely wanted to be there to support him in that accomplishment. We had a great time hanging out with them and we were able to make the most of our time while we were there - We went to Niagra Falls, we stayed at the Great wolf lodge (indoor waterpark), we went to Kirtland and we went to a neat petting zoo - it was great fun! Even though Mark and I loved being there a small part of us wanted to rush home so that we could take a pregnancy test - I was 99% certain that I was pregnant and we we're both so excited to find out! In fact, that was the first thing we did when we got home and it turned out that I was right! A little baby was growing inside of me! Finally after nearly a year of trying we had successfully created another baby! Things were going smoothly for the first couple of weeks in June - we took Gracie to a lot of parks and started finishing some projects around the house...then bad news came knocking at our door: I began cramping - not normal pregnancy cramps - far more painful - 48 hours later I began bleeding. I tried convincing myself that a miscarriage was NOT happening but my heart knew it was! I was only 8 weeks pregnant but I already felt a connection with my baby and as soon as I started to bleed I felt him/her slip away. I had a difficult time letting it go - I told myself many things but in the end I had to face the music and realize that the baby that was inside of me was not meant to be - I know it might sound crazy to some of you but I loved that baby and it felt like I had lost a child. The tears eventually dried up and I took great comfort in the words of my closest friends and family. Mark was a ton of help during this difficult time for me and I couldn't ask for a better husband! I love him so very much! He truly is the greatest friend I've ever had!


Within the last three weeks we have had great weather here in Washington and we've been able to do a lot stuff outdoors. Two weekends ago we went shooting with Mark's dad ...




There's something completely sexy about a man that can hold a pistol!


Then again, there are women out there that prefer a more "dainty" approach and for them I give you...


Mark's dad, Lynn. He prefers to "model the entire package" - it's a technique he learned at "Smith & Wesson's male modeling academy" - he was their top 'hand held gun model' from 1984-1988! :)

We've spent a lot of time at parks!





We bought a new Jeep... no photo yet.

And last weekend we enjoyed the 4th of July in our hometown of Sedro Woolley. We thought it was going to be super lame - you know , small town - small budget, but we were wrong! It was a great day! Mark's parents drove up and spent the whole day with us, and we had a wonerful time. We went to the Logger rodeo, listened to some blue grass music, went home and had some delicious BBQ chicken, went to the carnival (where Gracie had the time of her life!) and then we pulled out the folding chairs and watched a surprisingly good firework show! All in all: a great 4th of July!!





We are currently counting down the days until Mark has his vacation time - less than two weeks away! We are planning a family trip to Yellowstone on the 18th of this month and we are far more excited for it than any grown adult should be!
I look forward to sharing photos and stories of our trip - until then...

Tulip Festival

Yesterday we spent the day at the Skagit County Tulip Festival and what a great day it was! The sun was out and there were millions of tulips everywhere - what more could a Tulip fan, such as myself, ask for? We went with our good friends Bob & Sarah - they brought their little guy, Connor (who is such a cutie pie... totally makes me want to have a boy!) and we of course had "boots" with us (we call Gracie "Boots" whenever she wears her princess moon boots)... look closely in some of the photos - you can see the infamous boots on her! Enjoy the pics!

Water! Please water!

Up until a few days ago we have had nothing but crummy weather here in Washington - I'm talking dark clouds and lots of rain - and for the most part we've all been in crummy moods to match... BUT, the last few days have been gorgeous and we haven't felt better! Saturday we planned a day at Fort Casey with my in-laws and it was sooo much fun!! It was nice to be able to get outdoors... we've been so cooped up inside it's no wonder that we've all been a little cranky!
When we arrived at fort Casey we immediately got bundled up - the wind is pretty strong there and it can feel rather cold. We then let Parker loose! There's a nice open field - perfect for puppies with lots of energy! (there's a leash law as well but we cheated a few times and let Parker go free ;) I think he really appreciated us for it!:) Gracie ran along side him - at times I wondered if perhaps she should be on a leash as well! We tossed the frisbee around and attempted to fly the $3 "Elmo" kite we had bought (last minute) for Gracie - all I can say is you get what you pay for - the thing lifted off the ground only when we we're sprinting - Gracie thought it was fun so I guess that's all that counts... of course she wasn't the one huffing and puffing around the field! We started moving our way towards the bunkers and as soon as Gracie overheard us say something about the water (the bunkers are set on a bluff that overlooks the Puget Sound) she went bonkers! She absolutely loves water! She grabbed my hand and said, "Come on mama!" I said, "Where are we going?" She said, "Water! Please water!" I said, "okay, okay!" as she literally dragged me along. We made our way up a steep flight of stairs that led us to a path down to the waterfront. Whe she saw the sparkling water she ran to the edge of the bluff and I quickly ran after her - it's a good thing that I caught up to her because as I picked her up (inches away from cliff) she said, "Jump! Jump!" She's a little crazy woman with no fear whatsoever! We played at the beach for at least a good hour (probably longer) and we had a blast! It was just a really nice day - one we'll never forget. I sure do love my little family!

My little curious Georgette...

Gracie has always been a busy beaver but lately it seems as though she's packed full of Duracell batteries and I simply can't keep up! Considering some of the recent mischief she has gotten into, it's no wonder her favorite t.v. show is Curious George... a show she can totally relate to. It only takes her a few seconds to put the capital 'T' in "trouble"... here's a few examples of what happens when I turn my back for just a couple of minutes...
The other night I was upstairs tidying up while Gracie was downstairs playing in her toy closet. After a few seconds I realized I couldn't hear her playing anymore... it had become far too quiet so I bolted downstairs - and there she was sitting in nothing but her diaper - red nail polish painted on her nearly naked body (from head to toe) and a big fat smile on her face! She thought it was cute, however, I wanted to scream bloody murder - another mess to clean up! As if that werent enough, she managed to include Parker in her "day at the spa" and now his paws and legs are marked in "cherry red'".

You would think after experiencing the above mentioned incident that I would be more leary of giving Grace even the slightest chance to "explore", but that my friends, was not the case yesterday...
While I was in our bedroom folding some laundry Gracie was two doors down in her bedroom having a tea party with some of her closest friends - "Monkers" and "Bear-bear". With my back turned to the door I hunted for a missing sock and that's when Gracie must have slipped by me... Within only a few seconds of hearing silence I quickly called out to Gracie - no answer. I went to her room - no Gracie. I called her name again and this time I heard a faint "uh-huh!" I quickly made my way downstairs and I was shocked to find my once clothed daughter, now buck-naked on my kitchen counter! She had snuck one of her tiny chairs downstairs and used it as a stool. She crawled on top of the counter and made her way into the Sugar jar... there was sugar everywhere! When I caught her she had both fists full of sugar and she was shoveling it into her mouth - I'm not sure how much sugar she downed before I could reach her but I'm guessing about a 1/2 cup! I think she has been plotting this for a few days... last weekend we baked cookies together and she got a taste of sugar when she licked some off of her fingers... she quckly said, 'please more! please more!" I of course told her 'no' and that's when I think she locked that jar into her radar! In retropsect I can recall a few times during this past week where I caught her just standing in front of the counter, eyes glazed, staring at the jars... what a crazy little girl! And she's all mine!!:)