Goof balls

Lately I haven't been feeling very well due to some issues I'm having with my kidneys and it's been tough on us as a family... "when mom's not happy, nobodys happy." Today we decided to get out our costume prop's box and be silly. It made for some good laughs...

Mullet + aviator sunglasses = one sexy dude! *wink, wink*

All "goofed up" and still adorable! Man, I love this little girl!

I've never looked so good before!

Even Parker participated... what a stud. Sort of looks like a vanilla 'Snoop dog'.

Happy Mother's Day

Yes... I have cracked your security system and infiltrated your blog my sweet. Now it's time to blog about you, wifey. What can I say about you Anne? What can I say about the woman who gave birth to my daughter, only to have me leave for work 4 days later. What can I say about a Mother who's husband was home only on the weekends for the first 6 months of her child's life? What can I say about a Mother who, after just having given birth, had to wake up during all the multiple morning-hour feedings, alone? What can I say about a Mother who suffered postpartum depression without ever telling me, because she didn't want to burden me while I was training? What can I say about a Mother who sacrificed her job and her personal life so that she could raise my daughter? What can I say about a Mother who has raised the most intense, but at the same time sweetest little girl?

I knew when I met you that you would be a great Mother. I thought, as we both did, that we would be able to have more than one child. Time will tell if we will be able to bring another intense/sweet child into this world. But no matter what happens, you are still a great Mother. I look forward to the future as you continue to be a Mother for Gracie and as we try to make another child to call you Mother. No matter what happens I love you. Grace loves you.

Sometimes in the early morning hours when I am driving around at work, I think about what would happen to our family if you weren't in it; I can't picture anything, because you are everything to us. I love you and Happy Mother's day.

My 'famous twin'

Over the past few years I've been told a couple dozen times that I look like Kelly Ripa. When a stranger stares at me with a puzzled look on their face, I can feel the question brewing... "Do you know who you look like?" I chuckle and think to myself, 'Kelly Ripa?'. They of course proceed to tell me exactly that. Kelly Ripa, huh? ... I guess I can see a few similarities - blonde hair, big smiles, and hubbies named 'Mark', but the similarities end there. She has green eyes and I have blue (although she wears blue contacts), she has a pointed nose and I was blessed with my father's 'pig nose', she weighs in at 112 lbs and I last weighed that much in the 9th grade! I guess if she ever needed a 30lb overweight stunt double, I'm available. I didn't really think much of my "famous twin" until a few weeks ago when my sweet daughter thought she recognized me on the television...
I was flipping through the channels when Gracie said, "Stop mom!" I stopped flipping and said, "What is it?" She then said, "Go back!!" I said, "Okay..." and I began slowly flipping back the channels one by one. She then hollered, "STOP!!" A little confused I said, "Gracie, what is it?" She pointed to the t.v. and said, " That's you momma!" I looked up at the screen and lo and behold there was Kelly Ripa sitting next to Regis! I called Mark at work and told him the funny story and then I got to thinking... If my own child thinks I look like Miss Ripa, maybe there is some resemblance? So I went online and found a picture of Kelly, I pinned my hair like hers and snapped a few shots. I still don't see the resemblance...



All in all, I guess I'm flattered that people think I look like someone as pretty as Kelly Rippa. It could definitely be worse... "Hey! Has anyone ever told you that you look just like Courtney Love?"

Across the border

This past Thursday we crossed the US/Canadian border in pursuit of seeing the new LDS Temple in Langley, B.C. They are currently having an open house to the public.



We invited Mark's parents. Mark's dad was able to join us. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and Gracie was thrilled to have her "Pop" in the backseat of the Jeep with her - although I think she would have enjoyed his company a lot more had he brought his small puppy Coco!



The temple was smaller than the Seattle temple but the interior of it was exquisite! Marble floors throughout the main floor, magnificent shandeliers, and a subtle yet impressive 'Dogwood' (flower) scheme - Dogwood flowers on certain ceilings, Dogwood printed wall paper in the dressing rooms, Dogwood foliage carved in some of the carpets, Dogwood flowers in vases, etc. It was all so very elegant, but there was one room in particular that I was smitten with and that was the Bride's room - so stinken big and luxurious that it made me want to get married all over again!
After the tour we spent some time on the grounds in front of the temple. Gracie had a great time running around...



At one point her legs must have been too tired to move but her will to continue on was strong and the soft grass triggered a rolling frenzy...





The things people must have been thinking when they saw her flopping around like a fish out of water!

It is always such a sweet experience going to the temple but it felt really special to be able to share it with Gracie.

Rubber boots required

A few days ago I decided to take Mark and Gracie to Padilla bay - they both had never been. I remember taking the kiddies from daycare there and having a muddy good time. We grabbed our rubber boots (you would be an absolute fool not to wear them there) and we headed up north - just a quick 20 minute ride away. It was a "beautiful" western washington day - no rain that is. We spent only an hour there - the mud was so thick it was hard to venture out more than a few yards.
Mark was the first to get stuck in the mud...

As he made an attempt to turn around and head back towards Grace and I he fell forward. Luckily he put his hands out to catch himself, otherwise he would have ridden home naked! This mud is by far the thickest, stickiest, most fun mud around! Notice his hands...

Gracie took her turn getting stuck...

As you can see Gracie wasn't thrilled. It was a bad day to take her to Padilla bay as she wasn't her "usual self" - the little girl that would typically DIVE into the mud. She was feeling a little 'girly' that day. She's definitely a hard one to read - most of the time she is a total tomboy but sometimmes she puts on her 'princess pants' and wants nothing to do with things that are dirty, wet or icky. She happened to be feeling like a princess that day and was not amused by the mud or the crabs we found. Oh well, we still had fun! Although, by the end we were all feeling a little "crabby"...


Mark was trying to scare us with the crab... we we're scared alright, but that had nothing to do with the crab! :)

Tulip Farm + Mud puddles = FUN!!!

This past Tuesday we went to the Roozengaarde Tulip Farm for our 'Tiny Troopers' playdate. The tulip farm was a lot of fun!

There were llamas that needed feeding...


nice open grassy areas for excellent games of 'chase'...


and perfect park benches for sky diving...



At one point Kemper (the little guy on the left) grabbed Gracie's hand. When Cyrus (the little guy on the right) saw this, he decided he wanted to hold Gracie's hand too! In this picture they are trying to figure out how to make it happen. So stinking cute!



It had rained hard during the wee morning hours and it was still sprinkling minutes before we arrived. Consequently, there were puddles galore all along the dirt trails...



Naturally, the little tikes in their rubber boots saw this as an invitation to stomp around like wild cavemen discovering fire for the first time! It was hilarious to watch and I was just tickled pink that my baby girl can get down and dirty with the boys!



On the way back the 'Tiny Troopers' ran through tall blades of wet grass in a gracious attempt to clean off their boots - having fun all the while!



Here's my puddle stomper...

All things Easter

In years past we haven't done much for Easter - easter baskets and a small egg hunt with a few family members, but nothing big. This year we decided to change things up and take Gracie to a public easter egg hunt - one where the easter bunny would perhaps make an appearance. We found one in Arlington that sounded like a lot of fun. We spent the night at Mark's parents house the night before and on Saturday morning we woke up to a very excited little girl! I think we were just as excited - we couldn't wait to see our little 'take charge' munchkin out there on the greens, but... it didn't go as well as we had hoped. All of the anticipation leading up to the big event was squashed the moment Gracie heard the words, "3,2,1 Go!!" followed by the rush of about 150 people - all trying to take 'her eggs'. She spent the first 60 seconds (the most crucial) kneeling on the ground, crying her eyes out. We began to help her gather some eggs and the tears slowly dissolved. Unfortunately, by the time Gracie realized how much fun she was having she simultaneously realized that all of the eggs were gone! She looked in her basket, then at us and with tears welling up she said, "I need more eggs." When we confirmed her worst fear - all of the eggs were gone - the tears began to flow again. Poor thing.
Better luck next year kiddo!

Gracie with mommy and daddy. This was minutes before the egg hunt began.

Gracie with her pop. Also taken prior to the egg hunt.

Post-egg hunt... definitely not the happiest girl in the world!
Grandma and Pop Francis' new puppy, cocoa, made everything all better - no more tears, just big fat smiles!

We had easter dinner at Mark's parent's house. Mark's mom made bread in the shape of a bunny, so cute you almost didn't want to eat it. She put it on the table then grabbed a knife and 'stabbed' the poor bunny... Gracie's look says it all!

Here's Gracie in her easter attire... so darling!