Happy Birthday Tay!

Last week Damon was invited to his best friends (Taylor's) 3rd Birthday Party.  They got to go to Build-a-Bear....Damon was so excited.  He runs into this store every single time we are at the mall.  It is strategically placed right next to the play ground inside the mall that we visit often....

This was such a fun party!  

Kind of looking at the camera....

Giving his bear a bath

Everyone hugging the birthday girl

All the kids patting the heart to get it ready

Such a cute picture!  I couldn't believe I got all three looking at the camera, and smiling!  They were so distracted running around the store...this really is a miracle picture.  

The whole group!  Thanks for the fun party Tay!  We love you! 

Thanksgiving Feast - Pre-school style

Damon's pre-school does a Thanksgiving Feast every year, and it's one of the cutest things I've ever seen.  There is a class of Indians, Pilgrims, and Turkeys....and they are adorable!  They wear their costumes, sing a bunch of cute songs, and eat a big Thanksgiving lunch together.  Here are a few pics...

Damon's cute class, the brave little indians

My little man....so proud of his cool drum! 

The Feast! 

Before and After - traumatic

Here is a before picture.....before what you wonder?  

The most dramatic haircut of Damon's 3 1/2 years of existence 

Damon is of course thrilled that he has short hair like his dad, and that his dad can spike it up just like his.  (Even though we've only done this once).  

  

Mike and I had mentioned during the week that Damon needed a haircut that weekend....Mike took Damon out on errands and to the park one Saturday morning, and when they came home (I had no idea he had taken him to get a haircut....), his hair was gone.  Honestly,  I cried for about 20 minutes.  Ridiculous I know...but what happened to my little boy?!  He looks so grown up, and all of his blonde hair is gone!  (It still looks blonde in these pictures, but in real life, it doesn't look nearly as blonde).  Everyone keeps telling me that he looks so cute, and grown up....but for me, I'm still traumatized, and can't wait until it's long again.  I felt really bad because I didn't even hide my feelings from Damon that I didn't like it.   Bad mom moment...I know. 

My sister will be thrilled that it is short...she's been bugging me for 2 1/2 years to chop it off!  

One cute thing was that when the haircut was done, Mike looked at Damon in the mirror, and finally thought that his little boy looked like him.  I've been telling Mike for over a year that Damon is starting to look so much like him, and he didn't believe me until the day of the haircut.  He thought he was looking at a mini-version of himself.  Oh, how cute! 

Mike's Backpacking Trip, 2008

WARNING - TONS OF PICTURES!  

I am FINALLY posting about Mike's backpacking trip to the Olympic National Park, just outside of Seattle, WA.   It's his second backpacking trip with his college roommate Conner, and they've now decided it will be an annual event.   Our good friend Chris Mehalic also joined them this year.    Thanks for Chris and Conner for taking so many pictures!  

When Mike showed me all the picture, he had story after story after story.....It was pretty entertaining.  

The only picture of all three of them together, at the trail head,  Chris, Mike and Conner

Mike.   cute.  

Mike coming back from his failed  trek to "find a better camping spot"

My cute husband, and a really big tree

Conner

Mike and Chris

One of the ridges that they climbed across

Conner and Mike....posing

ooohhh, that's so cute

First night - camp ground

Way out there is the Pacific Ocean....cool picture

Mama Goat and Baby Goat, 

The goats hung around for....quite a while

Mike, really cold in this picture

Chris - what a good man! 

The guys were amazed at how the mountain goats just climbed right along the cliffs, no big deal...right along the edge of the cliffs!  

Our Halloween Activities!

So I was pretty happy that the year that I actually spent money on a Halloween costume, we had tons of reasons to use it!  A local parade (where the kids all usually dress up), a ward party, Mike's work Halloween party (for kids), Trick -or -Treating at a strip mall, and of course Trick-or-Treating on the 31st.  Damon LOVED his costume, and thought he really was Mr. Incredible.   We had such a fun month! 

lots of pics....not in order...

Our awesome friends, Scott and Jenny, invited us to join their family on the 31st....Scott's sister lives in a perfect neighborhood for Trick-or-Treating, tons of kids,  decorations, and a  2- story high King Kong.  So much fun! 

The boys, Michael, Nick, and Damon....and then....

they were off!  

Our awesome little Mr. Incredible! 

We had to keep them from running all over Suzanne's house, so they had to stay on the step and eat candy! It wasn't too difficult to convince them...

Damon with some of the kids from his Pre-School class.  I have a picture just like this in front of my pre-school when I was 4!  Fun memory...

Cache, Zach, and Damon....some of his favorite buddies! 

Damon at the Potomac Parade....

Damon, Tootsie, and Michael,  We love them! 

Our little group at the parade

And another group of friends at the strip mall....this was a lot of fun.  The mall had crafts, snacks, treats, balloons...etc...So much fun for the kids.  

Pics of Baby Max

Our new little nephew, Max.  So cute!  I love the hair!  

The Happy Family!  I'd have a big smile on my face too if I popped a baby out in 15 minutes!  haha!  Congrats!  

Congrats to my Sister Rach!

Just a quick post to congratulate my sister Rachel and her husband, Jeff,  who had their second little boy yesterday, Max (I dont' know his middle name) Richins....Pics are coming.    

He was seriously born in 15 minutes!  Are you kidding me?  

Congrats to them!  

Port Discovery!

A couple of weeks ago we went up to Baltimore w/ Jenny and her two boys, Nicholas and Michael, and Jackie and her two kiddo's, Elise and Elijah.   We went to check out the Port Discovery Museum.  It was so much fun.  We were there almost all day, and the kids were running around being busy the entire time!   There were all kinds of things for the kids to do...climb up huge towers, ladders, nets, go down huge slides, ball pits, crazy mirrors, a "Water" themed room - with rain coats for the kids, a pretend Restaurant room - and those are just the things that we went to....there was much more that we didn't get to! 

Michael, Elise, and Damon loving the ball pit

Damon and Elise jammin' on the drums

You have to match up the puzzle pieces while the pieces are moving along the belt....They had to be quick! 

These pictures don't do justice to how cool the Water Room was....it had this big thing through the middle of the room showing how water comes from the clouds, down the mountains...then down through the valley, cities, etc....Damon was obsessed with it! 

Another angle of the water thingy....I have no idea what to call it.  

With Elise and Nicholas loving it! 

The kids stand in this circle, and make a huge bubble that goes around them.  Damon pulled the rope and made the bubble go around them.  It was very cool

Our wannabe Surfer

This huge dryer is in the Water Room, it was hilarious to watch the kids get dried off

Part of the 3 story climbing gym....with the nets, ladders, towers, slides...etc...

Elise and Michael

Damon checking out who's coming....