FINALLY, a bunch of new pictures!

Well, it's been just over three months since I posted new pictures! I've taken a gazillion photos during that time so I tried to go through and just take a sampling to use for the blog so you can get at least mostly updated...

Enjoy!

Christmas time:














Opa and Oma were here for a few days before Christmas to help us celebrate Ezra's 7th birthday.














Kevin and Theresa were here over Christmas which made it an extra special day!














Ezra was a happy Pokemon boy!














The kids with Alice during our annual fondue party with her family.

New Years:















We spent New Years with Andy's side of the family. A lot of time was spent playing a new Wii game (Boom Blocks).














Happy 2009!!!














Cheers from Uncle Buck and Ezra!














Father and son...














And this is what happens when you're out of town when there is a neighborhood party... So sweet of our neighbor friends to show us how much they missed us ;)

New Years Project: re-doing Asia's room



















Last June Asia picked out two shades of green paint so we could re-do her room. Yes, here we are FINALLY--7 months later--actually doing it!














BEFORE: her pretty purple room (the curtains are covering her closet)














AFTER: her cool green room with the funky closet curtains and a fancy chandelier. We rearranged all the furniture too so the room feels way bigger.














BEFORE: her pretty purple room with the simple curtains














AFTER: the cool green room with the grown up fancy curtains.

Hanging with the mayor:














We went to the grand opening event of a cool new events center in our town. Here's me with the mayor (center) and one of her staff who I know from homeowner association stuff.

Neighborhood Rock Band














Good times. Neighborhood Rock Band party :)













Rock on!!

Our 3rd Girl Scout cookie season:














Asia did a great job and reached her goal of selling 500 boxes!

The Guinea Pigs:














Poor Fred didn't seem quite right so we took him to a very nice vet and sure enough--the little guy had an ear infection!!














Fred (left) is much happier since his ear infection is gone and also b/c he's got a buddy now. His buddy's name is Meyer.













The kids love their pets :) Remember the document we all signed? They have been keeping their promise that I don't have to lift a finger :) It's mostly Andy with a bit of help from the kids.

President Obama!














I spent the morning of Inauguration Day at the kids' school. It was really cool, all the classes were watching the inauguration events on their Smart Boards. It was rather boring for these first graders, but we kept assuring them that they were witnessing history being made and that they'd be glad they sat through it :)














That evening we had some of the neighborhood gang over to watch the festivities once again...

Rock Band in the house:



















We got Rock Band over the holidays and oh my goodness have we had a blast!














It brings out the inner rocker in all of us :)










































This was Kirk and Sharon's first time to play Rock Band, they loved it!! Of course Kirk was incredibly entertaining with his singing...




Grampa:














Grampa came for a quick visit. The kids really wanted to play mini golf even though it was quite cold...

Valentines Day:














I got the idea from a crafty friend to put together these fun Valentines Day packages! I put address labels on them and mailed them like this, so cool.

Happy 40th birthday, Laura!!














Some of us girls took Laura (the one with the lovely boa and tiara ;) out to celebrate her special day.

Vancouver:














We went to Vancouver for a few days over mid-winter break to help my dad celebrate his 71st birthday. The kids had fun feeding the birds on Granville Island.


















By the clock in Gas Town.

Harlem Globe Trotters:














We got to go see the Harlem Globe Trotters at the new events center in our town.














Lots of laughs!

Nielsen TV box:














For two years we were a Nielsen TV family! This was the box that kept track of our TV viewing habits... We represented something like 35,000 households! Such power ;)

Random:














Sitting in traffic... A cool shot of Mt. Rainier in the side mirror.

Happy Birthday, Christina!














A few of us took Christina (far left) out to celebrate her birthday.

Kirk's 30th:














Another birthday to celebrate! Kirk threw himself quite the big 30th birthday bash. Of course he was the star of the show...





















I love this picture of Mario and Byung enjoying the entertainment!

Event:














I worked an event on Bainbridge Island where Brett and Emily live so Andy and the kids came along so they could hang out with the cousins. A fun day!

Happy Birthday Auntie Theresa!















Gramma:














Gramma and her grandkids during her weekend visit to Seattle. The kids had a hard time posing for this picture b/c they all had to squint...This was the best picture we got.

Card Shark:


















Showing his poker face (not!)

The Hoe Down:














The 3rd and 4th graders had been practicing square dancing in PE and music for a few weeks. It culminated in a very fun (who knew?!) evening of square dancing with family and friends :)


















Andy and Byung made a great square dancing pair.


















Another cute pair!














The younger siblings got into the fun too. Do-si-do, baby!!

More Rock Band Fun:














The parents waiting in the wings for our turn!














Cool dad band...
He did it!!














You have no idea how exciting this picture of Ezra giving the thumbs up at the Rainforest Cafe is!! The last time we went there he was about 2 1/2 years old. He's 7 now. He was soooo traumatized by the animatronic animals at the restaurant that he had nightmares for a few weeks and never wanted to set foot in the place again.

Asia finally convinced him that he was old enough not that he wouldn't be scared anymore. It took him a minute to feel okay, but in the end he had a great time. Nothing like getting over a five year old fear!!

The kids:














A gaggle of the kids playing at a kid gym.

Asia's project:














The 3rd graders all get to decorate a "wall" for when they are taking the WASL (our state's standardized tests). Here is the finished project that Asia and I did--hopefully this will be calming and encouraging for her while she takes the tests for the first time!

Ezra's acting debut:














He was an ant eater in the little play his reading group did. He told me he had two lines and that I had to come watch. His two lines were "Snort." and "Snort snort." You can just imagine the incredible pride I felt watching this amazing performance ;)

PTA dinner:














Some of our PTA representation at a fundraising dinner for scholarships for kids pursuing post-secondary education. A nice evening.

You made it! I'll try to update this more than once every three months :)