Happy 1st Birthday Helen!!!

Today May 19, 2009 we celebrated Helen's first birthday. We went down to the beach for a little bit and then came back and had some ice cream cake. She loved the taste of the ice crem, but wasn't too sure about touching it. She would take a big bite of ice cream cake, but then she would get brain freeze and cry, all the while wanting more ice cream to put into her mouth.
We will be doing a big barbeque on Saturday for her.
Mom and Dad are having a great time, and really enjoying their visit.

A week of firsts part 1

Ok, so Helen started out on one side of the room, and then crawled over to the couch and started walking back to the side she had just come from. Like I said, getting pictures of your baby walking is not easy. I hope the pictures explain what her first steps looked like.

A week of firsts part 2

Ok, it's really hard to get a good picture of your kid taking her first steps. So, these pictures are appearing in the order they were taken to tell you the story of how she made it from the couch to the other side of the room where our TV is.

A week of firsts part 3

Well, the grandparents have been here a whole week, and we've managed to pack a lot into that one week. Let's see, Helen decided it was time to get up off the knees and took her first steps towards her Grandpa last Thursday. Of course, Mom didn't have the camera ready, so these pics were taken a little while later the same evening.

Easter pics of the kids

Easter has come and gone, but we wanted you to see how the kids celebrated. We were actually at our rendezvous for Easter Sunday, so in true fashion the Easter Bunny had to visit us there. Miles had fun hunting for eggs in our camp and at his friend Mckenzie's camp. Helen just loved playing with the plastic eggs, in fact I'm still finding some of them all over the house.
We wanted you to see our tent in the snow. Miles had fun having his first snow ball fight and Helen just wanted to crawl around on the cold stuff and freeze her fingers off.
All in all we had a great first rendezvous of the season. Thanks to our very special friends Roger and Abigail for the use of their stove, it kept all of us very warm.
Look for new posts after the Grandparents arrive on the 12th of May. There will be plenty to post while they are visiting.

Is anyone still out there

Ok, for all of our fans out there, if your still checking this blog....Yes, we are still alive, we have been exceptionally busy since the last post. Let's see since the last post, we celebrated Helen's first easter(see next post for pics) and we have gone to our first Rendezvous of the season where we endured strong winds, cold temps, and snow. Helen loved every minute of it. We came home early so Tom could be awarded Firefighter of the year for the 4th time.
Other than that we have just been busy working on the house and working.

What's happening

Sorry we haven't posted lately we have been very busy around the house.
We planted our garden, new lawn, painted the dining room and most of the kitchen, all within a couple of weeks.
This weekend we will be attending our first rendezvous of the season. Pictures of Easter and the rendezvous will follow next week.
Right now, I am holding down the fort, taking care of a sick baby, being the chauffer, packing for the rendezvous, and spring cleaning all while Tom is working his butt off in Reno at the annual command team conference this week. Can't wait to get to camp and relax.
Happy Easter and look for pics next week.
Love,
Sara

"Remember, Thou Art Mortal"

It's said that Ceasar had a slave that rode in his chariot as he paraded through town, with cheering multitudes bowing down to him. The slave's job was to whisper in Ceasar's ear, "Remember, Thou Art Mortal". Probably didn't make for a long career.

So, although we brag mightily about our brilliant scholar below, this same brilliant scholar was wearing 2 pairs of underpants today; seems he forgot to take the old pair off before putting the new pair on!

The Kindergarten Scholar

Miles with his Math award. For this one he gets a free cheeseburger at McDonald's.
Miles with his Reading award and his Religion Award.
Miles with his Ronald Reading Ranger Award. For this one he gets free Apple dippers at McDonald's.
Very Proud Miles with Christian Leadership Award.
A very Happy Miles with his Christian Leadership Award at home.
With other Christian Leaders.
After receiving the award.
Miles receiving his Christian Leadership Award.
Today was a big day for Miles at school. Today was the 2nd Trimester Honor Awards, and Miles was awarded the highest honor a student can receive at St. Sebastian's, he received the Christian Leadership Award. This award represents Miles loving himself, loving the world around him, and loving and being kind to his fellow students and the school. Miles received this award for his compassion towards others, and his courtesy to the school itself.
In addition, to the top honor, Miles was also recognized for his Math, Reading, Religion classes.
We are very proud of Miles. Please give a shout of congratulations to our brilliant son.

Top O' the Morning to Ya

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!! Helen is celebrating her first, and having a blast.