Our Washington Visit

Our trip to Washington was fun because Ryan had already taken his test, so we had him all day everyday for the entire time we were there. And everyone in my family was there together - so that made it extra special. Again, I wasn't the best photographer this year . . . most of these photos came from my Mom or Katie's camera.

They played together so well, it was so fun seeing the cousins together. Katie told them to kiss - and Chase always puts his cheek right out for ya. Crew is just going in for it . . .

Woodland park zoo.

Boating on Lake Stevens.

Trip to Red Robin to celebrate Crew's birthday. They sang to him and brought him this sundae!

This one was just too funny. . . Crew so happy and Jane is about done with being in the car. Her face is priceless. Don't worry, I rescued her :)

Her smile was too cute not to include this one. It was just the other day.

These pictures were actually taken in Utah. My grandparents were out for a visit, so we met up there. It was so cute seeing them play with my kids. They are really wonderful grandparents.

My mom also got some great pics, which I may add to this post after I get them from her. Trip to Washington = Thumbs up!

Our Utah Visit

Ryan had several weeks from when school ended until he had to take his Step 1 Board exam in the middle of June. He decided to take the exam in Utah, so while he studied so very responsibly every day at the library, I got to spend time with his family :) Jana & Jordan were utterly selfless in letting us stay with them just a week after having their baby. It was the most fun just getting to be with family. I was not good at taking pictures at all, so here are the few that I got from the trip. Didn't even get one with our hosts!

I also got to have a mini reunion with some of the Hermanas from my mission. It was SO amazing to get to see these girls. Carmen hosted and cooked us some real Chilean grub. Completos on pan frances and huevos con arroz. Brings back so many fun fun memories.

And I met up with my companion from the MTC Hermana Heelis at the park. Her little girl Rylee is a few months older than Crew - it was so nice to talk and catch up.

Thanks to everyone for making time for us! We loved seeing you all!

Crew turned 2!

On June 10th, I became the mother of a 2 year old. Crew had his birthday while we were in Utah, and it was a really fun day. I was really excited about it the night before because this year he could understand things like cakes, candles, presents, and even could sing the birthday song . . . so it made everything even more exciting. In the morning I took him to Walmart to ride the cars - something he ALWAYS wants to do, and I honestly can't remember if I have ever let him before. I'm mean, I know. But I even put in some quarters for him :)

He also got an Elmo balloon, but I couldn't get that picture rotated. Here is his cake, he loves "diggers" and all construction vehicles. Well, anything with wheels that you can ride in or ride on.

All of the family came down to visit and we had Crew's favorite for dinner - Pizza. Then he got lots of presents.

The kids + Ryan ran through the sprinklers. Crew didn't think it was too much fun until Ryan put his swimsuit on and ran through with him. Then he had a lot of fun.

All the kids watched Megamind. That's not even everyone. There were people on the right AND the left side on other furniture.

We love our Crew bird. He has changed so much in the last few months, and really grown up A LOT. He has become much more independent, and much happier in general. He still really loves it best when Mom or Dad is playing with him. He really didn't say a ton at 18 months, but all of a sudden he is speaking sentences! And he'll attempt any word or phrase we throw at him these days. Its so fun seeing him learn so much, and listening to him express himself. And best of all, he is such a sweet boy. He is so loving, and gives us all the hugs and kisses we ask for.

Jane - 6 months

Our little Jane is 6 months old. I CAN NOT believe how fast time has flown by. I am not very good at home photo shoots. Its especially hard when you have a near 2 year old literally climbing ALL over you. I only got one or 2 good shots where she was looking at the camera and smiling. Other times she was way too interested in some other object, or attacking the camera. She is getting better at sitting now, but I still put a pillow behind/beside her because she tips often. We are working on helping her to sleep better at nights. She has good nights and not so good nights. Her naps are usually short, about an hour - but we've had a couple longer ones this week so maybe we are moving into a new phase. She is just sweet as can be!

She was 13lbs 14oz at her 6 mo. appt, and 24.5 inches long. She is definitely a shorty. I looked up percentages online and got some varied responses but her weight was somehwere between 8-12th%, height was even lower than that. Her head is 16.5 inches, which is about 25th%. Crew weighed 17lbs 14oz and was 27 inches long at 6 months.

Philadelphia

Ryan got a sweet deal on priceline at the Marriott right downtown. This is the city hall building a block away from our hotel. Probably our favorite view in the downtown area.Of course we had to do the liberty bell. Crew was feeling less than stellar this day, but still did pretty well considering the circumstances.

One of my favorite pictures from the trip. Studly. Jane looked so cute and little all bundled in Ryan's coat. And everyone passing by ooh-ed and ahh-ed at the baby.

Cobblestone road in front of the second US bank. In front of the first US bank. Everyone put a finger in your mouth!

Independence hall: where the declaration of independence was signed.

This was the Macy's right downtown. They had a huge pipe organ, the biggest ever built - this picture only shows a part of the organ. We missed the show, but it was a really cool thing to see.

And probably our favorite part of the trip - the food. We ate at Kanela, a greek restaurant two days in a row for breakfast. A long time ago, Ryan and I saw this show called "The best thing I ever ate" on the Food Network, and this was one of the featured restaurants. We have talked about it often since watching it, so Ryan made sure it was walking distance from our hotel when he booked the trip. It did not disappoint! We loved it so much we went to the same place the next day. I'd even make the trip again just to eat there.

The picture SO doesn't do it justice. Trust me.

And on our way out of town we stopped at the Reading Terminal Market where they have tons of cool food booths. We ate at an amish eatery, had blueberry pancakes, fresh OJ and an apple dumplings.

We had a great time, and it was a nice little spring break getaway.

Swimming

One of my favorite parts about our trip to Philadelphia was swimming in the pool at our hotel. I have been wanting to take Crew swimming for a while now. He loved it. The pool was a little chilly for Jane, and they didn't have a hot tub, so she just hung out and looked cute in her swimsuit. I can't get over how cute she looks in this picture, all posed. She was actually tipping over.
Ryan and I took turns swimming with Crew.

Kristen's Visit

We had so much fun with Kristen when she came to visit us for her spring break. Ryan picked her up from the airport and took her right into the city. They wandered battery park, saw the Statue of Liberty, Wall St, Ground Zero, Times Square, and Mary Poppins.

The weather was hit and miss, but we made it to the park on a sunny afternoon for some swinging, sliding, and football throwing.

Jane has been going through a fun squeal/screech phaze along with making this face contantly. The tight little tongue is really cute. She did it SO MUCH while Kristen was here. I'm sad to say the phase may be on its way out, because I've been seeing alot less of the tongue these days.

Kristen was a trooper and hung out around the house/running errands with me & the kids for a couple days. She even came to cub scouts with me! We watched the weather all week and made it into the city on the "nicest" day. It was decent weather, but we did get a little rained on later in the afternoon, and after the subway trip back to our car in brooklyn we ended up running to the car in the rain. It was quite the adventure, and we had lots of fun exploring. We stopped at the temple upon arriving and took advantage of using the restroom and mother's room to feed Jane. We made a valiant effort to get some of Serendipity cafe's frozen hot chocolate, but I suppose it just wasn't meant to be :) Then we wandered central park, little italy, and got some chinese grub in china town. One night we even made it to a real long island diner.
The kids loved having her around. She was so helpful with them, and it was so nice to be with just her for almost a whole week. She always felt like my sister, but even more so after spending that time together. Crew was so cute saying, "Hi Kris" all day long. She left early Friday morning and Crew woke up asking for her first thing. We are SO glad she came and spent her spring break with us, we had lots of fun and can't wait to be reunited next month!