2007 in Review

I've been going through withdrawals since I didn't send a newsy, overly positive update with our Christmas pics. So I decided to take full advantage of this blogging business & @ least re-cap the year via more pics. (since that's our favorite part anyway, eh?) Don't know if my captions will be as clever or humorous as others I've frequented, but ya gotta admit the featured boys are pretty cute?! One of my many NY resolutions will be to post more for your viewing enjoyment in '08... Guess I'm making up for lost time:)

In January, we celebrated Dane's 2nd b-day @ Super Jump Party Zone (1/19). We've decided that our boys can invite multiple friends vs. just family to their parties on even years. But then again we tend to go overboard on those parties negating our year off?! It was fun, but a bit chaotic for 2 hours:) Hopefully he'll remember fondly...I swear Cole's entire preschool class have taken their turn having a b-day party there, but Cole still thinks they'll want to return for his 6th this next Aug.-In the meantime, too bad I can't find Dane's b-day pics. anywhere-ugh!!

In February, Grandma Neecy bought these special Valentines shirts for these lover boys:) They thought they were pretty hot stuff in these poses...we do too! I'm glad they're mine-

For March, I'll just give a shout-out to our beloved Mariners 'cuz the season hadn't started yet & we still had hope they'd be victorious?! Still loved our spring trips to Safeco Field & of course, the playground excursions as well as our Moose sightings took some of the sting out of the defeats:)
In April, we enjoyed Easter on the Big Island with the Shaw side o' the family. We went to Church near Parker Ranch:) after the Easter bunny found our condo. We played @ Waikoloa Village Resort again as well as Hapuna Beach & took a sightseeing adventure to black sand beach. Cole felt pretty cool golfing on the King's course with his dad, grandpa & uncles. As our family grows & has different schedules, we know it'll be harder to bond as a big amoeba; but it was sure worth it for 10 days in paradise! Thanks Mom & Dad for another great HI trip...

Mother's Day is a given in May & my boys treated me well with the help of their daddy who went all out with letter pancakes...Every Sat. in May, we rooted for the Cubs=Cole's t-ball team coached by his dad Chris...Pretty good experience for a rookie with exception of one super hot day that he wished he were swimming vs. standing in black baseball socks on field (yes, his dad made sure he was outfitted from head to toe incl. batting gloves & brought home something every week to improve practice i.e. fielding net, extra tees/bases & new drills for 4-5 yr. old first-timers from the YMCA:) No matter that they didn't keep score or even outs for that matter...never can start too early if our eldest is gonna make it to the big leagues for sure!
Speaking of professional athletes, we took a trek to Woodland Park Zoo (Seattle) on Memorial Day & met Marcus Pollard from Seahawks not to mention some sweet animals!

I have to take a break halfway through '07 to confess my addiction to American Idol 'cuz we followed yet another season from start to finish. First I included a flashback to Elliot Yamin! We especially were fans of local contestant Blake Lewis, so I made my sister Brooke go up to his hometown parade with me & the boys:) Notice ode to Matt Hasselbeck & his family too...For the record, Chris & I celebrated our anniversary early with AI summer concert:) Preschool ended, but we still wanted to go on a fieldtrip with Marcottes (Kristie & Seth) to Kangaroo Farm near Mt. Vernon. I highly recommend it! Plus we had a private tour...If you're lucky, they'll let you hold a joey! We also got to see a pregnant kangaroo with joey's legs sticking out, but not fully ready to emerge! BTW, I'm feeding a llama not smoking with one:) If you look closely, you can see babies on the back of that momma lemur-The boys are bonding with a one-legged kangaroo too!

Can't leave out Fathers' Day in June! I threw in a pic. of my dad, husband & boys on that very day although the latter two were obviously more into whatever was on TV instead of Kodak moment. Oh well-still handsome:)

In July, we spent 4th of July @ Ft. Vancouver with the Shaw side o' the family. Chris loves to take pics. of just the fireworks?!
Chris & I also escaped for a weekend in July with high-school friends to the coast-->Seabrook (to be more exact & to advertise our buddy's construction project). Not sure if I could completely relax due to my upcoming calling in Primary, but Chris deserved a break from work & we love these couples...so we'll probably try to do it again next year! In August, we celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary (hence the above pic:)), then headed down to Lk. Merwin for Cole's 5th b-day & more fun in the sun-just didn't see much of the latter. But we didn't let the overcast skies dampen our summer time spirits... Notice Coley got a few new Transformers:) My sister Caitlin made sure the family party was complete with a homemade pinata:) His cake was lovely too, if I do say so myself despite the fact that it looked better before the boys decided to "help me finish"-ugh!


In September, I reached the boring age o' 31; however, the real party was in Vegas where we went to spend the weekend before my birthday as well as my niece Annie's big 1st b-day & my bro.-in-law Lance's b-day! We were quite proud of the cake as you can see. Thanks Mom & Dad for another great trip & bonding with Uffens (who are there for dental school) & Bergesons (who drove down from UT to meet us)-Viva Las Vegas!

October featured plenty of photo opportunities...I think my boys have a future in GQ, but I'm probably biased?! We actually timed our trip to pumpkin patch on lovely Sat. afternoon, so took advantage of the fall weather to capture the moments. Dane is lying in 10 tons of corn! Meanwhile Cole is tasting a churro covered in caramel & whip cream-yum! I reverted back to CHS days when I cheered on the Vikings again @ Homecoming with Britt & Boop. I was so proud of my youngest sister when she was voted onto Homecoming Court. Cole is looking quite dapper 'cuz he was asked to be an escort with a little girl prior to Brooke's grand entrance. Quite brave to sprinkle rose petals in front of entire gym full o' people during the assembly; however, he was clearly bribed with a new beta fish he proudly named Curtis Viking:) Side note is the other new addition to our family: Princess Bedo=Dane's female Beta fish! Last but not least, my sisters have been waiting to see Tyrone from Backyardigans & Bumblebee in action ever since Halloween. Cole's Transformer costume came clear from Singapore; he felt special 'cuz it wasn't even available in the States! Dane just wanted to be a good guy, so he picked one from his favorite cartoon...If you haven't checked out the dancing on one o' those episodes, you're missing out! But I digress-Anyway they look pretty tough yet sweet @ the same time as little boys often do! In November, we had a fabulous yet busy Thanksgiving weekend. Although we missed out on Vegas action with Shaw side o' family, we tried out smoked albeit rather dry turkey with Moores (Chris' sister & family) =thrill for Chris who considers himself the BBQ connisseur:) Didn't eat until like 7:30P, but hey! Moving on to our double date with Amy (friend from high school) & Eric (guy we met on plane to Vegas in Sept.) on Fri. night...good times in Seattle @ the Garage! Next was the Apple Cup on Sat. Although the Huskies weren't victorious, we had fun & stayed warm with our caramel apple cider. We made up for the loss somewhat with late dinner @ new Mac Grill in NoGate with Chris' cousin Chad & his wife Kyla! Don't have pics. of all festivities, but you get the idea!

That brings us to December wherein it's hard to believe the year is almost over?! While I personally have felt whole spectrum of holidays (meaning I've felt like Buddy the Elf on certain days & Scrooge on others?!) Cole was very opinionated about our tree & thus, he takes all the credit for our final selection. We also took a quick drive adorned in these sweet glasses to view the lights around Puyallup. Hope your holidays were merry & bright too:) Last but not least, here are the other two choices for our Christmas pic along with the winning selection. The boys were actually quite cooperative considering I just took 3 quick shots one morning & then let 'em play. They're good little buddies & bring joy to our lives for the most part:) Check out the sayings on their shirts! Can't forget to capture Christmas morning...Thank you Santa!

I'm grateful for this time of year to kind of put things in perspective before we have the opportunity to begin anew. Guess we did more this past year in retrospect as I tried to relive it all!?! We are so blessed as a family first & foremost with our faith, family & friends--so thank you & know that you're loved wherever you may be this season! Best wishes in '08!!