Look at my new hat!

The Evergreen State Fair

Today we took a little trip up north to the Evergreen State Fair. We had a blast! It had been a while since we had been to a GOOD fair. We always go to the Puyallup Fair in September, but it's so big and very commercialized. The Evergreen Fair is more of a "good old home town fair" if you will. I grew up in a small town and enjoy the smaller fairs and so does Tim. This was Tessa's second time to a fair. She loved all of the animals, the petting farm, the food, the toys, and looking at all of the rides.

Here are my two favorite people watching one of the many cows eat.

A little unsure why mommy and daddy put her on a bundle of hay that looked like a cow...

She loved the chickens...and there were a ton of them

They had so many cute little animals to pet at the petting farm. These were the two baby goats we got to play with.

Watching the cow judging on daddy's shoulders

Time to head home...

Tessa tired and ready to head home after a fun weekend. It didn't take her long to fall asleep for the car ride home.


A Saturday afternoon power nap...

Tessa's hair was just long enough for me to put it in a ponytail

Fishing

We had fun fishing this weekend. I love to fish...and so does Tim. I had never been fly fishing though. This weekend Tim taught me how. It is so relaxing...and I couldn't get enough. Thanks babe!

Tim fly fishing on the Teanaway

Me learning how to fly fish...what a good teacher I had... :-)

Cody caught a fish...way to go Cody!

Tessa watching us fish

Down by the river...

Haily and Cody floating down the river

Tessa and Lily throwing rocks into the water

Look mommy...a leaf

The river was warm and shallow. It was perfect for the kids...and adults. We set our chairs right in the water.

The boys...being boys...

Playing at the cabin

Tessa holding onto her daddy

Jake, Rian and Shelly's dog, got a little warm and wanted to cool down. I think he found the perfect way...

Tessa playing with Jake in the little pool...

Before breakfast, we walked down to see Jackson and feed him.

Haily feeding Jackson

Our weekend at the cabin

This last weekend Tim, Tess, and I stayed up at my parents cabin with some great friends! The cabin is nestled in the Teanaway Valley right next to the Teanaway River. We had such a fun time! There's nothing like relaxing, eating, and playing up in the woods with fabulous company. The kids had a blast jumping into the cold pool, playing in the river, fishing, running around, feeding Jackson (the horse next door), and I can't leave out getting dirty.

We saw a lot of beautiful wildlife. In the evening, the deer would come down into the fields to munch on the grass. There were also fish, hawks, wild turkeys, owl's, and I can't leave out all of the grasshoppers the kids caught.

My parents have had the cabin for a few years now, and this was the first time we've made it over there for a weekend. Our friends, Rian, Shelly, and their three kids joined us.

Here are Tess and Lily watching a cartoon before dinner. Lily is one also. Her and Tess played hard and burned a ton of energy this weekend.


Here are the girls again....ready to get into some sort of trouble I'm sure...

Friday night we had a little Italian food and red wine. Not traditional camping food...but there were no tents.

Here are Haily and Cody enjoying their spaghetti by candle light.

Grandpa and Tess....Thanks Dad and Lorie for a great weekend!

Tess's idea of helping mommy make breakfast...

Learning to use the potty.....kind of....

It seems that lately, Tess has become very interested in the potty. We thought we'd take out her potty chair to see what she would do. As it turns out, she new exactly what to do. Although she didn't go, she sure tried. She even brought a book in the bathroom with her. I don't think we'll start actually potty training for another month or two though.

A future mountian climber?

Our petite little Tessa has an obsession with shoes, purses, and climbing. She LOVES to climb. She will try to climb on anything she can. We have very high couches and chairs in our living room, so she's not able to get onto them without the help of mom, dad, or an object. The other day I went to the back room, for no more than 30 seconds, and came back out to find this (see picture below). Tess had somehow gotten onto the chair and then the window sill. I was unsure how she did it because the only toy I saw for her to stand on was her little piano. I was sure that there was no way she could have used it to get onto the chair. Well, last night Tim and I were in the living room. Tess had disappeared into her bedroom, and a few seconds later was pushing her little piano out into the living room. She pushed it all the way over to the chair. From there she climbed onto the piano, then onto the chair, and finally perched herself right on the window sill. Sometimes, she wayyyyyyyy to smart for her own good! :-)

Movies and popcorn...

As you recall, this last weekend was spent doing belated chores, shopping, and relaxing. For some relaxing entertainment, we decided to rent a few movies Saturday night. We hadn't yet seen "The Green Zone," which was one of the best movies we've seen in a while I might add. We also rented one of my childhood favorites (I have a lot of childhood favorites though) "My Girl".

Tess even got to enjoy some popcorn before she went to bed.

A proud mommy moment...

Last night Tim and I were sitting at our table talking and having ice cream. Tessa was playing in the living room with her toys, and she had taken her sippy cup with her. A few minutes later she came back into the kitchen and grabbed a towel. She proceeded back into the living room. When I walked over to see what she was doing, I found that she had spilled some of her water and was trying to dry it up. She's always watching me clean and wipe up the counters and floors. What a proud moment for me. She new exactly what she was doing. She was on a mission to clean up her spill. She may only be 16 months, but she's one smart little girl. I just had to share this proud mommy moment from yesterday.

Our little cowgirl...

This weekend was spent relaxing and getting caught up on household chores that we've been neglecting because of the nice weather. We did manage to get out of the house some though.

Tess got these boots before she was born from her grandpa and grandma Calkins. They are, by far, her favorite pair of shoes. Friday night we were getting ready to leave to do some shopping. I asked Tess to go and get a pair of shoes, and she brought her little boots to me. I must admit they are my favorite too.

Soaking up the sun at grandma and grandpa's

All tuckered out....

Someone was a little tired from her play date with Madelyn this afternoon.

A few more pics from Wenatchee

Tessa decided she wanted to wear mommy's sunglasses instead of hers.
Someone just could wait to get into the pool. She ran and jumped in with her cloths on.

Me and my hubby

Heather's Baby Shower

This weekend my sisters and I put on a baby shower for my sis-in-law Heather. We had a lot of fun.

Here's a picture of my mom and all of my sisters. Starting from left to right; My mom Connie, sis Amy behind, my cute pregnant sis-in-law Heather, me, my sis Becca in front, and last, but definitely not least, my other sis Stef.

We had fun making the food, but enjoyed eating even more

Soaking up Saturday

This weekend was so fun. We made our way over to E. Washington to visit family and host my sis-in-laws baby shower. The shower wasn't until Sunday afternoon. Saturday we played and did a lot of relaxing.

Tessa and daddy



loving every minute in the pool


She loves to splash...what kid doesn't

We got to see the baby sparrows hatch while we were there. It's a little hard to see, but here's the first little one we saw.

One thing I miss about living in E. Washington are the big thunderstorms we always had in the summer. Here is a thunder cloud forming just north of us. We had a pretty neat thunderstorm Friday night.