Do the Puyallup!

Oh you can do it at a trot,
You can do it at a gallop,
You can do it real slow so your heart won't palpitate.
Just don't be late.

Do the Puyallup!

We ventured to the Puyallup fair last night and did not get home, showered and in bed until 10 pm!!!  Took the cousins and got Dizzy passes so they could ride to their heart's content.  This year our children surprised us.  They went on as many 'teenager' rides (Hannah calls them this) as time allowed, screamed, laughed, almost cried, got sick and then waited in LONG lines to do it all over again. 
The fair is so different for us now.  We used to go for 6 hours at a time, walk through craft barns, look at the flower displays, eat Krusty Pups, Earthquake burgers, corn on the cob, Young Life BBQ sandwiches, caramel apples, and elephant ears.  Now we're lucky to scarf down a Krusty Pup and have enough time just for the rides alone. 
Whew...might need to take a whole day off of school to enjoy the fair next year.  Shhhh....don't tell their teachers this.  Also, i would like to publicly apologize to their teachers here, as i am sure they are enduring some grouchy girls today.  And i better go take a nap so i can endure their grouchiness when they get home. :-)

How did they all get so big!
Puyallup Fair 2011

Wool Riders Only.
Who puts their itty-bitty munchkin on the back of a sheep?
Okay...i begged for one of my children to do this...no takers.

3 1/2 years old, in a skirt, rode to the end, and bawled her head off when the sheep dumped her.
AWESOME!

Sleeping or comatose from all of the feed?

Nice rumps....

Ready to PARTY!

Party was a little slow due to all of the long lines......

Jeff disappeared for a bit while the kids were waiting for rides.
Look what i caught him doing......

Here is teasing the children as they wait patiently for their ride.

Don't you think he could be a poster child for Columbia/Berkeley?
"You don't have to grow up to start an EMBA, just ask 47 year old Jeff Allen."

Hmmm....where did it all go?
Yes, he shared....barely.

Now this is what i'm taking about!

Almost as good as carrying your purse for your wife.

Lily's idea to go on this ghost ride and look at what she is doing before they entered
 but look at Grace comforting her.  So sweet....

Okay, if i was going to get a job at the fair, this would
be right up my alley.

No wait, maybe this instead!

Sheeeeer Joy!

Jeff made me do it and i didn't enjoy myself at all! :-)

And look who joined in on the fun!

One free game with their Dizzy Pass.
Good try Jacob!

Sadly she did not win...i think it was rigged. :-)

Last ride on the Tilt a Whirl.

It did not disappoint!

Best part of the whole fair....
Jiggling your feet so you can walk back to the car.
Ahhh.....best 25 cents ever spent!

The fair is magical....it makes your children grow up way too fast!
September 2008.
Lily is 2 1/2, Bella is 4 1/2 and Grace is 7.

First Day of School 2011

It seems like i've been waiting of this day for a very long time and it has come, and i found myself a little lost today after the final drop off.
Today i was certain i would shed a tear for our overgrown 5 year old baby as she headed off to all day kindergarten and instead my eyes got misty as i dropped off our big 5th grader.  She graduated to intermediate school and i felt like i was dropping her off to kindergarten all over again.  She is tiny to me and looked even smaller next to her peers.  I was convinced she would be eaten alive by them but she was not.  She walked into that new school just as confidently as she did the day she went to kindergarten.  Then she sat behind a 'big girl' desk, with new 'big girl' books and all of a sudden, she looked itty-bitty once more.  I was waiting for her to cling to me and instead she gave me the look of....are you done yet?  My que....this Mamma walked out calmly, as to not embarrass her.  

I think back to how many times i would hear strangers tell me, "Enjoy these moments, they go by so fast", and all i thought at the time was, "Really, this moment can't go fast enough and you can say this, because you are not in my survival moment".
Well....one of those "goes by fast" moments are here.......whew......not sure i am ready for this.

Lily funnies for the day......
Greeting her at the bus stop.
Me:  How was your day Lily?
Lily:  Great!  I didn't have to go to the Principal's office!
Yes....we set very low expectations in our household. :-)

Kindergartners have transition days for school.  Why?  Just throw them into the fire, they'll survive.  Lily went to school today, so she does not go tomorrow.
Lily:  I really, really want to go to school tomorrow.  Can't you just put a wig on me or something so they don't know who i am?

Don't you wish you were her teacher?  Oh My!
Happy School Year everyone!

2nd grader, 5th grader and Kindergartner!

In a blink.....
I believe Bella is almost 4, Grace is 6 and Lily is 18 months here.

Cute as they come!

One of my favorite couples pairs.

Doesn't she look like she needs her Mamma? :-)

Last fake grin before she gently pushed me out the door with her looks.

Beloved Miss Judy who ALWAYS brings my girlies home safe to me!

I think she learned something at school today because she is already following
directions ....Watch your step. :-)

My cute niece Hannah

My handsome nephew Jacob and big 4th grader.

I kid you not!
I ALWAYS have a shot like this with Lily in it, and guess what she is always saying....MOM...as in, enough!

Straight out of the camera baby!

Grace graduated to Vans this year.  Hers are the little ones in Golden Poppy and
Hannah's are just good old neon orange.

Toothless Wonder

Lily has lost her 3rd tooth before she has entered kindergarten.
Monday morning.....
4:30 am: Lily comes in our room, taps me hard on my arm, startles me to death and announces her tooth is really loose.  I say, GO BACK TO BED!
5 am:  Lily comes back in, "Can you take me to the bathroom"?  Mind you, the bathroom is on the way to our room.  I take her, tuck her in and tell her, GO TO BACK TO SLEEP!
5:30 am:  Lily comes back in our room, "My tooth came out"! 
Guess who was grouchy the rest day of the day besides Lily. :-)
I know, i know, i get up at the crack of dawn for running but don't wake me up early on a day i don't have to run.  Got it?

The other day, Lily asks when her tooth is going to come in.  I told her, it was not going to ever come in because she pulled it out too soon.  She immediately burst into tears and i said, "Don't worry, Mommy will buy you a new tooth....a gold one that will match your earrings".  She started to cry even harder, threw her hands up in the air and proclaimed, "No, i want a white one and who will ever marry me with a gold tooth?  I will look so funny!!!" and proceeded to shed more tears.  Yes, i am a mean Mom and you will think i am even meaner because i laughed the whole time she was crying too.
That evening when Jeff came home, she told on me. 

The next day.  This was the best shot i could get from Miss Grouchy Pants.

Downtown Tacoma.  Remember our shot last year with the letters?  Same place, new theme.
And yes, i put these words together.  I am going to blow this photo up and hang it in each of their rooms.

Hmmm......one of my children is not being kind to me.

And even though she was ugly acting, we still had 'pup-cakes'.
Yup, she's 5 and still calls them this.

My first 'unofficial' photo shoot of my girl Mollee

Mollee and i go waaaaaayyyyyy back.  She was in my very first Sunday school class at the ripe old age of two and is now getting ready to start her senior year of high school.  She stole my heart the minute she walked into my classroom and didn't cry like most of the two year olds did, but gave me a big old hug and hasn't stopped since.  She's been my little buddy, mother's helper, big sister to my girlies, best babysitter in the world, but most of all, someone i am really proud to call my friend.

Today i had the honor of trying to take her senior photos.  We headed out around 5 pm to Chambers Bay and played until 7 pm.  I reassured her that if her photos turned out bad, it was photographer error because she was a natural, the entire time.

Mollee, it has been such a joy to watch you blossom and mature over the years.  Know i am ALWAYS here for you sweet girl.  XOXO

Now here's a sneak peek at some of the 349 photos i took.  Enjoy her lovely face.