Ksavera's Shower

It turned out perfect and it only made me a thousand times more excited for the wedding...

if that's even possible!

Thank you to everyone who helped make her day super special!

Fudgsicle Faces

My two cuties after enjoying one of their favorite summertime treats.

♥

This post has gotta make you smile

Guess Who's Back...

Back to the 'world of blogging' that is.

What have we been up to this past month

........let's see..........

My cousin Brian and his girls came to visit from Korea

we've participated in  many BBQs

celebrated Father's Day

gone on a few weekend trips

started plans for the upcoming wedding shower, bachelorette party

and the wedding of course.

celebrated the 4th... 'Steve Riggs Birthday Style'
I've read 3 good books

completed home projects

geocached some rough terrain (my dad has the wounds to prove it)

celebrated many birthdays

gotten a few pedicures

and really we've been living life..simply.

♥

A collage to try and recap the past month.

The 4th of July/Steve's Birthday

Here are a few updates on the fam-

Caitlyn- She is almost 3 and plans for her big day have already begun.  We sing happy birthday to one person by her request every night... and if you're reading this... I'm sure we've sang to you! She totally enjoys the fact that Ashton can play with her now. We've spent many nights laughing until our guts hurt watching them two wrestle each other. They each have great moves. Caitlyn has spent a few nights with Babcia and Dziadzia and Gram and Pap... which she loves and usually will talk about for over week.  She surprises us daily with words we never knew she knew.  Even on our hardest days, she finds ways to make us smile.  Some of her favs right now are: everything about the outside, water balloons, our mini pool, the beach, the ice cream man, her bike and new helmet, noodles, and her hair pretties. 
Ashton-  He's almost 15 months.  He kinda runs the house right now. He still takes 2 naps, but occasionally he will sleep in til ten and then he only takes an afternoon nap.  He still only has 5 teeth, but has been working on a mouth full for a long while now. His teething has made for many days with extra long naps, not much eating, ibuprofen as his and our savior, and even the re-introduction of a bottle here and there (only on a few days where I think he could benefit from some calories he lost from not eating well).  He can speak two words intentionally: dada and uh oh, he can say mumma a lot... but not sure he knows it's me.  He signs milk, more, airplane, dog, and thank you (I swear there's more but can't think of them right now). Some of his favs are: his bike, the mini-pool, the sand at the beach, climbing, dancing (he's got great moves), oatmeal with blueberries, and being held by the one and only... me.
Ashley- He has recently graduated from the Leadership Institute of South Puget Sound.  The graduation ceremony was super nice and I was and still am so so so proud of all his hard work.  His graduation project with the coolest.  If any of you are in the Auburn area and see any of the large white drop-off bins feel free to drop off any hygiene products for the homeless (you know you've got them... left over from the hotels and vacays you've all been on).  He and the Auburn Food Bank teamed together to make these bins possible.  You should've seen it being dropped off... there was a huge crane, the CEO of Top Foods, and the Mayor of Auburn... huge deal... still proud!  He also has joined a bowling league with his BFF, Ian, Ksavera, and Scarlet.  They're really not that good... but he has a BLAST doing it... that should count for something. He participated in Hoop Fest 2010 with my bro and they had their best record in their teams history: 2 wins, 2 losses, while he was gone I tried surprising him with a clean deck... which brings me to my story.

I haven't climbed any mountains, ran any marathons, white water rafted down the Wenatchee, or hiked to the Enchantments (wink wink to one of my besties that has, Tiffany Jeanne), but I'll tell you what I have done though... in an attempt to surprise my husband, I have scrubbed the deck clean, stained the deck... not liked the deck stain, stripped the deck of stain, cleaned it again and re stained it all the way I liked it.  Thought it'd take me a day... maybe two, instead it took me three weeks... but we finally have our improved outdoor living space.... perfect and in time for the shower and Cait's  3rd birthday.
I've had a lot of days off this past month, actually I've hardly worked... my grandpa passed away and my Mom traveled to WI for the celebration of his life, therefore I took bereavement and experienced what it'd be like to be a stay at home mom.  I was actually very happy to have my mom back and to return to work. I love my children deeply, but I also really enjoy what I do and the team I do it with.  Which makes me love and appreciate my Mom in so many ways I can't even explain. 
On my days off, I have been to the beach a few times, the zoo more than a few times, had many play dates, and really I've just been enjoying the routine that has become my life.  My children's age right now... so far... is my favorite!  They're both so incredibly sweet and so much fun!

Although this post took me three days, not because it was so lengthy but because I have two little interrupters... it's good to be back.