Happy Graduation & Father's Day!

Jayson's time at UW is officially over. They handed him a MBA diploma and sent him out into the real world to see what he could do. We were lucky enough to have Jayson's family with us for the weekend to share in all of the excitement and to enjoy some beautiful Seattle weather. We are all so proud of this huge accomplishment, and excited to begin our next adventure.
Jeri & Jayson after the commencement ceremony.
Gibson
Jaxon
Ellie


My parents got Jayson a Harley rental for the day of graduation. It was so much fun, and we can't wait to have a motorcycle of our own again someday....maybe when our kids are a little older and we can sneak off without them.

Today was father's day and the kids had fun giving Jayson all sorts of gifts they had made here at home and at school.
Of course ,we also took Jayson to Top Pots, then did a little shopping and playing at the park.

So for anyone who hasn't heard Jayson accepted a great job across the lake in Kirkland so it looks like we will be here for a bit longer. We've got lots of things hapening in the weeks to come. A new house, new daycare, a new car, a new commute, and lots of fun. We'll keep you posted.

Summer is upon us.

On Thursday Gibson's school had their graduation and year end party. Gibson and his friend Emma got to sing in the program even though they are not graduating. It was so cute!

Friday night was Jayson's last MBA party. I can't believe he only has 3 days of school left. The 2009 MBA band gave one heck of a final performance. Here's the best picture I could get of Jayson being a rock star.

Yesterday was the perfect day at the beach. It started out with snacks at Alki Bakery. Next, we spent the afternoon laying in the sun on the beach with all of our favorite people while the kids babysat each other. As soon as the heat really started to kick in (it may have hit 80 degrees) we moved the party to Dawn & Jon's house for cold drinks on the patio, and a round of Slip and Slide. We all had a blast, and came home with way too much sun. When we got home Jayson headed out to the Sounder's game and the rest of us fell right to sleep. After a good nap, Ellie and I woke up and gave ourselves pedicures while eating grapes and watching Sponge Bob, and Gibson was actually out for the night!

Emma & Ellie
Gibson
Suzanne and Elizabeth
Shay & Leo
Eric & Susan
Jude & Gibson
Dawn & Jon
Marlen & Todd
Me & Jayson
The kids playing slip and slide...remember how fun those were???....still fun!
Jon & Jayson cruising around West Seattle looking for rental homes. They are desperate to get us over there.
Me and Ellie's beautiful toes.

What we do!

Last week we decided to document our typical weekend here in Seattle since we don't know how many we have left and we don't want to forget all of the fun things we get to do.
We love us some Top Pots donuts.
Gibson does the eyes closed indulge....
Ellie gets every last bite of pink frosting off of the top before handing her donut off to Gibson...
Jayson and I prefer to dip.
Next we like to find a new spot to let the kids run wild...usually a beach...this is SeaHurst beach. We had it all to ourselves. Our road trip always ends at a different mexican restaurant. The kids split quesadillas, Jayson opts for fish tacos...and some how I can never decide even though it's all the same ingredients just in different packages.
The drive home with a full belly usually sends me and the kids into a lovely slumber, and if we're lucky the kids are out for the night.

This weekend also marked Memorial Day, and we all had the day off so we decided to do some city kid camping. We set the tent up on our patio and even roasted marshmallows on the BBQ grill. The kids thought it was so fun that they just couldn't go to sleep so after hours of trying we finally put them up in their beds and Jayson and I slept in the tent. That is until the birds started chirping at 4am. I opted for my own bed as well with my window closed to the outside world.

A visit from Grandma, Grandpa, and Grandma Great

A few weeks ago we were lucky to have some family in town. They have already seen the busy city so we decided to take on the road.

Grandma Great, Jeri, Ellie, & Grandma Pete Mom & Dad Pete
Ellie
Gibson

We drove the beautiful scenic route to Bellingham one day and enjoyed some pizza, shopping ( we did what we could...the men folk were not so patient), and ice cream. The next day we decided to check out a different side of Mt. Rainier. It was such a beautiful day. What a view! We ended that day watching the sun set at Alki Beach. What a perfect weekend. Please come back soon!!! Ellie & Grandpa
The fam
The whole gang
The Snowy Mountain
Gib & El w/ Grandma & Grandpa @ Alki
Gib & Grandma

Playing on the beach @ sunset

Mother's Day

Of course, the day started at Top Pots...that's were all good days begin.

Next it was off to Carkeek beach which was a new one for us. It was lots of fun. There is a bridge you have to walk on to get over the train tracks and down to the beach. The train came by just as we were walking over. Gibson loved it! Ellie was terrified. Then we did the teeter totter until I was sure I was going to vomit. The kids (and Jayson) thought it was hilarious and wouldn't let me get off!

Next we went and got all the fixings for a portable garden....planted the garden...then had a lovely afternoon nap. Lastly Jayson made my favorite meal. It would be yours too! Yum! What a lucky mom I am.

So much has happened in the past month....I suppose this is why I have had no time to update our blog! I would say the biggest event has been the weather...it has been beautiful here in Seattle which has encouraged many impromptu BBQ's, play dates, and just good old relaxing on the patio. I was lucky enough to have Trudy and Jeff here to help me ring in the last year of my 20's! We had so much fun and hope they will come again soon!
Gibson @ the Ballard Locks. Yes he was freezing. Four adults with jackets, and no one thought to grab them for the kids.
Ellie there too!
Kerry park with my sis. Me and my sweetheart there too!
Trudy and Jeff at Alki Beach.
Baby Slice and Momma @ the beach.

Last Friday I was able to sneak out of work early. Jayson didn't have class, and it had to have been the warmest day of the year so far so we decided to have a mid day date while the kids were still at school. We packed up a lunch and headed to the arboretum by the lake. We had to stop for gas on the way and could not resist HUGE ice cold diet cokes! It just happened to be the opening of boating season here in Seattle so every boat in the area was lined up and really cool boats kept parading by. It was so nice to have some grown up time. I've included a photo at the bottom that explains why it is so nice! I love that little baby slice even if she is naughty!



I think you can see enough here to draw your own conclusion of what an outing with the kids usually includes!

Gibson plays hooky w/ Dad

Hello, this is Jayson. Last week, while I was still on spring break, I decided to take Gibson on an adventure. Gibson was super excited to skip school, and I even gave him a huge piece of jerky and a juice box. That pretty much put him over the top. Luckily the weather cooperated, so we headed south toward Mt. Rainier to a place called Northwest Trek. It's kind of a zoo, but kind of not. There are fences, but also no fences. It's a 700+ acre park that has over 200 north american critters. So, it's pretty neat to see the animals in their natural habitat instead of in a concrete cell with fake trees (not a huge fan of zoos..). The Trek has a tram that you can ride around throughout the big open-space portion of the park and we saw lots of really cool animals close-up. It reminded me of Hardware Ranch, except it was bison, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats in addition to elk.

And the bald eagle led us into the park with a wave of his wing.













Memorable quotes from Gibson:

"What the heck is brucellosis?"

"My feet are aching so much and my legs are sick of this."

"I'm thirsty for more jerky."