First movie, first concert, 400th post!!

We had a great weekend around here, with a couple of firsts for Kate and Will. This is also my 400th blog post--how is that possible?! I guess that means Kate and Will will have A LOT to look back on about themselves. :) As for the firsts, Kate went to her first movie in a theater this weekend! We probably would have waited longer to do this if it weren't for Cars 2 making its debut this weekend. Kate LOVES anything Cars related so we decided we'd take her to experience the new version on what she calls "a TV as big as the wall!" She woke up excited and chose her Lightning McQueen pajamas ( probably needless to say, but she got a lot of attention from the other movie-goers for her choice of attire....) We went for the full movie experience, and got popcorn and candy which made Kate VERY, very happy. She made it through the whole movie, minus three trips to the bathroom. The first time she did have to go, but the others were just her excuse to visit the bathroom (which she found very cool for some reason) and try out another stall. The fourth time she asked me to go, I had to cut her off. Other than that, she seemed to enjoy the whole thing, even though she didn't really follow the movie. She also didn't get why no one was talking and kept announcing, loudly, "it's SO quiet in here!" I think she liked being on a "date" with mommy and daddy the best of all--and we liked having just her for just a little while. The second first was the Will and Kate went to their first concert today. Bend has a great series of free summer concerts where you can just bring a picnic and hang out in the sun. We met some friends and really enjoyed our (finally) warm weather. Tomorrow, we head to Port Angeles to visit friends. Ryan can't go because he has a work conference but we'll think of him on our road trip!

Lots o' photos!

No particular reason for this post other than that these are all photos that I really love (we just need some of Ryan--he always seems to escape!) I think they really show Kate and Will's personalities: Kate is silly and tempermental and Will is just pretty jolly!

Kate & Jim: Another one for you!!

We hope you two had one fantastic honeymoon!! We miss you something crazy! As you can see from the video, Kate has inherited Ryan's knack for the British accent... :)

Whoa, there's a glowing yellow ball in the sky....

...I've heard talk that there is something called a "sun" and this could be what I'm seeing, although it's been so long since I saw the sun, I'm not quite sure! Could this be summer finally arriving?? Okay, okay, I KNOW that it is only actually the first official day of summer, but it is mid-June and we had a terrible spring (as in we didn't have one at all). I heard the weather guy say that of the 93 days of spring, 79 of ours were below average in the temperature department. What he failed to mention was that they were WAY below....it was only weeks ago that we saw snowflakes. Anyhoo, that bed stretch is (fingers crossed) in the past as we've had a couple glorious days. We dragged out the little pool for the first time and the kids love it. Will gets so excited that he shakes, so I can only imagine what he'll do in an actual swimming pool! I've also made a sort of poor-man's sandbox by filling a sled with bird seed. This is also a big hit. Yes, I could have used sand, but that is a lot messier and, to be frank, no cats pee--or worse--in birdseed (gross, I know, but something you must seriously consider when delving into the sandbox realm). So, that's how we've spent the past two days...I'm lucky that it doesn't take much to entertain Kate and Will. Although they are starting to fight over the "sand"box toys like siblings. Kate still has the upper-hand and informed me, "it's okay, mommy, I'm just giving Will all the things I don't like and keeping all the things I do like." Aahh, honesty.

While mom & dad were away....

...Kate had fun entertaining (wearing out?) Grandma Connie, Grandma Star and Grandpa Bobby. Over the week, she: threw rocks in the creek, gardened, visited the fish hatchery, the park & the library, went out to dinner, went out to breakfast, went to the Sisters Rodeo Parade, etc., etc., etc.....Clearly, she had no time to miss us. I don't have the photographic evidence of her fun with me, but I've seen Grandma Connie's photos and Kate looked happily dirty and like she was mid-sentence in pretty much all of them. She's told me her favorite part of staying with Grandma was "all the dancing we did," although she added that Grandma "couldn't really handle" the Big Daddy Man song (yes, it's still her first musical love). Grandma was kind enough to write down some of the things Kate ruminated on while we are gone, and here's a few:
*"Grandma, we'll move to a new house soon and then we get a NEW baby! I will have a blue striped pillow and Will will have a green striped pillow. It's gonna be a BIG possibility." (Um, no, Kate, a new baby is definitely not on the agenda!!!)
*It's too rainy to go on an airplane. But mommy and daddy are going away from me. Pretty soon we'll be SO surprised! I wish it was a sunny, sunny day. I have to wash the windows 'cause my pawents are coming!" (To my knowledge, Kate's never even seen me wash the windows since I never even do it, but I'm glad to know she was thinking of cleaning up for us! :)
*And, one more, that could only come from the mouth of a toddler or someone high on LSD: "We go straight up to the left and after the tuna fish we go home. And then you put little spots on so the library can stay together. And after a little cup, it is our destination. Let's draw a Blue's Clue and see who the surprise guest is. And it is Sleeping Beauty!" (Yep, it's jumbled but it met what appears to be her language goal: using as many words in succession as possible!!)
Thank you, grandparents, for taking such good care of our first born....maybe next time we'll let you have them both! :)

Wedding photo extravaganza!!

Home again, home again! We made it home from our trip to England for Kate and Jim's wedding, and it was well worth the journey! Ryan and I agreed it was the BEST wedding either of us had ever attended. Will was a fantastic traveller, far exceeding our expectations (fears?). Kate (little Kate, that is) thoroughly enjoyed her grandparent time as well, but that is another post (to come....) It was amazing to get to spend time with Kate, Jim and their families and friends. Clare, another great friend from our MA course, came all the way from Australia so we all got to be together again. I'm so thankful to have been a part of it all. It's also so wonderful to see friends that live far away, and truly a gift that, when you get to see old friends again, you know they are friends of the truest sort because it seems as if no time has passed since you last were together. Here's to a wonderful, exciting life for Kate and Jim!!

The newlyweds about to embark on their honeymoon to Greece!
A wedding cheese cake--literally!

Beautiful bride, beautiful dress....lucky groom! :)

Awaiting the bride's arrival (she's quite lucky, too!!)

Will's first wedding!

The wedding was a true English country affair, with all the food, beer and flowers sourced from local Southwest England vendors. GREAT beer!

The kegs or, as Kate's father put it, the most important part of the wedding!

The aisle!

Kate's parents house in Devon...probably one of the most beautiful homes I've ever seen!

Not such a shabby view to say your vows in front of

Making it official....(the day before the big ceremony)

View from our flat

Will settled into English life quite quickly!

First dinner in our flat...in Kate's old highchair!

And we're off!

Tomorrow, Ryan, Will and I leave for Kate and Jim's wedding in England (we consider this the REAL royal wedding of the year!!) Kate will be having a FANTASTIC time with Grandma Connie, and a special visit from Grandma Star and Grandpa Bobby. With all those grandparents to spoil her, we have no doubt that she will hardly notice we're gone. We'll sure miss you, Kate and we'll see you very, very soon!! We love you, ladybug!

Bliss is...

...bath time with my sister!! (And, yes, we made the water red with bath fizzies!)

Will's first haircut!

Will had his very first haircut today--and now he looks so much older (to me, at least)! He seemed to go into a trance while he was having it done; I think it really relaxed him. And I think he liked all the ladies fawning all over him. So, now he's all gussied up for Kate and Jim's wedding....wheeeeee! We leave for England next Tuesday and they get married a week from Saturday!! I can hardly believe it's almost here. Kate and Jim are two of my absolute most favorite people in this whole wide world, so to be at their wedding will bring me nothing but immense joy. Watch out England, here Will (and his new hair) come!!

Say what?

Toddlers say a lot of stuff that makes no sense. I suppose they just love testing out words, even if they don't know what the words mean (although, they will INSIST that they do know). Two of my favorites today: "Green is absolutely my favorite destination" and "That tree is as pretty as a meatball." I did try explaining what a "destination" was, to which Kate (completely ignoring me) joyfully stated: "we painted that cat the color of poo!"