Lake Cavanaugh...round 2!

How lucky are we that we get to go to the lake TWICE a year now...or really whenever we want since it's only a 4 hour drive instead of a plane ride across the country!
I took the kids all by myself to meet up with my sisters and mom for a few days, and it was a blast! Addison and Laynie LOVE their cousins Clay and Ella! Here are some great hot tub shots.

We had GREAT weather on Saturday...which I guess is a rarity in Seattle this summer! I even sported a swimsuit for most of the day! But don't worry, I will spare you pictures of that!!

Here is my Addison, all grown up and starting kindergarten on Tuesday!! I can't believe it! And I must mention my excitement upon learning that it is ALL DAY kindergarten! Is that horrible that I am excited about that? I will probably miss him terribly...I just won't miss the fights that he and Laynie find themselves in several times a day!

Oh how we LOVE aunt Mimi! Mary did matching hairdos on Laynie and herself, so naturally they had to take a picture! Whenever Mimi's name is mentioned, Laynie ALWAYS talks about getting her nails painted and going swimming...Mary has left some undying memories on this little girl!

And here is my little Hailey-- 4 months old today! I broke out some rice cereal to celebrate, but Hailey wasn't thrilled about that...she sure likes her mommy's milk though, as you can probably tell from her double chin :)

Have I mentioned that Lake Cavanaugh is my favorite place in the whole world?! If you have never been, I will take you and you will see what I mean...it is beautiful and peaceful and I LVOE IT! Just call me, and we'll go!

The New Ditto Residence! (pending inspection)

Well, here it is! It took looking through 70 homes or so to figure out that this was the one we want! Actually, the story is quite miraculous...
I looked at this house while Kelly was in Seattle for training. The day he came back we had an appt to go look at it together, and the owner called to say he had to take it off the market because his wife was contesting the sale of the house (they're going through a divorce) So sad! Then I started to wonder, is this a test of faith and should I be praying for a miracle (the wife changing her mind, etc.)? or is it a sign that this is not the right house for us? Well, the more I prayed, the more I felt that the answer was I should pray for what I want! miracles happen all the time! So I did...and last Friday the house came back on the market! yesterday we made an offer and today we signed papers! yipee!!

I love the kitchen in this house...obviously it needs some new appliances, but it is big and wide open...lots of room for possibilities!

The living/dining area is also wide open...which I LOVE! Lots of space and this pretty mantle/bookcase dealeeo...oh, and there are hard wood floors under the carpet! :)

Although we don't LOVE the location of this house (the street is busier than we like) it does have a big driveway area for the kids to ride their bikes, etc. And if you look in the first pic, you'll see the "mountain" behind the house right in our back yard! I love that too!

Thanks to Denny and Gloria who showed us the 70+ houses I mentioned before and thank Heaven for miracles. Stay tuned for more and better pics without other people's furniture in them!

Blessings in Disguise...

Last week Kelly went to leave for work and had a flat tire! After struggling with the wedged-on tire, and ruining his shirt...he decided to follow my advice and just take the van that day! The kids and I walked to the park and were fine with no car for a day. At about 4:30 Kelly called me from the side of the road...the transmission had DIED and he was stranded. WOW, bad day for Kelly, and it seemed like a horrible thing had just happened! But as I thought about it more, it really was a blessing that Kelly had taken the van that day and not me and 3 kids!! What would I have done if I were the one stranded on the side of the road??! We all know how often I DON"T carry my cell phone with me...and even if I would have had it, who would I have called? I would have been at the mercy of strangers!! As it was, Kelly had his nifty phone+internet-thingy and was able to call a tow truck, a transmission place, me, Logan, etc. So I am grateful for the flat tire that made Kelly take the van that died on the side of the road...and for other small miracles that happen every day!

Happy Birthday at the Lake!

We spent last week in Seattle and at Lake Cavanaugh!!...my two favorite places!! Addison and I celebrated our birthdays at the lake at the Ditto family reunion! We did a knights in shining armor party for Addy. So, here are all the cousins wearing their armor (emergency blankets with paper coat-of-arms) They all chose funny names (sir-sporty and sir-birthday king for example) and decorated plastic goblets!

Here is Addison's dragon cake...complete with fruit-rollup-wings! The cake was a hit with the kids until it came time to pick a piece (No, I want the leg!! etc.) Thanks to Logan and Julia who coined the phrase "you get what you get and you don't have a fit!" After the kids went to bed, I got my own cake...actually a YUMMY trifle made by my SIL Deena and lots of fun presents!! So I guess turning 30 wasn't so bad!

I'm sure most all of you have seen a similar picture of Kelly waterskiing...but here is the most recent just to prove that he still looks good!! We didn't have a lot of sunny weather, but the guys still had tons of fun skiing, tubing, etc.

Laynie and I had fun in the hot tub! She is is still the sweetest girl one minute and then throws the HUGEST tantrum the next minute, but we love her. No breakthroughs with the potty yet, but then again, we do have a lot going on right now!

Addison tried tubing for the first time! He went with Kelly, but as you can probably read from the picture- he didn't love it. The water was splashing in his face, he was cold, it was scary...should I go on? He is a good little swimmer though, and had a ot of fun on the beach with his cousins.

Okay, is it even possible that a little girl could be so cute? I am IN LOVE with my baby Hailey. She needs nothing but a look in order to smile SO BIG right at you. She was loved by all at our family reunion!

A Weekend in Spokane...

Kelly and Logan are in preparation mode already for their up-coming Rainer hike in September. Even though Kelly despises running, he has gone several times to try to get in shape! Last Saturday Kelly and Logan strapped Addison and George on to their backs and hiked up Dishman Hills. I think Kelly was a little surprised at how tough it was!

But, as you can see, they made it to the top and the boys had a great time. I'm sure this is just the first of many hikes to come!

That night we all met at the park for a BBQ. I wish we had a video of the kids sings "GO Diego" at the top of their lungs! It was pretty hilarious! Addy and Laynie have LOVED being close to their cousins! Addy is a little confused though, last week when he was talking to Claire and Ayden on the phone he said "now you are my cousins and Lucy and George are my firends!" I guess since our cousins have always lived far away, it makes sense to Addy that Claire and Ayden must be his cousins now since they are far away! We miss you guys!!

Memory Tag!

This is a fun idea from Amberli!

Calling all Memories!! So here is a fun new blogging game:

1. Leave one memory that you and I had together, as a comment on my blog. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Have a nice little trip down memory lane!

Homeless but happy...

We have been at Grannie's house for almost 3 weeks! and so far nothing major has broken and no stains on the carpet (that I know of!)...so I'd say it's been a success! We are still hoping to find our perfect house ASAP, but the search is harder than I thought it would be! We went to look at some new construction with unfinished basements this week, but those houses definitely had things that we would HAVE to change (i.e. carpet under the bar...whose idea was that?) So, we are continuing to pray to be able to know what to do and where the best place for us to be is!

Meanwhile the kids and I go to parks, hang out with George and Lucy, "slip and slide", and try to stay positive in our time of transition! Kelly is loving his new job so far-- he likes having a challenge and doing something different! We are looking forward to our trip to the Lake next week where Addison and I will celebrate our birthdays! He is counting down the days...me not so much!