Fourth of July weekend.

I wrote this post a week and a half ago but I keep forgetting to add the pics and publish it...so here is our belated fourth of July post.


What a weekend.  Little road trip.  The farm.  The sunshine.  The river.  A party.  Fireworks.  And a fabulous time.

Photo courtesy of Linda Foster

We got a lovely 5-day weekend which resulted in an outstanding vacation!  The weekend was spent shopping in Tri-Cities, in the boat on the Snake River, relaxing and baking at the house (to prepare for our fun 4th party), playing frisbee and bean bag toss, and roasting marshmallows (until who knows what hour of the morning).

Hannah loved the boat.  She much preferred Grandpa to continue driving the boat and forget stopping to change wakeboarders or for the rest of the boat to go for a swim, but overall she really enjoyed it.  I have to say that our $1.99 fish frisbee from target was probably one of the most worth while things I have spent money on in a long time.  It was easily dipped in the water and then held over little SweetCheeks arms, legs, and swimsuit covered belly where it would drip river water and cool her off.  She thought it was great!

Photo courtesy of Linda Foster

Photo courtesy of Linda Foster

Mom and I spent Saturday night making marshmallows for a party, and then all afternoon Sunday we baked other goodies.  I have not had so much fun in a kitchen for a long time.  It wasn't healthy stuff we were making but it was fun stuff that I had a blast with.  There were marshmallows on a stick, cake pops, mini raspberry chocolate muffins, popcorn balls, fiddlesticks, raspberry/blueberry fruit cups, and sugar cookies...can we say a sugar high??

Photo courtesy of Linda Foster

 Monday morning Mom and I got everything set up and we had ourselves one, good, ol' fashioned Fourth of July party! Nevermind that it was 9:30 in the morning and we had barely finished eating our breakfast but we had a river that was begging us to come play, and a party that needed to celebrate America's Happy Birthday, first!  There were Raspberry Italian Sodas, Root Beer, and goodies of all sorts.

Photo courtesy of Linda Foster

Photo courtesy of Linda Foster

Photo courtesy of Linda Foster

Photo courtesy of Linda Foster

After our party at home, we headed to the river- there was more wakeboarding, swimming, and a long 20-mile boat ride that took us all the way to Lions Ferry and back.

Photo Courtesy of Linda Foster

Photo courtesy of Linda Foster

The day would not have been complete without heading into the little park in town just as the sun was starting to set to watch fireworks.  What a great way to celebrate America's Birthday- it was a wonderful day!

Tuesday morning found us saying goodbye to the farm and heading for home.  Another uneventful (the way we like it) car ride and a happy homecoming to Seattle where we were pleasantly surprised to find beautiful 80 degree weather.  So just because we made it home and had lots to unpack and clean up from, it did not stop us from keeping the celebrating going- we headed to the pool with Brenda, Neil and Bryan.  Once again, Hannah was in love with the water and stayed in the chilly pool for at least 45 minutes- splashing, kicking, and floating.

Photo Courtesy of Linda Foster

Photo courtesy of Linda Foster

Can we say a filled, busy, weekend? Yes. But we can also say that it was relaxing and fun? Of course! A fantastic one!!

What did you all do for the Fourth?

Decisions.

Sometimes in motherhood/parenthood I feel like I have no clue what I am doing...I just try my best and that's all that one can do.  But I get confused. There is so much information, and not just one set of facts but conflicting sets of "facts" and info that make decisions so difficult.  So, while I may not do what another would say is the best thing to do- I have to do what I feel is the best choice for my daughter and while I know that I have made and will make tons of mistakes all we can do is give it our best shot.

Immunizing is one of those confusing, conflicting, debate-filled topics.  Help!  I've read books, scoured websites, enlisted the advice and help of family and friends but it's all so confusing and hard to know who to listen to and what the right choice to make is.  While I feel strongly that there are a lot of unnecessary interventions today, I also feel like medical advances and the amazing technology in medicine are to help us, and that either we ourselves or someone close to us that we love, would not be here today without it.

I totally understand all sides of the debate. Yes, pharmaceutical companies want to make money, there are diseases and syndromes on the rise that never use to be an issue and we don't know where they are coming from and what is causing them.  But yes, I also understand that we have eradicated many diseases such as Polio and that if it makes a come back in our country that even those who have been vaccinated will not be safe from the awful, disabling, life-changing disease because the vaccine is just enough to keep us free from it but if people stop vaccinating for it, then it can creep into our country and once there is a breakout then none of us are home free.

While I have no trouble believing and actually 100% buying into the fact that some children react terribly to different vaccines- that leave them with seizures, paralyzed, or other certain debilitating problems, I also have to look at what took place before modern medicine and the amounts of people that suffered terribly and lost their lives over things that we can protect against today.

The conclusion that I have come to for myself is that what we choose for our children is because that is what seems right to us but that doesn't mean it is right for everyone.  We will do what we think is right and let others' do what seems right for them to do.  There would be guilt on either side of the spectrum if something were to happen to your child...so we ponder, question, and wonder what's right.

So, as you may have guessed my little SweetCheeks got poked today.  But she has been one amazing trooper.  Hardly any crying, or fussing.  Just sweet little innocent smiles.  As hard as it is to watch her get poked, and suffer because she doesn't feel great- I just have to remind myself that tomorrow she won't remember and that this is the decision we made and it is what seems best for us.

What is your take?  What did you choose?  Why?

Goodnight.

Vacation, Family, Refreshing.

So we just got back from spending four amazing days with friends and family.  We came home feeling encouraged, and ready to go and face the day to day struggles, again.

Funny story- I told Michael that I wanted to take Hannah on this plane someday...but little did I know that it was going to be the plane we took to AK because I fully intended on taking Hannah to Disneyland on this plane...not AK! :)  Michael thought that he could check Hannah flying on this plane off of our list but let me tell you what...he is NOT getting out of going to Disneyland that easy! :)

It was breathtakingly beautiful.  So hard to go to bed when the sun never goes down and you have no sense of time, though.

Wasilla, AK

We enjoyed getting to spend time with family, that we don't get to see very often.

Grandpa and Grandma Toci

And everyone got to meet Hannah.

Brenda T. with her nephew William and Auntie Melissa with Hannah

Auntie Melissa

Grandpa and Grandma Gardner

 Our days were filled with much encouragement.  I didn't realize how badly I needed that time, until we were there.

There were friends that we hadn't seen in a long time and people we barely knew but we quickly were visiting as though we had never been strangers or separated for a period of time.

I'm so thankful that we have such fabulous people in our life.  They make life interesting, wonderful, and beautiful.

Laren, Janet, and Milo H.

Milo

Milo

Rachel R.

Glad for sweet, refreshing days.

...Now it's back to the unpacking, cleaning up, laundry, and getting to bed on time because the sun actually does set here.

Summer Family Time.

So we had a fantastic evening, just the three of us, a beautiful night, and the pool.
How did you celebrate the first day of summer?

 

Summer.

It's here! It's beautiful! It's warm! It's bright! It's Summer!

My Baby girl and I have had a slow, lazy day working on cleaning and packing.  Oh the fun of it all! :)  Headed to the pool tonight to celebrate the start of summer, the 80 degree weather, and the longest day of the year! Oh lovely beautifulness!!

Life has changed in a such a positive, amazing way since the arrival of our sweet princess.  She couldn't be a better baby.  Always content, often smiling, cooing, and making us constantly smile! She's perfect!

Last night we set yet another record...10 hours and 40 minutes of sleep....yahooo, amazingness! I feel like superwoman today with all that sleep in me :)

Looking forward to seeing all of our AK friends and family this week.

Look at the changes...whoa...slow down baby :)

The morning she was born

Week old

3 months

Love. Love. LOVE!

Beautiful Day.

We have been taking advantage of and enjoying our little moments together- just the two of us, no baby to oogle and fuss over.  We know that everything as we know it is about to change because of Baby Hannah but we are totally excited and ready to welcome her...but in the meantime enjoying our last few non-child dates for a while.

This morning was all about the lazy sleeping in, taking our time to get ready, and going to the bakery for a scrumptious blueberry muffin and latte. It was so relaxing and fun...I don't know why we haven't done more of this kind of thing before. :)

Best bakery ever!

Amazingly delicious blueberry muffin goodness!

My cuteness!

Hope you have a beautiful, relaxing weekend! Happy Saturday everyone!

Thankful.

The title of this post is for me, a reminder, a goal to be better at, what I need to have a ton more of.
Things are going well.  37 weeks today and only 3 more weeks til little Baby Hannah's due date.  Very exciting!  Today I found myself getting a little discouraged about silly things and when I started listening to myself, I realized how ridiculous I sounded...poor me this, poor me that- really?!?! I have SOOOO much to be grateful for! I have an amazing husband, a sweet daughter - who I can't wait to meet, the best Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother, and Grandma in the entire world, great relatives and friends, good health, a place to call home, a job where I have the best boss ever, etc, etc.! Why so much complaining?
I realized that sometimes it takes a hard experience, something taken away, or something changed to make a person thankful- I want to learn from others and not have to wait for a tough situation to be thankful. 
I was a wee bit concerned because Hannah is not in the optimal position at the very present moment, and I let that get me down- but really what does it matter? It will all go as it is suppose to go and I am so thankful that this whole pregnancy Baby has had good health, I have had good health, and there have not been any complications. 
So we continue on. More grateful for what we have, things to come, opportunities given, and all blessings.

21 days to go!!