Our Weekend Get-Away!

We had the cold, winter, Spokane blues......so we planned a quick little get away down to the Tri-Cities this past weekend. We were hoping for some warmer weather, and while we didn't get super warm weather, we did escape the snow that Spokane got on Saturday (although, it was rain down there!). The most wonderful part of the trip was our visit to the Palouse Falls. This is a 200 foot waterfall in the middle of nowhere - quite spectacular! Google it and you can read about how it was formed etc. We did a lot of relaxing and the 4 of us spent some really good quality time together. It was great! We spent the better part of Saturday in Walla Walla - we had lunch and took a drive around town. We had planned on walking through the cute downtown area, but due to the pouring rain, it just wasn't possible. So we drove it. On Sunday, the weather had cleared up enough for the girls to be able to ride their bikes on the river trail (located right behind the hotel). We had lunch at a good Mexican restaurant and then made the trek home. It was a great weekend! Here is a short video of these amazing falls!

First stop.........the taco truck, of course!

Ready for the swimming pool!

Relaxing at the hotel -- Sofia on the computer and Audriana reading Frog and Toad.

Our little Leprechaun!

I forgot to post the pictures I took after that sneaky little Leprechaun left our house! (This is for you, Jamie!)

St. Paddy's Day Parade!

Even though it was freezing.....we ventured out and took the kids to the yearly St. Patricks Day Parade in Downtown Spokane this past weekend. We are so glad we did! The kids had a ball. When asked what their favorite part was....the both said "getting candy"! I guess that is what it is all about when you are 6 and 3. We were a little bit more lenient with them and allowed them to eat quite a few pieces (I know, shocking, huh?!). The best part was when my Mom nearly ran over the kids to get to a snickers bar that had been thrown our way!!!! Geezzz Mom!!! It was so funny! Anyway, here are a few shots of the parade.... A green horse? Yup......it was green!

Sofia loved the necklace that got thrown her way!

February Fun!

Gosh, February went so fast! I didn't get any posts up here at all ~ so here I am on March 3rd putting up some pictures of the girls during the month. I know we did lots of things, but the pictures always help me remember! The weather was still very cold, so not a lot of outdoor activity yet. Audriana is still in Kindermusik and is now learning to read notes and play songs on the recorder (pretty good for a kindergartner!). Sofia's personality is still evolving and she seems to get sillier by the day. She is so funny -- I wish I had a tape recorder on in the house to pick up on some of the funny things she says. She is now into "bargaining" with us ~ saying "Guys! I have a great idea! How about I do my chores and then I get some candy?!". It's completly hysterical.

Here is Sofia in one of Daddy's hats and her beloved "colchita" (blanket in spanish). You can see some of her sense of humor here....

They do love each other -- most days!

Audriana in her football jersey -- looking so cool!

Playing her recorder....

SiSteRs!!!!

Baby Dailon Connor Wells-Dutton was born on Saturday Feb. 22nd. Kim and Jared are the proud parents of a little perfect baby boy -- and big sister Natalie could not be any more prouder!

Martin and Joye brought the girls down to the pool at the hotel to go swimming on President's Day (no school, but mommy was at work). They had a great time swimming while it was freezing outside! So fun!

Aunt Tonn. Jan.19 1942 - Jan. 29 2009

Thursday was a very sad day for us. Aunt Tonn (LaVonne, to most, Aunt Tonn, to us kids) passed away unexpectedly. It was a shock to all of us and we all miss her very much. My mom and her brothers, Uncle Tom and Uncle Dave, responded with what is familiar to all of us -- being together as a family and sorting through the sadness and loss together. Our family is strong and our bond seems to grow even stronger when life turns upside down. My aunt was kind and had a sweetness about her that you knew was genuine the minute you met her. Her childlike demeanor was refreshing. She touched all of our hearts and we know that she is now living a wonderful life up in heaven - reunited with Myron and Grandma and Grandpa Keeney. She loved angels, and her house was full of the many that she had collected over the years. As I told my girls......"the angels came down and took her wonderful, kind, heart up to heaven to be with Jesus". Knowing that makes it easier to accept....but she will be missed everyday by all of us. We love you, Aunt Tonn!

Ice Angels

I thought you might want to see Audriana and Maria's progress....this is them after 3 forty-five minute lessons. Pretty good! Audriana is "working on her speed" as you can tell! As with my other videos, you will first need to scroll down and stop the music from playing, then you can begin the video.

Ice Skating Lessons at Riverfront Park!

Audriana and Maria ready to get on the ice!

Oh my gosh! I can't tell you how excited Audriana has been to get out on the ice rink! She had her first lesson last Saturday and I have to say that she did really well! I was a bit nervous, but felt a little better when the staff recommended that the little kids wear bike helmets to protect their heads! It may look a little funny, but safety first! Joye and I watched as Maria and Audriana stepped onto the ice with tears of pride swelling in our eyes. Audriana did hold onto the wall at first -- kinda just scooting her way around the rink, but within a couple of minutes, she let go and began making her way into the center of the ice! I had already prepared her that she was going to have lots of falls and that it was all part of learning ~ and so, she hardly seemed phased at all when she took her first spill....and then the second tumble....and even after the 10th tumble. Her little spirit stayed so strong and she just loved every minute of it. I was so thrilled when I saw that one of her ice skating instructors was an old friend of mine from West Valley High School! Charmaine is so sweet and gentle with the kids and it was really neat to see her again. She probably thought I was crazy when I ran up and hugged her (after 20 years! She looks amazing and has definitly not aged like some of us from high school have.....maybe its all the skating.....hmmmmm. Anyway, here are some shots of Audriana on skates for the first time.
Oh, by the way, lessons are for kids 4 and above, so Sofia is waiting patiently on the side lines with us. She'll be out on the ice next winter!

She has talked about nothing else since her first lesson. She had a very long week waiting for her 2nd lesson, which was today. Her confidence really shone through today as I watched her get onto the ice with everyone else and head straight out into the middle of the ice (not hanging onto the wall but for a split second). There are about 50 kids all together on the ice warming up and then they break off into smaller groups for their lessons. Audriana was with Charmaine again, which made me happy because I think she looks to be about the best instructor out there. By the end of the class, she had them skating backwards!! They did "The Hokey Pokey" as a group - which was hilarious watching all the kids figure out how to "turn themselves around" on the ice. So cute and sweet. Joye and I had a second week of tear filled eyes as we watched them learn and grow.

Here is a very cute picture of the girls with their ice skating teacher (my friend, Charmaine!).

And the SnOw keeps fALliNg!

Oh my gosh - it seems like the white stuff will never stop falling. Over the past 3 weeks we have seen record snow levels drop to the ground. Somewhere between 60 and 70 inches. Thank goodness most of it fell during winter break, so the girls have been able to play in it together a lot! I took quite a few days off during the holidays, as well, so we made it a family affair! It has been really fun. The girls like our little sled run that runs alongside the house, but they really like the big hill that we go to in Eagle Ridge (near Maria's house). It's a bigger hill - which means they go faster. I understand Audriana wanting to go faster -- she's 6 and has a couple of sledding years under her belt......but Sofia is the one that scares me. She just turned 3 and can absolutely keep up with Audriana. She hikes up to the top of the hill (which I can barely do!), all by herself, with her sled in her hand. Then down she goes -- the faster the better. It scares me to death, but I figure the snow is pretty soft, so when she wipes out, she usually comes up with a huge smile on her face, saying "that was fun, Momma"!. So cute and such great memories.

It's Christmas time!

The fam with Santa Jay!

Wow! Where do I begin. Well, first I will begin by saying that Spokane has literally become "Sno-can". Pretty clever, huh? Well, we have had record levels of snow dropped upon us this December - which made for a beautiful white Christmas, but also made for treacherous road conditions. We went to Church early on Christmas Eve (the Children's mass at 3:30 at St. Mary's) with Mom, Kristi, Aunt Tonn, Mom and Jay. It was snowing heavily when we got there, and when we left, it was an absolute white-out! We made it over to Mom's for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of chili (and all the other yummy stuff that we continue to eat year after year!). Then we opened family presents -- Audriana and Sofia were so excited that they decided to help everyone open their presents (whether we needed the help or not, Sofia would assume that she would do the honors!). It was a great time and very joyous. We braved the roads once again and got home about 10pm. The girls were exhausted, thankfully, so all we had to do was carry them up to their beds and close the door. Then the work of Santa began! It was fun. I also put together a quick sausage, egg and cheese casserole for the next morning. That way, all I would have to do is pop it in the oven and we would have a yummy hot breakfast. Mom and Jay, Mike, Kristi and Aunt Tonn all came over that morning (after shoveling over 8 new inches of snow off their driveways!) to watch the girls open their Santa presents. We are so lucky to have such a loving and happy family - we love being together and sharing these special memories! Audriana and Sofia were so excited to see that Santa had left a note for them --- thanking them for the cookies and the carrot and making note of the strong snow storm that he had to navigate through (not a problem with Rudolf leading the sleigh).

The girls in front of Mom's tree on Xmas Eve! Ready for Church!

This was taken before Mass began -- notice that Baby Jesus is not yet "born".....he was brought out during the Mass.

Sofia's favorite gift by far was the giant Barbie Jet plane. She loves it....Mom is thinking, "where am I going to find room for that?"!

Total excitement. They are now in the Christmas PJ's and ready to open more family presents at mom's.

Audriana hit the jackpot with this gift from Uncle Mike. She's been wanting one of the Nerf ball shooters, but Mommy would never buy her one. Uncle Mike really came through for her!!!!!

This is how Santa left our tree on Christmas morning......

Here are the girls just before opening their first gift from Santa (circa 6am!)

Happiness and smiles all morning long!

This is Audriana after she put on her new "kid makeup" that she had asked Santa for. He delivered and she was so excited to put it on!