Levi and Lauren's beautiful wedding

Our cabin at Elkins Resort

The drive up from Spokane was beautiful and it began snowing just as we arrived!

Entrance to Elkins Resort

Such a gorgeous site -- Priest Lake

Grandpa and the kids reading "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" to pass the time before the wedding.

What a hot couple!

Grandma and Grandpa all dressed up with their littliest grandkids at their side.

Why is it that when kids see bunk beds, they all have to pile on top of it? The first thing they wanted to do was to climb up to the top bunk.....captured a very cute picture, too!

Another wedding for Audriana and Ryan -- first it was Christine and Jeff's wedding, then it was Elizabeth and Steven's wedding, and now Levi and Lauren's wedding. They are pro's now!

The kids on our way out the door to get to the church (Micah still not feeling good here)

A beautiful wedding and such a beautiful couple -- inside and out.

Kylie (5) and Sofia (4) were inseperable! What fun they had together!

The kids with Levi and Lauren

We were so happy to be able to attend Levi and Lauren's wedding this past weekend. The wedding ceremony was held at St. Blanche Catholic Church near Priest Lake, ID. The reception was at Elkins Resort and was absolutely stunning. Speaking of stunning -- Lauren was the most beautiful bride. What a sweet couple they are! We were lucky enough to stay up at the resort --sharing a cabin with Mom and Jay, and Lisa, Scott, and the boys (more on that later). Martin and I and the girls drove the 2 hours up from Spokane on Saturday morning and met Mom and Jay at the cabin (#30). We settled in and got ready for the wedding. The girls looked adorable (see pictures!) and were so excited for the upcoming festivities. The Sandbergs were driving all the way from Ephrata (over 4 hours away) and got there about 1:30pm or so. The kids were so happy to be together. Noah had been sick, but was feeling better, but little Micah was now feeling sick. In fact.....poor thing did get sick....all over the top bunk! Poor little thing, he was just miserable. We all got to the church, but Lisa and Scott made the decision to pack back up and drive all the way back home to Ephrata. We were all so sad to see them go, but we all understood that it was probably the best thing. In hindsite, it really was the right thing to do because Micah continued to get sick, and then Ryan began to feel sick. He and Scott did get sick the next day. Even though they had to leave, and it wasn't the weekend that we thought we were going to have, we still had a fabulous time. We really missed the Sandbergs, though! Audriana was so sad -- she is not one to share her feelings very much, but she whispered to me that now she didn't have anyone to dance with at the reception! Broke my heart!! Sofia was sad to see Noah go, too, but she still had little Kylie to dance the night away with. Kylie is Jay's great-grandaughter and is 5 yrs old and so precious. The girls had a lot of fun together. Martin and I enjoyed the wedding and really enjoyed the reception, too. The dinner was amazing -- beef tenderloin, roasted veggies, caesar salad, mashed potatoes and baked tomatoes. So good. Mom and Jay were having such a good time and they looked so good all dressed up. It was the perfect setting up in the Elkins lodge - especially with all the soft snow that had been falling since ealier that day. Lauren had it decorated with pinecones, evergreen garlands, and small white twinkling lights all over. Breathtaking. After dinner, cake and some socializing, Martin and I took the girls back to the cabin to get them to bed, and Mom and Jay soon followed. It was nice that the 4 of us were able to relax together -- just sitting and talking for a couple of more hours about the evening. What a great night.

The next morning, we had Mom and Jay open their Christmas gift from the kids. The girls and the Sandberg boys had spent some time together at Polka Dot Pottery a few weeks ago and made these really special Christmas plates for Grandma and Grandpa. Of course, the plan was that we would all be together to see them open this special gift, but it didn't work out because they had left the night before. The sentiment was still there and they loved the plates so much. He's a picture of all 5 plates......

Happy Thanksgiving

Thankfully.....my mom hosted our Thanksgiving family get-together tonight. I worked all day, then headed over to Mom's for dinner. Martin and the girls had arrived earlier and were playing dominos with Aunt Kristi when I got there. Then, Lisa, Scott and the boys arrived (which was a surprise because the last I had heard, they were not going to make the trip into Spokane from Ephrata). Of course the kids were thrilled to be together once again. Ryan is 9, Audriana is 7, Noah is 4, Sofia is 4, and Micah is 2. What a sweet bunch! I am thankful for the kids. Our beautiful and perfect kids. Their lights shine so brightly in our lives!

I am so thankful for my Mom, my sister, and my brothers. The girls love them all so much!

I am so thankful for my little family -- Martin, Audriana and Sofia. I am also thankful for Jay and his family -- Lisa and LaNae are such wonderful women!


The day before, on Wednesday, we were treated to the Montessori Feast! Veggy Soup, Pumpkin Bread, and Fruit Salad that the kids had made were on the menu. Audriana didn't want to miss it, so we picked her up from school early and she was able to be there, too. Alfred Parker was there, too, so that was fun for her. Al and her are both Montessori Alums and have known each other since they were 3!


This turkey was made from each child's Thankful feather. It's hard to see in the picture, but Sofia's feather is colored purple and orange and it reads "Sofia is thankful that we have food". Perfect, Sofia.....perfect. :-)

It was so fun to watch Sofia interacting with her own school friends. From right to left: Isabella, Sofia, Sophia, Gweneth, Addy, Grace, and Audriana.

Proud Sofia. My angel.

Sofia and the Rossi Twins

Sofia really has some wonderful little friends from Montessori Central. Now that she is 4 (such a big girl!), she has become quite the social butterfly! She had been asking Martin and I for weeks to have a play date with Sophia and Isabella Rossi......well, Lisa and I finally figured out a date for the girls to get together. The twins came over this past Saturday and they played at our house for a couple of hours. What cute girls they are! The 3 of them had a great time and it was really fun for me to watch Sofia engage with them! She didn't need me at all -- until it was shack time and they wanted me to get them some goldfish crackers! They got along so well and I didn't have to intervene at all! Audriana was over at Maria's house having a playdate, and Martin was out at a music lesson, so the house was just for Sofia and her friends. They spent a lot of time playing under the trundel bed, playing barbies, playing babies, and hula hooping.

Sofia, Bella, and Sophia

So dang cute!

The funniest thing is that our Sofia thinks Sophia's name is "SophiaRossi" (all one word). Because she is one of 3 Sofia's in school, they are usually called with their last names. There is Sofia Alfaro, Sophia Thompson, and Sophia Rossi. When she talks about the twins, she says "SophiaRossi and Isabella". She got very confused when I told her that Isabella was actually IsabellaRossi! She promptly told me that I was wrong. Very cute.


Just a cute picture of the girls before heading off to Sunday school and Church. Aren't they sweet?!

My BiRtHdAy!

Sofia worked so hard on my birthday card -- I just had to take a picture of it! She said it was me and her, with a rainbow and a cross (for church) above us. Isn't that sweet?

Here is the card that Audriana made me -- I love the part that says "mommy is 42 now, wow!".

Today the Red Tigers had their last game of the season -- thank goodness because it was just freezing out today! Here she is with her teammates: Avery, Carley, Anna, Audriana, MaKenna, and Belen. What a great (and so cute) group of girls. Audriana has really enjoyed playing with this team. They will meet up again in the Spring for more play.

Here is Audriana and Coach, Mike. He's Anna's dad and such a great, and supportive coach.

Here we are at Twigs for my bday dinner. It was so good! Kelly Kiki (our friend and neighbor) knows the manager, so he sent all of us a big plate of my favorite appetizer, Morrocan Beef, and then surprised us again with a big order of my favorite dessert, Drunken donuts (shown below). We had such a great time at dinner -- Kristi, Jenny, Martin and I, and Angie and Matt were all there. After dinner, we headed over to Morty's (on Regal) for a few games of pool. It was a ton of fun. I don't remember the last time I was in a bar! And I really don't remember the last time I played pool -- but it was okay, Martin and I actually got pretty good by the end of the night!

Drunken Donuts rock!

At Morty's

Kristi and me

Matt, Angie and me -- being silly!

Here we are~ Angie, Matt, me, Martin, Jennifer, and Kristi

Thanks for a super awesome birthday everyone. I will remember it forever! Big 42 for me!

The many dresses of Sofia..........

Sofia got this dress (with a matching dress for her Care Bear) for her birthday. When she put it on she said that she felt like she was going to get married! :-)

My little Sofia will only wear dresses. Or skirts. Or princess costumes. Every day. Seriously. I've never experienced that before and I know most little girls go through these stages, but I'm not sure if Sofia will ever come out of this stage. Sometimes she will want to wear the same dress 3 or 4 days in a row -- and she will pull a dress out of the dirty clothes basket if it happens to be there and she wants to wear it! She definitly has an opinion on what she wears -- and 9 times out of 10 she will not wear what I want her to wear. Not because she is trying to be difficult -- it's not that at all -- it's more that she knows what she wants to wear and she will not settle for anything else. I've even tried bribing her (I know, bad mom!) to get her to wear what I have picked out for her, and it never works! Now that it is getting colder out, she knows that she must wear tights -- so I've had to stock pile a bunch of tights (black, white, pink, red) in her drawer. It's very funny, and very sweet. She also combs and brushes her own hair (although, I always need to "fix" it before we leave the house), but she will just look at herself in the mirror and brush away! She has been known to ask "Mommy, aren't I beautiful in this dress?". She likes her nails painted, and watches intently when I put on my makeup. She's such a girly-girl. But then there's her fascination with Sponge Bob, too. She got a pair of Sponge Bob pajamas for her bday that she loves!

Sofia turns 4!

Sofia -- our sweet Sofia -- the minute you came into this world, 4 years ago, you brought with you such a wonderful spirit and such a joyful presence about you. You continue to make us laugh and smile everyday. You fill our hearts with such happiness and love. Happy Birthday, Angel!Sofia woke up before the crack of dawn -- literally at 5:45am and had all of us out in the family room to open up all her presents from us by 6am! She was so excited. Hello Kitty was a major theme for gifts this year. A Hello Kitty CD/Radio Player, Hello Kitty paint kit, Make your own Hello Kitty doll, Tinkerbell Pajamas, Sponge Bob pajamas, and Sponge Bob big color pages.







Sofia's party was at Jump and Bounce -- a ton of fun for 17 or her closest friends! :-)
We had the whole place to ourselves from 10:30 - 12:30. Jumping, Pizza, Cake, Presents....what more could a 4 year old ask for? It was awesome -- even the parents enjoyed it!



Sofia with Isabella and Sophia Rossi -- friends from Montessori Central


Natlie Well-Dutton as SuperGirl!


Audriana had to take Grandpa and Aunt Kristi down for a ride!

Sophia Thompson and Hannah -- Sofia's school friends.

Audriana and Ryan

Sofia and her best buddies in the world -- Audriana and Maria!

Even Daddy had some fun!

Aunt Kristi really knows how to make our girls smile!

"Happy Birthday to You!" When everyone was singing to her, she had such a sweet little look on her face. She just smiled and a sense of pride lit up her face. Very cool.

Natalie Wells-Dutton, Isabella and Sophia Rossi, Kaitlyn and Justus Kiki, Maria Bennett, Jake and Justin Meadows, Ryan, Noah and Micah Sandberg, Chelan, Grace and Zachary Wear, Hannah, and Sophia Thompson (Hannah and Sophia missing from picture because they didn't want to be in).