Blame it on Facebook

The time really got away from me there- May- that's just lame! One of my New Year's Resolutions is to keep this thing up. Let's see...since May Josh and I went on a week long cruise in Mexico without the kids (cool and hard at the same time), Ben started school and Ellie started preschool, Ben turned six, we put up outside Christmas lights for the first time ever, and Cate turns two on Thursday. My new Years baby is no longer a baby. She has started potty training (she started herself while we were on vacation this summer)- Right now I'm just letting it stay directed by her. I simply don't have the energy to hit it hard right now.
Life just passes by so fast- I can still remember a little of high school and some of college and there is a hazy memory of life before kids but I DO remember being in the hospital when Ben was born and now he is such a little man.
One of the things I'll miss the most about the girls is them fitting into one bucket swing together, back to back. By time it stops raining long enough to swing at least one of them will be too bag to fit. I hope for her sake it is Ellie but she is my petite princess and Cate is colossal baby- who knows?

PDZA extravaganza!

Sarah and I took our brood to Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium (PDZA) to meet up with some MOPS moms. As per usual I ran about 30-35 minutes late and missed some of them. Sorry Karyn and Jodi! We did meet up with my friend Sue and her girls Becca and Ellie though which was cool. My Ellie doesn't get much girl time except when Hannah is around (which isn't nearly enough (guilt, guilt)). So it was awesome for her to have a friend to run around with.

Since I had luck last time, I'm going to add another slide show to this post as well.

Sarah showed Charlie how to read a map...

Charlie then shared his new skills with his cousin



After Sarge and the boys took off, it started raining. That didn't stop Sue and I from continuing. (I don't think it would have scared Sarah off either, she just left before it hit.) The kids lost most of their interest in the animals and tried drinking the rain and splashing in puddles instead.

Take Me Out To the Ball Game

On May 18th, Abbey Realty hosted an office party at the Tacoma Rainiers game. A lot of our friends, family and co-workers(not mutually exclusive) came and enjoyed the game and the sunshine. Charlie even got a chance to run the bases after the game-twice! Ben on the other hand, started asking to go home during the second inning- until he starting watching the pitchers warm up right by where we were sitting.

What a terrific afternoon. To tell the truth, I have no idea what the final score was or even who the visiting team was, but I do know I had a great time hanging out and catching some rays- OK burning to a crisp

I'm trying something new and made a slide show of pics instead of uploading each. Hopefully it will work.

Fun of the Mill-A Day at Lattin's

Last week when we were blessed with a couple days of sunshine, Sarah and I took the brood to Lattin's Cider Mill. The kids had a great time! Even Will seemed to enjoy his nap in the great outdoors.As always, we started the trip by riding the carousel (not so easy these days with only three horses and four ready to ride. By the end of the summer Cate and Liam will want in too!) The next step is buying animal food and running to see if RJ the piglet is home or "out visiting his mommy"(if you catch my drift). Charlie and Ben have come a long way and now let the goats eat out of their hands. Cate on the other hand freaks out in the presence of all thing not human and refused to get out of the stroller.

Sarah was smart and dressed her boys in their rain boots. Charlie and Luke had a great time splashing in the one and only puddle around. I won't mention I brought them to the puddle thinking their adorable green boots would contrast with the mud nicely for a picture. I AM the cool aunt after all!!! OK, one of six for them at least.

Before we ran out of food for the animals, Ben ran out of interest. He found mole hill and decided to "work the earth" for a bit. Kids get dirty- I know this. I also know we haven't made it to doughnut time and his hands will be well beyond any kind of help the hand sanitizer can offer. Not that Ben wanted a doughnut anyway. He is the only 5 year old I know that refuses to eat anything he thinks is junk food. That makes me the only mom in the world trying to justify mac & cheese with turkey dogs because it's what I want for lunch!We ate our snack and drank our juice in their new greenhouse area and then saw something we couldn't refuse. There was a four person water pump activity. All the older kids loved it.

We had a great outing and we are so blessed to have family near by that we can go on adventures with. ( I know you shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition, but I do when I speak, so why shouldn't I stay true to form when I write?)

birthday fun

I had such a great day Wednesday. It started with breakfast in bed, hand-made cards with lots of marker and glitter paint, gifts of play-dough balls and lots of cuddles!

Ben and Ellie presented me with coupons to help with everything from setting the table to dusting, to decorating tips (Ellie's idea- and who wouldn't love a 3 year-old princess to decorate their house? Dora and cookie monster go together, right? Not sure Josh and Ben would feel at home with EVERYTHING pink and purple- but hey- they're outnumber, right?)

If her dollhouse is any indication-we are in TROUBLE!!! Yep, that's an upside down high chair in the bedroom and no bed in the upstairs bedroom, just everyone laying on the floor.

As you can see, I wasted no time in redeeming some of those chore cards!

The Rorabacks brought us a great train cake with lots of chocolate frosting to go around- here is the only evidence it ever entered our house. we inhaled that baby!

After dinner, Josh sent me on a treasure hunt. It was a blast, except my ego took a beating. Mommy brain set in and I needed way more hints than my pride allows! Anyway, the last clue took me to the computer where I find a website that has cruise information. That's right, you're eyes don't deceive, my beloved and I are going on our first cruise in August. Four months to fit into a bathing suit. I guess the YMCA will have to be for something other than the adventure zone and swim lessons. Josh and I were working out for a while, but then Josh got busy and decided providing for his family is more pressing than hanging out, playing wii and going to the gym. Apparently, I am unable to go alone. For my birthday I gave myself something very important-and attitude change. I feel like I am finally an adult and can be who I want to be instead of just wanting to be something when I grow up.

to toss or not to toss?

After reading about plastics and having several plastic-free friends, I've decided to look into the risk of plastic tableware. It appears anything with the number 7 is bad, but 5 is OK. The interesting thing is that all my cheap plates are 5's while my camelbak and nalgene bottles are 7's. Go figure. I guess it's time to buy cheap water bottles for the Abbeys. As Sarah and I have discussed, the alternatives to plastic water bottles are $20 sigg bottles, but with three little ones, I don't want to get mad when they are lost, damaged, ruined. Hey, maybe I can find some safe plastics at the Dollar Tree! As for plates and bowls, we might be migrating to just using normal plates (salad size). Since two of the three are out of plate-throwing stage, I'm not too worried about breaking and chipping. But who knows when the first full fledged food fight will erupt at Casa Abbey. Want to weigh in on the issue?

In the beginning...

Hello Everyone! I've decided that since I am terrible at most forms of communication, I might as well try a blog to keep in touch. Nothing exciting has happened lately, but the kids are growing so fast and big changes are on the horizon. Before you know it, Ben will be starting kindergarten and Ellie preschool. Cate (or Kiki depending on who you ask!) is walking and starting to talk. Right now she has about 5 words: Mom, Dad, up, ball and shoes. Apparently she takes after her sister in the shoe department. She is not as extreme as Ellie was at her age, but she follows me around with her shoes all day until I put them on her. Ben and Ellie both are interested in playing soccer this summer, but we'll see what happens between now and then! I think that this is enough rambling for now.