Blame Erin

It's ok, embrace it, it is all Erin's fault anyway. 

I mean who sees these at Costco and actually buys them? 

Then shares them with others and says "ya, they're pretty good"

I'll tell ya who!!! Erin! Erin did it!  

And I will say, these little monsters are horrible, horrible, horrible. 

Whatever you do, do not buy these at Costco,

why?  BECAUSE THEY ARE DELICIOUS!

I mean, sit in a dark corner, hiding from the world while you eat the entire bag delicious.

You have been warned...

and you buy some and don't like them....well, I'm not gonna say what you should do with them.

But I am gonna say, my birthday is July 18... and these are a seasonal item at Costco...ahem, Erin....

LSAW

Tim had his annual meeting right after we got back from Texas! 

We got mom on an airplane, loaded up the truck and hit the road. 

We spent the week in Marysville, got to meet up with some friends and enjoyed a lot of time in the hotel/hotel swimming pool. 

Really...for a kid all you need is a hotel swimming pool to have an amazing time! 

And for Lylah, apparently somewhere to hang upside down.

 On our way home we told the kids we would stop at the Alderwood Mall and take the girls to this dream land and take TJ to the Lego store.  I don't have any pictures of the Lego store because I never stepped foot in any other store.  Only this one.  

Tim and TJ enjoyed seeing the entire shopping center, possibly twice.

This store...

It is like crack for little girls....fore warning for those of you who haven't been there...

 This is Lylah saying "I'll take one of everything" "for my birthday of course"

13 Years

14 years ago, I met him.

13 years ago I married him. 

And in the last 13 years I have never regretted one minute. 

You are my favorite, always have been, always will be. 

I cannot imagine a minute without you and I thank God that I get to spend my life with you.

Love you babe. 

Happy Anniversary!

Games

One of the many things I love about homeschooling is spending all day with my kiddos.  

They have become quite the gamers....board gamers that is.  

There is really NOTHING like a little Settlers of Catan with an 11, 8 and 4 year old. 

Another Basketball Tourney

This time it is TJ's turn and this time Tim and I were in Texas.  

We missed his tournament, but mom was there to take pictures and we got play by play from Jon.

It got a little heated in the game, but TJ kept his cool and enjoyed his last few games of the season.

 The girls, of course, enjoyed some wall time with Grammy!

Leadership School

Tim and I were able to go to Fort Worth (thanks mom for watching the kiddos) for our bi-annual meeting with Advocare.  It was a fun little get away and we were able to celebrate our anniversary (13 years!) while we were there.  I am so thankful for this company and all it has done for us.  We could not be more greatful! One of the best parts, we get to spend amazing time with some of our favorites! 

Just a few of the champions we get to do life with! 

Classical Conversations

We love Classical Conversations. It has been such a great fit for our family.  All of the kiddos are in Foundations this year and TJ is in Essentials as well as Foundations.  Foundations is all around curriculum and Essentials focuses on English Grammar, Math and Writing.  I have learned SO much in this class and am so excited to be giving our children such a quality education.  I am so thankful the Lord brought this to our attention and to our community.  

For more information on CC check out www.classicalconversations.com

Charlie...

Apparently...labs are people...eh, people?!?  

I actually knew this, but really who shows their emotion by throwing caution to the wind and destroying the only thing you sleep on?!?! 

And who does it in record time?

I mean under 20 minutes?

Really?

A Labrador Retriever, that is who.  

And one who is technically still a puppy, though is actually 2 years old. 

And apparently misses Ruby when we are not around to keep her company. 

 This happened in less than 20 minutes people....

The song from "Annie" comes to mind....

Little Thief....

These are the pictures I find when my phone is stolen....

 Luckily, the culprit can't help but take a selfie...

More Basketball...

Just a bunch of pictures of Avarie's game one weekend and then the tournament the following.  The tournament was an entire day in the gym, with games back to back.  They came in 3rd and improved greatly throughout the season.

Go Jaguars!

Last Game:

 Avarie was fouled and had to shoot a free throw!!

Tournament:

 TJ helped with score keeping...

 So proud of you sweet pea!!

 Lylah helped with keeping the concession stand in business...

Ruby

Because of the chicken massacre of 2014 we had to get rid of our puppy Ruby.

She was a super sweet dog but we needed her to be with a family that didn't have chickens near by.

Thankfully the Lord provided just that family. 

We were sad to see her go, but happy to see her with a family that could love her! 

Finally!!!

 We finally got the snow we had been coveting! 

 Thereby making it possible to do some redneck sledding! 

Seahawks Superbowl

 Our beloved (by most of our family) Seahawks were of course in the superbowl! 

It happened to be the day before Jon's birthday as well, a pretty great birthday present! 

We celebrated at their home and had a good handful of Fries kids in Seahawk colors! 

Spoiler Alert...they won! 

Warning Label...

So the story goes...someone asks me to make a cake for an upcoming mission auction...why of course, I would love to is my answer. 

Well, if you bake at my house you will see that my sweet daughters are always involved in the preparation.  This day was no different.  

So we begin the baking, we place everything into the kitchen-aid and Lylah is sitting on the counter watching the mixer do its job.

I am standing next to the mixer, moving things into the sink, when Lylah starts to say owe, which turns into louder owe, which turns into mommy, mommy.... 

To which do my eyes see?  My 4 year old that has hair to her waste with her head directly against the mixer!!!!!  

Her hair had gotten caught in the mixer and was wrapped around the top of the paddle!!  

The poor girl lost a chunk of her hair and it happened in LITERALLY seconds!  

So beware! If you have a precious girl with long hair, tie it up before she sits on the counter next to the kitchen-aid.  

On a side note, we made an entirely different cake! 

Basketball Mode

We are in full time basketball mode... 

The season just ended (March) and we are ready for a reprieve.  

Most of the winter was spent inside one gym or another. It was a great season and with Tim coaching both TJ and Avarie's teams we got in a lot of gym time.