Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Up and Running again.

Just a quick blog to let you know that I haven't forgotten about you.  I have lots of catching up to do and I plan to do it.  Really I do!

The main reason for the delay in posts is our recent move.  We have relocated to Cleveland, Ohio.  We are living with my parents right now.  Even though we have been here two months, I still feel like we are getting settled.  I am going to upload pictures and start blogging again soon.

For now, I am off to find my USB cord to download some pictures!  Which box was that in again?? :)

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Grandpa Reilley paid us a visit.

I realize that I am behind on these posts.  I will try to get better at that.

At the end of July, Grandpa Bill paid us a visit.  We spent a lot of time relaxing, playing and enjoying his company.  Our big event of his visit was going to Ballard Locks.   This is a cool place because they lift or lower boats depending on which way they are  going.  They do this because Lake Washington and Lake Union are fresh water and the Puget Sound is sea water.  The boys really enjoyed seeing the boats being raised and lowered.  

We also celebrated Brandon and Owen's birthdays a little early.  It was fun!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Fourth of July

We had a great fourth of July.  We spent the day at a friend's BBQ.  Then that night we came home and watched the fireworks in our backyard.  We put Meghan down to bed and let the boys enjoy the show.

Let me explain.  The fourth of July is a bit nuts out here.  It is a little unsafe.  Any regular person can buy the high tech fireworks on the Indian Reservations.  Then these unprofessional people set them off in their back yard or in the middle of the street.  It is entertaining while you wonder if your house is going to make it through the night.  Oh, and that's another thing.  They shoot them off all night.  And just when you begin to hate freedom, it stops!

I think the highlight of boys night was cookies and glow-in-the-dark bracelets!  All in all, We still love the Fourth of July around here, but mainly for the Smore's!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Grandparents come to play!

We were lucky enough to have Grandma Marnie and Grandpa Richard stay with us for a few days.  While they were here we saw CARS 2, visited Pike's Place Market, played Yahtzee, visited Gas Works Park, ate at Claim Jumpers and lots more!  Most importantly we celebrated Meghan's 1st birthday.  We packed a lot into 4 days.  Brandon and I even got to get out by ourselves. 

It was so nice having them here and I know the kids really enjoyed it.  We can't wait to see them in August.  We are driving down to see them at the end of the month.  We are staying for two weeks!  If we can do that much stuff in 4 days, I wonder what we will pack into 2 weeks.  We are really looking forward to it.



Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Our Baby Girl is ONE!

Our Meghan is ONE!!  We were lucky to have Grandma and Grandpa Knight celebrate with us.   (I will tell you all about our adventures with them in the next post!)

It was such a great day.  I made her cupcakes with pink frosting.  She didn't really dig into it like the boys did.  She warmed up to it though.  I don't know if cupcakes are her thing.  Maybe she will need to grow into that.


Meghan was blessed with love from many people.  We are so appreciative of that.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Preschool Graduation

School's out for summer!   Owen graduated from Hand-in-Hand preschool.  Only to go back in September.  It counts though, right?  The last day was a picnic and a celebration.  We brought Owen's birthday cupcakes.  They celebrated all the summer birthdays at the picnic.  All the "graduates" got a diploma and a goody bag filled with books and stickers. 

Owen was so proud of himself and he should be.  He did great this year.  He is growing up to be such a neat little boy. 

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Discovery Park

We were blessed with a sunny day here in Seattle.  Therefore, we loaded up the car and went for a family hike at Discovery Park.  We had a great time enjoying nature.  It is always nice to get outside and get some exercise.   The boys had a blast exploring the trails.  Meghan took it all in from her stroller.   We even stopped to play on the playground.  Which the boys turned into a pirate ship.  (Of course!)  I wonder what the world would be like if adults could imagine and play like little children.

I hope you enjoy the pictures from our day in the sun!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Another Season of T-Ball ends!



June 4th was our last T-Ball game.  The season ended with trophies and a party at Dairy Queen.  The boys both loved their trophies.  I would say that the season was a success.  I think we will probably try it again next year.   Here are some pictures from our last game.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Family Trip to Oregon



Over Memorial Day weekend we packed up the whole family and headed south.  We spent three nights on the Oregon Coast in Lincoln City, Oregon.  It was such a special family time.  When it was raining we toured the Tillamook Cheese Factory and a petting zoo.  


The weather did clear up for us and we spent a lot of time on the beach.  The boys really liked building sand castles and finding seashells.  They really liked watching people fly kites on the shore.  We even saw some wind surfers.





We also drove about an hour along the coast to visit Newport, Oregon.  Here we explored a haunted lighthouse and a local brewery.  The drive to Newport was amazing.  It was right on the Pacific Ocean.  At one point, we just pulled out to admire the view.  While gazing at God's creation, we saw a whale!!  How cool is that???

It is amazing how the sound of the sea can make you realize how amazing God really is!  I really  looking forward to more family vacations like this in the future!

I think one of the highlights for Owen and Seamus was that we got donuts for breakfast!!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Easter Sunday





It is Easter time!  So we needed to celebrate.  Our day was both fun and relaxing.  We went to church in the morning and spent the rest of the day relaxing.  We had the big dinner with ham, potatoes, vegetables, rolls, cake and sparkling juice.  The boys have taken to calling sparkling juicy, spicy juice.


We also had an Easter hunt around the house.  The kids enjoyed their basket.  Their big gift was a Leap Frog Scout. It is a pretty cool toy.  It is a stuffed animal that you program with their name and favorite things.  Then the dog sings songs about them.  Of course, their baskets were filled with Malley's Chocolate.  It is a tradition.  Thankfully, my parents brought it with them when they visited.   Each kid also got a new T-shirt, which lined the bottom of their Easter basket.  (I am not a fan of Easter grass!)


It was a fun day with just the 5 of us.  We hope you had a nice Easter too!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

T-Ball Season is here!







T-Ball has begun!  This year both the boys are playing on the same team.  Owen really seems interested in it.  I think he enjoys it because he tries hard and learns all that he can.  Seamus is still getting the hang of it.  He is not really interested in it yet.  He prefers to pick grass in the outfield rahter than pay attention to where the ball is.  He is only three though.  Maybe he will get it or maybe we will try soccer!! 
Seamus and his coach.

Being the great dad that he is, Brandon helps the boys in the outfield.  Meghan and I cheer from the side line.  T-Ball is an entertaining sport.   I give the coaches credit.  It is not easy to wrangle 3 & 4 year olds into a functioning team.  I am thankful they are trying though!

I hope you enjoy these game day pictures.