Terrific 2!

Today is Erika's second birthday!! To celebrate, we had TWO birthday parties - one at my parents' house and the other at our house yesterday with our neighbors. Happy birthday, Erika! Thanks for coming into the world and changing our lives (for the better) forever.

Piggy Cupcakes

Granny and Da-da got Erika some bath toys!

Yummy cupcakes!

Presents!

A Day for a Parade

We went to Sequim this weekend for Mother's Day and to celebrate Erika's birthday. Unfortunately, Ken hurt his back and was unable to join us. But, we still made the most of it and even checked out the Irrigation Festival Parade. It was Marilynn's first parade and she loved it! We told Erika that the parade was in honor of her Birthday, and somehow I didn't get a single picture of her.

Happy Campers!

We took a little camping trip this weekend just outside of Leavenworth, WA with some good friends of ours. Ken went with the girls on Thursday and then I joined them all on Friday and then went home with Erika Saturday night. It was a record 23-hour camping trip for me! I couldn't get Marilynn to leave - she was having such a great time with her friends. So, she went back with Ken on Sunday.

We cooked (and ate) tons of yummy food, went into the town of Leavenworth, and skipped rocks into the river. Fun times and Marilynn has turned into quite the camping girl!!

Rolling

We went bowling with friends on Saturday night, and Marilynn and Erika also decided to try it out for the first time. And, yes, it is true - Marilynn scored higher than I did. Marilynn calls it "rolling" instead of "bowling," and I'm thinking her term makes more much sense anyways.

Playdate at the Zoo

Scandoulous - Ken and another stay at home dad have been doing playdates with two stay-at-home moms on Fridays lately. Someone asked me if I was worried about Ken having all of this time with women during the day, and I was like "surely, you've never had to watch 8 kids all at once." This past Friday, they all headed out to the zoo and had a blast - 4 adults and 8 kids!

Marilynn's Swim Lessons

Marilynn started swim lessons at the YMCA last week and she is like a fish to water!

Easter!

I'm still recovering from Easter weekend! Ate way too much food, had way too much fun with the girls and wish I could do it all over again. We had our good friends Charles and Angela up from California and had a yummy brunch with them (no pictures to show for that, unfortunately). Then, we dyed Easter Eggs and made cupcakes on Saturday afternoon. Then, on Sunday, we went to church - the girls LOVED their new dresses from Maw-Maw and twirled around in them all morning long in church. Erika kept saying "princess" "princess." Then, we ended the special day will a big dinner with a few of our good friends. Hope everyone had a very happy Easter!

Erika really got into painting the eggs this year. Last year she couldn't even walk! She's growing up so fast.

Here's our carrot cake cupcake creations. Marilynn LOVES cupcakes and candy, so this was her perfect dessert.

The girls were adorable in their dresses. It looks like Erika is reaching up for a hug, but she really just wanted the camera.

In front of church - trying not to freeze. I miss California and Texas Easter weather.

Our dinner party - notice how most of the guys have their mouths full!

And, Marilynn enjoyed hostessing her own end of the table.

Note: tons more photos on Facebook