Firetrucks and Tall Ships

The other weekend we went down to the Port of Tacoma to see the Tall Ships with my family. On the way there we were able to get a tour of a firetruck.

Grandpa and Nicole looking at firetrucks with Sam.

We thought Sam would love to see the "pirate " ships, but he was more interested in throwing rocks into the water.

Sparkling Fun

Brandon and I got Sam some sparklers, so we have been playing with them in the backyard over the last couple of weeks. Sam loves running around the yard with Brandon.



Brandon enjoyed pretending he was Harry Potter with a wand.

Emily's Birthday

Well, I just turned 26, though according to the candles I am only 5. We had a nice day with a baby shower to start off the morning and then ended the day with ice cream from Cold Stone. I got my favorite Cake batter with strawberries and Sam was so excited about his blue ice cream, cotton candy, with gummy bears.

Portland with the Forreys

We made a trip down to Portland last weekend to take Sam to the Shriners Hospital for another check up on his feet. After waiting almost two hours to see the doctor we were told everything looks fine and we can come back again in another year. While we were down we made a trip to visit with our friends the Forreys. It has been quite a while since we were all able to get together, so this was a special treat. We had fun out at Jake's parents' farm with frogs, playgrounds, swimming and a delicious BBQ with the biggest hamburger I have seen in a while.


Jacob and Sam loved getting to play with the frogs. They didn't really want to hold them, but when the frogs would jump or try to get away, the boys thought asking or demanding that they come back was going to be enough. Man, those frogs were not very good listeners.



Beth and Maggie. Maggie is only about 3 weeks older than Jackson.

The kids enjoyed hot dogs, while the adult tried to tackle the hamburgers.

Jackson's Blessing

We blessed Jackson on July 6th. It was a beautiful blessing and we are so lucky to have our family so close. We appreciate everyone who participated and came to share this special day with us. And a special thanks to my mom and sister Jordan for making Jackson's adorable blessing outfit.

The Koontz family and us.

Our family with our favorite Uncle Cory, Aunt Lisa and Kaitlyn.

Our first official family photo.




This is the Dorman family on the day of the blessing. We just didn't get a chance to take a photo before we all changed clothes. PS notice the firetruck. Thanks Grandpa Roger!

Fourth of July

We started out the Fourth with a ward breakfast and some pickleball at our bishop's house. Then we headed out to Enumclaw for a BBQ and the firework shows at the fair grounds and our friends the Staffords. Sam was so excited to see all the fireworks around our neighborhood, I thought he would like the firework show. Instead he complained it was too loud so Lola helped cover his ears. Right before the finale he decided he was tired and closed his eyes and refused to open them.


The grass in the field where we were parked was so tall it almost covered Sam's chair.

Sam is 3!!!!

I can't believe that my little boy is now three years old. Especially after seeing him next to Jackson, I realize he is not so little anymore (relatively speaking). We are so lucky to have such a wonderful boy as part of our family. He is constantly making us smile and laugh. On Sam's birthday we had fun trying to make Birthday Pancakes, Sam loves pancakes. Then we spent the day playing and went out for dinner that night.

We had Sam's party on the 6th after Jackson's blessing. We had a small family get together complete with cake and ice cream. And Sam's favorite was opening presents and the new big firetruck he got from Grandpa Roger. You will see it in some of the other photos later. It is definitely a grandparent gift (aka NOISY) and we are already ready to take the batteries out. (Andrea I hope you don't mind I stole your cake idea. Thanks!)



We love you Samo!

Guess who is fakin'