We've been waiting 10 years for this...

It's here!

Sadie's 10th birthday!

Why is that so cool? Well, I'll tell you. It's because her 10th birthday lands on 10/10/10.

Yup. One of the coolest Golden Birthdays EVER.

We discovered it soon after she was born on 10/10/00. And I always said we'd have a big celebration.

It's here. And we're so thankful for our sweet Sadie!

We love you-- you'll always be a Perfect 10 to us!!!

Crazy Fun

Just some photos to show some crazy fun we've had lately. Silly photos are so often better than "cheesy" ones!

Grant. Oh, that boy. Seriously. Nothing serious about him! Once again, Grant adored wheat harvest. This year he even spent multiple full days (like 12 hours each) "workin'" with Dad, Grandpa and Uncle Mark.

Allison. So much fun! That girl is photogenic and always ready for a good time. Love her. This one is for Grandpa who wanted to know how she'd fair eating corn without any teeth. :)

Sadie. Sweet, simple Sadie. She had a super duper summer-- courageously taking on new and big adventures like going to a three night summer camp and conquering the tube slides at the aquatic center. Of course, she loved both more than she imagined possible (can mom say "I told you so"?).

Angela. She's been taking a photography class and asking the kids to pose so she can practice. Grant got tired of always being on the opposite end of the camera and wanted his turn. So, this shot is courtesy of Grant. Nice work, buddy!

Dwayne. His version of crazy fun comes every August. Harvest time! We catch him when we can.

Crazy fun, peeps!

July Joy

So, I'm still behind... but you gotta love the photos of these kids and puppies! Too cute

Grandma From-The-West-Side and Auntie Who-Has-Two-Almost-Three Girls came to visit in July and we had so much fun playing!

Of course, we spent some quality time at the aquatic center...

And enjoyed Lana's puppies, too.

What joy!

Happy Independence Day!

Hey all...  a bit late but it's still fun to see the photos, right?

We had so much fun gathering as a whole entire Sawyer Family at my sister Suz' place up by Spokane. We had a great time with wiffle ball, eating, making the tradtional flag cake, bocce ball, eating, playing with cousins, eating, taking Sadie to her first camp, eating and chasing cattle. Yup. A fabulous independence day.

Lake Fun!

We were lucky enough to go to Priest Lake again this summer. It is such a treat for us to spend time on the lakefront with the ability to boat on the water too. We had so much fun with family and loved every minute of it!

Pee Wee Sports Camp

(Sorry for the long delayed post!!!)

Grant enjoyed Pee Wee Sports Camp earlier this summer. He spent 5 days doing all different sports-- soccer, bowling, tee ball, basketball and track and field. It was so fun to watch him learn the basics of these sports! When we asked him his favorite, he said "all of them!"

The New Sandbox

We've had the little turtle sandbox since Sadie was just a toddler. In the past few years, we've realized it's a bit small for three kids... particularly one with a machinery lot full of construction equipment.

The joy of digging is a PASSION for Grant. There is no denying that he loves it. People who have only known him for minutes of time could guess that he "digs" dirt.

Our garden has been the resource for a larger digging area for the past few (muddy) months. But now that it is planted, we needed a new spot for Grant.

To justify a change/purchase for Daddy, I pitched the plan with a "kill two birds" approach. We have a low spot in the back yard that becomes a muddy puddle area anytime it rains or we play with the sprinkler or pool. And we have a small patio. To give better drainage to the wet spot, I suggested putting a sandbox there. And in case we ever want to extend our patio, the sand/gravel would make a good foundation for new concrete.

So-- it was done. After waiting patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) for the spot to dry out for digging and filling, Grant was awarded the joy of filling his new sandbox last week. The whole family pitched in, and we're all having fun playing around in it too.

Come on over and play!

Superstar Allison

Sweet Allison is so amazing... this girl is physically capable of a lot! We are so impressed by her mad climbing and gymnast skills. She's had a lot of practice on a climbing wall at school, and has enjoyed a few gymnastics classes.

We love to see her accomplish great things, and she never ceases to amaze us.

In just two weeks she'll be starting up gymnastics again. We're so proud of her!

Donation Time!

She's been growing and growing for months. And the time came this week to make her donation!

Sadie chose to grow out her hair for Locks of Love. There were many shampoos, tangles and tears that come with longer hair. But she persevered and waited for the 8 inches of donatable hair to grow.

We knew she'd look super cute with a new and shorter do since she used to always wear it short. We had forgotten just how cute, though. Check out the work in progress:

LOVE that smile! She feels great about her new look. And I think that is fabulous. :)

Teachers are Blessings

I did not know it until this evening, but this is Teacher Appreciation Week.

A few weeks ago (and therefore before I knew of apprecication week), our family planned to invite our teachers (3rd grade, 1st grade, preschool and AWANA leaders) to our house for dinner on Cinco de Mayo.

They came this evening and enjoyed dinner with us. We were blessed to get to know them better and the kids were overjoyed to have their teachers here.

It was a joy to have our teachers in our home. We certainly appreciate them!!!

Sadie-- our Piano Gal

Here's Sadie's spring recital for the WSU PPLS program. She's had the same piano teacher for three years now, but is saying goodbye as Miss Christina is graduating and headed off to grad school (such is the life we live in Pullman... always saying goodbye to people!)

Sadie did a great job, and has grown a lot. You can see her very first piano recital here that was 2.5 years ago. She was so little! :)

Just Across Town

It's amazing the fun that can be found in your own town! We had so much fun riding the city bus to campus to visit Ferdinands for ice cream.


Wanna come with us next time?

Spring Break Fun

We spent one night away from home for Spring Break-- a fun trip to Spokane for cousin Trent's 1st birthday and a visit to Chuck E Cheese!

Dear God,

Dear God, Please send another sunny day so my kids can go outside to play. My husband and I would sincerely appreciate it. Thanks, Angela

(Turn your speakers up as loud as they can go for the full effect.)

Thankful that Spring is Here!

Happy Spring, all!