Grandpa Swensen's 61st Birthday

My dad turned 61 on July 27th, but we were able to celebrate at our place on Friday, July 29th.

The kids and I made a "Happy Birthday, Grandpa!" poster in the morning in anticipation of the party later that evening.

After Grandma and Grandpa came over, we had dinner and then Wes practiced some reading with them.

Then we sang "Happy Birthday" and enjoyed some strawberry pie.

Sydney didn't feel like sitting with Grandpa for a picture, but she was there. (As were Brian and I.)

I thought this was a cute picture of Grandpa Swensen and Wes. It reminded me of one from two years ago, but Sydney was in that one as well.

Then Grandpa blew out the candles! All 6 and 1 of them! :) After the party, we left the kids with a babysitter and Brian and I went with my parents to see Aladdin at the 5th Avenue Theatre in downtown Seattle. It was a really great show and a lot of fun! We'd highly recommend seeing it if you ever get the chance.

Sustained Silent Reading

These are cherished moments: it's quiet, I can think and breathe, and my kids aren't getting into trouble. I should make "SSR" a daily activity.

The Flood/Skipsnes Wedding

On Sunday, July 24th, 2011, my best friend from high school, Jessika Flood, married Steinar Skipsnes at the Semiahmoo Resort in Blaine, WA (about two hours north of Seattle). Brian and I were among the lucky few (100) who were invited to enjoy the beautiful day and partake in the fun activities!

I've been seeing Subway Art around a ton and I thought it'd be a fun sentimental gift to Jess in addition to the traditional wedding gift I gave her. I created it using Picnik (after reading a "how to" website). I made it in her wedding colors, printed it, and then put it in a frame.

The wedding started at 5:00pm and we got there around 4:00pm, so we enjoyed some relaxing time in the sun sans children (thanks Tenley!!!).

A look at the aisle (and me) while waiting for the ceremony to start. Any decor you see, Jessika pretty much made herself. (Yep! Even the pillars at the end of the aisle. Here's a link to her blog that is dedicated to her journey.)

The person sitting next to us offered to take a picture of both of us.

Here's a picture of Jessika's (and Steinar's, but really Jessika designed and made it) ceremony program. (I actually took this picture from my friend Mandy, who is the woman in black in the right hand side of the picture above...these are her husband Joel's hands, not Brian's. Thanks Mandy!)

I didn't take any pictures of the bridal party, but here is the bride and her dad getting ready to walk down the aisle.

Jessika and her dad walking down the aisle.

The kiss!

Mr. and Mrs. Skipsnes!

The cute sign directing us to the festivities. (I took this picture and a few others from my friend, Julie. Thanks Julie!)

After the ceremony was "Lemonade and Lawn Games". There were three kinds of lemonade as well as optional fruit add-ins (like blueberries, strawberries, lemons, and limes). Fun idea!

We played bocce ball and I twirled the ribbon wands.

I also tried my hand at hula hooping. I did much better than I had expected to do (with one hula hoop...this picture is deceiving), but I hadn't realized what a core workout hula hooping is! I should do it more often!

The dinner tables. At each place setting there was a CD with the tunes from the ceremony as well as a "Lucky in Love" lottery ticket with a note that said, "We'll be getting lucky tonight, so we hope you do too!". It was the first time Brian and I had ever played lotto. Neither of us won anything (shocking, I know).

Here's a close up of the centerpieces (completely hand-crafted by Jessika - even the birds). The tables were assigned by areas of Seattle. This is the Ravenna Boulevard table and we were at the Fremont table. Each sign had a picture of Steinar and Jess at that location. Super cute idea!

My friend Julie and I were at the same table, but I failed to get a picture with her, so here is one with her and Jessika. I've know Julie since I was in 7th grade, but haven't seen her in about 10 years. It was so fun to catch up!

Before dinner started, Jessika and Steinar had their dance. Then we had some yummy food!

After dinner, the couple cut their Swedish/Norwegian cake which is from both of their heritages. It was actually really good!

Since neither Steinar nor Jess likes cake, they served "ice cream sammies" instead of having a traditional wedding cake. Yummy cookies, ice cream, and toppings!

Here's a picture of Brian and me.

Jessika and Natalie!

Girls from the class of 2000 (minus Hillary): Mandy, Amy, Jessika, and Natalie.

We were trying to think of a silly pose, but I actually like this picture better than our silly one; more candid.

Wedding love!

We had to leave before the send off to make the two hour drive home, but not before we took our turn in the photo booth! I actually love the picture of me and Brian in the bottom right-hand corner.


Congratulations Jessika and Steinar! Thanks for letting us enjoy the fun and festivities!

Sydney's First Haircut

On Sunday before church, Sydney took it upon herself to comb her own hair. Unfortunately, her hair is not very easy to comb through (even for me) and the comb got stuck. After a failed attempt to get the comb out, I had to take out the scissors. I got a wee bit emotional taking scissors to her hair for the first time, but it ended up being a minor casualty. After I combed her hair out, I couldn't even tell it had been cut.

Summer Sydney Pictures

Here are three random pictures of Sydney taken over the last month.

One day in June, Sydney came in the house after playing in the sandbox with this bucket on her head. She's quite the character!

We went to one of Brian's BofA softball games and Sydney joined the huddle like she belonged there. :)

We had a ward Pioneer Day picnic and Sydney thoroughly enjoyed her hot dog and Doritos. I was thinking I should keep count next summer of how many hot dogs the kids eat. Summer BBQs make the perfect kid food!