Pics from the week

 The kids had their fun run this week at school. The school met their goal- yahoo! Thanks so much to everyone who donated. 

 Ben's class won 2nd place- they were in first all week and lost at the last second, he was a bit bummed but we told him 2nd place is still pretty great! Ben was hilarious during the run. They had to run around the track for 20 minutes straight and he ran his little heart out. We are seeing a pretty competitive side of Ben, which is new. Fun to see him trying so hard though! 

 We had our family pics taken in Seattle this weekend and it was really cold. Lauren had a melt down about 5 minutes into it...will be curious to see what we get. We went to Cupcake Royale to warm up and get a treat. 

 Love my boy! 

 Lauren had a game on Saturday and her team really stepped it up (the last 3 games have been pretty terrible). It was fun to see them being aggressive! They don't start keeping score until next year but this was the first game that we "won", so that was nice:) 

 We walked down to try and see the salmon in the river tonight but didn't see any. I'm loving these beautiful fall days we've been having!

 Throwing leaves in and watching them float under the bridge. I loved doing this with my grandma as a kid, so fun to do it with my kids. 

Team Storm

 Ben LOVES soccer, he wishes he had it more than one night a week, but the one night he does have it, he plays his little heart out. And he's actually pretty good at it. Very aggressive and gets the idea of the game. He may be a bit of a ball hog though, as he really likes to be the one to score all the goals (we're working on passing more). Tonight when we got home he said, "Did you see me mom, I was on fire tonight!" He's very humble:) 

 Lauren loves going to Ben's soccer because her friend Ella's brother plays at the same field. They have so much fun playing on the sidelines. 

 (Lauren has practice right before, hence her outfit)

 The "unofficial" team pics for team Storm!

 

Oh and Ben has a really great coach this year- thanks Coach Kevin:) 

The Latest Happenings

 We met up with John, Aimee, & Vianne at Farrell McWhirter Park on a super rainy day. Vianne was confused at to why we would plan to play outside on such a blustery day. We all agreed with her and ended up at Starbucks and everyone was happy!

 We are so incredibly thrilled to have Hayley living so close to us now! We met her down at SPU for dinner last week and have plans to see her again this week. It is so fun having her nearby! 

 We had to take her to see the Fremont Troll. 

 Carson & Hadley spent the night and we had lots of fun watching the Croods. Carson had us laughing pretty hard all night. That kid is a crack up! And in case you weren't aware- he likes baseball and wants us to come watch him play- we heard it about 500 times in 24 hours. 

 The kids had a sleepover at Nana & Pa's and Kevin & I got to go on a date night. We went out to sushi, which was so fun and went on a little hike on the pipeline trail in the morning. It was such a beautiful fall weekend! 

 Found Ninja Ben in the playroom playing singing Wii the other day. Just made me laugh. He is a funny one. 

He's terrible at this game because he hardly knows the words to the songs and can't read so he just mumbles and always gets a low score. But he keeps trying so hard because he really wants to earn a medal on the game. I love his determination! 

Pour for Northshore

 We attended the Pour for Northshore wine walk and it was so fun. Seven wineries partnered up with restaurants and they served food pairings with their reserve wines. A few places even had live music, we all had a great time and it was for a great cause! 

 Our friends Katie and Chris, Katie and I are both ambassadors for the Northshore Schools Foundation, a non profit that raises money to give grants to the schools. 

 Met up with one of Lauren's friends parents, Kimberly D'Angelo, who also happens to be running for school board. Don't forget to vote in the upcoming election:) 

Such a fun night out!

Wet Soccer

Two weeks ago it was crazy sideways pouring rain during Lauren's soccer game. It was one of those times when you just had to laugh, because otherwise you'd cry. We are all freezing and drenched! The girls managed to have a pretty good time though! 

School Fun Run

It's that time again, time for Kokanee's fun run to raise money for the classrooms and support PTA programs. Lauren and Ben are both participating! Ben is super excited and asks me every day to put more money in his envelope:) 

If you would be so kind to donate to the cause, they'd love it!

https://orangeruler.com/pledge/invite/f147d092ec3a03de6b20cb8cf5a04d827f20bdeb

Tickled Pink

 Lauren went to a birthday party today at "Tickled Pink" a new "spa" for little girls birthday parties. 

Each girl gets a pink bathrobe to wear while they get pampered (hair & nails done) and then they play dress up. 

 After dress up it is "karaoke" time. I got back early enough to catch some of this and it was HILARIOUS! 

Such a fun party, Lauren is already asking to have her party there. It is pricey- she better start saving up now! 

Catching Up

SO, this whole working thing is really dipping into my blogging and picture taking time...here are the few pictures I've taken in the past couple of weeks! 

 Last week we had a 92 degree day and the girls had soccer practice at the peak of it. I was dying just watching them. We went to TCBY afterwards to cool off. 

 Laurie came up for a visit and we got to meet baby Jack. He is such a cute baby...or shall I say toddler! At 6 months he is in 18 month clothes, the kid is giant. 

 Lauren was in love with him, easy to see why! No pics of Mackenzie, she was here too but wasn't so into getting photographed:) 

Last week Lauren's team was short a couple of girls so they let Ben scrimmage with them. He had a blast and really got into it, he gave some of the girls a run for their money. Lauren was so proud, she kept saying, "See, I told you my brother was good." Pretty cute.

While Lauren was at the birthday party today Ben and I had a little date. We walked around Country Village (where the party was) and got Kettle Corn and coffee. We were going to ride the train but they closed it due to the "impeding storm"... so we had no choice but to head to the toy store and get a new Lego set. I had to help him build it, which is NOT my cup of tea, but I do admit, I felt a great sense of accomplishment once it was complete:) Fun to have one on one time with my boy! 

Makes me laugh

I've seen this cartoon a few times and it always makes me laugh because it is so true! Had to share, happy Friday! 

Callie's Coffee

I'm not usually one to advertise a bunch of stuff but I feel that this is worth of a mention. A guy I went to high school with started this coffee company with his daughter to raise money for pediatric cancer. It's called Callie's Coffee. In the last year it has taken off and they are doing big things. All year I've been meaning to order but never got around to it. I ran into Ryan & Callie at one of their booths this summer and saw the passion they share for this product and the cause. I finally ordered and I love it. I love the coffee, I love how easy it is to order, I love that it is organic and fairly priced, but most of all I LOVE that it is helping fund a cure for cancer. 

Check out their website and consider becoming part of Callie's Circle. You won't regret it!

http://choosecallies.com/

Team Lightning

Lauren's soccer team, "Team Lightning",  had their first game on Saturday. They were so fun to watch, they are getting to the age where they kind of know what they are doing and start to really play the game. Lauren played goalie the last quarter and she nailed it! She was on fire and we were all very surprised by all the goals she stopped! She loved it, which is the best part. Looking forward to a fun season! 

Football Fans

So, it isn't much of a secret, but our family doesn't watch football. (checking to see if we're still considered American citizens). Everyone is so excited this time of year, and sometimes I wish I felt that excitement, but after 36 years I'm thinking its not going to happen. 

The schools are all over the team dress up days and ours is no different. Yesterday was Seahawks day and college football day is coming up. Ben is the only person who owned any team gear so we ran out and hooked Lauren up and got 2 Husky shirts so the kids can take part in the football craze. Maybe they'll become the football fans in our family and we'll finally start watching?!?! 

Ben

Ben has been loving kindergarten. And I mean really loving it, more than I ever expected. During dinner last night his high for the day was "school" and he said he didn't have a low. He told us he has a new friend too. The story went like this: 

Ben- I have a new friend in kindergarten 

Me- cool, what's your friends name? 

Ben- we haven't telled each others that yet. 

Me- how do you know you are friends? 

Ben- I asked him if he wanted to be my friend and he said yes. 

But our favorite story was last night at dinner when he said, "do you know we have the next 2 days off of school?" We explained to him that it was the weekend and he replied, "well I don't want a break from school, I want to go everyday" 

MUSIC TO MY EARS!! I hope this lasts for a long time. 

Yesterday, he & his teacher were twins, and he was beyond excited about it! 

So excited for Ben this year, I have a feeling it's going to be a good one!