some exciting news!

Miss Lexi Brei Taking the boat out for the first time:
Kyler

Lexi

Kyler

All seated and ready to go. The seats swivel so we can face each other or the front.

Loving mom.

We saw this bird. He looks half turkey half duck. I've never seen anything like that before.

Her turn to row.

His turn to row.

Handsome guy.

Pretty girl.

Making Valentine's treats.I asked the kids what kind of Valentine's desserts they wanted to make. Kyler said he wanted to do rice crispy treats and Lexi agreed. So we added red and pink sprinkles and cut them into heart shapes. They loved them!

We decided to take a hike. The waterfall.

It was so misty, beautiful!

Dad and the kids.

Nearly 4 miles of hiking.

The kids and I. I was exhausted and nauseous, but we made it all the way through.

Mushrooms growing off of a fallen tree.

Taking the boat out for round 2.

Lexi fishing.

Kyler fishing

Jared fishing.

Today we decided to go to the beach. It was a gorgeous 60 degree day.

Seal Rock.

Jared checking out the rocks.

See all of the sea urchins? Jared caught a rock fish in here. I love how much life you find here.

Can you see the little crab? Jared caught him in a tide pool.
Lexi making sand castles.
Kyler playing football.
Standing in the waves. They had such a blast! It was nice to sit and relax in the warm sun and watch the kids play.
Sooo...we are having a baby! Due in October.

We are thrilled. The kids are so anxious and excited. They fight over who gets to share their room with the baby (as I expected the fighting to go the other way). They are constantly hugging and loving my belly. It's wonderful to see them so happy. March 30th we will have our first ultrasound, we can hardly wait.

and now...on to March!

Jared's birthday and our new boat

Yesterday was Jared's 29th birthday.
The kids posing with dad. Kyler kept saying he's 92!
We had a great day, very low key being as it was just us 4 and we were pretty exhausted from a long weekend with little sleep. So we made tons of Superbowl goodies and hung out. As their gift to dad, they created a special painting on a canvas for him to cherish.

The finished product.

Loving the birthday boy.

We bought a boat. Jared really wanted one, so I'm glad to see him so happy. It's a great boat: only a 2002, has 3 swivel seats, tons of storage and room as well.

He can't wait to try it out.

Happy Valentine's Day!

visiting friends-Tacoma, WA

On Friday, Jared and I headed out to Tacoma, WA to visit a great friend of mine, Melanie, in honor of her 27th birthday (it was actually mid week). My dad was wonderful enough to come to our house and watch Kyler and Lexi. I was hesitant in asking the kids their thoughts on us leaving them, but to my surprise, they were ECSTATIC! Jared and I have not had a child-less moment, together, since we moved in June. So we were really looking forward to the whole adventure and we haven't seen Melanie and Scott since October and being as they only live 4 hours away-it was too long to go without a visit.
Our drive could not have been more beautiful-perfect 62 degree sunny day.
Passing through Portland...
The drive was 4 hours and we spent the whole time enjoying the scenery and each other's company.

Mount Saint Helens

Melanie and I-we had such a great time!

Melanie's feisty kitty. She is gorgeous.

Heading home...the trip was too short as usual. Thanks Melanie and Scott for a great time!

Tacoma, WA-the birth place of my mom.

Mount Rainier

Welcome home...

Portland in a more grey setting. Still decent weather, 55 degrees and no rain until the last bit of our drive when it sprinkled.

It was wonderful to have the driving time to be alone together, though we did of course miss the kiddos. We came home to a house full of smiles. Thanks to my dad for watching them and keeping them entertained. Lexi was thrilled he played dollhouse with her so much and Kyler was showing off his high kicking skills. My dad said the kids were great-no arguments or complaints.

Being as tomorrow is Jared's BIG day (he'll be 29), we went to dinner this evening to celebrate. Tomorrow is the super bowl and he will not miss a moment of that.

Happy birthday Jared-here's to the best 29th year known to man!

Kyler has a new obsession with mustaches from the quarter machine. I caught a glimpse of Kyler in 10 years or so, ha ha. He is such a character.