Moving On

These are some pictures of our last few days in our Spokane lives. We had moved everything out of our apartment, so I was grateful for the sunny weather that we could spend our time outside playing. We went to the church grounds and enjoyed the grass and dandelions there almost every day for a week.


When we were home, there wasn't much to do other than swing and play the dance game. (Thanks to Andrew, Maria, Blake, Sable, and Grandma and Grandpa K for the game for Rhett's graduation!)

(This picture must have been taken before we moved everything because there's our table! But I love that look on her face.)
This was taken after I showered--Claire was napping and Summer was doing makeup. It was some kind of blush stick I had from who knows long ago, and Summer really put it to good use. Rhett said she looks like the little boy on "Australia."

And here's a little bit of our new life in Liberty Lake. This is the deck connected to the glass door in our kitchen. Rhett sets the chairs up for the girls to watch him mow the back lawn. I know you can't see the girls, but they are there.

And this is how he mows the front lawn--with the girls still cheerleading away.

Last Saturday, Summer and Dad went for a walk down by the lake, and returned with this--the most humongous slug I have ever seen. Look at that thing!!!
When we finally get the place tidied and all things put away, I'll do a tour of the our new little home to post on our blog. Stay tuned!

Oh, and one more thing--I changed my business name and blog from Home-Bound Books to Blotches. Check out my new look! And thanks to Katelyn Wray for the design at designsbyksw.com! I love it.

A Post For Rhett

Well, it finally came. After three long years of hard work, lots of studying, and little sleep, Rhett graduated. We are so proud of him. Not just that he graduated, but that through it all, he remained positive and never lost his spirit. There were times when he could have given up and endured school with negativity and self pity, but he didn't. He got right back up and continued working with a positive attitude. He is such a great example to us and a great father to our girls. He made many sacrifices throughout the past three years, and they were never for his own benefit--they were always for us. We are so proud of him. We love him so much.


I don't have many pictures to post right now since my camera cord is packed up somewhere in a box, but when I get it, I'll post more. Thanks Maria, for these great pictures! And thanks to everyone who came to support him for his graduation and helped us move.

Right now, Rhett is in CA at the INTA conference (one of the largest Intellectual Property conferences in the country--65,000 IP people are attending) for his work. He will get back on Wednesday, then continue working at Trademark Management about two days a week while he studies for the bar exam, which he plans to take in Washington.

Congratulations, Rhett, for such a great accomplishment!

Today

* Summer flirted with the missionaries.

*Claire started saying "Yep."

*The sun is shining and the weather is BEAUTIFUL.

*New cousin Baby Nelson was born at 6:31am at 6lbs 13 oz and 18.5 inches long.

*Rhett finished his last final at law school! Woohoo! He is DONE! Good Work babe. We are so proud of you!

Conversation during Summer 's Bathtime

"MOM! I need you to wash me! . . . Not my hair. And not my face. And not my body . . ."

"I already washed you."

"On Thursday when Heather was here?" (Heather was actually not here on Thursday. Did Summer even bathe on Thursday??? What day is even today???)

"It's time to get out, sweetie."

"But I need to wear my shoe on," With a sly grin, as her foot pokes up over the top of the bathtub anda purple plastic octopus toy covers her toes.

A Little Bit of Everything in April

This month has been very eventful for us. To start out with, me and my law-school-wives-girlfriends had a girls weekend getaway. We headed over to Seattle for the weekend and enjoyed the tulip festival, some shopping, and a bit of downtown Seattle.


Then, during the Get Lit! Festival (writing conferences/workshops put on by EWU), my cousin Deirdre came up and attended some of the events with me. My favorite part of the weekend was seeing the girls so attached to her. Summer didn't want to leave her side!

And last weekend, we got to celebrate Easter and throw a surprise baby shower for Tia Maria all in one! We had a great time with family.
Warming up to Color Easter Eggs: (We just painted eggs with paint brushes and craft paints)

The Finished Products:
The Surprise Shower:

Jeopardy and Delicious Lunch catered by here. (That link will take you to pics of the food we had.)

And even though the weather looked like this a few days before Easter,
we were still able to get some good Easter Egg hunting in:

April was a busy month, but we enjoyed all the moments in it!

Leisure

Song Lyrics: "The wolf is not coming. We all need go the bath tub. Right in the house. Then we watch the movie 'bout the lamb on the 'puter (computer)." Then something about climbing up the tree.



One evening, Claire walked over to the window and slid right in between the glass and the blinds. She fit perfectly, except for one little toe poking out the bottom. It was so cute. Now, whenever she wants to hide, she goes there. (Rhett said I sound like a cartoon horse in this, but I'm posting it anyway.)

Hot Tamales, Friends, and "The Dance Game"

A few nights ago, Rhett brought home a big box of Red Hot Tamales for me. I opened them and had a few, then set them on the counter. The next morning, the girls woke up a bit early. Rhett and I stayed in bed while we heard them rummaging around. Then all went quiet. I was surprised that they were being so "good" . . . until Summer came running in with red all over her mouth and said, "Mom, that snack is bicy (spicy)." I got up and went out into the living room and half my box had been eaten. Around Claire's mouth, a little on her nose, and below her eye, was all red--I thought from the dye in the candy, but when I looked closer, I realized it had welted up from the Tamales. At least she had enjoyed them.
I love how the girls play with each other all day. It is so fun to see them get along and be such good friends.


(I actually went to check on them and they had figured this out. Now they love riding the tricycle together.)




During Spring Break, we borrowed our friend's Wii and their new dance games. Summer absolutely loved the dance games. She would ask to do it the moment she woke up in the morning. We had the Wii and dance games for about a week and a half, and then we had to give them back to our friends. That night, we were saying prayers, and Summer said, (sometimes she gets "Thanks for" and "Please bless" mixed up), "Thanks for we get the dance game back." It was so funny.

Here are a few clips of her doing part of the Jungle Boogie, the Russian dance, and her "Grand Finale."