Missing Tooth!

Wyatt lost his first tooth last week! He was so excited to finally join the club. His tooth was pretty loose and he was sick of toying with it so he decided it was time to come out. He went to the bathroom and yanked it out all by himself. After some serious mouth rinsing to get ride of the bloody taste he was ready to show off the new gap in his mouth.

Laine's 1st Birthday

January 2nd was Laine's birthday and since we were on the road for her special day we celebrated with Jeff's family when we got back. We had a fun little party with Mary, Derek and Stephanie, and Wayne and Opal. She got some cute new clothes and some fun little toys. I've decided that purple is my favorite color on Laine. She's just so cute!

Happy 1st Birthday, we love you!

Christmas in Colorado

We spent Christmas in Colorado this year with my family. Yes...we made that drive again! That's twice this year. :) But it's SO worth it. We love being there and the kids are actually getting pretty good at spending 2 days in the car. The drive went well despite the winter weather. We arrived on Dec. 23rd in the evening. We stayed for 2 weeks and then left on Jan. 2nd. (Laine's B-day!) I wish we could have stayed a lot longer but it was time to get back to home and real life.

We always take so many pictures while on these trips and I have a hard time narrowing down which ones to post. So, as usual I posted a ton and I think I'll just let the pictures tell the story of our trip. Enjoy!

Christmas Eve - the kids got new jammies (our family tradition) from Grandma and Grandpa Cribbins. We love Madagascar! :)
Santa brought Laine a really fun toy and she loves it!
Grandma Cribbins set up a special surprise for the kids while we were there. She got us "gold tickets" to ride the Polar Express in Durango CO. This was such a wonderful experience and one the kids won't forget. Once you board the train the conductor comes through and punches every ones tickets, like the movie. It was so fun to see the whole punches fly all over! Then they served hot chocolate and cookies while they narrated the book. Then we arrived at the North Pole and Santa boarded the train and gave each of the children a bell from his sleigh. It was so special. Wyatt said and I quote, "Grandma, I feel just like the little boy from the movie." We sang Christmas Carols the whole ride back to the train station and then walked through a train museum and saw some really neat stuff. We could tell the kids were so happy by the looks on their faces and by their cute words. At one point Shane spontaneously exploded with this statement, "Wyatt" he yelled, "I Love you!" Thank you for an amazing time Grandma!







There was plenty of snow while we were there and the kids logged some good hours of sledding, whether it was behind Grandpa's quad or on the big hills at Zero Summit.


The most wonderful part of the trip was the birth of my new niece, Danica Janae Cribbins. She was 6 lbs 8 oz and 18 inches long. She has the most dark hair I've ever seen and she is so beautiful. She is a perfect and sweet little girl and we are so grateful we were there to welcome her into this life!

Just before we left we were able to take an evening and celebrate Laine's 1st Birthday. I can't believe she is one already. We had a yummy cake that Laine loved, and opened presents.

And of course what would a trip to Montrose be with out a night or two of poker!!
We are so blessed with our family! Thanks to all for a most wonderful Christmas.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving dinner was at our house this year. We had a nice gathering of Jeff's family. His grandparents Wayne and Opal Allen, Kathy and Leo O'Dore, his mother Mary and his father Ron. It was the first Thanksgiving we've spent with Ron in town for a long time. He lives in Modesto CA and drove up to spend the week with us. It was so nice to have him here and the kids just love Grandpa Ron. We had a ton of good food of course and ate to much. Both Ron and Wayne are excellent cooks so we really enjoyed our feast. Mary brought Derek and Stephanie's new puppy and so he and Oscar had a great time playing. Bolo is his name and nipping is his game! They get a long great. It was our first holiday with out Willie and we all missed him a lot. The kids got new jammies and are sporting them in the pics.

Great Wolf Lodge

We took the kids to the Great Wolf Lodge this winter. What a fun place that is! We all had a blast in the water park and I am so proud of my kids. They were so brave and rode on all the rides (that they were tall enough for). There are 4 pretty big water slides for big kids, smaller slides for younger kids, and even a toddler area perfect for babies and toddlers. They have a wave pool, arcade area, and really fun rooms. The kids were at a perfect age to take them and they all loved it. We left Laine home with our good friends the Moulton's. She would have been ok but it would have been difficult to do all that we wanted to while holding her. Next time Laine! I hope we can make this a family tradition every year!

Shane's 3rd Birthday

On November 4th, 2009 our 3rd child turned 3!! Shane is a sweet little boy that makes us smile and laugh. He's just so cute and tiny! He is fun, happy, and always ready to play. He has a huge sweet tooth. If I let him he would eat candy, cookies, etc. and drink chocolate "mook" (as he calls it) all day long! He is big into trains right now as you can tell from his reaction to opening his gift. I wish the picture wasn't so dark but you get the point. :) Shane is funny and always makes me laugh. Here's an example. It's a little irreverent but cute non the less. A few months ago we were in the car heading out and Shane let out a huge burp. I was so surprised by it that I looked back and said, "wow buddy. what do you say?" I was expecting excuse me but that's not what I got. Shane was just as surprised as me. He looked at me with his big blue eyes and said, "Mom, I just farted out my mouth!" I laughed so hard, too funny!

Shane, we love you so much and we are so grateful that Heavenly Father sent you to us!!
love,
Your Family

Halloween 09'

Here's our crazy crew

Abigail: a little Chinese girl
Wyatt: Darth Vader
Shane: SWAT team member
Laine: the cutest Tootsie Roll you've ever seen!! Couldn't you just eat her :)

Family Pictures

We had some family pictures taken by our friends Jason and Becca Kidd this past fall. They do such a wonderful job and we are so happy with the pictures. Anyone who can get all six of us to sit still, smile and look good, AND the dog, is amazing in my book!!

Family Loss

This year was a hard year for our family. Both Jeff and I lost a family member. Jeff's father (step), Willie Sligh passed away in Oct. 09' after a little under a years battle with cancer. There are no words to express our sadness and grief at loosing Willie. Willie raised Jeff as his own son since Jeff was 2 years old and helped shape him into who he is today. I know Jeff will always love Willie and will forever be grateful for helping raise him along side his mother. Willie was a father, a grandfather, a photographer, a nature enthusiast, a lover of cars, and the Seahawks #1 fan! (just to name a few) We love you Willie.



I lost an uncle this past year. My fathers brother, John Cribbins. I have fond memories of Uncle John coming to visit when Brandie and I were younger. He lived in California then and would come visit us in Seattle every so often. He loved to be in the out doors and be active and he would often take us shopping. I am so thankful for the interest that he took in us and for the relationship that we were able to nurture before he passed. Eventually Uncle John moved here to WA. and we were able to see him more often. Unfortunately as he got older he developed some mental health problems and suffered from severe dementia. He deteriorated quickly and there was need to place him in a home where he could be helped and watched. He died in that home from complications from an illness. My regret is that over the last several years of his life I did not go to see him. His dementia was so severe that I just thought why go. He won't remember me. If I had it to do over I would go visit him and make sure he knew that we loved him. He served in the military and was berried at the Tahoma National Cemetery here in WA. Below is a picture of the Chaplin that performed the ceremony. Jeff and I were the only ones in attendance for Uncle John's service. I'm not sure I could even explain how difficult is was being the only ones there. Unfortunately work and jobs kept my family from being able to attend. I am grateful to have been able to be the one to take care of things for Uncle John and I feel honored to have done so.

Love you Uncle John.

Summer Races 09

I know it's not for everyone but I still really love running! It keeps me in shape, makes me feel good, and it gives me that "mommy time" that I need. This past summer was busy with training for some races that I signed up for. I have such wonderful friends to train with so it makes it so much fun. First I trained for and finished the Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon in Seattle. My friend Kira and I were a great match and I couldn't have done it with out her! It felt amazing to accomplish such a hard thing. Then about a month later I ran with a team of 12 people in the Seattle Ragnar Relay race. Running is such an individual sport but running these relay races turns it into a great team event. The way it works is you have 12 people on a team, 2 vans of 6 people. I was in a car of six ladies which was so fun. Each of the team members runs 3 legs of varying miles adding up to about 187 miles total over a 24 hour period. There's not much sleep, no good food, but there is fun, support, and comradership! It was tough. I was injured and couldn't finish my last leg which was so disappointing, and there were things that I didn't love as much as I thought I would, but I am looking forward to doing it again this next year. Hopefully I won't have any trouble with my IT band! Here is a picture of a check point on the Ragnar relay.

Kira and I after the 1/2 marathon!
Here's to a new year and a start to another running season!!!!

Summer in Colorado

Every summer for the last several years we have traveled to Colorado to see my family. This past summer, 09, was no exception. It's a long drive but we always have so much fun! The kids do pretty well in the car and we are so blessed because we can go for 2 weeks and really make the trip worth the drive. Jeff's work is flexible enough that he can work from there so he works one week and takes one week off for vacation. It works great. We drive through Utah on our way to Colorado and usually we are lucky enough to see friends. This trip we stopped in Lehi and stayed with our friends Justin and Tina and their kiddos. We had such a great time with them. We went to the new Kowabunga Bay while we were there, ate good food, and played. Then we finish out the drive to CO. Brandie's boys were in Montrose while we were there and it was so great so see them. The cousins really love to play. Some of the things we did while we were there are a birthday party for Bryce and Chandler, swimming at the pool, riding bikes, drive in movies, and we took a long weekend and went camping up in the mountains. While camping we played in the stream, explored caves, hiked, picked wild flowers, and road Grandpa's new toy! Below are some pics. It was a great trip!!