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!!

Independence Day 2009

We had a great 4th of July this year with family and friends. We started the morning out right with the traditional ward breakfast. Our ward does this every year but usually we are out of town for this but this year we were here and we loved it. They had a speaker talk to us about the holiday and he read the entire Declaration of Independence. I had never heard the whole thing. It was pretty cool to listen to and remind us of how blessed we are to live in America! Then the kids put on a bicycle parade. They each decorated their bikes and rode around the parking lot while we listened to patriotic music. It was so much fun! Grandpa Ron came to town for the weekend and the kids had a great time with him. After breakfast we spent the day playing and enjoying the sunny weather. Then in the evening we went over to the Moulton's home with lots of friends and ate, yet again, more delicious food, played games and lit off fireworks. Of course the BIG boys were more into it than the little ones but we all had such a great time and no one was injured! :) Had one close call though. We all know how much hair I have, so I think the sparks are just drawn to it. I had firework shrapnel land on my head so Jeff came running over to pat the sparks off my head. Everyone got a good laugh out of that but I was thinking that I'd like to keep all my hair for now! I don't think bald is really the look for me. Any way, we stayed out super late and enjoyed every minute. I am so grateful for this country we live in and for the freedoms that have been fought for, and are still being fought for, for each of us. We are so blessed!

Here are some pictures from our fun day!

Disneyland 2009

This past spring we took the kids and went to Disneyland. It was the first time the kids had been. I have to say, hands down, that this trip was the best family vacation we've taken yet!!! Disneyland really is the happiest place on earth. The weather was gorgeous for us and the kids were at great ages to really enjoy it. Laine was only a few months old but she was an angel, as usual. Shane was 2 1/2, Wyatt almost 6, and Abigail 8. Jeff and I talked before we went on the trip and decided that we really wanted to make this a trip that the kids would never forget. We new we were going to have to loosen up the purse strings and relax a little. :) So we decided that we were going to try to say yes to everything. So, if the kids wanted 3 Cotton candies in one day, we said yes. If they wanted to go on a ride a few more times that they had already been on lots, we said yes. If they wanted to stay out late we said yes. You get the idea. :) It was so freeing and made the trip so much more fun for Jeff and I to feel like, with in reason, we could say yes to the kids on everything and really keep them smiling the whole time. (Thanks to Laura Mitchell for this great advice!) We had the 3 day park hopper passes so on our first day we went to California Adventure. What a cool place that is. We saw everything we wanted to except the Aladdin show. We heard it was amazing. It didn't happen to be showing the day we were there. Oh, well. We'll catch it next time. After a full day there we went back to the room and fell into bed. Then we spent the next 2 days at Disneyland, riding rides, meeting Disney characters, eating food, and laughing and smiling. Abigail and Wyatt were tall enough to ride all the rides and I was so proud of how brave they were. Even if it looked a little scary and they were nervous, they still took a chance and rode the ride. They always had fun and never regretted getting on. Jeff and I took turns riding with the kids and there were those occasional rides that we could all ride together. Shane and Laine were such amazing sports and didn't mind waiting sometimes for their big brother and sister. We had breakfast at Goofy's kitchen. That was super fun. Then we took some time to walk around Downtown Disney and shop. The lego store there is awesome.

We were truly sad to leave and didn't want our trip to end. It's hard to get back to real life when you've just had that much fun. We feel so lucky to have been able to do this trip and it's one we'll never forget. The kids still talk about it almost a year later and ask, "When can we go back?" I told them that we could go back when Laine is as big as Wyatt is now so we can all ride the rides together. Never underestimate your kids because Abby and Wyatt took that very seriously and immediately started trying to feed Laine more food!! They would say, "Here Laine. Eat and grow big fast so we can go back to Disneyland!" Gotta love it. Can't wait until I can post again some day about our next trip to Disneyland.

Our Favorite rides in 09:
Jeff- Giant Orange Swings
Tracie- Indiana Jones
Abigail- Thunder Mountain Railroad
Wyatt- The Matterhorn/Jedi Training
Shane- Buzz Lightyear
Laine- It's a Small World


Any thing 3D was cool!


Wyatt was chosen to do the Jedi training. He was so serious about! To cool to be able to fight Darth Vader. Something he'll never forget I'm sure. :)



Toon Town

Jeff and Abby waiting in line to go through the Haunted Mansion!