Go Windermere Wildcats!

Liz had a great soccer season this year. She had a great coach who didn't put up with girl drama, learned a lot, and had fun as well! She hadn't played since 1st grade so it was challenging but she kept up very well. She enjoyed it so much that she is hoping they will play spring soccer this year for the first time! Mom is not so sure about having Liz in soccer and Zach in baseball at the same time but we will do our best to juggle it!

GO DAWGS!

Liz got to go to her first Husky game as a date with her daddy!
She now understands the excitement surrounding Husky stadium, which is a tradition on both sides of our family. We are now looking forward to the rebuilding of our team and the possibility of a trip to the Rose Bowl in '09!

Grammy

Mike's grandma ("Grammy") is turning 90 in January! She may be 90 in years but she is young at heart! She gets around great and is still as sharp as a tack. Zach & Liz enjoy visiting her in her assisted living apartment and eating with her in the dining room. The staff is always very good about offering "kid food" which is a relief to Zach! They always play with her tray of seashells - Liz arranges them into pretty patterns and Zach makes weapons out of them! They also know that she always has some kind of a treat for them and they usually eat more than their share of cookies!

Back to School!

Liz is excited to get back to school and see all of her buddies...
Zach just wants to stay home!
They both had a good first day back, have wonderful teachers, and look pretty snazzy in their new school clothes!

The Ball Boy

Here is Zach, future Wildcat, ready on the sidelines of the high school football game to retrieve the T or exchange the football. He takes this job very seriously!

Just a little pinch...

My baby's growing up! Shorter hair was a good reason to get the ears pierced! She just flinched - no tears or complaints! What a tough girl!

Locks of Love...A Worthy Cause

Here is Liz before:

And here she is after:




Some lucky girl (or boy) with alopecia or cancer will recieve a wig made of Liz' beautiful, blonde, curly locks! No, she didn't lose her curl - the stylist just straightened her hair after the cut. We couldn't get it that straight if we tried! She is a lucky girl - she looks adorable without even trying:).

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

Zach standing in front of his favorite baseball player: Ichiro! He and Mike spent the day in Seattle. They caught a dinosaur movie in 3-D at the Science Center,

Girls' Getaway

Liz has been helping me clean the church faithfully each week. To show my appreciation I took her on a little trip to the place of her choice. She chose Ruby Beach. Our trip started with strawberries & cream frappuccinos for the long drive to Quinault, where we stayed on Monday night. We laughed a lot, ate a lot, and have some secrets that will remain secrets :). On Tuesday morning, we ate breakfast and then hit the Amanda Park library before heading to the coast. At Ruby Beach we searched for tide pools but weren't very successful since low tide wasn't until 5pm. We did take a lot of great pictures, carved our names on rocks, and saw a bald eagle soar overhead (fumbled with the camera for too long and didn't get a good shot!). Our next stop was Kalaloch. We ate at the lodge and don't recommend it. The view from our table was spectacular but Liz finally met a clam chowder she didn't like and my fish-n-chips were just okay. Our next plan was to head back to Quinault and drive around the lake before heading home. The motel manager highly recommended the drive but didn't mention that the road is pretty much a logging road most of the way around! I kept waiting for a "turn back now" sign or to meet up with something/someone scary but we finally made it to the Quinault Mercantile for an ice cream cone for the road. We had a great trip and look forward to making this an annual event - but next time momma chooses the destination! Did someone say spa?

Camping - Take 2!

This time it's our annual camping trip with the Kloempkens. We spent 4 days at Wynoochee Lake and didn't get a single drop of rain! In fact, we didn't use our sunscreen enough and got quite a bit of color!

The kids spent their time biking, swimming and playing hide-n-seek. Zach thinks he's being clever "hiding" as a buck but the others are too smart to fall for that!

Here Liz & Zach snuggle up to keep warm in the tent. It doesn't look like they are going to sleep any time soon!

Typical Liz camping attire: swimming suit & helmet. Ready to jump on a bike or in the lake at a moment's notice!

Zach & Nate, both age 7

Liz & Kasie, both age 9

The kids (and some adults) enjoyed swimming out to the dock and playing. Here Nate, Liz, Kasie, and Sam (N&K's cousin) jump in unison.

We're All in This Together....

For Liz' birthday, she invited 4 friends over for a sleepover. Mike & I surprised them with an outdoor showing of High School Musical, the current pre-teen phenomenon! The girls bundled up on lawn chairs & Mike projected the movie onto a sheet attached to the fence. We had movie candy & popcorn. The girls then slept in the tent! It was a hit and we can't wait to do it again!

L-R: Shelby, Hannah, Liz, Kathryn, Kasie

Happy 9th Birthday, Liz!

We decided it was time for a pet for Liz so her birthday gift was an adorable black bunny, whom she named "Sweetie Pie". We celebrated with a meal chosen by Liz: Pasta in a Saffron & Artichoke Cream Sauce, green salad just like The Olive Garden, and a crusty baguette. That's my foody girl!!














Here she is getting ready to blow out the candles on a cake that has layers of raspberry filling, blackberry filling, and is iced with strawberry buttercream!

When it rains, it s'mores...

"It always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent. " ~Dave Barry

We took our annual Cedergreen/Allton camping trip this year...in the rain! We spent four days at Ike Kinswa...in the rain! We tent camped...in the rain! Did I mention rain? Despite the weather, the men (and Zach) fished, the kids biked and swam, and the women dreamed of sunshine while hanging in the hammocks!


We were able to keep the boat at our site, so the kids swam around it - when you are going to get wet out of the lake, you might as well get in the lake!






Liz enjoying the ultimate camping trip: S'Mores.



Zach kept Jace company in the hammock




















The annual camping picture of the kids: Liz, Emma, Jace & Zach

[W]hen you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. ~Nora Ephron

Carrie's cousin, Bub (aka Stephanie) got married this summer. She & her husband, Corey, met when they both worked for the Tacoma Rainiers. The reception was held in Enumclaw and was a great event. Uncle Dick catered (yum!) and Jeanna (sister to the bride) did the flowers. The cake was gorgeous, both inside and out! It was pink inside!

The cousins: Liz, Emma, Zach. The girls enjoyed the dancing immenseley! Zach wanted to know why he couldn't go next door to watch the babe ruth game!!!

Here Liz congratulates the bride, Stephanie. She was glowing!

Here's to many years of happiness!!!

Fourth of July with the Scullys

On our way home from The Dalles, we took a side trip to visit friends in Camas, WA. We had a blast tubing on their boat (now we want one!!) and enjoyed spending the 4th on the lake. Zach is demonstrating the rules of boating! Kymberlee and Carrie are having a blast in the "tube". Double click on the picture for a close up of our faces.

We left the lake to head to the river for fireworks! Bailey & Liz are patiently waiting for dusk so the show can begin! We couldn't have asked for better weather. It was a great day with great friends!

Allton Cousins

We spent a few days in The Dalles, OR, visiting Mike's sisters in July. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins. We stayed with Mike's sister, Toni Floyd, and visited with his other sister, LeeAnn Brown. When we left, the temperature was 93! It was a good time to head west!L-R: Nathan Floyd, Zach, Shane Floyd, Maverick Brown, Liz, Kelsey Floyd holding Calvin Floyd.

ARGH! Pirates Ahoy!

The Mallonees came up for the annual Pirate Daze Festival...the kids enjoyed snow cones as well as cotton candy, funnel cakes, and elephant ears over the course of a couple of days! They love to get booty during the parade (beads & candy) and search for the perfect sword (which will break before we get home) at all the booths. L-R: Charlie, Jack, Liz and Zach.

Happy Father's Day!

Zach & Liz with their daddy. They got him a smoker & we had smoked ribs, cole slaw, corn on the cob and cornbread. Yum! Poppa & Meme came over and Chris, Mandie, Emma & Jace came down, too.





"What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories." ~George Eliot

On The Fast Track!

This is Zach's extra credit project that goes with his Cheetah report that he did at school. The first graders choose an animal to become an expert on and do a power point presentation! Of course Zach chose a cheetah because it is the fastest land animal, and Zach takes pride in being the fastest in his class! He loves to run! He made his cheetah by tracing it onto poster board, then gluing torn paper until it really looked like a cheetah! Mom tore all the paper for him, because it was hard to tear! My fingers were sore for 2 days afterwards! But Zach did the rest and did quite a nice job! He called it Duma, after the star of the movie, Duma.

Hey, Batter, Batter!!!

Zach has been in a catcher's stance pretty much
since he was about 9 mos old so it is only
natural that he is the catcher!

Here Zach looks for a pitch.

Catching while the pitcher warms up.
This kid doesn't let much get by him!
Watching my baby play ball makes
me well up inside! I truly love to
see him out there trying his hardest
and having a great time!

Dance Festival

Here are my children with their teachers (Mr. Swiergula & Mrs. Braun) on the night of the 57th annual dance festival. They are 3rd generation dancers! I hated being in the dance festival when I was a kid - I didn't want to have to get too close to any of those stinky boys! However, they better never quit this tradition - if I had to do it, so do my kids!!! This years theme was "Disney" and 1st graders danced to The Bare Necessities (Jungle Book) while 3rd graders danced to I'll Make A Man Out of You (Mulan). I think the kids' favorite part, though, was eating ice cream out on the lawn afterwards!

My nephew is such a doll!

My Little Unique Monique

Bampa

It was such a treat to get to visit with Bampa on his quick trip up from the land of golden sun - Arizona.