The Keene Family

We talk about skiing so much that our poor Harley probably feels left out. I haven't ridden since before I knew I was pregnant with Haley... wow. I was so excited when Jim planned 2012 Date Series for June as an overnight Harley trip to Winthrop, Washington. We left Monday morning and waved goodbye to our children and Grandpa and Grandma Keene as we hit play on our iPods and revved the pipes. We ate lunch in Leavenworth , a beautiful tourist town that is set up to be a Bavarian village. The tiger butter chocolate I got at the Rocky Mountain Factory was so good! Then we hit the road again. Here's my view. We arrived in Winthrop, a western-style tiny town, just minutes before the rain really set in. We warmed up and walked down main street for some dinner. We ate at the Mexican restaurant and ordered margaritas... Jim ordered the "globo" and look what he got. Holy cow! We would recommend the Hotel Rio Vista: clean and cozy rooms, and ever...

We've been busy looking forward to summer and getting ready to relax. :) I have been super busy with work and have just now settled down for six weeks of summer time. Now if only the weather would cooperate! JT has been dying to assemble a new set of Legos he got awhile back. Today was rainy and we were home for the day so it was the perfect time. The problem with Legos is that they get everywhere and we lose necessary pieces. Plus we only use them when Haley's otherwise occupied because she picks them up and carries them off. Today during Haley's nap I had a moment of genius and made JT a Lego workstation with a breakfast tray. The Legos are contained in the tray, it's portable, it's comfortable, and we can fold the legs down and set it up somewhere in between work sessions. I'm fairly happy with myself! Earlier this week we painted JT's room. First, I painted the trim "dapper tan," a color leftover from last summer's renov...

We were so lucky to have some friends come visit recently - and spend the night! Liv and JT are just six weeks apart in age, and Halle and Haley are just three weeks apart, so everyone had a friend. :) Playing in the sandbox Time for s'mores! In the morning, Haley and Liv noticed they were wearing matching pajamas - too cute! JT and Liv supervised making breakfast

It's easy to care for four children when you put in a movie... our friends Gracelyn and Tyson came over the other night and stayed until bedtime. After all four kids were in their pajamas, we had a snack picnic and watched Super Why. (Haley calls it Why... as in, "Why don't I get to stay up and watch with JT?")

Jim's birthday was last week. I went a little bit off the wish list and bought him... a rug. I know, it seems a little strange. But Jim loves to lay on the floor and nap, watch TV, or relax with the kids. Since we have hard floors, he hasn't been able to do that at home in almost six years. He comments on it every once in awhile and has mentioned that he'd like an area rug. I found a deal on a rug from Costco.com. It is super soft and we all love it. Jim has tested it out for naps and is very happy. :) Then we went to Port Orchard so we could ski (what else?). We had three days off and spent them all skiing and eating. For Jim's birthday dinner, we had BBQ chicken, pasta salad, fruit salad, and corn on the cob. Becky and the Birthday Boy Then Jim opened the rest of his presents. (This is what I get when I ask Haley to smile.) For dessert, I made a S'mores Ice Cream Cake from Cook's Country magazine. It is a graham cracker crust, a ...

Over the weekend I got to host a baby shower for Aunt Jennifer, Jim's sister. Her baby boy is due August 5th and we can't wait to meet him! Jennifer's nephew, Sven, came with his mom and played with Haley. (Jim and JT were off doing man things, like getting haircuts, eating lunch at McDonalds, and running errands.) Sven is 10 months old. Haley is 21 months old. Sven is in the 100+ percentile and Haley is, well, you know. So they were about the same size. It was crazy! The is my artsy picture of the shower favor: gerbera daisies in bud vases. It reminded me of spring!

We spent Memorial Day mostly on Long Lake. Grandma and Grandpa Cole came out in the boat with us to enjoy some chilly sunshine. Haley conked out on Grandpa Cole in the boat. He was definitely not complaining. :) But he had to drive home separately so we propped Haley up in the bow while we drove over to the launch. Later on, Jim, Grandpa Cole, and the kids set up the trampoline. JT has been waiting to do this one day when it's not raining at the Cole house. Haley actually helped carry the pipe and put some in place by herself! Then the jumping began! Check out Haley's hair from the static. Grandma Cole even did some jumping. Once we just took JT with us in the boat. He and I had a little snooze in the bow (he's pretending, but it was still nice and relaxing). Meanwhile, Haley got to do her first fingerpainting at home. Of course, she loved it. The kids were doing artwork for Great Grandma Christensen, who poin...