this could take all day

a sweet little butterfly

Darin had to work late, and there was a free kids event at the fairgrounds, just up the road from our house. So after nap I loaded up 3 (yikes! 3!) girls into and the van and we headed out. I was excited for some free afternoon entertainment, and honestly hoping there would be hot dogs or something for sale so I wouldn't have to make dinner. We lucked out on the first part, but not the second. (Oh well, cereal is a great dinner when Papa's gone.)

There were lots of fun booths with games to check out, some elementary school choirs, and face painting! Dani was not into face painting, but Daisy was. Several of the county princesses were dressed as Disney princesses to paint faces. We were told to stand in the line of our favorite princess, but after a little nudging Daisy decided her favorite princess was Tiana, who happened to have the shortest line!

Most of the kids were getting elaborate designs, but my sweet girl just wanted a small butterfly on her cheek. Here are a few pictures from my phone. 

The rest of the evening I was careful to warn Daisy that her butterfly would wash off in the bath. Is there anything more tragic to a little girl then her special face paint washing off? It was hard. To ease the pain a little we took a few pictures just before bathtime.

Man, I love this kid.

a lovely day for a visit

A few weeks ago we had some wonderful visitors who wanted to come and play and meet Baby Leyla: Gran and her beau Jeff, along with Darin's sister Sierra and her son Caleb. Darin was able to take the afternoon off and we all enjoyed spending time together.

Jeff is a pretty serious baby lover, and was happy as a clam to snuggle Miss L.

(I think both these ladies might like him?!)

Lucky for us the afternoon weather was brilliant so we decided to take Isha to the local dog park and then take all of us on a stroll through some nearby trails.

Darin ran ahead to take some shots of the group, which prompted Sierra to comment on how people walk slower when their picture is being taken, which prompted me to walk in slow motion like a goob. Ah...good times...

This way, Mama?

Too bright! Too bright!

This trail system has two giant wooden animals which was a great motivator to get the kids to walk a bit further. They were nervous about the elephant at first, but we decided to traipse through the rather wet grass to say hello and they were happy to discover they were just made of wood. But pretty impressively painted I might say.

Checking out the giraffe too.

And then we made our way back out of the jungle!

We walked a bit further before heading home to play a bit more, eat dinner, and snuggle one super sweet baby. Thanks for making the trek out here guys. You are welcome back anytime!

"Best Girls Night Ever"

It was a Friday night and we were guy-less. Darin was working, and my friend Natalie's husband had taken their sons to Monster Truck Jam. So we decided to round up our lovely ladies and have a girls night. Natalie suggested taking them to The Melting Pot, and it seemed like quite an adventure to me. The girls were great on the drive to Tacoma and Natalie and I enjoyed some good conversation too.

We decided just to do cheese and chocolate at dinner and despite being a little worried about the hot pots in the middle of the table, all the girls were really well behaved. I wouldn't let Dani dip her own bread, but she was happy to let me do the dipping for her (something I was shocked about since she is usually all about doing things herself!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mmmm....chocolate....

 

 

Dinner was pretty fun. So was the party in the bathroom afterwards.

 

 

Wait, Dani didn't get in the picture.

 

 

Ahhh...much better.

 

After such a delightful dinner (at which Daisy kept loudly repeating "best girls' night ever!") we headed over to do a little shopping at Babies R Us. The girls spotted the car ride on the way in and we promised them if they behaved they could have a ride on our way out. Turns out the ride was 50 cents, and that's all the change we had on our way out. So it was time for all to pile on. What a fun time we had!

 

 

 

 

And despite the late hour, the ride home was equally enjoyable thanks to the portable DVD player we'd recently been given and Miss Cinderella.

Thanks for the fun evening ladies. Can't wait till our menfolk are all busy again!

 

Snow!

(Major issues with typepad recently. Here I am trying again. I miss you guys!)

We had so much fun during the recent snowstorm. We kept hearing about impending snow, but waking  up to nothing. Daisy prayed for snow ("for lots of snow AND for it to stick) for three straight days before we got any. But we did get some, and it was great. And it kept us home for three days to play in it. So I think Daisy got her prayers answered for sure.

Here is a fun smattering of our pictures in the snow.

First time out in it.

 

Snow angel.

It's always a bit of a challenge to get up without destroying your art.

 

 We wandered over to the park where the normall mild slide had taken on some new characteristics with the addition of ice.

We were invited over to our friends house for more snow fun, including lots of sledding.

 

 

 

Daisy found a neighbor friend to have a snowball fight with.

 

 

And it was all a grand ole time until this happened. No one likes getting snow in the face, especially not a sensitive 4-year-old.

 

 

And what is it about snow that makes you want to throw your loved ones down in it?

 

 

I had just bought this purple snowsuit on sale for Daisy to wear next year (I love my bins in the garage that allow me to purchase off-season and sale items in bigger sizes!) Lucky for us it fit our snowsuit-less friend just fine.

 

 

A couple more of my cute snow girls.

 

 

 

 

 

The next morning we ventured out to the backyard where the girls were really enjoying munching on the snow.

 

 

 

Darin decided it would be fun to bury Daisy in the snow. She was pretty down with that idea too and laughed her way though it. (See what I mean about typepad? I have no idea why its now decided to give me this space for a text box.)

We also enjoyed a bit of a snow day treat, with the recipe I saw on my friend Sasha's blog. Darin said it tasted like vanilla ice cream. It was yummy.

The girls decided to eat their snack in the playhouse (aka: the giant doghouse that came with our house, Darin cut out the door a bit bigger and added windows.)

I ditched the party then to head inside, but Darin and the girls went to work on the snow fort. It was a pretty awesome cave I think.

On the last day of snow fun before it melted I headed out of town, but Darin and the girls finally got to create a "frosty". Daisy had been wanting to for a while, but her patience with waiting for the snow to be packable sure paid off. 

And what snow day would be complete without hot chocolate afterwards?

Hope y'all had snow days that were as fun as ours!

 

 

Halloween 2011

Halloween isn't really my favorite of holidays. All the scary stuff just isn't my cup of tea. But I do love the whole let-kids-dress-up-in-fun-costumes and then steal all their candy part.

This year with a little help Daisy decided she wanted to be a butterfly and Darin decided he could make her costume. (Daisy's first request was a princess, but after two years of princesses, I thought maybe we should think of something else.) Dani decided she wanted to be a frog, and we were able to secure a frog costume on loan. 

But as Darin went to purchase the supplies for the biggest-butterfly-wings ever, Dani changed her mind and decided to be a butterfly too. 

Daisy got to wear her costume to preschool and have a costume parade with the rest of her school.

A blurry wave.

I kept giving Darin a hard time about those giant wings (the poor girls had to walk sideways through doors) but everywhere we went people LOVED them. 

Daisy's sweet class and amazing teacher, Miss Lynn. (Could not get the colors right on this shot, so a quick BW conversion it is.)

When Darin got home from work that afternoon we donned the costumes again and headed outside to get some pictures.

This girl is learning how to work the camera.

This girl is a bit trickier, you have to get her on the move.

This may just be a favorite photo from the year.

We decided to spend the first part of our evening at a carnival hosted by a church just up the road. We all had fun playing games and eating dinner and treats.

When we got home my camera got put away while we trick-or-treated at a couple neighborhood homes, then handed out candy to kids that came by our house. I'm not sure if Daisy had more fun visiting other houses, or handing out candy to the kids who came to ours. She LOVED jumping up and running to the door every time it rang, until the one time a group of scary looking preteens came to the door and she just slowly backed up and told me I could take care of these guys.

One treat each and off to bed we went. 

end-of-year inspiration

When I saw this post last week on creating simple photo books for your children I was sold. You know me, I love pictures! And you know what, my kids love pictures too. I have a photo slideshow on my computer screensaver, and the girls will sit in front of it for hours watching the pictures scroll by and asking questions along the way.

They need to get their hands on some of their pictures. We need more albums around here!

So I've been scrambling the last few days to get all caught up on my photo-a-day project, get my pictures organized, and pick my favorites from the year so that Daisy and Dani can have their very own year-end albums. (And along with that will come lots of new blog posts, gotta get caught up here too!)

A New Year's Eve tradition is born in the Gemmer house!

Since I've got 'em all organized, how bout a few of my favorites from 2011? I'll try to narrow it down a bit...

And now I'm off to wipe away a tear. This little project of mine got me a bit more emotional than I prepared for. It is hard watching these sweet babies of mine growing up.

 

October 21, 22, 23, 24, 25

Happy Birthday Darin! Jen made an amazing homemade peanut butter chocolate cake. Darin sure felt spoiled. Especially 'cuz I just made him brownies from a mix! (Note also the milk in a wine glass. Those Kaufman's sure are classy people!)

Lunch with family was a highlight from our visit to Lewiston.

Another highlight: playing in the leaves.

Driving home we stopped by Palouse Falls.

Dani giving her baby a piggy back ride. (cell phone pic)

trip to Idaho - part 6

On our way home from Idaho we decided to take the shorter, wind-ier (that's wind, as in lots of stomach-churning turns, not wind as in the stuff that blows your hair all over the place), and desolate southern root through amazing towns like Starbuck and Connell. We also pulled over to stretch our legs and enjoy the view of Palouse Falls.

While Daisy and I wandered closer to the edge than I liked (I finally get it mom!) and farther than she liked (yes, I'm sorry I've got a death grip on your hand kid, but you're making me nervous), Darin and Dani set up the tripod to take a family photo. Yes, the state park was pretty deserted on this Monday morning.

We have a great little remote (which I think everyone should invest in for their camera) but you had to stand in just the right spot to get it to communicate with the camera perched on a ledge above us.

But when Darin finally found the sweet spot and used the 2-second delay on the remote to get back to us in time, Miss Daisy was missing from the shot.

So we decided to switch it up, but it took me a few shots to catch up with the learning curve.

And look! I'm good at hiding Daisy too.

But us Gemmers, we don't quit. And we were rewarded with the next shot. Success!

Time to pack it in kids and finish the long trek home.

Palouse Falls, you are a beautiful wonder to behold.

October 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

The side of my fridge. I love seeing what people put on their fridges! Kind of a secret glimpse into their lives.

Here's the rundown: upcoming Sunday School lessons, grocery and trader joe's lists, meal plan, magnets, me with Jen and Amy in college and on our flirty-thirty trip, missionary card for our friends (who just came home for good), save-the-date card for a summer wedding, old pic of my nephew caleb, and our buy-two-get-one-free card for oil changes, fly swatter. 

The front of the fridge is for kid stuff. The side is mine, and I try to fill it with useful stuff, and stuff that makes me smile as I glance over while doing dishes or cleaning up.

Preschool class visit to the pumpkin patch.

Darin had a work retreat on the Oregon Coast. Rough life.

Making brownies for Papa's birthday. The girls are ready with their party hats on! Too bad neither of them ate their dinner and didn't get to partake in the brownies that night when Darin returned from his retreat. (At least they got to lick the spoons!)

Daisy wanted to know how much money she had in her piggy bank. Her she is trying to "sort" it, while Dani wanted to dump it all back in. That night after Dani went to bed, Darin helped Daisy sort it and count it properly. That girl is pretty rich with over $60 in her piggy bank!

 

trip to Idaho - part 5

On our last full day in Lewiston I had a photoshoot with some 4-H friends, so Darin hung out with our girls while the Kaufmans went to Mass. Then they met up with Jen, Sam & Andie (Joe ditched the party to go do a little hunting) for lunch. When I was done I headed back to the house where they were attempting to put little people down for a nap. But since Andie was the only taker, we decided to get out of the house once again. (Um, I guess Darin took a nap too. That guy.)

When meeting up with my photo friends, I spotted this amazing batch of leaves outside the community college, and unlike at home in WA where it is hard to find dry leaves, these were good and crunchy. So I suggested we head that way for some outdoor play.

Turns out all the leaves were covering a rock pathway, but that didn't stop the kids from digging in and making a pile.

Jump in!

Then it was time to bury me in the leaves, 

so I retaliated by starting the great leaf fight of 2011. (Much better than snow for sure!)

After a wild leaf fight, we headed to the back of the college attempting to find more leaves. And while the pickings weren't as great as out front, we did find some.

Although we had forgotten our rake, so it was all about scooping by hand. And we got a good workout!

After all that work and play, Jen's dear mom suggested a visit to the fro-yo shop. Who could argue with that?

Highlight of the trip? Some might think so.

September 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

Our last hurrah of summer.

My sweet Daisy on her first day of preschool.

Coloring "beads" out of noodles as something fun for Dani and I to play while Daisy was at school. However, both girls loved using the noodles to play candy store rather than string.

Visting the dahlias at the post office.

Blackberry (and raspberry!) picking at Grandpa and Nana's house.

trip to Idaho - part 3

My uncle recently retired to Clarkston so I figured while we were in the area with the whole clan, we should meet up with him. He suggested lunch at Roosters and that sounded great to me. When we arrived we were surprised to find my cousin, his wife, and their 4 kids there too. Such fun to catch up.

My cousin's son really likes the wings.

Thanks Uncle Rick for treating us to a great meal and a great time!

September Adventures: Beach Afternoon

It was a beautiful Friday in September, and I knew the warm days weren't going to last too much longer. So even though Darin had to work late the girls and I decided to spend the afternoon at Island Lake Beach. We suited and sunscreened up at home, so when we arrived we were ready to swim.

Or...snack. Yep, first things first.

The girls and I did swim for a bit. Okay, I'll be honest, the girls swam and I waded in up to my knees and kept a close eye on them. I am a wimp when it comes to cold water and the weather wasn't all that hot.

After a while, though, the lure of the sand caught up with them and we abandoned swiming for sandcastle building. I love moments when they play so well together.

And I love sunny summer afternoons.

trip to Idaho - part 2

After my family emerged from the maze (thanks to a little GPS on Darin's phone) and we were done taking pictures, Joe pulled the top off the giant tractor tire that was filled with wheat, and the kids all had a ball playing in it.

Time to bury Daisy!

After we had done our best to shake wheat out of boots and socks and shirts and underpants, we ran through the hay maze.

And since the corn maze didn't officially open for a bit longer, we decided to ditch this scene and head to a nearby park. And since I'd had just about enough fun with my camera that morning, Darin took over and shot some fun ones of Miss Dani playing.

By now both girls were pretty convinced that Idaho was about the coolest place on earth!

trip to Idaho - part 1

Sometime this summer I got the crazy notion that it was about time to pack up the kiddos and make the trek to Lewiston to visit the Kaufman clan as a family. So two weeks ago we packed up snacks and books and toys and prizes and a borrowed DVD player to make the trip. The girls were amazing on the drive, even with a two-hour stop in Ellensburg for a lunch date with Aunt Dakota, and no naps like we had been hoping. 

We pulled into Lewiston right around dinner time and were greeted with an amazing home cooked dinner, delicious wine, and hugs from great friends. And once the kids were fed and in bed, we started the first of what would be nightly games of killer bunnies. 

Saturday morning dawned with another delicious meal.

Muffin making:

and eating:

And some prepping and entertaining (notice Dani is playing away on Darin's phone)

And then we loaded up the vehicles and drove out to the corn maze. The day was a bit foggy and chilly, but it wasn't raining! Darin took the girls and got lost in the maze for while, and I had a bit of fun with my camera.

Man, I love this family.

September Adventures: Foot Ferry

Whoo-hoo! We made it through August. Time to move on to September. Quite a few less adventures, so maybe we'll get caught up one of these days.

Over Labor Day weekend Darin decided to tackle a yard project, which left the girls and I to entertain ourselves. I decided it was about time we take a trip across the water on the Port Orchard/Bremerton foot ferry. Since Darin was home, he dropped us off (yea for saving on parking fees!) which was extra great because the Bremerton Blackberry festival was also happening and parking would be tricky.

We were a bit early, so we wandered over to the festival and enjoyed the musical stylings of Navy Band Northwest. I've always wanted to sing in a cover band, and this group was just my style. Except the whole Navy thing. (The girls loved their uniforms.)

The ferry runs about every half hour so we walked over to the dock and right onto the ferry. (Kids under 6 are free, us grownups pay $2 each way.) The ferry is pretty old and is one cool way to travel. The kids loved exploring the boat and looking out the windows. 

I had thought about bringing the girls' life jackets, but decided against it knowing they would have jackets on the boat. However, if I had to do it over I would totally bring them. The girls really enjoyed the upper deck outside but the railing wasn't super secure. I was holding Dani in my arms and had a death grip on Daisy's hand. Next time: another grownup or life jackets for sure.

Once on the Port Orchard side we made our way to one of our favorite parks when we lived in this town: the Dizzy Park. (I'm pretty sure it has some official name, but we call it the Dizzy Park because it is filled with all kinds of spinny toys.) We had lots of fun getting dizzy and playing pirate.

After playing for quite a while, we enjoyed our picnic lunch of PB&J's.

Over at the farmer's market I tried to satisfy my desire for those amazingly beautiful bouquets (one of my favorite things in the world) by taking pictures of them. We were 3 days into a September spending freeze, but I just couldn't walk away. After a quick phone call to Darin I had myself a $6 bouquet and I was one happy mama. It was my first (and only) Farmer's Market Bouquet that summer and I think it was totally worth breaking the freeze!

We were all getting pretty ready for naps, so we headed over to the ferry dock to wait the next arrival/departure. Unfortunately with all the traffic for the Bremerton festival, the ferry was running about 20 minutes behind schedule. And let me tell you, entertaining two tired children stuck in their stroller on a dock was not my idea of fun.

But we sure did luck out with one sunny day.

Dani wouldn't leave her shoes on, so was stuck in the stroller for the ride home.

But I was so proud of Miss Daisy who wanted to sit outside and did so all by herself (with permission of course).

Yup, it was a lovely little day trip. And made me realize the longer we live out here in beautiful Kitsap County, the more I like it.

class trip to the pumpkin patch

Last week Dani and I got to tag along with Daisy on her class trip to the Pumpkin Patch.

First, we enjoyed a story in the barn.

Then we took our turn to jump in the hay. 

Then we visited a bunch of animals, and I got lots of pictures of backsides!

The pumpkin patch had so many fun things to do including  a hay maze.

Dani was kind of having  a hard morning, so big sister gave her some love.

Daisy and her schoolmates climbed on the hay mountain for a class picture. I was pretty entertained by the parent paparazzi.

What an adorable group of preschoolers.

The class then took a quick trip through part of the corn maze, but Dani wasn't so interested in that adventure. So we enjoyed some sunshine in the grass.

The last event of the morning was to pick out a pumpkin to bring home. Daisy had no trouble picking out her favorite.

Um, yeah, it was a little bright out.

Dani, however, took a bit more time to find the right pumpkin. She kept picking up great options, then let them drop declaring "too heavy".

But with a little work Daisy and I found her one that was just the right size. Dani loved that it was "yittle 'cuz I'm yittle".

One final photo op for mama, and we called it a day. And a lovely one it was.

August 21, 22, 23, 24, 25

Fun at the Kindie Rock concert.

Darin made this for me out of an old window we found at an antique store. Everyone I show it to just loves it. Time to start collecting windows and making some more to sell!

Fro-Yo date with Daisy. We went to the mall to pick out her first-day-of-school-dress and then for a treat. It was lovely and I was so thankful she picked out a sweet little-girl dress instead of the many other options there were.

Day at the fair!

She fills up the pool in style.

August Adventures: Seattle Kid's Concert

Did y'all know that Seattle has one amazing "Kindie Rock" scene? There are so many awesome kids bands around these parts, most notably Caspar Babypants and Recess Monkey. Now, I am not one of those snobby parents when it comes to kids music and will happily belt out Baa Baa Black Sheep with the best of 'em. But the preschool music tends to grate on my husband a bit. So we're thankful for bands like these (and Mr Steve Songs and Justin Roberts too, they're just not local) that we all can enjoy.

As we were planning a trip to Marysville for a family day, I happened to receive a random email about a Kindie Rock benefit concert that very weekend. So I snagged us a couple tickets (kiddos were free, but us adults had to pay) and we planned to leave in time on Sunday to spend a few hours on a lawn at the Seattle Center.

Mr Roberts even made an appearance at the festival!

Darin was such a trooper. It was so hot that afternoon, but when the Mariner Moose made an appearance Miss Daisy was sent into a massive panic and the only way to distract her was shoulder dancing. Of course, Miss Dani wanted in too!

The festival was a little long for us Gemmers who still had a ways to go to get home, so we decided to call it a day after the 5th band and head for a cool off at the Seattle Center fountain. Being the awesome mom I am, I packed the girls towels and extra outfits so they could have fun running around and getting wet.

Guess this awesome mom needs to know her kids a little better. Neither wanted to have anything to do with the giant gushing of water coming at them. Darin took them down the hill but couldn't even get them close enough to feel the spray!

It's days like this one that make me thankful for where we live for sure.

 

August Adventures: family day hike

It was a wonderful weekend in August when Darin, his 5 siblings, the 4 in-laws, the girlfriend, and the 3 cousins gathered with Gran at her home in Lakewood. Gran is putting her home up for sale, so every time we get together there lately feels extra special.

This time, though, we ventured away from the house for a bit of a "hike". This was a hike to the ice caves that Linda had taken the kids on many times over the years, and it was so fun to join in and add the gran-kids to the tradition as well.

Although we got a later start than we wanted, the weather was warm and perfect when we arrived.

Daisy had a hold of her Aunt Dakota's hand for a bit.

Until she convinced Uncle Madison she needed a shoulder ride. (Can you see her there?) 

And Uncle Skylar got the pleasure of lugging Miss Dani around. Don't you just love it when family loves on your kiddos in ways like this? I sure do!

Trevor was pretty obsessed with collecting every kind of berry he could find.

Reaching the ice caves!

We even managed to get a family shot! (Although Aunt Tiffany didn't join us on the hike, so we'll have to photoshop her head in somewhere!)

Dani conked out on the way back down and slept all the way through our picnic lunch too.

What a fun day. I can't wait to do it again!