Honors Camp 2011

Every year since Mike has taught in Ellensburg, he has been one of 2 teachers in charge of the 8th grade Honors Camp. I usually go up for an afternoon to visit but this year Mike invited the kids and I to stay a night! The very first mention of "camping" and Emma's feet instantly came off the ground! She was ECSTATIC! That girl LOVES the outdoors. Bryce was pretty excited in his own way too....lots of "woooo whoooo's" from him! :) The kids were SUPER rambunctious all day just waiting for the departure time to head to camp that night. Seriously-they went in their rooms and picked out a blanket & bucket of toys they wanted to bring for the trip at 9am!!!!

Dadda had to drive the District suburban pulling the horse trailer up to camp, so we followed behind & made a quick stop at KFC to pick up dinner.

First thing after we arrived-we found our cabin & the kids ran in like it was Christmas morning! There were 8 rooms to choose from and these 2 picked the first one they saw! Em explored the whole place and kept squealing about her discoveries to Bryce… “Oh MY! Look brother-they even have a kitchen! And a microwave for POPCORN!” Bryce was stoked about the large open space in the center of the cabin-it was PERFECT for riding his trike inside! 

Hide & Seek Brycey!!!

After settling in, Brycey went out & helped Dad build a campfire (which he thought was SUPER awesome). The owner of the camp is another teacher at the middle school & she brought out a bag of marshmallows & a couple roasting sticks for the kids as a treat. Bryce had a blast burning every marshmallow to a crisp. Life was good.

roaming-exploring....pretty much having the time of his life! Even if it was raining....I think that just made it better for them. (Not for me so much-but....)

Emma delighted in finding all the bugs she could-she wanted to bring it back to school for sharing (this month is a focus on Bugs at school), but there was no jar to put the little fella in so he had to stay.

Look at that sticky face!

Sorry about the crappy pictures. It was piddling down with rain and I kept rushing each shot because I didn’t have rain gear for the camera! Anywhoooo-you get the point. 

running back to our cabin for jammies & popcorn

While it was raining outside, the big kids played flashlight tag-and we sat here....cozy by the fire watching a movie on the laptop!

It was a super fun trip. Having a family to love & spend your time with is EVERYTHING! Thanks for inviting us Dadda!

The Interview

I interviewed each of my preschoolers for Mothers Day & recorded their answers on these cute newspaper prints (pdf found on marthastewart.com) 

The following are EmmaLee's answers about her Momma.

Sweet Dreams

For a while now Emma and I have had this little "thing" going when I tuck her in at night. I wanted to write it down so I don't forget about all the times she melted my heart.

K: Goodnight baby girl. Love you Love you!

E: Always Always Momma

Sniffle sniffle-tear. Oh the things she comes up with.

Celebrate Good Times...COME ON!

It's becoming VERY "Alice" around here....which makes Em more and more excited with each passing day!

Farm Fun in the CITY!

This past month at preschool we were studying around the theme of "From Farm to Fork", the basics of where our food comes from. The kids LOVED it! So when it came time for a field trip-one of the parents suggested a cute little full fledged farm in.....BELLEVUE! No joke! So we planned it!
Who would have thought that 5 minutes from one of my favorite malls-Bell Square, was this place called Kelsey Creek Farm? How cute is the white washed barn? Bryce really wanted to see some baby horses and Em wanted to see baby pigs. So we kept our fingers crossed the entire way there....

BEAUTIFUL isn't it?...right smack in the middle of a housing development-those lucky neighbors!

 

this cheeseball LOOOOOOOVED the "pink" piglets the best

and was fascinated watching the chickens....

Look at them-drenched in rain & yet not ONE complaint out of these munchkins-what troopers! I guess looking at cows, horses, goats, ducks, geese, chickens, chicks, hogs, piglets & bunnies kept them pretty entertained :) I told Mike we'd bring him with us next time-maybe on a beautiful summer day for a nice change of pace. Seriously-if you get a chance to go to Kelsey Creek Farm-GO! It is peaceful & serene-the surroundings are gorgeous, the grounds are maintained to PERFECTION (I mean come on-you are at a working farm and NOT stepping in poop! THAT is amazing! lol) and it is a fantastic preserved historical part of Bellevue. Original barn & cabin dating back to 1880! Just lovely.

Happy "Just Because I Love You" Day

It's just around the corner so....HORRAY-photo shoot season! I have a few sessions booked for spring/summer already even! This little side show has been a great way to add a little income & help us save for various family outings, etc and is SO stinkin fun!
After the wedding Mike & I shot together this winter, we decided to make weddings an "us" thing from now on. We loved the time we got to spend together & how happy it made us to witness other couples enjoying being together the way we do & it rekindles the love that we already have for one another-it's a win win! :) And I don't think we exactly stink at it either-added bonus! Last weekend we signed contracts & got deposits for our 2nd & 3rd wedding gigs coming up so, I had to do it-because I love him...it's no secret....

Got a great deal and was able to surprise my poobee with a professional Nikon kit of his own when he got home from work tonight! It's the one HE has been wanting. What he doesn't know yet is, a few months back, I got him a ticket to attend the same Photography workshop that he surprised me with for Valentines-so now we can attend TOGETHER! I am so excited & I'm pretty sure he will be too. So fun to share a hobby with my closest friend.

I love you bunches and bunches Poobee!

Putting things in perspective

Waldo: 1 

usama bin laden: 0

just sayin...


God Bless our troops & the crazy


 danger they put themselves in for


 us back at home.

Springtime in the Garden

Mike moved around our sprinkler system to benefit the kids new garden box & so we were able to fill it with soil today! So exciting! This little spot will be so quaint with all the little plants growing and a cute "Martone Kids Garden" sign (being made by Grandma Chris) hanging on the new-to-come fence.

Em & Bryce picked out their desired garden tools & about a billion packets of seeds and we started a little greenhouse with them. Planting is always an anticipated activity with my kids-almost as much as the harvesting is! Messy, but fun all the same.

Happy Spring everyone!

Handsome Lil' Devil