happy birthday natalie & tyler!

Hooray, our new niece/cousin was born on April 29th, just after midnight. In the "couldn't have planned it if you'd tried" category, it is also her daddy's birthday. We can't wait to meet little Natalie.

camp-in at the pacific science center

On Friday night, Neil and I (along with a couple hundred other cub scouts and parents) spent the night inside the Pacific Science Center in Seattle!

Our group's sleeping assignment was right next to the naked mole rat habitat. I was a little surprised and creeped out by how close & crowded the eating/sleeping quarters were, but the naked mole rats were very quiet & pleasant neighbors. Unlike at lunch...

Seriously, do men not feel the cool, crisp spring breeze wafting across their exposed cheeks? And no, it wasn't easy taking this picture surreptitiously. Anyway, after dinner we headed to all of the exciting and educational exhibits that the Center offers: the planetarium, the laser show, Imax theater, dinosaurs, physical fitness tests and the saltwater tidepool to name a few.

Right now the Science Center's featured exhibit is one called Grossology: the Impolite Science of the Human Body. Our group was definitely in the target audience for this one; the kids couldn't get enough! And what a treat for the parents...a whole evening of belching, vomiting, and pretty much any other bodily function you'd care to imagine.

MANTIS! Even the stick bugs, giant cockroaches and butterfly house in the insect exhibit didn't distract Neil from hissing, "grosssssology" in my ear, as a reminder of where he really wanted to be.

The meterology display, where kids can pretend to be a TV weatherman. What do you mean, more rain??

Neil and a fellow scout at the International fountain in Seattle Center.

Our view of the Space Needle walking from our night seminar (topic: poop) back to the naked mole rats for bedtime.

Neil at his favorite exhibit, the burp guy. You pump soda into his stomach until he lets out a big burp. Never let it be said that my kids aren't exposed to fine culture.

my sluggers

Alan's having a fun season on the A's - they are undefeated so far, and he is playing GREAT! This year he has started playing catcher sometimes, which he enjoys.

batter up!

Neil had his first T-ball game last weekend :)

happy easter!

Someone came hopping down the Bunny Trail...

Woo-hoo, candy for breakfast!

Coloring Easter eggs. Larry looks sooooo excited...
Yellow!

Chez Sutton! This is a shot from our car, because I forgot to take a picture until we were driving away. If you click on this picture to make it bigger, you can see Anna waving goodbye and Tyler carrying Audrey like a sack of potatoes.

You can't really tell from the picture, but the kitchen is big with lots of cabinets...it's attached to the eating area with a sliding door out to the....

HUUUUUGE back yard! The girls have already made neighborhood friends, and I think this yard's gonna be the hopping spot this summer. It's a really great house!

Audrey with her slightly-late birthday gift - Happy 5th!!!

Easter Brunch at Grandma Mag's ~ Look at the adorable bunny bread loaf I designed and baked (I mean, bought at Safeway)!

Another masterpiece from Uncle Woofie... bet you've never had 10-layer Rainbow Ribbon Jell-O before! What can we say? The man's a genius with gelatin products.

Nelson & Meg

Larry (working on a big bite of something!), Alan & Uncle Bill

Some Little Guys - Aiden & Jacob!

Some Big Kids - Joseph, Kelli, Alex & Daniel

Meg and Chase, who has the greatest baby-mohawk EVER.

finally feeling like spring

Quick-- grab the sunblock before our pasty skin starts to burn, because the sun is finally out! The boys are on spring break this week. Alan & Neil spent some time throwing the baseball around. Larry has been spending time with friends and playing computer games.We haven't made it over yet to celebrate Audrey's birthday, so here are our birthday pets for now... Ruby turned 5 last month; here she is playing with her favorite toy (bubble wrap).
Remember our old pal Scratchie?? Yeah, he's still alive. He turned 16 this month (!)

april fool's!

Happy 45th Bday Wade!

Sorry, you're still a year older even if you murder the cake. We had our St. Patty's corned beef & cabbage dinner on Sunday the 18th, along with this birthday cake. I'm now noticing how little time I took to decorate

that lovely green blob... Eleanor :-)

The Belly....that kid just keeps growing!!

Wade went for an overnight birthday clam dig (yummy!) on Saturday. The boys and I visited with Andy (who has been a wonderful friend of mine for longer than we'd care to admit!!) and her son TJ. We hit McDonald's, not knowing that Ronald McDonald was scheduled for a visit. I think the whole town of Redmond was there - it was totally weird. Here are Alan, Neil & TJ.

Carrie is 23!

Happy Birthday Sis :)

Ready for spring!

After a little more snow, it's finally feeling like spring! Alan & Larry are done with basketball, and will soon be starting guitar lessons. Alan has started baseball practices, and Neil's T-ball team will start up before long.

Last night was Neil's spring music program...I was too far away to get a picture, but here he is before the program with his teacher. She's ready to have her 2nd baby soon!

King TUT. The 6th grade teachers seem to be cramming as many projects as possible into the kids' last few months of elementary school. Larry told me last night that he needed to dress up like King Tut this morning. I felt slightly better when I ran into two other highly irritated moms at the thrift store & fabric/craft store. This was my best shot (there's no way that big elaborate mask thing was gonna happen.) Some eyeliner and a pair of my sandals completed the ensemble. He may look more like a deranged hairdresser than King Tut but hey, we do what we can.

Happy Valentine's Day (Yesterday)!

Sorry I'm late, hope everyone had a sweet day :)

If your mommy works at a party store, this is how you might wake up on Valentine's Day (Alan's under there). Funny how they appreciate these efforts less and less the older they get.

OK so they're not that old yet!
The Suttons came over for dinner; here's The Belly! Only two months to go (just don't say "only" to Anna!)...woo-hoo!
Alan and Megan dipping stuff in chocolate...

Awww, how cute... Audrey & Tyler. Neil is that little blur of sugar-buzz in the back!
Eleanor pretending to be shy, hiding behind The Belly.

Visit to Olympia, Feb. 11th

Here's grandma! The pot behind her is full of navy beans, and Steph & Derb are frying spuds and slicing homemade bread. This carb-fest was one of Wade's dad's favorite dinners.Neil, cousin Jack and Alan getting in some cousin-ing.

Meg is resting between shifts at the Red Lobster, and Larry is just on the nap phase of his weekend nap/eat cycle.
Neil in the tree!

Dad in the tree!