Clare Sophia Stockhoff

Today we blessed our beautiful baby Clare.  I am so grateful for the priesthood and that Andy is willing and worthy to bless our family by honoring his priesthood.  He gave Clare a beautiful blessing and we were so happy to have so many of our family members there.

Clare wore my blessing dress, which made it even more special.  She has already grown so much and I look forward to seeing her little personality blossom.  She is such a special little spirit and we are so glad she is a part of our family.

Pike Place and Boo boo the Bear.

This has been a very special Memorial day weekend.  My parents and sister Whitney, plus my brother Nate and his family traveled from Idaho to visit for the weekend.  Andy's parents have also been here, which is always a treat.  The cause for celebration?  Well Memorial day weekend...but really it's to celebrate the blessing of this sweet thing....

But more on that later.   We decided to take the family (and ourselves) on a little tour of one of Seattle's most popular tourist spots.  Pike Place Market.  We had such a great time there...and saw some pretty cool things.  I really enjoy Seattle and look forward to going back to explore.

Don't  you love the close-ups?  haha.  Andy is drinking a VERY tasty organic smoothie.  I would go back just to get another one.  They were sure tasty!  Another highlight?  Listening to The Millionaire's Club play on the corner of Starbucks.  We even bought ourself a $10 CD just for the fun of it.  Seattle + the Stockhoffs/Jorgensens = pretty darn awesome. 

In other news...upon our return from Seattle we found this guy snooping in our trash....

Yes, that is correct.  A black bear (the infamous Ft Lewis Black Bear).  As you can imagine I didn't find it as awesome as everyone else.  I still have a pit in my stomach...and fully intend on keeping my children (and myself) in the house!!  I also intend on buying myself some bear spray.  Can't be too cautious is what I say.  What do you think?   Ugh.

Noah's Shenanigans

Noah is always getting himself into something these days.  He is VERY busy.  Very curious and very strong willed.  Sometimes I wonder what happened to my sweet little baby boy.  He turned two, that's what!   He is still a little lovable, sweet boy...just a little more opinionated is all.

This is a vibrating chair that was Noah's.  I can understand why he would be confused when we started using it for Clare.  So one day he decided to reclaim his chair, and even enjoy the baby toys he hadn't touched in ages.

Noah loves cereal.  He takes after his mama.  I too love it.  Although, it seems Noah prefers his cereal a little different than I do.  I like mine without the cars.  (Yes he continued to eat his fruit loops AFTER he had added all of his cars.)

We like to call these ones 'parental neglect' ... It had been a long time (obviously) since we had changed his diaper.  You can't see it well, but his shorts were sopping wet with pee.  And, as you can see, his diaper was hangin between his knees.

Always keeping us laughing little man.  We sure love him.

Day Eighteen: Share a Quote you Love and Why

Remember my 31 day blog challenge?  I am sure you lost track.  So did I.  I had to look up what number I was on.  Over half way...but I am excited to get back into it!

Day Eighteen:  Share a Quote you Love and Why

There are a lot of quotes I love.  The only critera I have for loving a quote is that it inspires me.  That may sound cheesy but it's true.  When I hear someone say something that inspires me I cling to it.  Most of these are from religious leaders, but they have all inspired me and have really made me ponder on things.  I love that.

"Truth is not determined by what people think." - Richard G. Scott

"We don’t discover humility by thinking less of ourselves; we discover humility by thinking less about ourselves" - Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Washington, Where it Rains - A Lot.

Whew...we are almost caught up (almost).  After our fun time in Oregon with the Stockhoffs we finally decided we better go see our new home.  Home is a relative term...since we didn't actually have one at that time.  Army housing can be a little unpredictable.  Although we had put our names on the housing list (to live on post) several months ago...there was still a 2 month wait for the area we had requested.  There were, however, some homes available in another part of post...and there was no wait.  After viewing many homes off post and weighing all of our options we decided to take the one they offered to us.   The neighborhood is well kept and our backyard is beautiful green trees.  Seriously, the most wonderful view!  However, we had to wait about 5 days to get our stuff.   The movers had arrived before we had a home, and so they put all of our stuff in storage.  Needless to say we had to call to schedule a time they could deliver it, and that ended up being about 5 days later.  We were all happy to sleep in our normal beds when they finally arrived.  There is nothing like having your own belongings.

Here are some pictures of our house before the movers came.  This is when we were 'roughing' it.   I will take more pictures once I have everything in it's place (I am oh so close)...and you can see the difference.  I am happy with the progress...and happy with our little modest home.

In the second picture you can see our wonderful windows and the view outside.  The beautiful green is a result of all the rain...which I am getting use to, and beginning to love.

Here are a few other pictures after we got our stuff.  I found these on the camera (I didn't know Andy had taken them) and they about brought me to tears, tears of laughter.

PS. Don't mind Noah's snotty nose. haha

So funny, right?  haha I love it.

Lastly, Andy's sweet mother (who now only lives 2 1/2 hours away), came up to help us unpack.  Her favorite part, I am sure, was watching the kids for me while I got some things accomplished.  We really appreciated all her help.

This is us enjoying the park near our house...I LOVE this about our neighborhood.  So far, Washington is treating us real nice!

Welcome to the Pacific Northwest!

And the story continues....

After our fun time in Idaho Falls, Andy's dad came out to help us drive our cars the last stretch of the way.  We decided to finish the drive from Idaho to Andy's parent's house in Oregon in one day.  It was a LONG day, but really it went by more quickly than I anticipated.  The last 20 minutes of the 12 hour drive were definitely the longest, and we were just happy to be mostly finished with our drive.

Why were we in Oregon?  Well, each year Andy's grandma holds a golf tournament in honor of his late grandfather.  This was the last year they were holding the tournament, and also the first time Andy has had the opportunity to go.  So of course we had to make it.  It was such a great time, and even better since all of Andy's siblings (or their families) could be there.  Needless to say it was quite the party.  This was also the first time Noah met all of his cousins on the Stockhoff side.  It was chaotic, loud, busy but OH so fun.  (Beware, there are a lot of pictures). 

Noah has a faulty pair of jeans.  They are still a little to big around the waist and I just can't keep them on him...so sometimes he takes them off and runs around without them.  This was one of those times, and he was really enjoying it....

All the cousins together.  What a tender moment! 

Allice and I.  Best buds turned Sister In laws.

Other highlights of our time in Oregon...

Wild animal safari park, surprise Mother's Day gifts from Greg and Andy to Allice and I (our Britax Strollers!!),  Abby's Pizza, the Sizzler, Motel 8, Costco Yogurt, Nanny's yard lights and most of all...spending some QT with the Stockhoff Clan.  It was wonderful and we are so glad we were able to be there for it!  Hopefully the next 'reunion' is much sooner.