Hana..Turns 5! I can't belive it...

Many of you are aware of Hana's food allergies. I have learned to make a great deal of things that are yummy for her..but cupcakes..and frosting..i have not mastered. I found this place in the Fremont Dist. That specializes in Vegan baking...essentially that is how Hana eats..with the exception of meat and goat cheese..but you get my drift :) So I order her deliciously expensive cupcakes ( I made rest of the party crew reg. cupcakes) and the girls and I get up early on Sunday morning and head into sunny Seattle. With only a few blocks to go..i got lost...somehow mixing up Fremont way n. with Fremont ave. N. and thus heading over a huge bridge down to the space needle..in the opposite direction from Fremont. Just imagine...I am tired..and a little lost..and my sweet drama Queen Makayla is in the back seat, "Hana...if we don't get there ..you aren't going to have a party. I don't know if mom even knows how to get home." "Quiet...I need silence, " i say. This action flashes me back to many trips over the snowy pass with my mom...where music nor talking or even breathing were aloud! Well...we finally made it to the flying apron..but of course...there is an October fest Marathon going on and there is NO NO NO parking to be seen. I drove around in circles for another 20 mins...and that's when...

We accidentally drove by (twice) the Fremont troll. We actually ended up finding a spot to park right near there. The girls loved it. I forgot they had never seen it before. It's a huge statue under a bridge in Fremont. It turned out to be kinda a little sight seeing trip! Well...long story short..but not really ..sorry..we had an adventure ..and got the cupcakes..and had a party! Hana loved her wheat free, dairy free, egg free, peanut free cupcakes..i recommend that place BTW.

Hot dogs were eaten...

Babies played on couches...

Laughter...

Wishes were made...

Children Played...Presents were opened..and enjoyed...

When Everyone was gone..and the girls wanted another cupcake after dinner..i saw this moment. They were just sitting out on the chairs..chatting. It was so sweet.

And now ..this is Hana this morning. All 5 years of her. Doesn't she look grown up? I can't believe it. Hana told me, " I know I'm five, but I don't feel any different." That kinda made me happy, because she still feels like my baby. Happy Birthday sweet Hana!

Dj's Triathlon

Team Sponge...is a name we accidentally gave ourselves (the group of friends that all went to Maui together this spring) because we just hung out and soaked up the sun. So the Team sponge boys decided to do a Sprint Triathlon together! Mark, the initiator, has done a few of these before among other fittness like things...and is encouraging the rest of Team sponge to get with the program. So Yesterday morning Dj, Matt, and Mark and our families got up at the crack of dawn to watch our husbands kill themselves.

This is Dj ..as we left for the sprint triathlon...He is happy here. :)

All the kids just ran around and enjoyed the sunny weather!

Matt and Dj walking to check out the water...
Here we are waiting and waiting to make sure our husbands come out of the water :) The kids were really excited to cheer on their Dads.



Mark was the 5th one out of the water I think..Dj was somewhere in the middle and Matt not too far behind him..this is Dj.

This is Dj coming in from his biking to his running transition. When he got on his bike he realized the chain was off..oops..so it took him a few mins. to fix it ..but he kept going!

Here is Mark finishing 4th out of who knows how many. Good job Mark.

Here is Dj finishing somewhere in the middle! You made it!
And..Matt finishing shortly after Dj...:) Great job!

The girls asked "Daddy..what place did you come in?" He said...a finishing place :) lol.

He was so happy to see the girls..so tired..and beat up..but SO happy to see the girls. It was really cute. He said there were some really tough moments on the bike ride..maybe he thought he would never see them again :)

The three sponges.

Dj and Me...trying to take a cute pic..but I'm not really wanting to touch him.

Post-triathlon breakfast at the Original Pancake house.

Yay..Team Sponge..another fun memory! This spring..the ladies..I know..maybe it's suicide. But we are going to try. All but Andrea...she has a bun in the oven.

Back to School Beauty

Before school every year we get trimmed up! This Year Makayla really wanted to cut her hair off. So we did it and she donated her hair to locks of love.

Before

After

Hana wanted to chop all her hair off too...but I just couldn't do it. So she got a 4 inch trim and some new layers in the front.
School day pics! Now guess which one is excited and which one is cranky!

Hana's first day of school..and I quote, " It was a bad day..wasn't any fun...no new friends...boring toys...and not even a snack. I don't want to go back."

There was no snack because it was only an hour introductory class...Hana also told me "No Pictures." and Kept her arms folded most of the time.

Mak...my big 1st grader with her neighborhood buddies. Risha and Allison were in Mak's kindergarten class last year, but for some reason they are in three different 1st grade classes this year. Makayla assured me that "even though we are in different classes we can still be friend." Good to know!

Makayla enjoyed recess and lunch. On the walk home from the bus she wrapped her little arm around my waist and that's how we walked. I'm glad she missed me because I missed her.

Mak's Quote for the Day: "I'm not sure if I like 1st grade, It takes up like my whole day."

9 years and counting...

Something else we did this summer...9 year anniversary. Dj actually did a wedding in Portland the weekend before our anniversary so we spent it there and had a ton of fun! People say the first year of marriage is the hardest...then they say something about a 7 year Itch...We are at 9 now and I am glad that we still haven't experienced either of those things. Marriage is a blast and being married to Dj is an adventure...and having two sweet little girls is just icing on the cake.

I can't believe in a few months they will be 7 and 5! Yikes.