Happy Anniversary to us.
This past weekend we celebrated our
wedding anniversary. We took a trip into the
city and went on garden tours on Sunday.
On Saturday evening we went to Susumu Sushi Bar.
No I didn't eat the fish. It was great fun.

Norbert in the window.

Yes it's true. Order of the Phoenix is finally here. It was GREAT! WE bought first showing tickets. At 9:30 pm the boys went and stood in line for the 12:01 AM showing on early Wednesday morning. I followed later. There were 4 open theaters and our was in the digital showing. Tons of kids dressed in robes, donning wands and excited to see the movie. While it was very packed our family had a great time. The kids were excited to be up way past bed times. I won't spoil it for you. Now we are on to waiting for the book release in less than ten days. What a waiting game...

National Blow-Stuff-Up day is coming soon!

With the band.

The last performance of the year...

The Flute Player

An evening performance.

The Kids Helped Make Strawberry Jam Today

First Grade Choir Photo

Our son the weed next to his cowboy buddy.

Our Cat Norbert

In a rare unblurred photo.

Our Youngest Son's Choir Concert

Today our First Grader peformed on stage at his school's choir concert. He sang and dressed up as a weed while singing "How does your garden grow?" See the one minute video below.

New baby in the extended family!

What a beautiful movie to commemorate such a beautiful life.
Our son was very surprised to see his daddy so young, he was in awe and deeply moved at the loss of never knowing Grandma Candice.

A Mother's Day Story



This movie was made by Steve's dad. It is from old Sloan family movies of when Steve and Jeff were kids with pictures of their mother. Great work Dad!

Sam in the outfield.

Up to bat...

Talk about major league fun. Our oldest son
is playing ball again this year. He made Babe Ruth
try outs and is now hitting balls out of the park.
He has always been quite the hitter. He has a lot of
upper body strength. The coaches feel he can
go all the way.

Who says siblings don't get along.
Today the kids built a fort in the
living room. They had a blast.

At Bradner Gardens Park in Seattle

Here are some more pictures that Steve took over the weekend. This is at a community garden called Bradner Gardens Park, which is in Seattle.

Gardening Weekend

This weekend we went on a tour of community gardens in Seattle. We also did some shopping and got the best watering can. Steve loves the engineering and craftsmanship. Luci loves the style and color. What could be better?

Our New Raised Bed Garden

We are using the Square Foot Gardening method. The garden is shaded in the picture below because we spent all day getting it set up! See Luci's review for a smile. There are more pictures here.

Luci Makes National Honor Society

Congratulations to Luci today who has made the National Honor Society. She has worked hard to keep her GPA up, and almost has a 3.9! Love you baby. (from Steve)

Pictures from our daughter's 12th B-day

Luci's Review as a wife of a Square Foot Gardener

"No more heavy digging."

So, see this guy sitting and relaxing? He is confident of how easy this gardening method is. Lots of gardening here has been going on and we have adopted this easy method. So just let me say when I saw the method needed to mix the compost and dirt I knew this gardening idol was telling a white lie. True, true that there is no digging but using and enormous tarp to mix 8-9 huge bags of ingredients was ok. Yet all our shoes had to be removed and the whole family was needed to mix dirt and compost- much in the way grapes are squashed and wine is made. Sheesh! Although C was very happy when he found out he got to squish in veritable bat poop. Myself, it was not something I have been longing to check off the list of "Life Activities to get to Before You Die." Also gardener's beware it takes two lumberjacks to actually scoot the tarp to where you need the dirt to go, since you are using separate boxes. Only by the last load are you actually mobile. Holy Cow.

Well they are done and look great. I can say we have learned to make up our own method for future ventures. At least I got some much needed sun for my still on bed rest booty.

We got a new cat yesterday!

We adopted the tabby boy from Purrfect Pals. He is currently hiding in the back of our closet, but in a day or two he should come out for some picture taking. He is very friendly and needed a good home. They found him as a stray, hurt from the loosing end of a cat fight.

His name was Elmo, but we think Norbert fits him better! Here is his picture from the Perrfect Pals website:

Another Birthday

This weekend we are celebrating our daughter's 12th birthday. There will be a dozen girls over (and plenty of advil). She is getting a few exciting surprise presents!

Beautiful roses. These roses mean happiness. Steve brought them home for me yesterday as I have been recuperating from my surgery. It is wonderful that I have such a thoughtful husband.

We are so excited... My good friend is my new neighbor. Today Lorena and Eric are moving into their new home. Congrats you two. Only 6 houses away, we are already planning the BBQ's. You can view their blog here.
Happy Home Warming!!!!!

Birthday Party!
Sunday we celebrated our son's 7th birthday. We had cupcakes, opened presents, and then went to the movies. The birthday boy picked the new Ninja Turtles movie.

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you.
7 years old today!
The big boy reported that
his footsteps seemed
heavier today, now that
he is 7.

Steve's tomato plants are getting big

Today was S_'s Band Recital
Steve took pictures of the girls.

Boy he loves legos. He has been working hard building projects.
Working on a Star Wars tie fighter.
March 20th in his Birthday- he is very excited to turn 7.

A second ultrasound is scheduled for March 19th at 2:30pm. We are anxious to get a better look than last time.

Here is our new baby! We had an ultrasound today and got to see the first pictures. The dark oval is the amniotic sac. The grey area inside the sac, on the left side, is probably the fetus. :-D Click on the picture for a high-res version.

Steve is growing seeds indoors for a summer garden. Here are some pictures.

Various Tomato Seedlings:


Walla Walla Onion Seedlings:


The (legal) indoor grow operation:

Getting ready for baby. Here is the bedding that we are using for the babies nursery. We have chosen the colors deep green and chocolate brown.

This week we went and picked up an infant car seat with 2 car seat bases. It is nice to not have to switch everything around each time you go anywhere.