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Mike on the tractor
The boys getting ready to throw their planes off of the tower in Astoria, OR
Mom and K-man decorated Bear's door for his birthday
Hunting for Easter eggs
Voo getting into the Easter spirit
Nothing beats a walk on the prom in Seaside
We got to get up close and personal with a sweet jet. Those things are amazing!
Reading at bedtime with Papa
Mike has gotten to be involved with the military a little bit here in his role at the hospital so we get to go and see cool stuff out at the base.
Happy Halloween, 2015
K-man discovering his passion for Star Wars. We had the kids watch them all to get ready for the release of Episode 7 and K-man was hooked!
Sweet lipstick, Voo!
Amy LOVES snow
How would it be to be that flexible?!
Princess Voo and K-Man
Amy's love for the snow has been passed down to the next generation.
Cool snowman and sweet boys
Cool snowman and sweet boys
Sledding is the best
When you don't have a hill, but you want to sled, the next best thing is a strong big brother
Fun with paint
K-man painted all of the planets
Silly faces!
Amy was looking everywhere for Bear one day and found him at the back door snuggled up with the cat
Jaron napping with his cat
Bear and his cousin E are best buddies
Picnic lunch with cousins
Mike entertaining the boys and cousins
Cousin party!
We built a home this past year and it was fun watching it go up
Good thing he brought his light saber, you never know when you might run into some bad guys
It's fun living close to skiing!
Family fun at Monster Jam. Look at Bear's big grin!
In front of the Monster Jam arena. Bear has started making his own arenas at home out of cardboard boxes
Cool dudes
Headed to Cuba!
In Vinales, Cuba we rented a little scooter and rode it all around exploring
In Vinales, Cuba, you can roam anywhere and just explore wherever the road/trail/path takes you.
Amy loves riding little scooters, so she was in heaven riding around in Vinales, Cuba.
We saw quite a bit of Communist propaganda while we were in Cuba
Amy getting a workout in at an outdoor gym we found in Cuba
Mike relaxing on the front porch of one of our casas particulares (private homestay) in Cuba
The sweet vintage car we rode in from Vinales back to Havana, Cuba. It was a rough ride, but very memorable!
A monster truck arena made from books
K-man's rock collection. Pretty sweet rocks, eh?
Amy snapped this on the sly--Kable was reading to his siblings and it was super cute.
The local police caught our kids riding their bikes while wearing their helmets, so they got to sit on his motorcycle and he gave them coupons for a free ice cream cone.
Sweet outfit, K-man... I'm sure with all that metal Optimus Prime would need to wear floaties.
Dad with the kids at Bear's preschool art show
Mom and Bear at his art show
Voo loves football and cheers for Michigan any time she sees football players on tv
Voo is ready for some powder puff!
The kids had a blast playing on this dirt pile across the street from our house last summer before a house was built there.
With Mima after preschool graduation
What better place to celebrate preschool graduation than McDonald's?
After school got out, we took the kids on a staycation in Boise and the hotel had a sweet pool.
Ice skating during our staycation in Boise. Those little walker things were fantastic!
The boys having a summer picnic on top of the electrical box in our yard, just like Amy used to as a kid
Bear and one of his creations. I think this one is a big lawn mower?
K-man shucking corn with Papa and cousin H
Fun times on Papa's trampoline
K-man with a delicious culinary creation
Voo doing what she does best: climbing up somewhere, unable to get herself down, and causing havoc before mom can get to her. Notice the empty flower vase and the flowers on the floor, along with the smoothie smeared all over the counter and Voo. Look at that smile, so innocent... Ha!
This boy loves Star Wars
Bear helping mom install ceiling fans in the new house
Eating Tillamook ice cream from the Candyman in Seaside, OR
Bear swinging with Voo. Coolest swing ever!
Gelato on the beach, perfect date!
Bear is pretty tricky!
And so is K-man
Selfie with mom
Waiting for the trolley
Ready for the 4th of July Parade!
Voo and Mom watching the drum and bugle corps on the 4th of July
The boys found these funky little jellyfish all over at the beach
Dad and the kids in Seaside. Nothing beats a fun day at the beach!
The water is cold!!
Getting his feet wet.
Loving the beach life!
One of our favorite things about the Oregon coast is having a campfire on the beach to warm up after being in the cold water!
Fireworks at the beach!
Fourth of July at the beach is our favorite place to be
This girl can really put an outfit together.
Sweet shoes, Voo!
So much creativity in one picture.
He wanted a picture of his "crazy hair"
Amy with her mom and sisters after Paint Nite
Playing with cars is hard work!
The boys have a game called "Slimer" (I think it has to do with Ghostbusters) where they put tape over their eyes and chase each other around. They think it is hilarious (and it kind of is!)
Cousin party!
Amy with her brother and sisters, and Voo and her cousins
Sleeping kids are so cute!
Check out Bear's cool new trick! Spit bubbles!
We rode bikes/walked K-man to school one morning (about a mile away) and when we got there we realized our cat had followed us the entire way!
Sweet goggles, Bear!
Silly swimming boy
They love swimming almost as much as they love each other :)
Dad teaching the kids about building a fire. K-man's ready to go with his work gloves.
Digging in the rocks at our campsite
This girl loves to be outside!
K-man with Amy's grandma on her 90th birthday
Amy with her grandma at her 90th birthday party
Voo is quite the little shopper
K-man's school picture for kindergarten
Ready to run! Mike's second half-marathon.
Amy, her sister, her dad, and stepmom opted for the 10K
We are longtime Gilmore Girls fans, so when a local coffeeshop decided to decorate like Luke's Diner for a day for a Gilmore Girls revival event, my sister and I went dressed up like Lorelai and Sookie.
Voo with some of her cousins and Mima
Bedtime stories
With Sparky the fire dog at a local event where they get to tour the firehouse and ride on top of a ladder truck with the lights and sirens on
Checkers!
Racing the K-man and his cousin down the slide at the fall carnival. It's only fair to give them a head start.
On the cow train at a fall carnival
Bear loves playing with diggers anywhere he can find them
K-Man and Bear going on a hay ride with Aunt Jill and cousins
Voo with mom, dad, Mima, and cousins ready for the hayride
K-man drew his own face and carved his own pumpkin this year
Jaron drew his face and mom and dad helped him carve it out this year
Voo mostly had fun playing with the pumpkin guts and smearing and throwing them everywhere this year
This ninja means business
Her favorite jammies and slippers, with some shades to up the cool factor
Four generations: Amy with her grandma, dad, and kids in front of her grandma's house
Mike and Uncle Brad with K-man, Bear, and cousins showing off a tarantula they found at grandma's house (outside, thank heavens!)
A ninja, Chase from Paw Patrol, and Elmo in front of the Zombie house down the street from us on Halloween
Getting all geared up for skiing
After our cat died, we got two little kittens and Voo loves to snuggle them
Driving the dump truck at the arcade
Bear won the monster truck race. Look at all those tickets!
Driving the race cars at the arcade
Mom and Voo driving the race car
The kids won six (six!!!) stuffed animals from the grabby claw game after Amy warned them that these games are really hard to win.
Cute girl on the carousel
K-man was a leaf-raking machine this fall
Voo snuck Bear's shoes and wore them out and about on errands with mom one morning
Can you tell how high our kids can reach to hang ornaments on the tree?
Helping decorate Mike's work float for the night light parade
Christmas chocolate advent calendars are a new tradition from Papa and Juju
Bear with one of his chocolates from his advent calendar
K-man playing in the foam that came from our local magician's grand finale for his Christmas magic show
Voo with her puppy in a diaper
Voo is just starting to get into Barbies
We didn't get a ton of snow so the kids used shovels and our big outside toy dump truck to create a sledding path down the hill in our front yard.
Hey Santa! These kids have been good this year!
Movie time with dad
On a bus headed out to some ancient ruins in Mexico
Mayan ruins in Mexico
Mike and Amy on the edge of a big cenote (sinkhole) in Mexico
Mike and Amy headed up to an old fortress in Havana, Cuba (Old Havana is in the background on the other side of the water)
Ready for a delicious dinner in Old Havana at Paladar Dona Eutimia
Some Communist propaganda in Vinales
We took these super crappy rental bikes up a massive, extremely long hill in Vinales, Cuba. The view was pretty amazing, though!
We stopped at a local farm in Vinales, Cuba and the farmer showed us the house where they dry all the tobacco. After it's ready, the Cuban government takes (not buys) 90% of it and the farmer gets to keep 10% of it.
We stopped at this farm and were able to get a tour of the entire operation from the man who operates it all.
Our family with K-man's birthmom, birthdad, and bioligical brothers for a morning at the park
Birthday fun
Bear is such a helper
Bear with Mike's mom on his birthday
More fun with Mima, Aunt Sarah, and our St. Louis cousins
Papa and K-man
Fun with cousins on the Oregon Coast
Outside sleepover on the trampoline with dad
Mom and K-man dominated the bumper boats
Voo and Mom checking out the hotspring at one of our favorite camping spots
Dad, Papa, and the kids ready for the Air Force Parade
Ladderball is always popular at Papa's house
Voo has a serious love for all stuffed animals
Riding the pumpkin train with Papa
Ready to go for a ride through the mountains on the pumpkin train to pick out our Halloween pumpkins
Family pumpkin carving selfie
K-man feeding the animals at the fall carnival
Voo with a 'stache
Ready for some serious sledding
Christmas with Mima!
Movie time
Bear blowdrying his hair. What a pro.
K-man blow dries his hair like a boss
Bear and dad in Bear's happy place
Mom and K-man having fun at Monster Jam
Happy Easter!
Dying eggs with Papa and cousins
Voo loving the candy
Voo is just like Mom, just with smaller pockets
Fun with water on the trampoline (side note: Just after this was taken Voo pooped on the trampoline and really grossed the boys out)
Silly Bear
Bear with his preschool teachers
K-man at preschool graduation
Coloring fun
Rub-a-dub-dub three cute kids in the tub
Bear loves Uncle Ethan's dog Dexter sooo much
The boys hunting for "roast beast" in the field behind Papa's house.
Gotta love s'mores
Bear, the animal lover, found a four-legged friend at this campground
Camping is hard work!
At the top of a fun hike on the coast
Atop the tower in Astoria overlooking the Columbia
Sand is so much fun
Cousin fun on Papa's trampoline.
Morning snuggles in the camper
Apparently there's something really cool outside?
Catching tadpoles
On the hunt for tadpoles
Caught one!
Getting back to nature in the camper
This girl is completely in her element when we are camping
More camping fun
Family hike. Mom and Bear turned back here because Bear is not a big fan of hiking uphill and was stopping to rest literally about every 5 steps.
K-man and Voo made it to the top with dad
More tadpole hunting
K-man jumped off the diving board!
K-man is pretty tricky on his bike!
Bear on the day he learned to ride his two wheel bike!
Voo joining in the bike-riding fun
It's Santa!
Campfire fun
Bikes and camping are a great combo
Playing in the creek
A family game of Mustache Smash in the woods
She has a slight obsession with stickers
Bear painting Voo's nails for her
Bear playing cars with his Abuelita (Mike's mom)
Bear with his birthday present from Mima. He loves his Wally Hauler.
Click on any of the pictures below to see the full-size image.
Our kids love trucks! We took a family trip to the local fire station.
K showing off his musical talents. He's a natural!
Ho Ho Ho! Christmas 2012.
Story time! For some reason Bear is wrapped up like a burrito...
This is K-man's favorite Christmas movie, A Christmas Story. It's so funny to hear him quote it.
Bear and his uncle Ethan. Two good looking guys.
K and his birthmom, Alyssa, during one of our visits.
Bear has a talent for winning over the ladies! Here he is flirting with Alyssa's mom and sister.
K-man practicing his driving skills with Alyssa
The boys on Christmas
Adorable!
K-man checking out his new cousin. He loves babies!
Sledding with cousins.
A family sledding photo. Bear appears to be more interested in the flavor of his coat.
K-man and dad bombing the hill.
K-man showing off his 2012 Christmas present. He loves trains, so it was really fun for him to get this. Thanks Santa!
Watching some Thomas and Friends. What a pair!
Some great smiles
K-man is an excellent tower builder... and a tower knocker downer
Bath time with the cousins
K-Man is a wizard with phones and he's always looking for his chance to grab one and call a grandparent
We're fans of these jalepeno Cheetos.
Bear, Grandpa, and Dad. An unbeatable team.
Our kids love this carousel in our town. It's even better when Grandma and Grandpa are here.
Ha ha. K-man looks very stylish in his shades.
A fun trip to the zoo. Fortunately the lion decided he wasn't that hungry after all.
Trying out one of the games at the local arcade. Now our kids want to go here all the time.
Bear can be very sneaky when necessary...
...and so can K-man. Bear doesn't see this coming!
A small crab we found on the beach!
Shopping with mom can be exhausting...
After our 5k color run. The kids really had fun getting colored.
S'mores on the beach. There's nothing better.
K-man loves to help. Here he is peeling pears while helping his mom do some end-of-summer canning.
One of the most adorable photos in the world! Here K-man is helping Dad mow the lawn.
Making sugar cookies for Halloween.
Some fun cereal for Halloween morning
Our Halloween outfits. We're characters from Rise of the Guardians, one of K's favorite movies.
Mike has style, and he sometimes even understands pop culture references.
An expert kite flyer in the making
Bear has always been a good eater, as demonstrated here
Man this kid looks good in sunglasses.
K went through a phase where he wanted to wear multiple pairs of underwear at the same time. Here he is wearing 5 or more.
This is practically in our backyard!
Another one of the world's most adorable photos!
K loves to walk along the beach here, but he has to hold one of our hands...
Here K-man applied some makeup, just like Mom does.
Out on a hike
Bear is a great hiking companion and he loves to be outdoors
Playing on the beach with Grandpa
Bear feel asleep while laying with Grandpa
K pretending to be asleep with Grandpa. Ha ha.
At the carousel with Grandpa
Throwing airplanes
We'll be working on Bear's airplane throwing form...
On a trolley ride with Grandpa
Family photo Fall, 2012. These kids sure make us look good
With Mike's parents
Mom's bday cake, which both boys seem to be very interested in
K-man showing off his trains
A little duet by our musical prodigies
Leaving for a trip to Central America.
We love to travel and can't wait til our kids are old enough to go with us
This is in Guatemala
At a lake in the country of Belize
An ancient Mayan ruin in Guatemala
More cool ruins
At a pumpkin patch with the family
We grew this pumpkin in our yard! It made a great jack o lantern
Entering Belize
At an iguana preserve in Belize. They climbed all over us.
Amy is normally afraid of reptiles, but here she is being very brave and holding this large, and very mellow, iguana
Flying a barbie kite... Mike is not sure how we ended up with this kite
K and Grandma
We carried everything in these two bags across Central America for two weeks
Ruins along the ocean
Bear helping in the kitchen
On a beach in Mexico.
Walking to the airport. We couldn't wait to get home to the kids.
Easter at great grandma and grandpa's
A photo with Mike's family. As you can see, they're a good looking bunch.
K-man meeting his biological half-brother.
Papa photobombing an adorable pic of K-man with Mima
Bear admiring the easter eggs he gathered. "Which one should I open first"
At the playground
Swinging with Mom
K-man likes to help push Bear on the swings.
Who needs hands to eat cake?
Bear is really good at puzzles. It's fun to do them with him.
Playing in a laundry basket like only brothers can do
Being pushed around by Dad.
Getting ready to watch Michigan play some basketball. Please note the matching outfits and snack
A little home experiment with vinegar and baking soda. K-man loved this activity!
Three handsome boys!
Bear hanging out on the beach
Moving day. This is our home.
Bear loves the water, even when it's cold
A little stroll on the beach
Blowing bubbles
Swinging
Playing with puppets at the library
Bear's first experience with corn on the cob. He seems to like it :)
3 balloons for his third birthday
A fun birthday cake. Thanks Mom.
An adorable smile in the middle of a meal
Mike and his dad got to meet Neil Diamond... a famous singer from a few years ago.
These boys love each other
This is such a cool background
A leaf that K was really exited about