ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE...

My Kids put on their first theatrical production for me this week. Cameron got it in his head that he was going to get the kids to all do a play. He was the prince, Heather the princess (in case you can't tell) and Ewan was the Dragon/King/Knight (what ever Cameron told him to be).

The script went something like this...

Prince: "Uh, oh hi, Princess. I'm the prince. I'm going to protect you from the dragon."

Princess: "Dis is my horsey"

Dragon: "I want to be the prince and have a sword!"

Prince: "Uh, Dragon, you are the dragon, isn't it fun to be a dragon? Dragon's get to breath hot fire!"

Dragon: "OK. Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

Prince: "Now you are the knight and this is your shoot gun."

Knight: "I want a sword!"

Prince: "But shoot guns can beat swords."

Knight: "OK." (shooting ensues)

Prince: "Now you can be the king and we can be friends."

King: "And I can have a sword?"

Prince: "OK. You can have my sword. I have to kiss the princess 'cause I saved her."

King: "Yay! A SWORD!"

Prince: "I need to kiss you, Princess..."

Princess: "NOOO! I just riding my horsey!"

Prince: "I have to kiss you because you are my princess!"

The End

In loving memory...

Evan and I have decided what we are going to name the baby and we would like to share with you part of how we reached this decision.

First off, I have had a special feeling about the name Anne for most of my pregnancy. We have tossed around other names, but for me it always comes back to Anne. I have always loved Anne of Green Gables, and read the entire 7 book set the summer after we were married.

We just didn't know about a middle name...or maybe Anne would be the middle name, we couldn't come to a consensus.

Then last month we went down to California to pick up our kids from my mom and dad's house. By amazing coincidence, my parents live in the neighborhood that Evan's parents lived in early in their marriage. In January of 1959, it was there that there that their beautiful 5 month old daughter, Kathy Lou passed away and there that they buried her.

While we were there, Evan wanted to go to the grave and clean up Kathy Lou's headstone. He took Cameron with him and some garden tools and the two of them worked together to cut back the grass etc. He noticed while he was there, that Kathy Lou would have been 50 this august. We have talked about using the name Kathryn before. It's such a beautiful name and using it is a wonderful way to insure that the next generation will remember Evan's sister's brief time here on earth.

So we have decided to name our baby Kathryn Anne McAllister.

Evan's dad Larry with Kathy Lou on her blessing day. (My parents now attend the church building behind them in this picture).
The Christmas card that was sent out just weeks before Kathy Lou died.

HORNINGS HIDEOUT

Evan found this amazing little private lake where we took the kids fishing.

They had a big lake as well as little kids pond that was totally stocked with fish so the kids wouldn't have to wait long for a bite.

The best part was, they provided everything, from the poles to the worms and because it is private, we didn't need fishing licenses.

Ewan was totally excited to get his hands on his own little pole!

Looks like Heather caught a pretty big one!

Evan took turns with the kids showing them what to do, while I tried to keep the other two from falling in the water...

In the little kid's pond, their poles weren't in the water more than 10 seconds before they felt the fish bite. It was so fun for them.

I don't have too much experience with fishing, so when Evan put his hand in the cup of worms and broke off a piece of a worm with his bare fingers, I nearly passed out! The kids thought it was so funny. After that, Heather had to be grossed out by worms too. She didn't want anything to do with her fish because in her words "there's a worm in it!"

They even had a really nice spot with knifes and faucets to clean your fish up before you take them home. It turned out to be a really fun place and we are sure to go back!

4th of July!

We spent the 4th at Evan's sister's house in Vancouver, Wa. Almost everyone was there, and it was fun to catch up with the family and the kids had a blast with their cousins.

The whole gang camped out to watch the kids set off their fireworks.

Ewan spent the first hour with his head buried in my shoulder...eventually he loosened up and loved it!

With our nephew Christopher. Chris leaves on his mission to Arizona in just a few weeks.
Cameron buddied up to his cousin Masen for most of the night. She let him help her light some of her fireworks.
Heather with Grandma.
All the cousins that were there.

KIDS AT NANNY AND PAPAS

Part of what made the move so dreamy for us, was that we knew the kids were having a blast at my mom and dads.

Eating Popsicles in the back yard.

The most requested breakfast and Nanny and Papas is "Mickey Mouse Pancakes."

My mom keeps her house stocked with toys for the kids to play with when the come to visit. Heather especially loved trotting through the house on this horse.

The boys do a lot of wrestling these days...

It was super hot in LA while they were there, so my mom took the kids first thing every morning to the playground before it got too hot.

I think all three of them were naked (or close to it) most of the time they were there. For some reason, they think that the first thing they do in Nanny's back yard is strip down to nothing.
Heady got to wear one of Nanny's necklaces to church.
Of course, no trip to Nanny and Papas is complete with out a trip to Disneyland! They are so spoiled!

Thank you Mom and Dad for taking such good care of them, and making it such a special trip for the kids. We are so grateful for your help and your love!

Just to Catch you up...

So, the day after his Oregon State graduation, we packed up the kids and drove them down to my mom and dad in California. My parents were kind enough to drive up and meet us half way between Portland and LA. We met in a parking lot and exchanged the kids and then both headed back to our own homes.

The very next morning, Evan and I picked up the keys to our new house and began the move. What a relief to be able to attack that huge job with out kids under foot. It got really fun when my friend Randi showed up...

Randi stayed for three days and helped us pack. What a FRIEND! The three of us had a blast. We worked our tails off getting stuff moved and when it was time to eat, we treated ourselves to some really fabulous dining experiences! Thank you RANDI!

After Randi left, Evan and I finished the move, and set to work unpacking at the new place. It is soooo much easier to unpack when you have almost three times the space and room to put stuff away!

Graduation: Part 2

I know its been a few weeks...things have been super crazy around here, but I wanted to post some of the pictures from Evan's second graduation ceremony. This one was at Oregon State, just for the Pharmacy graduates.

This is Ev walking out during the recessional...does he look happy or what?

Unlike most of his classmates, he worked on making a family at the same time he earned his degree. Pretty amazing, I think. Look at these beautiful children! We wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Evan with his mom and dad.

Poor Evan, by this time of that day, he had a migraine headache. He was a mess. He was very patient with the kids as they revelled in all of the excitement.