Hood

I went a little crazy with the camera while we were up at Mt. Hood!  It was Landon's first time seeing snow and seeing the mountain, so that was pretty special to us.  We rented a condo for a couple nights in Government Camp and felt so blessed that Ahmma & Dumpa wanted to join us.  Dadda and the girls had just enough snow for some inner tubing at Summit Ski lift. We also enjoyed the all-you-can-eat buffet at Timberline Lodge.  But my favorite part was dressing Landon in his snowsuit and winter hat to snap some picture of him.

Dumpa aka The Baby Whisperer could always get Landon to coo.

We couldn't see the mountain, and it was super windy.

The morning we left, Mt. Hood was out in all her glory.

Winter finally came out to play!

Yesterday before church, the girls got to frolic in our first flakes of winter.  When we left church, the snow had melted, so we drove up to Bald Peak to snap some family pictures.

My Funny Valentines

I just love Valentine's Day!  I love taking them on a special date. I love getting ready with them , as we get all gussied up and dress in festive attire.  I love making them feel extra special and adored.  This year they had dentist appointments in the morning, so afterwards we went to Handel's Homemade Ice Cream Shop.  Bubba slept the entire time, while we enjoyed our cones.  McKinley chose Red Velvet, Piper picked Orange Sherbert, & Tessa "shockingly" selected Mint Chocolate Chip. 

Go Cougs!

EIGHT

I can't believe my big girl turned eight last month.  To kick off her birthday, she invited three of her friends over for a small, pizza party, and before they arrived we gifted her some walkie-talkies.  On her birthday she had a couple of requests: biscuits & gravy for breakfast, ribs & asparagus for dinner and ice skating.  Benji and I also wanted to spend some quality, one-on-one time with her, so we got manicures together and Benji treated her to lunch.  Since the walkie-talkies were for all the girls (and eventually, Landon) to enjoy, we wanted her birthday present to be extra special.  We decided on a diary because she loves to write.

Her girlfriends: Elsa, Penny & Sela. They all know each other from church and are homeschooled.

Landon is the luckiest to have her as his big sister!

She got her first manicure with Momma on her special day.

And went on a lunch date with Dadda to Momji's for some sushi. 

Look - it's Dorothy Hamil, Tonya Harding & Nancy Kerrigan!

Polar Pizza from Baskin Robbins.

McKinley's highlights from the past year:

At the St. Paul Rodeo, she impressed a bunch of Marines and many other on-lookers by doing three strict pull-ups.  Side note: Dadda won the pull-up competition with twenty-five pull-ups.

During our annual Fourth of July photo shoot, she modeling one of Momma's childhood sailor dresses, making this photo one of my favorite photos of her.

We celebrated McKinley's baptism, along with Ahmma & Dumpa and our neighbors, the Stokes.

She was the only girl to make it to the top of South Sister during our annual Girls' Cross Country Running camping trip, accompanied by her Dadda & Dumpa.  South Sister is the third highest mountain peak in Oregon with a summit of 10,358 ft.

She opened a savings account as her and her sister's thriving, can-collecting business continues to grow.

She eagerly started second grade with MFW Adventures in U.S. History.

She ran the "open race" during the Champoeg Invitational, completing her first 5k.

John Macy of Photomacy took our family's pictures during the fall, about four weeks before giving birth.

She was born to be a big sister! And she was the one to give Landon his nickname: Little Bubba.

After Landon was born, the girls got a real modeling gig with Hanna Andersson, a children's clothing company.