52 week project - Week 29

Things have been crazy hectic for us the last couple of weeks, so I missed week 29 of Tony and Vinny.

 but here is one of Tony and me....

A new bike.

Vinny got a bike from my dad for his 3rd birthday. He rode it a few times, but really wasn't that interested. We would take it out every month or so, and he would say he didn't like to ride and that would be the end of it. Well, since Tony and I have been walking, we decided it was time for him to try again. We hadn't taken it out this summer yet. When we got to the trail, we realized that he was way too big for his little 12 inch bike.

So off to Toys R Us we went. He picked out a bright one! He was able to ride it so much better, and he really enjoyed it!

We are looking forward to more walks now, so he is more willing to go with us!

52 week project - Week 28

Birch Bay Waterslides.

Last week I had a day off work, so I decided to take Vinny to Birch Bay to go to the waterslide park. We had so much fun! Vinny went on all the slides that he was able too. He wasn't a big fan of the tube ride, because his face got splashed, but he was a trooper and went twice with his mom. ;)

 The four big slides in the background of this picture where our favorites. My guess is that we went down them 25 times or more. I was exhausted!!!

4th

We usually do something big for the 4th, which I really thought I would miss... but this year we stayed at home, and it was great! We had debated on going to the big fireworks show in Everett, but Vinny didn't seem very interested, so we decided against it. We took a trip to Boom City to see my friends Mike & Cy, and they hooked us up with a ton of small, backyard friendly, fireworks that we knew Vinny would enjoy. We BBQ'd salmon and corn for dinner and just hung out.

Vinny with his popper gun.

 Smoke bombs.

 Safety First!!!

 Once the sun went down, we were shocked at the awesome show that we had from our own backyard! Both on the side of us, and behind us had great fireworks!

 Playing with sparklers

 

 More sparklers...

The Grande Finale! 

What a great day!

52 week project - week 27

Playing video games.

 Taking a snack break between fireworks.

 Happy 4th!

What a week!

Well, for me anyway...
For the last year and a half, I have worked as an assistant branch manager at Cascade Bank. A lot changed this week. First of all we merged with another bank, and now we are OpusBank. This is super exciting. It will be a great change for the employees, and a great change for our customers and our community. With all the negatives that have happened lately with banks, especially community banks, I am proud to be a part of a bank that is actually changing for the positive! I am excited to see what is to come!
Not only did our name change, but my job changed too. I was promoted this week to the Branch Manager of my branch. My new title is Retail Banking Manager. I have been working towards this goal since I started at Cascade. I have to admit, I am very proud of myself, and I am looking forward to doing more training, and keeping my branch running strong!
I want to thank everyone for all the support that you have given me to help me get here! I have the best support from my husband, my family, my friends, and the wonderful people I work with!

52 week project - Week 26

52 week project - Week 25

Oops, not doing so well at getting a pic with each of us... I need to get back on this...

I love you because...

I recently saw this idea on pinterest.com and fell in love with it, so I had to make one myself. Mine isn't nearly as neat or cool as the one I saw, but I still love it!

The picture says "I love you because __________________" and you use a dry erase marker to write in a message each day. So fun!

Ice Skating

Vinny has been taking ice skating lessons for a few months now. He is in his 3rd session of lessons and loving it. He is doing such a great job too! He goes on Monday evenings for a 1/2 hour. He started March 14th, and we are so impressed with the progress he has made so far and so proud of him.
We ask him after every session (every 6 weeks) if he wants to go through lessons again. He always says he does, because he wants to play hockey when he is 5. At this rate, we are sure he will be ready to start Hockey lessons in January. I love that he has a goal, and is taking skating seriously, so that he can get to that point. We have made the decision to never push him when it comes to sports, and to just let him try what he wants to, and stop when he wants to, or continue if he chooses. I am really suprised that at 4 he continues to want to go and has not gotten bored with it yet.

Video taken today.

Video taken 4.11.11 - Just for comparison.

52 week project - week 24

Sharing a mini watermelon. Don't know why Vinny is wearing goggles.

 Being goofy on Father's Day.

 Awww

Play hard = Sleep Hard

52 week project - Week 23

These were taken at the ice caves.

 And just for kicks...

So Awesome!

When I came home from work the other night the house was empty. I waited for a few minutes when the from door opened, and this is what I found! Not my 1st choice in haircuts, but he loves it and thinks he is "so awesome!"

Go Canucks Go!

Yesterday, Tony and I took off work early to head up to Vancouver to watch game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Vancouver vs. Boston. It was an amazing event. We gathered in the streets with 40,000 plus other fans to watch the game on two jumbo screens that they had set up downtown. It was awesome! An night that we will never forget.

Here is an article about the event and the fans. The Province - Your Stanley Cup Resource

Easy Freezer Bag Ice Cream

I found this recipe in Family Fun magazine and we decided to try it last night. It was so yummy, so easy, and so fun to do as a family! With just a few ingredients, and less than 10 minutes, we homemade ice cream!

This is a bad cell phone picture, but Vinny was really enjoying it!

Directions: Combine 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 cup half and half and 1/2 tablespoon of vanilla in a small ziplock bag. Seal it really tightly. Put a 1/2 cup of rock salt (it says table salt works too, but we didn't try it) in a freezer ziploc bag and fill the bag 1/2 way with ice. Then put the little bag with the mixture inside seal it tightly and shake! You have to shake for like 5 minutes. You can feel the little bag and tell when the ice cream thickens. Then take the little bag back out and enjoy! I will tell you to have a towel ready because the condensation on the bag makes a mess when you are shaking, but other than that it was mess free and super easy.
If you try it, I would love to hear your comments and experience with it!

52 week project - Week 22

Marysville Health Fair

On Saturday morning, we met Jennie and the boys at the Children's Health Fair in Marysville. It was great to hang out and catch up, and see Jennie and her boys. We all had a nice time.

 They had a Silvertips booth there, where Vinny got the try on Kent Simpson's gear.

 Blowing bubbles with Cameron.

 Couldn't pass up a shot with Lincoln!

 Putt Putt!