{Happy 1st Birthday Norah Kate!!!}

Wow...I can't believe a whole year has passed since Keren gave birth to Norah! :) Time sure flies...We were lucky enough to visit Keren, Steve and Norah in the hospital the day after her birth, she was such a precious newborn. Since last year we have gotten to be very close with Keren and Steve and have spent a lot of time at their house. We're now known as 'Uncle Andy (or 'Nandy' as Jacob says) and Aunt Suzie! :) I absolutely love it and I adore these kiddos!!

I was able to take the day off work yesterday so we could help celebrate Norah's 1st birthday. This was a huge event that I had been helping Keren plan for MONTHS!! The last week was the craziest with a few late nights baking/creating/decorating etc. But it was all worth it to see the finished product yesterday! Although Norah won't remember it, she will have plenty of pictures to show how loved she really is by everyone. Now, without further adieu here's some pictures from the big day...enjoy!!!

{Spokane}

This past weekend Andy and I were lucky enough to have it off together to visit Spokane. We left Friday after work and got there just after midnight. Saturday was spent visiting with Andy's family. We went to lunch at Wingers with his sister, her husband and his brother Mike and his girlfriend. After that us girls did some shopping and catching up while the boys had 'guy time.' At 5:3o we all went to a church in the Valley for mass and a blessing of Andy's grandparent's marriage after 65 years!!! They were so happy that most of the family made it to church and then up to their house at the lake for a family dinner. We had a good time visiting, eating and even for a ride in the boat! Unfortunately it was pretty late by the time we got there so we didn't get to swim in the lake or anything :(

Sunday morning we got up and met Katie and Kyle for breakfast at the Rocket Bakery downtown Spokane, then went up to Andy's little brother Jon's apartment so I could check it out. He's got a pretty nice little place for a bachelor! Then Andy took me to my FAVORITE park in Spokane--Manitow Park--We had so much fun walking through the rose gardens, Japanese gardens and the nearby neighborhoods. It's such a beautiful park, especially in the summer months. That was about all we had time for before we had to head back home, which unfortunately took us 7 hours (instead of the usual 4-5)...it was sooooo frustrating, and we never even saw a cause for the hold up.

Mav loves car rides!! :)

{Happy 26th Birthday to me}

It's a few days late....but Happy Birthday to me...My birthday wasn't too exciting this year, which is fine by me, the older I get, the less celebration I want!! And 26 just isn't very exciting, it just sounds OLD!! :) So Saturday was my birthday but I was stuck at work all day. When I finally got off work at 6, Andy and I got ready and headed up to Federal Way to "Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse" for dinner with our friends Keren and Steve and Brie and Mike and their son Jaden. It was DELICIOUS as usual!! That's definitely one of my favorite restaurants. After dinner we decided to check out a movie with Keren and Steve, so we went down to the Supermall theater and saw The Proposal. Which we would all HIGHLY recommend, it was soooo funny!! The guys even enjoyed it and didn't think it was a total chick flick!! So after a late birthday night we headed home and I fell asleep so I could function at work the next day!! :)

Sunday was another fun evening. I got off work a couple hours early so we could head up to Katie and Phil's housewarming party in South Everett. They just bought their first house and got all settled in. The house is very nice and it was so good to visit with them and Dan and Joy since we rarely see them anymore :( One of the down sides of growing up...

Last night was another Birthday celebration for me! My mom and Dean made a delicious dinner of salmon, flank steak and spinach salad. The food was great as was the company. Dean's mom Nancy and her sister Aunt Margaret also joined us. We had a good visit then I blew out my candles, made my wish and opened a couple presents. I'm soo excited to say that I got 2 JoAnn's gift cards and a couple other gift cards as well as cash to spend this year!!! So..I'm gonna have to take myself out on a mini shopping spree :)

{Happy 4th of July!!!}

Happy 4th of July to everyone!! Thank you to all the men and women that have served our country to give us the freedoms we have today. Wishing everyone a fun and safe day today!

A CELEBRATION DAY

Today is America's Birthday

so wave those banners high

be thankful for your freedom

as fireworks light the sky

Celebrate with honor

wear the colors proud

salute the flag Old Glory

show American pride

Hats off to America

land of the free and brave

our country stands united

God Bless the USA

Have a wonderful 4th of July

By: Rose Marie Streeter