Bill is the best daddy ever. Last weekend he spent most of Saturday building a birdhouse with Caley. It was a "daddy date." They came up with the design and Caley helped nail and paint. Afterward she helped him work in the garage, which she was very happy to do!

7 Years

On July 6th we celebrated 7 years married. This year it was my (Addie's) turn to plan the festivities. Friday July 3rd I planned a surprise day date, with a few things planned, but our day got changed a bit. We ended up walking around Greenlake and then to the UW campus. It was a beautiful day thankfully. We walked to the UW Quad with the cherry trees and Bill didn't know what the surprise would be, until he guessed everything else and then came up with the right answer--a photoshoot with my friend Acacia from Acacia Photography. She did a wonderful job and it was really fun for us. See some of the pictures on her blog here. As a side note, I've been meaning to have Acacia do some family photos of us before she leaves for Chicago in September, and I'm really glad we at least got some photos of me and Bill since it's rare we are in pictures together. Acacia and her husband and girls are moving to plant a church in Chicago, a city that desperately needs to hear about Jesus. It's a bittersweet goodbye, but I know God is bigger than me and will do great things through their ministry at The Painted Door. Thank you Acacia! I will miss you so much!

Anyway...after photos we went to Kirkland intending to go swing dancing, but we'd walked so much already our feet were too tired! So instead we had a yummy Irish dinner and saw a movie. Romatic!


On our actual anniversary we had a few hours to ourselves and enjoyed dinner out and a pedicure. Yes. A pedicure. Pretty toes!

I look forward to many more years with you Billy!

Caley's Daddy Date

Bill was able to take some time off this week and last. One afternoon he and Caley went on a date and had a great time! Here are some super cute pictures.
They visited our townhouse that was Caley's first home. Look at the shiny siding!!

This is at Emery's Garden, a nursery in Lynnwood. Actually it's more like a nursery/farm with free roaming peacocks and chickens in coops.

They visited a park on 164th st in Lynnwood and Caley tried her hand at taking pictures of Daddy.

I am SPEED!

Bill is Lightning McQueen!

Wood

Rad title huh. That's the contemporary or modern 6th wedding anniversary present. While I didn't actually get Addie a gift made out of wood that I recall for our 6th, I did take her to a great lodge where we discovered really nice old world style hardwood floors, and a practically empty long stretch of beach with more than enough driftwood. Ok, I'm stretching it a bit, but I could make a pretty good case for keeping with that theme.

But what a great place to enjoy God's creation and each other's company for our anniversary. We had a nice time to forget about everything and just relax in Oregon at Cannon Beach. For a while I had that feeling like I forgot my pants or something, as the kids were at their grandparents for over a day, and it's always a bit weird and scary for a second when Addie and I are both together and the kids are not with us. JUST like when I forget my pants.

So we goofed off on the beach and saw some large clusters of starfish and other sea life, and once almost got trapped on the wrong side when the tide came in.




more to come.....

My working husband

Bill never stops working. After a long day at work, he stops on the way home to get paint at Home Depot, then paints an entire room in one evening. He thoughtfully chooses what to do and how to do it. Here are the latest projects, the mud room and the new office.

The mud room during...
The mud room after!


The office after!


There are no "office during" pictures posted because Bill wouldn't want them broadcasted to the world. Sorry!

We're Golden

Ecclesiastes 9:9 "Enjoy life with your wife, all the days of this meaningless life."


We've been married for 6 years. 6 years on July 6th means we're golden. Hopefully we'll be able to celebrate our actual golden anniversary in 44 more years! Bill pulled a fast one and stealthily planned a night at The Ocean Lodge in Cannon Beach, Oregon to celebrate. I grew up in Astoria, but spent very little time in Cannon Beach so it was fun to be a tourist for a bit. I never understood the draw of Cannon Beach until now! Beautiful views, cute town, so romantic! Pictures to come. We had a very relaxing time, and although I didn't have to get up to take Caley potty or nurse Amelia, I still woke up at 4am a little disoriented. Thanks to Mom and Dad Bales for watching the girls! We hope you are caught up on sleep by now!

Father's Day

Yesterday was Father's Day and after church (GREAT sermon, not that they're ever bad!) we headed up to Lynden for some good old fashioned Gerlach BBQ and hang out time. And Minako got to see what American family life is like when 10 kids ages 5 and under are running around!
I kind of dropped the ball with the Father's day hoopla, and his awesome gift isn't here yet. But my faults aren't indicative of how Bill is as a father. I'm thankful for Bill. He's a wonderful husband and daddy to our little girls. He puts Jesus first, he's very thoughtful and wise.
Thank you Jesus for being our Father, and for giving us Bill!

Oh and the SUN did show up! Hopefully now it's warmer here than in Siberia. Thank you Jesus!

summer yet?

A few first shots taken with a new canon lens.

Pickleball

Ah....pickleball. I love pickleball. I loooooooooooove it. I'm so excited that it is spring time and the court next to my workplace is dry and ready for another year of pounding. A couple guys at work and I are splitting the cost of a new outdoor net. If anyone has played tennis, badminton or ping pong, it is pretty much a cross of those three. IMHO it is more fun than all of those combined. Rallies are fast and last longer, and it isn't as frustrating as tennis. Sure, the name of the sport doesn't spring to mind toned masculine men roughing it out with heavy weaponry in some caged enclosure. At least you won't hear something like "Hey Randy, be a sport and toss me the birdy." Nice short shorts Randy.

I scoured the internet for a good "hardcore" video of singles pickleball, and couldn't find even one. The ones on youtube are either of seasoned citizens playing doubles at a snails pace, or kids goofing around in gym class. Instead, here's a badminton video that reminds me of the fast speed, coordination and quickness that is required for a healthy game of pickleball.



Here's an ok video, skip to the end to see some high school noobs play to give you an idea of how the game is played. They're playing doubles which is a little slow for my taste - singles is best!

In Sickness and in Health

Saturday morning I (Addie) woke up with a stomachache and just felt awful all around. Around 1030 I got up and felt the vomit coming on, and woke up a few minutes later on the floor. Apparently I had passed out and hit my head on the floor! Thankfully Bill was there and helped me recover the rest of the day, all the while taking care of both kids AND cleaning the kitchen! Thank you Jesus for giving me the best husband for me. And he's a hottie too!

Whoa! I didn't know Mom and Dad could sing!

We had a fun weekend! To celebrate Bill's mom's birthday and his parents anniversary, we went to a karaoke bar in Birch Bay. Bill and I were the only ones who sang though, but it was still really fun. We did a duet of "California Dreamin", and then I sang "Bette Davis Eyes" and "Forever in Blue Jeans" and Bill sang "Teddy Bear" by Elvis. The bar was small and we didn't know anyone except Bill's family so it's not like we were risking making fools out of ourselves and having people know us. Of course it helped that we also had a few drinks which made us less inhibited. Next time we'll practice our songs more so we knock the socks off of our fellow karaokians (that sounds too much like Kevorkian).

Update

Amelia is 1 month old today, and the past month has just flown by. I'm sure I'll be saying the same thing in 10 years, and I know it's cliche but time really does fly when you're having fun. Amelia is becoming a bit more predictable and we're all sleeping enough most of the time. I can't believe Caley is close to being 3, she amazes me in so many ways.

The new thing this week is potty training, which we've been attempting for the last year or so, but now she's finally getting it. It's like something has finally clicked in her brain and she's able to control her body more. On Sunday night this week I told her that Monday would be "no diaper day" and it was, until about 1pm when I'd had enough of her deliberately peeing in her training pants. I got mad and was very unChrist-like to say the least. By the evening I had calmed down and she had a few successes. So for the rest of this week when we were home she wore training pants and a diaper when we were out. I have tried to take her potty often, sometimes practically forcing her to sit on the toilet for the count of ten. We also have been really reinforcing when she does go potty and especially when she initiates. If she pees she gets a stamp like before, but after 5 stamps she gets to choose from the prize basket. Now we are starting to especially reinforce when she is dry. It's just seemed to click for her though, and it's about time! Yay for Caley! She may have a few accidents now and then, but at least the potty training is underway.



We visited Astoria last weekend for my parents 30th wedding anniversary. They had a big party and it was a lot of fun. They even had a cake just like their wedding cake. My aunt and uncle from Wyoming even came. Caley had fun playing with Jesse and she even went to a football game. Actually Amelia went too, and we got to see a movie! I was really nervous that she would get hungry and we'd get called out of the movie (she hasn't had a bottle yet) but she slept the whole time! Thanks Mom and Dad! By the way, The Borne Ultimatum rocks!In the words of my friend Kathleen, "Jason Borne is a badass". http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bourne_ultimatum/

A Project in Progress

Just like Jesus worked as a carpenter, Bill has been working on an octagonal picnic table. He started in early July as an anniversary present, and he's hoping this project will be the first of many. Along the way he's made numerous trips to Home Depot, bought a mitre saw, made the garage a little dusty, and learned a lot. Here are some pictures of the process.

For Bill's birthday we got a Bowflex. You might not recognize him because he'll probably look like this soon:























The name's Bond, Billy James Bond.