Gone Fishing!

After a monthly trip to Richland we had some friends that wanted to take us fishing. So one wet, cold, windy Saturday we packed into the car to go home to Seattle and made a small detour to stop and fish. Ok, so it was a 4hr detour...2hrs the opposite direction of Seattle to get there and a loooooong 2 hrs back! Not my ideal with 3 small kiddos. We drove 7 hours that day just to catch some fish. Oh, the dedication! But that being said we will have good memories left once the details fade and we can just look at the pictures. :) It doesn't even look like it is raining in the pictures, does it? Well, let me tell you, it was!

Josh learning the ropes from Dad and Jake, already a pro!

I can still hear Jake saying "Ben, just pick it up. It's ok, just a little slimy but it won't hurt you." Ben tried but it flopped and he jumped back and had enough of that. He was content to just reel them in.

Jake on the other hand...well he just needs a few lessons on how to hold a fish in pictures to make it look bigger then it is. This here will not do! But the smile is priceless.

Happy 3rd B-Day Ben!

Ben keeps up with his brother Jake so well sometimes I forget that he is only 2. But his 3rd b-day has come and gone! What a blessed family we have!

Grandma Joan and Granpa Bob came to visit. Here she is reading Dr Seuss to the boys. Not sure why Jake's finger is in his nose. :) Oh well.

Ben got his very own Diego fishing pole from Nancy! What a great gift. By far the winner. Jake and Ben have been casting off the back porch catching all sorts of gigantic "fish". They have such good imaginations.

Josh paticularly liked Ben's new Diego underwear. What a ham! He just loved the attention.

And what b-day party is complete without cupcakes? Mom made cream cheese frosting, yum! Well, yum to me and Mike but the kids didn't think so. They all complained. Won't do that again!

Happy 1st Birthday Josh!!!

This series of photos pretty much tells the whole story. Yup, this is pretty much how it went down.

"Hey, isn't this cool! They're making me a cake for my first b-day. I am so excited!"

"Hmm, that looks interesting. She shouldn't have put it so close. Well, since she did I should just check it out."

"They left, now is my chance. Mmmm, that is goooood."

"Uh-oh, I am going to get caught red-handed AGAIN!" The first time it was a sandwich I swiped off my dad's plate from the counter. Then it was the M&M's from the potty training jar on the back of the toilet. Yup, you should've seen that mess. Boy, was my mom mad. I had a couple of handfuls of M&M's in my hand and a goey mess all over the floor and my pjs. How did I get those M&M's? Well, Ben had just gone potty and I pretty much tackled him while he was getting his treat out of the jar. He locked the bathroom door after I spilled them and we just went for it. Good to have a co-conspirator. Anyway, my mom will post some pics of that below too."

"What mom? Me? No, you're not thinking I ate some frosting are you? Can't you see the surprise on my face? What, I have a ring of frosting around my face?"

"Ah, mom! I am so cute though!!! How can you be upset?"

Blowing out candles...

"Mmm, I remember this. Same stuff that was in the jar on the counter. Looks good!"

"Yup, pretty good b-day! PS, my M&M pictures are next."

I'm walking...and I'm not even 1!

Winter Wonderland...Pre-Christmas Fun!

It snowed today! We have close to a foot already...sledding was soooo much fun.

Our Christmas tree was a little expensive for our liking but we missed the Ikea $10 special this year so we forced the family to get Santa pics at the tree farm this year instead of at the mall. Saved us $20 or so and made us feel like the Christmas tree was not quite as expensive. Oh, us Mortimers! We are so frugal...

This is the tree we took home!

You would think this was on the way home from picking the Christmas tree but, no, it was on the way there. We went at naptime. Isn't he precious!

THANKS GRANDMA JOAN FOR THE CHRISTMAS PJ'S.

WE LOVE YOU!!!

Jesus Loves Me, Yes He Does...

Don't mind Benja picking his nose. He just got done crying so I guess it was bothering him.

Precious Songs of Praise! By Jake Mortimer

Jake is constantly singing praises to the Lord. He has a real gift for remembering any song but he also likes to make them up. They are all original...you'll never hear this one again! I know because I tried to get it on video twice and although the songs I recorded were similar, they were not exactly the same. No two alike! I am hopeful that he will continue to develop a musical gifting from Mike's side of the family so I can live vicariously thru him as I am not even a tiny bit musically inclined! Although I am hopeful that one of my rewards in heaven will be a new and amazing singing voice. I can't imaging how God has put up with my singing thus far so I am sure He would prefer to replace my voice in heaven then listen to it as is for eternity! :)