It's been a while!

I haven't posted anything new here for some time. I blame Filipe for this, he gave me a Kindle for Christmas and so now it is very rare that I am ever on the actual computer for anything - I love it! Nico is also partially to blame, anytime there is anyone on the computer he thinks he needs to help and tries to climb up to see what we need him to do.

We've had lots of stuff happening up here, Filipe has a new job, Mir got her driver's license and has already gotten her first accident behind her. Nico is growing way too fast, as is my belly!

These pictures are from a while ago, we had a big snowstorm move through in January - Mir and Filipe both ended up having 3 snow days and one of Mir's friends who lives off the island ended up staying with us because she couldn't get home. Nico loved the snow & it was fun to get out and play in it & it was even better when it was gone less than a week later!

Right after the snow (it was still on the ground when we left) we made an unplanned trip to Utah to see my dad. I told him next time he wants us to visit he doesn't have to be so dramatic about it and end up in ICU. It was great to be home with everyone for a few days and the best part was having the 3 little cousins together - they are at a crazy age and it made for a great time.

We were also lucky to be there when Kayd got his mission call, he is headed to the Czech Republic for 2 years in 38 days (according to his official countdown).

We had a great time in Utah, we were sad to leave but so glad that by the time we came home my dad was home and feeling better. It was scary to see him so sick, I don't know what we would do without him - he is the best and I just love him so much!

Mir had her first fancy dance in February - she looked gorgeous! It is hard to believe what a pretty lady she has grown into, I am a lucky mom.

Nico is quite the little guy - he is full of energy and if he is not watching Curious George (which he would do all day if we let him) he is usually making some sort of trouble. He loves his blocks, balls, trike and hammer. He loves to be with Filipe and thinks he is the world's greatest assistant when Filipe is trying to get anything done. He is becoming much better at telling us what he wants and is sure to let us know what he doesn't want.

He is a little quirky and can often be found wearing any sort of jacket, hat, glove, socks-on-hand combo that he is in the mood for & don't even try to take them off! One night he slept the entire night with socks on his hands, I tried to take them off twice but each time he woke up and wanted them to stay on!

He loves his sister and she is awesome to do things with him that I don't. Nico knows that if I say no to go find Nana & she will probably do it or at least do something just as great. She is a great help to me and can make Nico laugh like nobody else can.

Snow Day!

It has been a snowy, wet week up here. It snowed about 6 inches since last night so it was a snow day for all of us! Nico LOVED it & every time he looks outside & remembers there is snow he runs to get his boots & wants to be outside. Mir took him outside this morning & attempted a snowman, but the snow was not good packing snow & it was cold & windy. It is fun to have snow for a couple of days, but I wouldn't mind living in Phoenix & just looking at pictures of it!
These pictures are from Monday, we got lots of slushy stuff.

Here are some from today, much more Utahish snow!

Too Cute!

Nics usually gets in big trouble for playing in the dog food & water, but this afternoon I caught him doing this & it was too cute to get him in any trouble:

Halloween!

Fall in one of my favorite times of the year, we have been taking full advantage of the festivities on the Island. There is a huge pumpkin patch on the north end of the island that we went to to get our pumpkins - they had a lot to choose from, I thought Nics would have a great time running through the patch but he was only interested in the tractor rides. Miranda took him for a few rides around the grounds - he was in heaven!

He eventually climbed into a wagon & we found some great pumpkins to take home.

We also went to a pumpkin walk at my favorite nursery.

Again, Nico wasn't that impressed. Aside from the Elmo pumpkin, his favorite part of the night was chasing Filipe through the dark parking lot.

We did the usual pumpkin carving & took Nico downtown for trick-or-treating. We have a ton of trick or treaters in our neighborhood, I wasn't sure how Nico would like it but he loved having the kids come to the door & by the end of the night he was the one putting the candy in their bags & saying trick or treat to everyone, it was pretty adorable!

Homecoming 2011!

Last weekend was Homecoming up here & Mir had a great time! The weather was great & the best part of the whole weekend wasn't the streaker we saw during the halftime show, it was having Kayd, Lola & Grandpa come up to watch Mir cheer!! I have been feeling really homesick the past few weeks and it was great to have them come visit us.

Mir danced in the assembly Friday morning so we all walked up to the school to watch.

Nico was into the music & dancing, but as soon as the skits started he was DONE, thankfully Kayd is an AWESOME uncle & took him outside to chase the birds.

We went to the homecoming game Friday night - it was a little chilly but not too bad, Filipe, Lola & Gramps made it through the whole game.
Saturday we hurried over to Pikes for grilled cheese sandwiches, donuts & fresh fish & veggies for dinner. We were home in time for my mom & dad to head back to Nordies while Kayd & Mir kayaked for a while.
It was a perfect weekend, we even had time for some games Sunday before we had to catch the boat for the airport.
I didn't take very many pictures - they brought their new camera with them & were using it the whole time, but I tried to get a few while we were at the ferry terminal.

Thanks so much for coming all this way, Mir will always remember this Homecoming - I love you guys!!

Thank You Lola!!

Lola is always sending the kids packages in the mail of fun stuff. Today on our walk we got the mail & there was something for Nico, he carried the envelope during the walk & was so excited when I opened it for him & there were some shoes that squeaked! He stomped around the house with a happy smile on his face, I caught the last little bit & thought I would share.

Thank you Lola, WE LOVE YOU!

This One's For You, Pop-Pop

Time for some videos!

Two weeks ago was Miranda's first varsity football game as cheerleader!  She did a great job and it was fun to see her doing something she enjoys so much.

Nico really got a kick out of seeing Mir out there too. He especially got excited to see Miranda perform the cheers he hears her do around the house.  He was also a fan of the school band playing right next to us.

Over the weekend we went over to Chris and Mercedes' for Marlowe's birthday party.  It's always fun to see Nico socialize with other kids, but there's an extra bit of excitement when he gets along so well with his cousin.  Marlowe is so adorable and talks extremely well.  She seemed to have as good a time with Nico as I know he did with her.  Nothing was cuter than when she would call him "Nico".

- Filipe

Rest of July....

Our summer up here has been busy, Mir has had a great time doing cheer camps, mini-cheer camps (where they have little kids come & teach them some cheers) & hanging out with her friends.

Nico has been busy getting into EVERYTHING, he is quite the little destroyer of all things visible. He is all out running from place to place, loves to be outside & is getting an awesome personality that is so fun to see.

The highlight of the month for us was having our BFFs, the Ratchfords, come stay with us for a few days. We had a great time while they were here, we miss them so much!!

Garreth set up a zip-line & all the kids (including Freeky) had a great time on it.

Filipe & Miranda built a fire pit in the backyard just in time for their visit, we had a great time making smores every night:)

Nico loved having some little boys here to play with, they were all so cute with him - Sam especially loved him! We love those Ratchford kids so much!

Last Sunday the Blue Angels were in town so we decided to take Nico (who is fascinated with all forms of transportation these days) over to see them...as you can see he was impressed!

He did eventually wake up in time to see them fly over a few times.

July so far...

July has been fun for us so far, we went to the Annual Rummage Sale & Auction, one of the highlights of living on Bainbridge. We got some pretty good deals on stuff...the best buy had to be this lawnmower I scored for Nics for $2!

The island has a great old fashioned 4th of July parade. Mir looked great in the parade in her VARSITY cheer uniform, yay!!
At the parade, we had a great spot in the shade & Nico was so cute, he scored a ton of candy (he only got to eat one Tootsie Roll) & lots of other stuff like a little flag & a tennis ball:)

Filipe was really busy at work the end of June & the first part of the month so he took a few days off & spent them at home with Nico...he had a good time but decided he wasn't interested in being a stay at home dad anytime soon, he almost went to work on Sunday just to get out of the house!

The weather has been awesome, we have been to the park & beach a few times, Nico loves to throw rocks in the water. As long as he is outside Nics is pretty happy, he loves to kick around a soccer ball, take little walks around the neighborhood & swing (he picked up the sign for swing in just a couple of times after seeing it).

The other night he helped me water the plants on the back porch, it was pretty cute: