Fun with Cousins

we went to Pullman this weekend to participate in the blessing of my sweet new niece Isla.  We went on Saturday so we would have some time to play and spend time as a family.  It was SO fun to see everyone and we pretty much spent the two days laughing at and with each other.  I did learn that I have a funny smell according to my sister.  We also got some fun pictures of all the cousins together which is easier said then done.  I love my family so much and it was great to spend the weekend with them.  Oh and Terence and I almost died on the way out but I will write a separate blog about that.  It was only thanks to my husbands quick thinking and split second decision making that we are still here.  I'm not kidding.  How's that for a cliff hanger?

this is what I get when I ask Corey to smile.  bum!

wax paper on the slide!

I LOVE this picture of Connor

All four of the boys!  This is the only way we could get all four of them to sit still long enough for a picture.

New York Pictures

I FINALLY got around to downloading some pictures from our camera and realized that there were some on there from T's trip to New York.  I am not sure what all of them are but they are pretty cool so I thought I would share.

Sub Zero Grand Opening!

The other day we had the opportunity to attend the grand opening of the AMAZING new Sub Zero ice cream shop in Federal Way.  If you have never had Sub Zero ice cream I HIGHLY recommend you check it out.  It is by far the BEST ice cream I have ever had.  The place was packed with people and the Federal Way chamber of commerce as well as the mayor were there for the opening.  Somehow Connor was picked out of the crowd to help with the ribbon cutting.  It was so fun to see him up there helping with such an exciting occasion.  I am sure the store could not have opened with out him ;).

Pillow Fight

Last night we had a family pillow fight.  It was kind of unfair since it was Terence and me against the boys and we pretty much swept the floor with them.  Still it was fun for everyone.  I hope these are the memories we all look back on when we are old and think how much fun it was to have little boys!  Plus I just LOVE Terence and Connor's faces in this picture.  Pure joy!

Haircuts!

Some of you may have noticed from my recent pictures and posts that Connor really needed a haircut.  He would not let me cut it because I'm a girl.  He said only boys can cut boys hair.  This meant that Daddy had to step up and get the job done.  Last night we ask Connor if we could cut his hair and he told us maybe later.  Terence said why don't we do it right now so it's done and we don't have to worry about it.  Connor seemed OK with this logic so we got out the clippers and low and behold, Connor got a haircut!  Terence said he went from "princess to prince in five minutes."  (We might have had to tell Connor he looked like a girl once or twice to really convince him it was time to cut it.)  We figured while we had the clippers out we might as well get everyone else done so I cut Corey and Terence's hair as well.  I like doing at home haircuts.  It saves us a bunch of money and everyone looks so fresh and clean afterwards. 

pretty freaking awesome!

I know I have said this a million times but my husband is pretty awesome!  At the beginning of the year Terence had put something in his goals for work about getting approved to do a specific kind of training.  This training is above what his normal responsibilities are and something that no one else in his role has done before.  Not only that but he is the one who sought it out as a growth opportunity.    T worked extremely hard to get it right, he practiced for hours on his own and even ran through the training with me a couple of times to refine it.  When the day of the actual test came it was Terence doing the training with three directors and two other very important people.  When he was done he told me that he thought he had done OK but was not sure.  He figured he had passed the test but did not hear anything else back for about a week.  Finally he had a one on one with his manager and was not only told he had passed but that it was one of the best that they had ever heard!  They were so impressed with him and his presentation skills!  He got absolutely rave reviews!  The icing on the cake was that Terence was called out in the weekly newsletter that goes to all of his company for the great job he did.  His boss said:

Shout out to Corporate Account Specialist Terence Keenan: “Terence engaged the Manager of Learning and Development on his own and asked for TM training certification so he could take on more and continue to work and excel at the next level. What followed was one of the best product demos I've ever witnessed and a near perfect judges score. Truly a fantastic job.”

How cool is that?  I should also mention that both my Mom and my Aunt Pam were also called out in this weeks news letter!  Way to go Terence and the VanderHoeven machine!  You all rock!

Some more cute pictures

Here are a couple of random fun pictures of the boys.  Both of these pictures were taken right after I mentioned Grandma and Grandpa to the boys.  Excited, terrified?  You decide :).  And yes I know, Connor REALLY needs a haircut.  He has forbidden me to cut it saying only boys can cut boys hair.

My Boys!

The other night my boys were wrestling (a nightly occurrence in my house) and I snapped a picture of them with my phone.  I LOVE this picture!  I am so blessed to have such wonderful boys and such an amazing husband.  I cannot believe we will be adding another little boy to the mix in just a few short months.  How lucky am I?

Fishing!

A couple of weeks back Terence and my brother Jared went fishing out in Monroe.  The pink salmon were running and they thought it would be fun to try and go out and catch some.  River fishing can be hard and sometimes you can go for hours without a bite.  That was not the case on this day.  Jared and Terence both said they caught so many fish they lost count.  Since these salmon were spawning I has explicitly forbidden Terence to bring any home but of course the temptation was too much for him.  He ended up bringing one very large, very ugly salmon home and decided he was going to grill it up.  As much as the fish grossed me out I did not want it to go to waste so I set to work cleaning it (Terence had already done most of the work) and getting it on the grill.  T said it tasted pretty good and aside from the bones that it had in it he would eat it again.  Good job bringing home your first salmon Terence!  Maybe next time you can get one that does not look like Quasimodo.