Memorial Day Weekend

Over Memorial Day weekend, TJ had a softball tournament in Moses Lake so we took the opportunity to go camping. TJ found a really good deal on a trailer to rent...isn't it cute? It was the perfect size. Our good friends (Matt Fry and family) went with us, so us girls got the beds in the trailer and the boys stayed out in a tent. Our journey began in the lovely traffic over Snoqualmie Pass. It usually takes about 3 hours to get to Ellensburg, but oh no, not this time. It took us 51/2 hours to get there. There were cars overheating left and right on the shoulders. Thank goodness Sophia was a trooper..we kept feeding her fruit snacks, haha. We took a break in Ellensburg about 8:30pm to have dinner and met up with Matt and his family. We got to our campsite about 11:30pm. Nothin like setting up a tent in the dark. TJ looked dead sexy with his headlight on !The next day the team had 2 games so we went and cheered them on. We played at the park, ate chips (Sophia is a big fan of Baked Lays), blew bubbles, and played with balls while we were at the field. After the games we went to enjoy the lake, except for Sophia did not enjoy the water...not like the water??? So not my daughter! And she's in this phase of not liking grass on her bare feet so we hung out in our swimsuits on a towel. On Sunday the guys had a 9:10am game with a single elimination. Let's just say they lost with style (quite entertaining). But kinda good for the rest of us because we had the whole rest of the day. We went to "Surf in Slide" Water Park. It is smaller than Wild Waves but still really fun. Sophia's favorite thing was the small water fountains and my favorite thing was watching people biff while trying to surf. I hope you enjoyed the video of Zac (TJ's brother) and then TJ attempting to surf! Great weekend with 80 degree weather...Great company...Loved it! Now the count down is definitely on till summer!

Tag...6th Folder, 6th Picture

Ta-da! I'm usually a party pooper when it comes to the "tag" stuff, but here it is just for you Shawna! This picture of Sophia was in the 6th folder and was the 6th picture on this computer...Enjoy her cuteness! That's the best type of laundry to me!

Red, White, and Blue

Hallelujah for a sunny day! We woke up, got ready, and flew to the Armed Forces Day Parade. Thank you sun for the enjoyable morning/afternoon!

Sophia started on TJ's shoulders with this look for while. She was checking everything out and after each band she would say "more!"

She was excited to use her chair like all the big kids. After about an hour it was time for a snack.

Papa Brown met up with us and Sophia talked him into walking around with her by saying, "come on..."

Here are a couple of Sophia's favorites....

And another (even though I think clowns are kinda creepy...)

And another...

We left about 2 hours into the parade, but it was STILL going. I think it was the longest Armed Forces Day parade I've ever been to. Man did it bring back marching band days for me (I can't believe I just admitted that, haha). For all those fellow Olympians...Mr. Williams is still representing Olympics marching band! But their outfits are still horrible! Anyway...

Thank you Armed Forces!!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Happy Mother's Day!

This is my 2nd mother's day and it was a nice one! First, Sophia gave me the best present of all which was sleeping in till 9:40am, but it made us late for church...oops! We went to church and then spent the day at my parent's house, so the whole fam was together. The men made a wonderful and filling dinner for all the ladies!

I always like making something for my mom, so I put Sophia's hand print inside of mine and found a very true quote that I liked..."Mother's and daughters are closest, when daughters become mothers." My mom has always been a good friend, but we've become even closer since I've had Sophia. I love you mom!
While the boys made dinner, we went outside to play. The classic "spider" way to swing! weeee!

Sophia helped me open my Mother's Day gift from my parents. They got me stuff to get my feet ready for summer and had Sophia help paint a craft for me.

And they got me a pot that you can write on with chalk...pretty cool. Sophia drew a couple of lines, but TJ decorated the rest.

When we got home Sophia gave me presents from her. She got me a sewing machine! It's a little Sally homemakerish but I've had this weird urge to learn how. My mom is an excellent sewer and it's something I want to know how to do for Sophia. My mom actually laughed at me when I told her I wanted to learn, haha! I love the sewing machine already because it says... "SIMPLE SINGER!" I like simple...TJ has me sewing a dress for Sophia already...I don't think that's simple, but we'll give it a whirl!

I love this girl!

I am truly blessed to be a mom and have such a loving family! The gifts are great, but the card Sophia got me was perfect. It says, "Thanks for taking good care of me, for loving me lots, and raising me right. Thanks for being the perfect mom for me." I do love her lots and although I know I'm not the perfect mom...I'm the perfect mom for her! I hope all the moms had a wonderful day!

More UW Baseball Fun

Yesterday was another UW baseball game at Safeco! Sophia got the best ride into the stadium and she thought she was pretty hot stuff.

Sophia ate yet another foot long hot dog and once her tummy was full she was ready to cheer. She loved cheering for her Uncle Caleb. She would yell "CCAALLLEEBBB" while pointing to the field. "I like to move it, move it" was her favorite song, but boogied to them all.
Okay, so when TJ goes to Safeco field he saves his money just to use it on food, but he was actually a little mild this time:
TJ's Menu:
-Water
- 2 foot long hot dogs
- 1 elephant ear

Sophia's Menu:
-1 foot long hot dog
- A couple french fries
- 1 chocolate covered strawberry
-1 licorice
- Mini M&M's
-Lots of water

I know! I know...Not the healthiest dinner ever, but Sophia knew it was her job to eat at Safeco so she could be like her daddy!

I was nice enough to share my "Shishka-Berries." That $5 is worth it and is one of my favorites at Safeco! mmm, mmm good!

So this was the 8th inning and the score was 6-0 Oregon. Caleb was up to bat and walked to start the rally. During that inning 4 runs were scored and it was looking good. They almost batted around...but the ball was popped up for the 3rd out (Man..I make a good announcer).

At third ready to go...First run in by Caleb. And the crowd goes wild!

Sophia got a game ball from the UW coach after the game...Dirty and grassed stained!

We were happy walking back to our car about 10:15pm UNTIL....

we saw our back window bashed in. We were trying to figure out what happened because NOTHING was stolen and it didn't even look like anything was touched. Come on..if you're going to break our window at least make it worthwhile and take something! The alarm could have spooked them or it could have been just a couple of morons "having fun". So we got the glass cleaned up and rode in STYLE to the ferry! WHITE TRASH mobile!

Money not wanted to be spent...the window will be fixed on Monday. So, if you see a Pilot with plastic taped to it, that's us!

Splish Splash

Last night Sophia and I were wandering around and getting things ready for the next day. I watched Sophia go into the bathroom, so I did a quick mommy check..."toilet seat down, check...hair dryer/straightener out of reach, check...shower curtain closed, check" and then went on my way. I was in Sophia's room when I heard "splish, splash!" At first I thought it was the sink water, but then I thought "oh no, she can't reach the sink!"...Sure enough, Sophia got the toilet lid up and was having fun splashing in the toilet...thank goodness for flushing! I greeted her with "oh, we don't play in the toilet, it's yucky," as she is looking at me with a big grin and clearly proud of herself. We immediately washed her hands. So lesson learned, "bathroom door closed, check!" (until she figures out how to open the door, hahaha).

Happy Easter!

Sophia started off so nice coloring her egg...but then...

Angry Sophia came out...All she wanted to do was play in the cups with colored dye. Could you imagine that flying everywhere...I took it away...what a mean mom! So, her first egg dying experience lasted about 4 minutes. Off to bed for a nap she went after this.
TA-DA!!! I think TJ had fun putting his egg in all the colors to see what new color he could make.

Pretty girl! Grandma Brown bought this dress for her awhile ago, so we decided to use it as her Easter dress. It has 1 layer of twill under it and she would not let me put the dress over her head. She was batting at it and I was laughing hysterically. So through the legs we went. She liked it once it was on and did a little dance to show off.

This was my attempt to take a family picture.

Then I got smart and asked my cousin to take it for us...much better

We must have been good because the Easter bunny left us some treats. Did you know that I am famous??? There is a kids book with my name. The title is "This Bunny Belongs to Emily Brown!" It's pretty cute.

The Uffens tradition is for all the kids to meet at the end of the hallway for a picture. Then we all RUUUNNNN down the hallway to see what the Easter Bunny brought us (we do the same at Christmas). I don't know if it's because I'm the youngest in my family, but I'm still all over the hallway tradition...RRRUUUNNN, I was knocking down all the kids...haha..so j/k! So here is the hallway picture for this year (the "big" kids got out of it), but we were missing Ethan and Nolan!

After we did Easter brunch with the Uffens family, we went over to TJ's Nana's house to visit with his family. We love Nana!!!

We ended our day back at my parent's house for dinner and then rolled all the way home...

GO HUSKIES!

WASHINGTON VS. ARIZONA STATE

TJ's brother Caleb plays baseball for UW, so a huge group of us went to cheer them on! They played at Safeco field and the roof was open because it was not raining (I know, it's amazing)! Kids also got a free UW '09 T-shirt. They gave one to Sophia, but it's really going to be mine. I'm afraid by the time she grows into an adult small, Caleb won't be playing there anymore, haha. The final score was 3-1 Arizona State, but we still had a blast!!!

Yes, there was a FOOTLONG hotdog in that bun, but Sophia ate it ALL! TJ is quite proud...like father, like daughter!
Christine, Tracy, Lauren and Tyler wanted to come too. It was the first time Lauren and Tyler had been to Safeco Field. Little did we know they'd get a free T-shirt out of it too!

This was before the game started, so Sophia was having fun walking back and forth between the seats. Her Great Grandpa is in the background.

Feeling like a big girl in her seat...munching on some of her bun.

Proud brother is his purple get-up and look Matthew is in the background!

Once the sun went down, it got pretty cold, so Sophia got nice and bundled up! She wasn't too sure about her mittens at first, but she kept them on:)

After the game they let the kids run the bases. Sophia did not want to miss out. Here she is...already rounded second and approaching third base.

SAFE...run scored in!

After the running of bases we went to talk to Caleb. He ended up not playing, but we are still proud of him, especially Sophia!

Tyler and Lauren wanted his autograph, so they had him to sign their poster.

And Tyler even had Caleb sign his glove. Better hold onto that signature. It might be worth something some day, hehe! As we were standing there, a little girl came up to Caleb and asked him if he was the one that went to CK High school. He said, "yeah" and then she responded with, "You are the best one!"...PRICELESS! Sophia wants to be like her Uncle Caleb...Great form!