"This is CAMPING!!!"

That was my favorite memory of our camping trip last weekend...Max was so excited about everything when we were talking about it beforehand. It was a 3-hour car ride out to the coast and so some of the excitement had waned by the time we got there and he just wanted to get out of the car. We finally arrived and while Tyler and I were setting things up Max was running around like a mad man. He kept squealing and telling us what he saw. It was very cute. Then he runs over to me, throws both hands up in the air and says (in a most excited, emphatic voice), "Mom, THIS IS CAMPING!" Throughout the weekend he would come up to me and say (in a very sweet voice with a bit of a laugh to it), "Mom, love fire" and "Mom, love tent" and "Mom, love ocean". As you've gathered, camping was a hit for the little dude.We went to the COOLEST place! Kalaloch Campground. It was so, so beautiful (that's right, folks, all of the above pictures were from our trip, taken on our little digital camera). The campground was right off of the beach. Our site didn't overlook the ocean, but was just across the road from the ones that did. We heard the ocean all night. Man, Heavenly Father has created such a beautiful world! It was incredible. The trees and greenery were all spectacular. We wished it had been about 5-10 degrees warmer, but we still had great weather. The kids did well sleeping in a tent, Ty is well on his way to becoming a pro at the dutch oven (he made the best cornbread I've ever eaten!) and we are definitely going to be a camping family. I think some of our fellow campers thought we were a little nuts for bringing such tiny people (we got several "You're so brave!" comments)...but I think this is the EASIEST time to take our kids camping! Next summer may be a little crazier since Kelly will just be walking. Anyway, here are a "few" :) pictures of our super successful camping trip:

I got a kick out of this sign...look closely and you can see the bikini-clad lady and her family fleeing the ferocious beach logs in fear of their lives. As you can see, we weren't nearly as afraid as that poor family. :)

We went for a "hike" along the beach on Friday. This older gentleman and his dog approached us to let us know that there was a seal on the beach! He thought that we might want to show our little guy. It was just hangin' there, pretty far from the water. So cool to get that close!




The highlight for Max was digging in the sand with his shovel and pail from the dollar store. Gotta love these low-maintenance kids!

Dad & Son

Mom & Daughter

Warming up in the car...mom's decision. I don't want to feel super cold if I don't have to!

Sunset....

I called this the "animal tree". Doesn't it look like some great creature from a Dr. Seuss book?

Tyler serenaded us around the fire and lulled Max right to sleep...

Kiddos around the campfire

Ty has some mad pancake-flipping skills I never knew about until this trip!

HUGE, gnarly cedar tree








On the way home we stopped at the HOH Rainforest. It was so, so incredible! It looks like a place that has been preserved from the beginning of time. We took a short hike through it and want to go back and do some more exploring there.

"I'm glad that I live in this BEAUTIFUL world Heavenly Father created for me!"

TWO much fun!

We were so blessed these past two weeks to have two sets of visitors! In the (nearly) 2 1/2 years that we've lived here we've hardly had anybody make the trek to the Pacific Northwest. And it IS a trek. But so worth it - it's gorgeous here! So we have been super excited these past few months anticipating our visitors.

First was Jeff, Angie, Cal & Monica Foster. Jeff did his last rotation of med school with a family practice doctor in our stake. We LOVED having you guys here! Angie is the coolest person and I absolutely loved being able to hang out with her and our kids all day. I feel so lucky to have such a fabulous sister-in-law! We got to know one another better and I got some great tips on how to be a better mom by watching her. She is such a great mom! They got here on Mother's Day and were here for 12 days. I think all visitors should have to stay with us that long. It was perfect. We got to do some really fun things, but we also had time to hang out at home and go for walks nearby and hit some parks. Hopefully it won't be their last visit to our corner of the country!

Classic Waterfront Park shots...

what can I say, it's our favorite place!

A little birthday pizza party with cake, ice cream, family and friends!

Hours of fun with
homemade playdough:
1/2 cup salt
1 cup flour
1 tbsp cream of tartar
1 tbsp oil
1 cup water
food coloring
Combine ingredients in saucepan. Heat gently, stirring all the time. Dough will start to form a ball. Take off of heat and allow to cool. Stores well in a large ziploc bag or tupperware.
(recipe courtesy of Elizabeth Foster)

Point Defiance Zoo!

The doctor Jeff did this rotation with was super laid back and let Jeff make his own hours, which ended up being very few. :) It was perfect because Jeff got to hang out with us a lot and was able to do the zoo.

We hopped a ferry over to Seattle and went to the Experience Music Project museum.
It was a fun-filled, long day!

Angie and I ran a 5-mile race for Poulsbo's Viking Fest. That's the longest I've ever run in one shot. Our time was 47:52, I think. Not bad for a couple of moms who didn't do too much to prepare! My friends Marcela, Tristalene and Jennifer also ran...

The day before Jeff and Angie left, my little sister Adrianne and her family - Trent, Jack and Lily - flew in. Tickets to come see me were her birthday present (in March) and she flew in on my birthday! It was a very fun night with everyone in our home. Jack and Cal are just 3 days apart with Max 7 months younger and Lily and Monica are 3 months apart with Kelly 4 months younger than Monica. Pretty cool how that's worked out on both sides. Anyway, I didn't take any pictures of my birthday festivities, but my husband (of course) treated me right and surprised me with a kid-free, super nice evening of dinner (that he made) and dancing the night before my b-day. He also got me a little i-pod to run with during my preparation for the half-marathon in October. Oh, plus I got a load of moolah for Mother's Day/birthday to go shopping with. It's mostly gone already. :)

You guessed it - Waterfront Park again!

Some random shots of some cute kids. They LOVED each other. It was fun to listen and watch Jack and Max play together. They had a lot of fun with a lot of cute little boy giggling. Kelly and Lily loved to smile at each other and we loved watching it. Sure wish we lived closer to cousins... *sigh*

We took a tour of Qwest Field (where the Seahawks play). Trent is a BIG seahawks fan so it's really cool that we live in Seahawk territory. We thought it might not be all that exciting of a tour, but boy were we wrong! It was awesome. Man, those people who have football obsessions AND a lot of money sure get treated right when they attend games. We're hoping that Adri and Trent are going to come back this fall so that we can all go to a game together, although we'll just be hangin' in the stands with the rest of the chumps who aren't loaded. :)

Kitsap Memorial Park on the Hood Canal. It was a beautiful evening - perfect weather and perfect company.I just want to say a few words about Adrianne. I love her so, so much. Isn't she beautiful? I love this picture of her and her little lady. Adri is such a pure person. She is so kind-hearted, she is a fabulous momma, her laugh is contagious and she laughs often. You can't help but feel happier when Adri is around. She is one of my very best friends. I love that she was finally able to come and visit me! It was a perfect visit. Well, almost perfect...I wish it could have lasted a little longer.**Now spread the word, Fosters and Tippetts...hopefully others will take the trip if they know what great hosts we are! :) **

Two Old!

On Friday, May 9th, my baby boy turned two. Aaagh! And if you ask him how old he is, he'll respond, "Two old!" Every once in a while he'll throw the "years" in there, but I quite prefer it without.

It was a grand day! We started the day off with blue pancakes and red milk. Why, you ask? Because colored pancakes and milk are much more exciting than a boring pancake breakfast that he could have any day of the year. And this wasn't just another day...it was his birthday! So to celebrate we spiced up the colors a bit. He even got to put the blue food coloring into the pancake batter. Thrilling!



Then we opened three presents - two shirts that he got to choose between for the day and a new pair of shoes. We've been stuffing his poor feet into shoes that were getting WAY too small. I just kept thinking that he should last until his birthday because he would be excited to get shoes for his birthday. And he didn't disappoint. When I put him down for his nap that afternoon, he really wanted to sleep in them and since it was his special day, I obliged. All throughout the morning I sang him all of the Happy Birthday songs I knew.Mid-morning we headed to our favorite park to meet Reyes and Marcela for some good slide/teeter-totter/throw rocks in the water time.
Then we went to buy some new PJ's at Old Navy. Max is no longer a fan of footie pajamas and he only has 4 pair without so I thought we should get some more. That evening was a ward musical talent show (more on that later) and afterward we came home and opened his presents. I think he felt pretty loved and special. And rightfully so since he's a very lovable and special kid!
I didn't plan on being awake at the exact time of his birth (12:09 a.m.), but we had watched LOST and then I still had to decorate the living room. I was taking off my makeup when I looked at the clock and it read 12:08. So I walked into my little man's bedroom, stared at him for a bit and then kissed him on his head. I was overcome by the memory and emotion of his birth and how it completely changed my life; every little detail came flooding into my mind. Max was so alert when he was born. They put him on my chest and I started to talk to him as they were cleaning and doing what doctors and nurses do to a mom and baby right after a birth. As soon as I started speaking, he looked up right into my face and was completely still. Not a sound, not a movement. Just a mom and her new baby meeting for the first time in mortality. I recalled at that moment something that had been said in a blessing when I was pregnant with Max - something to the effect of us being able to continue a relationship here that we began as spirits before we came to earth. And at that moment, I knew it was true. It seemed like so much was communicated between us in that moment - like nobody else was around and our spirits were connecting. They finally took Max to weigh and measure him. The doctor asked Ty if he could pinch him or something because he wanted to hear him cry. I turned to the nurse and said, "I want to do this again!" One of the most incredible moments of my life. I will never forget it. I was forever changed. The memory came to a close and I walked out of Max's room, shut the door and wept. I absolutely love being his mom!