Seattle

Dave won the trip of a lifetime and we were all able to go to Seattle and watch the broncos play the seahawks in an amazing long weekend!

We flew in early friday morning and toured the Museum of flight, Dave and Alex were in heaven :)

We also did a duck boat tour, complete with quackers :)  It was really entertaining and REALLY fun to drive right into a lake!

Here is the infamous gum wall, it's more like a whole gum alleyway.  We put our own gum on the wall too, and tried to touch nothing else :)

The famous pikes place market.  Right behind us is the stall where they throw fish, but we never bought anything, so we never caught anything :)

Bainbridge Ferry, this was such a fun ride!  WE didn't even stop off at Bainbridge island, we just rode the ferry right back.  In this little harbor there was a seal and her pup playing in the water, it was dreamlike.

We ate at Ivar's fish bar.  IT's right on the pier and you are encouraged to feed your french fries to the seagulls.  It was hilarious!  They weren't really annoying either (probably because they are fed pounds of french fries every day!)  When you threw fries over the fence the seagulls would cheer!

Of course we did the space needle :)  You couldn't have planned for more perfect weather here in this supposedly rainy city.  It was gorgeous all four days, almost hot!

Sunday morning, before the broncos game, we went to Alki beach.  There was low tide and we found all sorts of fun animals.  Hopefully we didn't kill too many with our poking and prodding :)

Here's the game!  The Broncos lost, but it was in overtime and really exciting.  Dave only won 2 seats (that were 6 rows up!), so we had to buy a couple nosebleed seats at the top.  After halftime the girls got the good seats and the boys sat up high.  It was an intense game with a crazy crowd and I was nervous most of the time… but it was an experience we will always remember.

On Monday we were able to go to Mt. Rainier National Park.  It was mossy and wet and beautiful, and there was even a old forest with HUGE trees.

We had so much fun in Seattle and would love to go back and stay even longer.  We still can't believe that we were so lucky as to WIN a trip this amazing.  We will be talking about it for a long time :)

Yellowstone

I finally got to visit Yellowstone, and it was worth the wait!  Not only is it totally unique, but there is wildlife EVERYWHERE!

We heard it was cold there, but of course we forgot jackets.  So we got these awesome Grand Teton jackets  & hoodies… we looked super official :)  

Here's the famous geyser, it was awesome.

I didn't even get out of the car for this picture!  Bison were everywhere.

This picture does not do this mud pot justice.  It was the coolest thing to watch clumps of mud being thrown around by the steam underneath.  We could've watched this for hours, seriously.  It also kind of smelled like bacon and the noises kept Alex entertained (4th grade humor).

I didn't get out of my car for this either, these animals are so comfortable with being the center of attention that they don't even give us a look.  He looks like he's growling, but he's actually just opening his mouth to eat a flower.  

After Yellowstone we went to Salt Lake to see Steve & Kass.  Daniel & Michelle came up to visit all the way from Texas so we had a little reunion.  It was awesome to get the cousins all together and see everyone again.  Somehow we managed a picture with over 60% of us not looking at the camera or closing our eyes.  That's terrible!  Oh well, we had a blast anyway.  We'll just have to get together again to take another one.

I also met up with a college roommate, and it was so fun to see her.  We took a picture but I can't get it off instagram (I just started and can't figure it out yet).  It was a great trip

End of school & summer

Lydia was the "little red hen" in her class play.  Here she is with the two ducks, Julianna & Brooklyn

Alex with great form on field day

Lydia's birthday party. She went through lots of theme ideas, like horses, circles, games, circus, carnival, and ended up going with the theme of "pink" :)

Lydia's soccer team this season, her coach was pretty much the best coach for little girls ever

We went camping on my parents land.  Dave and my dad chopped down a tree to make a bench and Alex was right there helping the whole time

We went to Hammond's candy factory for a tour.  It was really fun, and they had an AWESOME candy store after the tour :)

Rockies game with their cousin Elijah.  Our seats were right at the mile high mark (real nose bleed seats) but we got there early and were able to get close to the players on the field.  It was the perfect day for it.

May & April

Easter… we still love the HUGE egg hunt we have with the Rozeski family each year.  My mom fills about 300 eggs and my dad and brother hide them (we just freeload :)

My sister had her baby!  Her name is Naomi Mata'aiga Arp, and she has beautiful curly dark hair and is very very sweet.

Crazy hair day at school, well at the bus stop

Alex likes to find snakes during Lydia's soccer games, he found SIX this time

Sock hop day at school.  I usually try to make a poodle skirt but we saw this skirt for Lydia and couldn't resist

Finally, Lydia's birthday is today!  She is 7 years old and she got a new bike.  This morning she couldn't resist riding it around a little bit before school.

Lydia is a wonderful girl.  She loves to help me and anyone else that might need some work done.  She is kind to everyone and tries to be sympathetic.  She still will fall asleep in seconds, just like when she was a baby.  I love watching her grow and I love being her mom, it's so easy!

Nawlins

We went to New Orleans, Mississippi, and Alabama for spring break and it was SO FUN!  We are now sunburnt, tired, sick, and fat… all signs of a good vacation :)

We tried some crawfish, the kids thought it was a little spicy but they were good sports about tearing off the heads!

We went to the WWII museum and the kids got to dress up like propaganda posters

Yummy Beignets at Cafe Du Monde, with jazz music in the background

Lydia surrounded by baby gators at the zoo

Holding a "pocket" gator during our swamp boat tour

In Mississippi it was cold but the kids HAD to play at the beach… notice me in the background all covered.  My kids are nuts!  We also went to the NASA center where they test rocket engines, Lydia looks awesome as a mini astronaut.

Tour of the USS Alabama, it poured the whole day but the boat was really cool.  If you look closely, Alex's face has rain drops running down

Our last day was super sunny at Orange Beach in Alabama.  We played in the sand and the waves the entire day.  This sunny day made all the rainy days worth it!

Photo dump

YMCA of the Rockies, Winter Park - best weekend vacation!

Archery & rollerskating

Ice skating & rock climbing

Sledding, snowmobiling, swimming, bingo, we even tried curling!  So fun.

Mom & Dad took the kids to the Old Spaghetti Factory in Denver

Pumped up for the Broncos super bowl (so sad they lost…)

We got carried away on our valentine's boxes this year… Vader's heart says "come to the heart side"

We went to a cutthroats (ice hockey) and nuggets game (basketball)