Was he really big enough?

This was the first day of school way back in 2005. Stephen's first day of Kindergarten. Annie could not be left out of the picture. She was pretty sad that she couldn't go to school too. They both look so little! I'm so glad I took this picture!

At Home

This is what's going on at our house today...

Oh, yes, today is a school day. We made it to three whole days of school before anyone got sick! WooHoo!!! (Ellen and Stephen made it to four!) The three biggest kids have sore throats, coughs, and fevers. Anne is already on the upswing though, so the end shouldn't be too far away.

First Day of School 2009

Our first day of school finally arrived yesterday. It seems like everyone else started before us. It is so interesting to see how each child handles the first day.

Stephen seemed excited. I think he was. Without telling us, he set his alarm for 5:30 that morning. He was up early, and so was Noah. So I was up too. (I'd planned to get up at 5:45 so that I could have some quiet time before everyone else got up. Ha ha.) And since Noah is not a very quiet person, everyone else was up before 6. But since we were up so early we were ready to go with plenty of time to spare. That was very nice! I don't know if it was getting up early, or nerves, or what, but this is the best picture I could get of Stephen. He didn't even want a ride to school. He was set on biking and finding his classroom by himself. After all, he is a 4th grader now.

Anne spent quite a bit of time in the bathroom. She must have brushed her hair four separate times and then decided that she wanted it braided. She was very excited to get to school and see her friends and meet her new teacher. She was a little nervous about finding the right classroom, but once she knew which door to go into, she had no problems. She is very excited to be a 2nd grader.

Ellen is in the afternoon Kindergarten class. She has the same teacher that Stephen and Anne both had in Kindergarten so she is familiar and comfortable with her. Ellen just wanted to get there. After Anne and Stephen were gone to school and the rest of us were at home, she asked over and over, "How long till I go?" It was so hard to wait!

Whidbey Island

James and I enjoyed a very nice and relaxing few days on Whidbey Island (about 30 miles north of Seattle) last week. Mom very generously stayed with the kids, and I think they all had a good time.

Double Bluff Beach (sorry it's kind of a dark picture)

Salmon fishing. We got up at 3:45 one day so that we could be to the boat dock by 5:30. That included a ride on a ferry to get there. This picture was taken at 6:56. And yes, it was cold and windy. We each caught four Pink Salmon all between 18 and 21 inches long. James had a great time. The weather was even just the way he wanted it to be. He said that it would have been a little boring if the water was calm, but the wind gave some nice waves to ride around on. I was really nervous to go, but I did it! And I enjoyed it too! After fishing we took a nice long nap.

This harbor seal met us at the dock when we came back from fishing. Our boat captain, Dave, said she is there every day waiting for the fish heads and other parts left over as he cleans the fish.

Langely Beach. All of the beaches are rocky and full of drift wood.

A red jellyfish. This one was about 18 inches across.

Two deer joined us on the beach. It was kind of funny!

The view from some old gun batteries at Fort Ebey State Park.

One of the entrances to the bunker at Fort Ebey. You can't see it very well, but above the door way it says, "USED 1942"

Admiralty Head Lighthouse. The lighthouse is part of Fort Casey State Park, but was built in 1861, long before the fort was ever built. We even climbed up the narrow wrought iron circular stairs to look out the lighthouse tower.

James checking out one of the guns at Fort Casey. They called them disappearing guns because they could be lowered out of sight.

Part of the fort, including a look-out tower on the left. It was a huge place!

The view from the look-out tower.

We had such a good time just walking around and exploring. Fort Ebey was built during WWII and Fort Casey was actually built around 1900, I believe, and used briefly during both world wars. Neither were ever needed to defend Puget Sound, but it is still really neat to visit there.

Thanks for looking at my vacation pictures! They might not be very exciting, but they help me remember things I don't want to forget.

To Char

Hi Char,

I'm so glad you found our blog! How can I get in touch with you? Our email address is jamesaimee@kinfolkonline.net. Please email me or leave another comment with your email address and I'll email you.

It's great to hear from you!
Aimee

Us

Happy 10th Anniversary Sweetie!

This is actually a card James made for me when we were first married. Isn't he clever?


Before James' mission.

Our engagement picture.

I have lots of other pictures of the two of us, including wedding photos, but they are mostly all non-digital and our scanner isn't working so well right now. Maybe next year I'll post some of them.

The School Playground

Every summer the kids ask and ask to go play at the playground at their school. The big kids want to go because they like having the playground to themselves rather than crowded like it is at recess. And the little kids like it because it's the school playground and anything having to do with the school is just cool! So yesterday we finally went. It was only about 65 degrees and pretty cloudy so you'll see jackets in some of the pictures.

Noah wasn't quite sure what to think of this bubble window. He liked it, but he wouldn't lean out into it. He started to a couple of times, but then always pulled back. I think he was afraid that it wasn't really there.

During this last school year Annie mastered the art of "skipping on the rings." She actually calls them monkey bars, but I call them rings. She is really good and fast though!

Ellen's New Do

Ellen has been asking me for a couple of months now to cut her hair. So yesterday I finally did it. I cut it right where she asked me to and I think it looks really cute!

Sleeping Brothers

James and I went out on a date last night and when we got home and checked on all the kiddos, this is what we found.

This morning Stephen said that Noah was sad at bed time, so he brought Noah to his bed and all was well.

Humphries/Haeberle Camp Out

We had such a wonderful time at our family camp out in Kilgore.

Squeezes from Grandpa

Oh, I love my family!

The Three Year Olds

Lalain, Hanna, Brad, Luke, Joseph, Naomi

The five of us.

I just love this picture.

My handsome friend, Joseph.

My Grandmothers

My Grandfathers

Dinner

Playing at Aldous Lake

Stephen and Miles

Playing with the potato gun.