The Next Shirley Temple

I taped this last week while Joe was away.

Strawberry Picking

In late June I took Audrey to Dugualla Bay Farms to pick strawberries. All of the bending and stooping was rough for me and my big belly but Audrey had so much fun it was well worth the aches and pains that I had the next day! Audrey and I used some of the berries to make homemade jam and she and Joe made smoothies. I thought I was doing such a good job teaching her how food made with ingredients fresh from the farm and made in your own kitchen tastes so much better than food that comes from a factory and is filled with preservatives. Then she informed me that she thinks Smuckers jam tastes better than our homemade jam. Oh well. I tried! By the way, she's wrong. Our homemade jam is way better than Smuckers! After we picked the strawberries we relaxed in the shade with ice cream cones. What a great way to spend a summer afternoon!

And another close encounter with a deer...

This deer was hanging out in our backyard yesterday for about 3 hours. We had fun watching her. Luckily for her we're not hunters :)

Joe's home!

Joe was gone for a couple weeks and he came home two days ago! He flew into Seattle in the evening so Audrey and I drove down to pick him up, then we stayed the night in Seattle and had lunch at the Space Needle the next day. The restaurant at the top spins (very slowly) so you get an amazing view of Seattle while you dine.

Audrey is holding up a piece of her Space Needle shaped pasta, appropriately called Space Noodles.
Hanging out at the top of the Space Needle.

Audrey, Joe, and 8 month pregnant April.

And this is why we're so fond of the Space Needle....
March 29, 2001

YES! I will marry you!

4th of July

Joe was busy serving our country on the 4th of July so April and Audrey went to the Anacortes parade by ourselves. It was unusually warm that weekend, which was nice. Joe and I will never forget the 4th of July that we spent in Whidbey about 6 years ago, watching the fireworks wearing coats, hats, mittens & scarves! Audrey & April couldn't quite stay awake late enough to watch fireworks this year. Sunset isn't until around 10pm - way past my bedtime!

Waiting for the parade to start.

Somebody throw me some candy!!!

We have a few deer that come into our yard pretty often. I caught this guy crossing the street heading over to our backyard. I took this picture from the front porch. I took this picture from the back balcony. He heard me and ran off.

Audrey had VBS the week after 4th of July. She loved it! This is the final night when the kids sang all the songs they learned for the parents. Unlike her mother, she loves being onstage!

June 2009

Joe drove cross country from Florida to Washington while Audrey and April took the much easier route - flying! Joe made a stop in San Diego to pick up the dog, who had been living with our friends, the Louden's, while we were in FL. April and Audrey flew to San Diego to meet up with Joe and to visit our San Diego friends one last time. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel where Audrey showed off her swimming skills at the pool.

These are my awesome friends who helped me get through the sleepless nights and lonely days of deployment. We all supported each other and we survived together! They took me out for a farewell dinner at Extraordinary Desserts. Yes, we ate dinner at a place called Extraordinary Desserts. My friends know me well. L to R: Cimbria, Gwen, me, Kristen & Kristi.

We have finally made it to our home in Anacortes, Washington! This is Audrey standing on the deck. I think she likes it!

Audrey thinks this is the perfect spot for her to set up a lemonade stand.

Working on her golf swing in the backyard.
April & Audrey enjoying a beautiful evening in Anacortes. Mt. Baker is in the background.

May 2009

Joe took Audrey to the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine while April spent the day relaxing with her friends at the beach.

April's belly is getting bigger every day! This is me standing in front of the cottage when I was 23 weeks pregnant.

Grandmama Carolyn and Papa Wayne took April & Audrey to St. Augustine to ride the carousel. I think Audrey and Carolyn rode the carousel about 10 times that day and Audrey spent hours at the playground!

Windy day in St. Augustine! After a great day together we met Joe and his dad for a nice dinner at the Conch House. They had spent the day golfing, of course!

Jacksonville got way too much rain in May. This is our yard at the cottage in Jacksonville. We suddenly have waterfront property! And LOTS of frogs! Loud ones!

At the end of May it's time to make the move to Washington state. We spent our last night at Amelia Island Plantation enjoying the sun, pool & beach, 3 things they don't have much of in Washington.

April 2009

We spent the months of April and May in Jacksonville, FL. We had the chance to visit lots of family and friends while we were there.

We made a trip down to West Palm Beach to visit Joe's dad and grandma. Audrey and Grandma Levy are two peas in a pod!

We got our second look at Baby Levy. He's so cute already!

We spent Easter at our cottage on base at NAS Jacksonville. After church we went to brunch, then April's mom hid Easter eggs in the front yard for Audrey.

Audrey went on her first canoe ride at her friend, Adam's, birthday party. She had so much fun hanging out with all of her old playgroup friends that we left behind 2 years ago when we moved to Coronado. They played like they had just seen each other yesterday!

This is Audrey with her buddy, Alex. Alex was Audrey's first friend. She used to call him Akeex. They've been having playdates since they were little babies!

Here are Audrey & Alex playing together when they were 8 months old. Audrey's the chunky one :)
Alex, Audrey, and Alex's brother, Jake.

March 2009

March meant saying lots of sad goodbyes. We left Coronado, CA and moved to Jacksonville, FL so Joe could do 2 months of training before the big move to Washington state.

One last trip to Sea World in San Diego before we have to move away.
This is Carrine, the amazing hairdresser who saved Audrey's hair during the Great Scissor Mishap of 2008 and kept us looking pretty during our 2 years in Coronado.

Audrey's ballet and tap teacher, the very patient Mrs. Kristen.

Our first stop on the cross country drive was Tucson, AZ. Audrey had a chance to practice using her "putt" at the golf course.

Another stop on the drive was San Antonio, TX. Here's Audrey sporting her new cowgirl hat at the Alamo.

Joe's cousin lives in Austin so he drove to San Antonio to hang out with us while we were there. As you can tell Audrey loves her "Uncle" Jonny!

February 2009

This has been quite an eventful year for us so far! I haven't blogged since January so I'll pick up in February.

We got our first glimpse at Baby Levy #2....Audrey went bowling for the first time at her friends' (twin girls) birthday party.
She loves taking pictures. I think this one is pretty good for a 4 year old.

Little Miss Sassy. That's her best friend, Kaylee, behind her. Kaylee moved to Washington D.C. the same week we moved away from Coronado.

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