The Man of the House....

Alright, I have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to 'brag' on my incredible hubb, Jas, and today, being Father's Day, seems fitting enough.
WARNING: It may get a little syrupy sweet.

P.S. The above picture is one of my most favorites of Jas...this was taken during one of our Progressive Dinners...to be 'posted' about soon. Bri captured Jas with his most genuine smile...

First and foremost, Jas, is a great example of what a strong Christian man should be. His relationship with Christ is of most importance to him. And while some men view relying on God for their strength and to be their guide as a weakness, Jas knows that it ONLY makes him stronger. He is soley responsible for bringing my relationship with Christ closer (of which I don't thank him enough for).

Which brings me to the next great thing about Jas...

...He is faithfully and un-endingly (I like to make up my own words) devoted to me and our marriage.

On August 23, 2003, when Jas and I exchanged vows, I KNEW without ANY hesitation that he and I would be married for our forevers. Jas takes his vow to me to be my hubb very seriously, and while there are difficult days (sometimes seasons "i.e. hunting") (anyone who says there isn't hard times...is lying), giving up IS NOT AN OPTION for us and he is commited to me wholeheartedly...and he is handsome to boot.

This is us on a 'no kids' camping trip...with great friends and riding quads.

Next, and the thing that makes me smile the most is Jas' dedication to be the best dad he can to our little lovelies. From the day that A was born and continuing to this moment, Jas is constantly striving to be supportive and loving to his girls.

He told me once that it is his job to make sure and set the standard high for our girls in their expectations from their future boyfriends/husbands. He takes the girls for a date each Saturday and Sunday morning for donuts...and is sure to call and talk to both of them during his days at work.

I love watching them exchange 'I love you's' multiple times throughout the day. And when given the choice of who A wants to snuggle with at night before bed, between Jas and I, 9 times out of 10, she picks him. No hurt feelings here. I love their relationship.

Jas is also great at including his girls in his hobbies (he secretly prays that they will both want to hunt with him as they get older).

Look! They even dress alike!
And when Had needed to be transferred to Children's Hospital after she was born, and I had yet to be released from TG from having her, Jas spent her first two nights there with her, unitl I could get there.

Jas is a very genuine, patient and loving man...whether it's in his relationship with his God, his wife, his kids or ANYONE ELSE...and I am forever grateful that he chose me to spend the rest of his life with.

I love you, FOUR!

Our Yearly Appointment with Angie...

After not having much luck with 'studio' photography sessions in capturing each yearly milestone of our girls, I came across the incredibly talented Angie Penrose. She is a natural light photographer and a mother of 3 boys...so she knows just how fast you have to be to capture the adorable moments of kiddos and does a great job of getting amazing candid shots of our busy little girls. And since she is so relaxed during our sessions, in turn, so are the girls and she is able to capture them and their true personalities.

Now since she is SO GREAT at what she does, we have to book our appointments about a month in advance. No big deal...I am a planner after all. However, the closer we were getting to our session, the more nervous I was becoming due to the ugly trend in weather we were having.

But two weeks ago, we were Blessed with a break in the 'lovely' weather that the Northwest has been having and we headed up to Angie's secret spot to get some pics of our lovelies. Here are a few of my most favorites.

A for Adorable!

She certainly is....

but I am her mom, afterall,

so I guess there is a certain level of partialness (is that a word?) that plays into my vote...

H is either for Happy or Hysterical...

...of which Had is both.

I do love this one.

Last, but not least, here is my favorite family picture that Angie captured. I am obsessed with the 'wash' that she used on this one.

We look so retro 70's

...and for those of you who are familiar with the sensational country music group,

Lady Antebellum, I think Jas looks like one of them....

only much more attractive and manly!

If you want to see the rest of our pics, they are at Angie's website...

www.thetealwall.com/clients/tinell

And if I were you, I would pick up the phone and book your appointment soon.

Two-Two's

Last Friday, Jas' brother's little man, W, turned 2!! So we decided that it would be the perfect opportunity to take our little family on a road trip to visit family. Prior to leaving, Had decided that her 'little piggies' needed some polish...

I love that she was blowing on them to get them to dry faster.

Oh forgot to mention...it's about a 6 hour drive. Well, to be fair, it's probably about 5 1/2 hours...but add two little girls to this adventure and you can tack on at least another hour. And as much as I was dreading the drive...our girls did exceptionally well. And Jas and I did our best to keep them smiling at almost any cost. Cue the pit stop to McDonald's. Not something we do regularly...but it's what A requested. Actually, her first request when asked what she would like to have for dinner was, 'Hmmmm, How about a 5-dollar foot long?' (Did I mention that I am canceling cable for the summer at the end of the week?) Obviously, this kid has seen too many commercials. Anyhow, next request was Mickey-D's. And they thought it was great to eat dinner while we were driving

(another thing that we do not do regularly).

I love taking pictures of my hubb, who usually does his best to escape the camera and hangs out in the background...but with his hands on the wheel...there was NO ESCAPE!!



I took a lot more than this, but decided in all fairness that I would choose my favorite. Isn't he handsome?

Had doing her best to look cherubic...but those who know this little stinker know it's just a matter of time before she's performing again.

Here is a picture of the gorgeous green hills that we drove through. Oh how I love the Pacific Northwest...in just a few short hours, you can go from the ocean to the dessert and passing through beautiful mountains. God does good work.

We arrived Friday night around 10pm and after stretching a bit and bouncing off the walls for bit...the girls crashed.

Saturday Morning, A, Big W and I decided that it was perfect weather for some garage saling. Not knowing the area well made it a little challenging, but we managed. I taught them the importance of looking for signs at intersections and on telephone poles.

We had a great time...and I am already looking forward to the next 'outing' that we can go on. ...the next generation of 'junkers' up and coming.

By Saturday afternoon, Had was ready to soak up some Vitamin D...Look at that little figure. Proud daddy says that she's built like an 'S.'

Had...forever the little 'poser,' was showing me where she fell when she slipped on the slip-n-slide.

How cute! Proud Grandpa Oob with his littlest grandkiddo, W.

W's momma, Auntie B, made this adorable ice cream castle for her little man. It was so fun. And if you look really close at the base of the castle, you'll see what appear to be seemingly innocent blue and white M&M's...OH NO!! Those little gems are my new weakness...bite-size York peppermint pieces. I guess I'll keep my gym membership.

Here are Had and W clowning around and seeing who can wear the most of their dessert. That's Jas' brother, Uncle B and their dad, Oobie Doobie, doing their best to steer clear of these two

Now don't these pictures have the potential for being great ads for a cupcake campaign.


Here is Had doing her best to get to the candy stashed inside...unfortunately, she has some work to do on her swing.

Saturday night, post slip-n-slide, BBQ, cupcakes and pinata, but pre-snuggle the two-'two's' needed a bath...and it is my firm belief that the sign of a good day is evident in the ring of dirt left in the tub after the water drains...the dirtier the tub, the harder they played...and by the looks of this...THEY PLAYED HARD...(and they did).

How cute are these two? This was Sunday morning as we were loading up and getting ready to head to the park to let the girls burn some energy before throwing them back into the car and hitting the road for another 6 hours.

We had a great visit with family and met some new friends.

...already looking forward to our next visit and hoping it's soon.

WWHHHEEEEE!!!!

If you live in Washington...you very well know that our spring has felt more like winter and you are EAGERLY waiting for summer to get here...(as of my count it's only 14 more days away).

Last Thursday, we were gifted a few hours of blue skies and white fluffy clouds. Perfect afternoon for the girls and I to head to a local park and enjoy some play time (right after a quick stop at Starbucks). Lucky for us, we were met by our dear friend Margee, her son, Preston and her new incredible camera. If you know Margee, you know that she is a very talented woman in ALL ASPECTS! Photography is no exception.

Here are a few of my favorites that she took of my girls on Thursday.

The thing that I love most about these three pictures is that they are all the same picture...just cropped in a little more each frame.

As I look back at these pictures, I am reminded of carefree and joyful days of childhood; specifically, the HOURS AND HOURS of time that I spent on the swingset in my parents backyard....swinging as high as we could and doing our best to 'raise the legs' of the swingset off the ground.

Oh, how I long for those days again, and while I know I can't go back and relive those days again....I can do my best to help provide and nurture 'these days' for my girls so that they may look back as fondly as I do of mine.