Ready, Set, Go!

Chad and I are leaving tomorrow for a two week long tropical vacation and I've been busily getting everything ready to go for the last week. We'll be in Kihei, on the island of Maui, soaking up the sun and relaxing to the music of the waves starting tomorrow:)

While I've been cleaning this, and packing that, Gav has been keeping himself busy as well.

He opened his new stickers and proceeded to decorate his body to the point that his legs couldn't/wouldn't bend:) Ha!

The kids have been playing rather well together lately (what a blessing!) and they recently opened up their own fast food restaraunt in the kitchen. Here is their sign...Can you figure it out? If so, feel free to drive up and place your order:)

Chad and I are going to be unplugged the next two weeks, so no new posts for a bit. Don't you worry though, I'll come home and fill the internet with all the pictures from our trip:) Aloha!

Bumpers, buzzers, and bowling

Last week, while Kyla had the day off of school, My mom drove over and took us bowling. This was a first for the kiddos and a first for me since before Gavin was born. Wow, things sure have changed in the bowling world! We got our smelly shoes on, found the lightest balls possible and tromped on down to our lane.

The kids did great! Gavin's average roll was a smoking 3 miles/hour (I have proof) while Kyla's was about 8 miles/hour. When Gav rolled, he walked back to us, ate a french fry, fiddled with his shoes and then his ball finally hit the pins:) I had the fastest throw, at 19 miles/hour, too bad I wasn't on the mark in the aim department:) Kyla won the award for "Highest Jumping While Bowling" when her foul buzzer went off, quite entertaining for the rest of us:)

I will admit that my mom won the game with a whopping 122. It turns out that I'm a much better wii bowler than a real life bowler, (even with the bumpers) who would have guessed it?

To The Beach We Go!

I received an email from my SNL in Seattle saying that they were coming down for a field trip and they were thinking of squishing a trip to the beach in and wondered if we were interested. My first thought was, February at the beach??? The pull of family bonding was stronger than my weather worries so I hesitantly said yes. I'm so glad we did!!

The weather was beautiful, in the 60's with just a bit of wind. All eight cousins ran crazily around, dug to China, dared to immerse their little bodies in the cold Pacific Ocean, and generally had a grand time. We took the Grandmas with us (Chad's mom and his Aunt) making us an overwhelming group of 13:)

This is my snl, Tamarah, with her four children;
Kesia, Caleb, Annika, and Josiah. Oh how I love them all!

After a couple of memorable hours on the beach, we invaded the Lincoln City Mo's and had dinner while we watched the sunset from our cozy, warm seats.


We piled back into the cars/vans and headed east. The grandmas even had all the kiddos in their cars so that us moms could ride together in peace:) Oh what a trip!

Bike Riding Baby!

Okay, so he's not really a baby anymore - but he's still my baby:) We've been taking daily bike rides, not letting the crazy Oregon rain hinder us. We've ventured out in the rain, the fog, and the most beautiful sunshine. After a week of riding, I now have to run to keep up with him as he pedals around the neighborhood.

If it's a sunny day, we take another ride after Kyla is done with her homework. They are both really enjoying being outside and doing fabulously on their bikes. Wow, our kiddos are growing up!

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time, in a land far, far way there was a fierce and gallant knight named Sir Gavin.

There also lived a beautiful and kind princess by the name of Kyla.

One day, the fair maiden was taken captive by a dangerous and wicked dragon. While being whisked away by said dragon, she called out to the gallant knight, "Save me, Please Save me!" Now Sir Gavin was weary, oh so weary, of slaying dragons for lovely and kind princesses. But being a knight, he had made an oath to protect the fair maidens of his land, so off he went in pursuit of the wicked dragon. He will fight to save the princess, whilst sitting down to be sure,

but fight he will.

Kyla, the fair maiden, was in awe of Sir Gavin's knightly skills. His sword work was divine, his bravery unmatched, and his blue eyes captivating!

The long, bloody battle came to an end with Sir Gavin sitting triumphantly beside the slain dragon.

In her excitement, the fair maiden bestowed a kiss on the weary knight as a token of her appreciation.

After a brief and much needed resting period, the gallant Sir Gavin gave his heart to Princess Kyla.

And they lived happily ever after!

The End

Happy Valentine's Day from the
Royal Riddle Family!

Valentine's Day Outfits

With Valentine's day coming up, I wanted to do something a bit special for the kids. Why not make them outfits??! I had some fabric in my stash that would work for a tiered skirt for Kyla with the addition of some purchased valentine's fabric. Then off Gav and I went to goodwill to see if we could find anything that would work for shirts.

I found this boys shirt, size 6, that matched the colors in Kyla's skirt. It was way to big but I threw it in the cart anyway with the idea of cutting it down to fit Gav.

Then I found this top for Kyla. A little too fancy/fluffy for what I wanted but a good start.


I ripped off the collar of Gav's shirt and placed a fitting button down shirt on top of the larger shirt as a pattern. A few snips with my scissors and I was committed:) I sewed up the side and shortened arm seams and then finished up the bottom hem. It actually worked!

I cut Kyla's top in half and took off about 6 inches of width from the bottom panel. I made a small decorative piece for the bodice top and then resewed the bottom portion with a slight gather at the center. She loves it!

Now to eat some of that valentine's candy that came home with Kyla today:)