Happy Birthday Mom!!  Hope it is happy and that there are many more.  Love you!

As most of our family knows, I have been out of work on medical leave since November of last year.  Finally my doctor saw fit for me to go back to work on light duty, so I found a job that I could be paid to do.  I sent out a bunch of resumes on the net.  A job placement company called Business Careers saw my resume and asked me to come in for an interview and some computer and personality tests.  I did well and was immediately sent out on job interviews with very good companies.  I found my place at Sherron Associates.  I have been working there all week.  It has been a new challenge that I have taken on with full appreciation.  I am a receptionist/office administrator.  I love what I do and am glad to be back to work.

We had a real hot few days in June.  I mean hot like the South hot.  With the hot weather came good times at Lake Sammamish.  The kids weren't in swim suits.  Amber loved swimming in the lake with Bobby and Nick was allowed to go swim with some friends from his school he had met up with.  There are two videos of Amber playing in the water on our youtube site.  I was able to relax and read one of my books.  The next two days were way to hot.  We ended up staying inside the air conditioning.  There was a time when high 90's was a relief in the summer, but since moving to Washington and becoming acclimated to the nice cool weather and rainy season, it seemed down right inhumane.  Thank God for the Northwest.

About two weekends ago, the family stopped off at the Farmer's Market at the Redmond Town Center.  The kids like sharing honey sticks of different flavors and we like seeing all of the craft booths. 

When we went last year we saw a booth where a lady makes hats and dresses from vintage fabric.  I loved them, but was not sure that Amber would wear a hat for any length of time.  We didn't buy it.  This time when we saw her booth, Amber picked out a pink one and with those big eyes asked for it.  I couldn't refuse.  We also had been garage saling that weekend and we had been lucky enough to find several really nice scarves for Amber's dress up chest. 

Amber has started to acquire quite a few dress up items.  Her favorite are the ones her grandma makes and the things we find on our garage saling trips. 

When we got home from working on the house, Amber went to play in the back yard with her brother.  She got bored quickly and decided to play with her new found treasures.  She dressed up in her "fancy tap shoes", costume jewelry, her new hat and new scarf.  Then she decided it was time to have a fashion show in the back yard.  I think her pictures look like those black and white photos that get colored for posters and cards. 

Amber is at times a real girly girl and then the next running after her brother to smack him around or taunt him.  She loves annoying him the best.  (I think it is pay back for his teasing.) 

She is growing up so fast and I find it hard to believe tat she is only 3 1/2 because sometimes, (only sometimes) she seems so much older.  I know that one day she will grow into a fine woman, but I am enjoying having her young as she is.  I still think of her as my baby girl, but she really isn't.  She is growing fast.  I will miss these days.

Amber likes flowers.  It rained a couple of days before this heat wave we are having and Amber finally got to wear her flowered rain boots.  She accesorized witha flower shirt adn a flower jean dress.  Amber will pick one piece of clothing or accessory to wear and then everything else has to match it.  Sometimes it is a barrette or pair of socks adn sometimes it is a shirt or a pair of shoes.  This time it was her boots.

My kids love to play around (ok, what kid doesn't).  The special thing about my kids is they are adorable. 

This is Amber wearing Nick's Microsoft hat (good promoting).

Nick is wearing his norwegian skiing hat.

My adorable kids posing together.