"Daddy here! YAY!"

For months Landon and I have been praying for James to get home safely from his second tour in Iraq. So when it came to DAYS till he was back, Landon became extatic! He asked every morning and evening when we were going to the airport. Then the day arrived. I woke up before the sun was even up or coming up and Landon groggily woke up till my mom asked him while getting him dressed if he knew what today was... to which his eyes popped open and he sat up! "Today I get to see my daddy!" he practically yelled. lol When we showed up at the Seattle Airport, Tamara and Tyler were already there waiting. Landon played with Tyler till he heard me say that his dad's plane had landed. After that, when Tyler tried to get Landon to run around with him, Landon stayed rooted and said, "No I'm waiting for my dad." It was awsome to see them reunite after so long apart. Landon would not let go of his dad and I don't think James' smile could have gotten any wider.

So since we picked him up and spent some time together, Landon is always wanting to call his dad. But instead of me dialing the number, he wants to dial the phone number himself. So every time he calls his dad it takes a good 2-5 minutes to tell him all the numbers and make sure the number's correct before he pushes the call button. Then he proudly tells his dad that he dialed his number. He's such an independent boy with so much willpower and love inside. Last night he got out of bed after story time to tell me that we forgot to say bedtime prayers! I think that was my proudest moment of the day.

I love my spiderman loving, wanna watch Handy Mandy right out of dead sleep in the morning, "I'm gonna go fart in the dirty clothes" little man.

August and September

These last two months have seemed to slip by and thankfully I took some pictures to capture what happened during that time otherwise I might not have remembered. lol Been trying to spend time with family and friends. Going to football games is something that I have always loved and eating sunflower seeds while watching the plays is something new to me, but I think it might be a staple soon. :) My nephew plays on the JV team in Finley and sometimes on the Varsity and so Landon and I make it out there when it's a home game to cheer him on. This last time though Landon tripped while walking (which is a normal almost daily thing with him when he's going to fast and not paying attention to what's in front of him or under him) and cut up his elbow... which I didn't realize till someone told me I had blood on my neck! hahaha Yay! Especially with wearing the white cardigan I had on. lol Well we got it cleaned up and uncle bought him a licorice rope! No wonder why Landon likes him so much! hahaha I love the atmosphere around football and if they made a football team in the Tri-Cities for women I would be one of the first to volunteer. *dreaming of my Powder Puff days* :) This is Shelby (1/2 head), April with Logan, Wendy and Me.

Landon is Jeff's "buddy" and he loves to hang around him. Jeff always seems to have something that Landon would LOVE to eat or play with. :) So they are always close together when in the same room. I love the patience that Jeff has and the fact that he likes to rough play with him sometimes too. Landon doesn't get that too much with me... the last time he rough played with me I got hurt and told him to just rough play with the guys like Uncle Tom, Uncle Leon or Jeff. :)

This would be the bruise that Landon got when we were running the park together in and out of these parking things. I was running with Landon behind me and all of a sudden I hear the intake of breath and a thunk... that was Landon's head hitting the pavement after he tripped. Poor dude. Then a couple of days afterwards he ended up hitting the bruise on the side of my sister's coffee table while running in the house! I swear I am going to get his eyes tested asap.

Leah (my sister and daycare lady) took the kids to the Benton County Fair. They had a blast and here are some pictures of their day. I wish I could do collages like others do for their blogs, but I don't have the program to do it. So hope you are patient with the long line of pictures to follow...

Landon had a blast and didn't want me to wash off his spongebob that night at bathtime. lol He was so tired and had so much fun with NaNa and Leah and the kids.

This is my nephew Drake who is the cutest little thing. He is the most laid back, cuddly, smiley baby I know. I love his hugs and smiles. He and I have this thing that any time he sees me he comes over and plays with my earrings and necklaces. :) Thankfully none have been torn out or broken.

Misty and her family came over to go school shopping before school started and here is my favorite picture from their visit. :)

Linzey's first day of 2nd Grade! :)

Linzey went hunting with Alex and her dad and they came back with A LOT of trophies! :) She had a blast and couldn't stop talking about it for days.

This is a picture that Landon took of me and that I really like. It's funny. People don't understand that Landon knows EXACTLY how to work my camera... better than some adults who have used it. He knows how to take a picture, zoom in/out, review the pictures and turn my camera on and off while remembering to take off/on the lens cap. He definitely has given me a run for my money some days, but I love seeing his work from his point of view.

Ocean Paradise

The ocean has this calming effect on my attitude, my physical wellness, and my unvacationed self. I am so glad I was able to go to visit the ocean (however short it was) because it has a healing remedy. Maybe it's the combination of the seasalt in the air or the billion bits of sand on the shore that call to you or the neverending coast line that doesn't seem to end and is beautiful beyond description. We played in the sand, got splashed by unexpected waves while taking pictures, saw dead crabs, starfish, and lots of seaweed, and walked in the drizzle and rain that often times happens with the season this time of year. Even with the rain, Landon and I enjoyed every second the the coast to the point that there were MANY times that I had to drag Landon in to take a nap or because it was getting too cold and rainy. hahaha I love the ocean. I love it.

One of my favorite photos of Landon. It shows his determination to do what he puts his mind to. :) He is an amazing boy who has a kind hard, a pleasing attitude and the best smile that is contagious as all heck. I love him!

This is when it was so windy and he was turning in circles and laughing hysterically. When he turned toward the wind the umbrella would shut. Then he turned away from it and it would flap open and a bout of untamed laughter would erupt. I loved it. Music to my ears and definitely made my heart smile.

We had a blast and Landon was amazingly good. I bought Dominos and am addicted to it. It's a way for me to release my stress while using my puzzle solving skills while trying to kick someone's toosh (not always but I TRY!)! I find it funny because I can watch a movie while playing dominos and snacking on something as well as trying to get Landon to stay in bed after story time and my friend can ONLY play dominos. If he tries to do more than that I think his brain might errupt. I think that's why they call us Mom. :)

Fishing with PaPa

The day after Landon's party we went fishing with Dad at a private fishing pond at his work on the outskirts of Moses Lake. But before we went fishing we stopped to pick up the hat dad had got for Landon to wear last time he was down here with them. So while he went to look for it, Landon, Grandma, and I went to look at the animals. The chickens were funny. Landon liked to see if he could pet them, but I was afraid they would peck at his fingers! Then there were goats, but they were sick and I didn't want Landon touching them. o_O


We get out to the fishing pond and Landon get a fish on the first cast of the day and within the first 5-10 minutes. He was so excited and I took a video of it. I am hoping it works out to post. This is Dad helping Landon while he reels the big fish in.

After Landon caught his fish, Dad told me I needed to and was expecting me to catch one next. Minutes after minutes went by and after casting, waiting, reeling continued I found that Landon was walking over to me. He then began to lecture me on how to fish. "You need to frow the fing out there and when a fish git it, spin it in real quick (showing me the motion)." I laughed and at the same time wanted to capture how cute he was. Then I asked him if he could catch me one and he took my pole for a while... 3 minutes and then told me he didn't think any fish were on that side of the pond. :) Cute little stink.

Landon and I with our fishing hats on. :)

After countless times of casting and reeling in because nothing was happening, I moved spots and right after I cast it out I got a bite! So this is me reeling it in. I haven't caught a fish since I was in high school I think or before that... so this was me being as gitty as a kid. :)

Dad was showing how big the fish was. Not to brag or anything, but he said that the fish I caught had to have been the biggest one he has ever seen come out of that pond.... what can I say? hahaha

So at the end of the day Landon and I both caught one fish a peice. We were both stoked and had a lot of fun while spending time with Dad and Ruth. I understand now why there is the sport of competitive fishing. It's a rush to reel the fish in and the feeling of catching it. I love fishing and could even say that I offered to gut the fish, but was told that one person needed to hold the freezer bag to put the fish in. So I'm not all glitz and glam, I like getting my hands dirty too... when others will let me! lol

The Big 4!

We had Landon's 4th Birthday Party at the Howard Amon Park. It was fun. The kids went down to the Columbia River and played in the water. Then when everyone was there we lit the candles (or tried to due to the wind) and had some melted ice cream. :)

Then we opened presents. When his dad was here from Iraq he bought him a gift for his birthday because he knew he wasn't going to be there for it. This is the gift James got Landon. It was a LeapFrog Game Pad thing. And a Wall*E game. :) Landon has LOVED this gift since and frequently has shared it with his cousin, Linzey. They both have tons of fun and I like it because instead of playing Xbox or something mindnumbing. He's learning numbers, letters, colors, shapes, and much more. I don't mind him playing it really and enjoy helping him. He really does love it. Thank you James.



This is little Drake Linton. He is such a cutie and just got tubes put in his ears today. :( But I hear he's doing ok besides being a little whiney, but who wouldn't be after surgery so early in the morning? He is ALWAYS happy and smiling and loves to cuddle. But now he knows how to crawl and pull himself up to things and so he's moving pretty quickly these days. hahaha



Leah and I have always wanted to try out the zip-line swing at the park, but felt like idiots because we're adults and usually it's just kids going on it. So when there wasn't anyone there we snuck in and tried it out. Beau helped us by whipping us off the launch pad and well... it was a blast. Leah did it and we were both hooked. Now we want a seperate one for the adults so we don't have to wait so long in line. ;)



I didn't get a picture with Maria and Maxum before Mary left with them, but here is Landon with Beau and Linzey as we were packing up to leave the park. It was a HOT day and I was ready to go home to the air conditioning.

Then that night we went to PaPa's house and Grandma Ruth surprised Landon with a Thomas the Train train set! He was so amped up about it. He sat there right then and had Grandma Ruth take all the peices out and show him how to put it together while Dad and I worked on putting the batteries in the train. Now he, Linzey, Drake, and any other kid around the house at the time it gets pulled out is addicted to it. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Sawyer!

Landon also got a book from his Grandma and Grandpa Fullmer. It is a look, feel, slide, flip, spin book and he LOVES it. Every night he's asked for it. He loves to count the cupcakes, bubbles, carrots, etc. And always is so happy when he gets to flip or move something in the book. It has been a huge hit and I will post a pictures soon of us together reading it. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Fullmer!