4th of July

We had a fun and busy 4th of July weekend. We got to see both sets of grandparents, Matt went hiking, I went shopping, Carter ran around and played and Yoshi napped. We were so busy I didn't get my camera out too often. We spent 2 days at my parents relaxing and playing. Carter loved his new swimming pool!

I love this picture!

On the 4th we spent some time at Camano Island with the Vance's and Weir's, then headed back to Bellingham for the evening to play at one of our favorite parks.

We were all so tired from such a busy weekend we all went to bed early, didn't watch any fireworks (okay, well we did on TV - I know...sort of lame) and no one even woke up once with all the loud booms in the neighborhood (not even the dog!). Such a fun weekend!

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happy father's day.

Sadly, it was a very low key Father's Day. Matt left town yesterday for 5 days on a business trip so Carter and I had some quality mama/son time. But, in honor of one of the best dad's ever, here are a few of my favorite pictures of my 2 favorite boys.
Happy Father's Day Matt. Thank you for being the most loving, giving, fun and amazing dad any kid could ever hope for.

And, Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there...especially my own and Matt's dad too!

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esha hart photography.

This post is long overdue! I went down to Puyallup about 2 months ago to visit my friend Esha. Esha and I have been friends for over 11 years! We met in high school on dance team and if you've ever met her, you would agree that she is the sweetest, most sincere, genuine person you will ever meet! Esha had a little girl 1 day before I had Carter. So, Mady and Carter are destined to grow up and be great friends too! Since having Mady, Esha has worked so hard to expand her photography business. So, she wanted to take a few pictures of Carter to add to her portfolio.
Here are some of my favorites!

The kids were really into belly buttons that day!

Thanks Esha for such a fun day! For more info about her business, visit www.eshahart.com

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Fragrance Lake Hike.

For Matt's upcoming 30th birthday he and a friend have decided to climb Mt. Baker. Sounds pretty cool, right? Except Matt has never climbed anything before. But, he is committed and very excited about this upcoming adventure. In preparation, we thought it would be a nice day to go for a hike and see how he did with 40+ pounds on his back!
We left the house around 8am to start our hike up to Fragrance Lake. We drove down beautiful Chuckanut Drive, parked the car and off we went. Carter absolutelyy loved being in the backpack. He just smiled and grinned the entire way up. We took a quick detour to hike up to a look-out point. It was an incredible view of the San Juan Islands. I am just amazed at the beauty that surrounds where we live!

A little bit of a shadow, but Carter was still happy!

Since Matt was carrying the heavy load (and I only had a small backpack with water and snacks, I took all the pictures. Here is the only shot of me.

At the end of the trail is a beautiful, calm, peaceful lake. Since we left so early there wasn't anyone else there yet. It was nice to just sit for a few minutes, have a snack and let Carter play in the rocks/water/dirt.

Enjoying his snack.

On the way back down, someone decided they needed a nap!

Such a fun hike and so excited for our next one! (Note: notice that Matt is wearing a different shirt in this last picture! All of that hiking with a heavy toddler on his back made for quite the sweaty trek up. Luckily, I planned ahead and packed an extra shirt for the walk down. Such a smart wife I am!!)

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fun in the sun.

We had an amazing weekend this past weekend. For the first time in over 250 days the temperature rose above 70 degrees! We drove down to Puyallup to spend the day with my parents and then left Carter so we could have a super fun date night. A little shoe shopping followed by dinner at the Crab Pot with our friends Jake & Kelly. If you haven't been, you have to go! It's so fun, messy and delicious! We ended the night at the U2 concert...such a great show! Earlier in the day we took full advantage of the sun. Carter is still obsessed with mowing the lawn, he has to do it everyday when we get home. So, no surprise that it was the first thing he did when we got to my parents!

My parents bought him an awesome fire engine he can ride around on. It took a few minutes for him to learn to love it, but then he never stopped riding it.

My parents neighbors came over with their grandkids for a little while. Their grandson, Max, just turned 2 and Carter and Max became instant best friends. They played together so well that later in the day, my parents took Carter back to Max's house to play some more!
Max was so sweet and even helped Carter put his hat back on. He knows the importance of good sun protection.I forgot to bring down swim trunks so we just let Carter run around in his diaper with the sprinkler. We had such a fun weekend and it made me so excited for summer! Can't wait for more backyard adventures, sprinklers, sunscreen and yes, even more mowing the lawn.

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Kauai 2011.

For Matt's 30th birthday present (a little early), his parents took us all on an amazing Hawaii vacation. This was actually our 3rd time going to Kauai and staying in Poipu beach and it did not disappoint. We came here on our honeymoon, a year later with Matt's parents, and this time with Carter! It's been fun to see how different each trip has been and we loved just having lots of time relaxing, playing in the pool and digging in the sand. Here are just a few of my favorite pics from the trip.
The view from our room. Beautiful! Carter enjoying the hammock.

More beauty. I just love how you instantly feel relaxed and happy when you see a palm tree!
We went to a local Farmer's Market on one of our first days to buy some fresh produce. Carter got to try his first coconut water....and he wasn't a fan.But we loved it!Later in the week we all went on a train tour (mostly for Carter since one of his new favorite words is "choo choo!" We had never been and it was fun to ride on the train, learn more about the local history, see the beautiful gardens and take turns feeding the wild pigs!

Grandma and Grandpa Vance on the train.
Just a sidenote: We had such a fun time with Matt's parents and were so thankful for the trip. They not only took us, but paid for lunches and dinners, helped watch Carter and gave me a break so I could lay out by the pool almost every day! Such amazing grandparents!!!

Carter chasing one of the wild chickens. He was obsessed with those and is now a little confused why they aren't running all over Bellingham.Just lounging.1st time touching the Pacific Ocean! In under 18 months he's gotten to feel both the Atlantic and Pacific!Playing in the sand.He loved the sand sprayer and probably would have stayed there longer if there weren't people waiting to use it!Over the course of the week, Carter really got comfortable in the pool. He wasn't too sure the first day but after we bought him water wings he was treading, floating and blowing bubbles all by himself on the last day!

Best family picture of the week!

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just because he's cute.

Just some random pictures from the last few weeks. Our family on Mother's Day. I had a delicious breakfast and took a nap later in the day. Pretty much perfect!

Carter wishing the sun would come out (seriously, this spring has been horrible!). Until then, he'll keep on wearing his winter hat.Pretty sure he liked his breakfast. And, the biggest news of all...Baby Vance #2 is on the way! I haven't had a chance to scan in the ultrasound picture so a pregnancy test picture will have to do. So far baby looks great and is expected to arrive around Dec. 15th! Yep...another December baby. We are so excited!!!

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