Elijah James Short... 2!!! 11.1.09

I swear he was just born!!! They really do grow too fast! What a character he is becoming too! Mike and I don't get to see him very often, so when we do we soak up every minute that we can. I can't wait to see what else this little guy will bring to our lives. We love you Eli!

Happy Birthday Tami Sue! 9.18.09

It's Ma VT's turn to celebrate! We all gathered in Kennewick, WA at the Short's beautiful home and played all weekend. My favorite part is to sit back and watch Mike and his sister Kelsey become kids again and see how far they can push their mom before they get smacked. This time is was all about water fights.
Ode and Kelsey's church held a "carnival " at a local house that we went to. The chili for dinner was delicious and the kiddos had lots of fun petting animals and going on tractor rides. On the way home we stopped to buy an ice cream cake for Tami. Mike and Kelsey were purposefully off by almost 10 years with the writing they had put on the cake. Tami loves her kids! The whole weekend was awesome as it always it when we all get together. Hopefully someday we all live by each other again so we can do it more!!

Natalie Breanne Short... 4 years old!

I can't believe how fast she is growing!! AHH! She turned four on August, 13th, which was a Thursday so we couldn't be with her and we also missed her birthday party in Oregon which is a bummer, but we brought her present out camping and did a little celebrating of our own. Mike and I bought her a little lemonade stand, brought all the fixings for making lemonade, gave her Mike's old piggy bank and passed out quarters to everyone at the camp site. We helped her make the drink and then her customers lined up to get a cup for 50 cents that went straight to her piggy bank!  She was pretty proud of her first job:)

Two more years and I can rent a car  5.24.09

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Got home from Vegas and got to celebrate a birthday! Mom and Tarah were up our way because of Tarah's club volleyball tournament in Seattle. Before we left to go watch her play on Sunday, my dad and brother surprised me by driving up! Mom, dad, Mike, Mike, Liz and our friend Carol all went to watch Tarah play 3 games of volleyball. In between games we went to a near by soccer field and goofed around with an aerobie. Fun day:)

My dad was originally coming up on Tuesday so I took the day off from work, but since he came up early and had to get back early. I had the day to do nothing.... which I did... absolutely nothing. And loved it. Mike came home with groceries that he didn't want me to see, a bouquet of gorgeous flowers, a homemade mojito (umbrella and all:)), and told me to keep doing nothing. He made grilled chicken that had been marinated in sauce 'a la Mike' with pasta and marinara sauce. Everything had a touch of lime, mint and some cilantro so that it stayed in theme with my drink. I was highly impressed.

Walking with dinosaurs!! 5.3.09

As a early birthday present from my dad and Liz, I got to go see the show that I, along with many other 5-10 year olds, have been wanting to see! It only stays in an area for a weekend so if you get the chance to go see this, it really was amazing seeing what technology can bring to life.

Bday surprise weekend number 2! 4.24.09

And again......he had no idea. Cousins Sarah and Nate came up Friday, which he did know about because Sarah is REALLY good at keeping secrets :), but was more shocked by our friends from Portland coming up on Sat. afternoon then he was by his parents. Saturday around 4 a group of us took him to a sports bar in a town he had never been only to meet more friends that he had no idea about. You would think he would pick up that something was going on because everyone was wearing the color black, but didn't think twice about the odd coincidence. We were all wearing a dark color because there are a lot of black lights when playing laser tag :)  When everyone was together we headed out, 4miles down from the bar, to show him his last surprise.
I, probably like most people, only have played the game once when I was an early teenager so I wasn't too sure what to expect. I got the package that cleared out the 7,000 sq ft, 3 story maze for just our party and unlimited lasers for 3 games. All 13 grown adults that went, have not had that much fun in a long time. You automatically feel like a kid again running around in the humongous, dark room. I can see us doing it again soon:)

22 on the 22nd!

The OFFICIAL day he turned 22:) I....yes dad, I'm talking about me.... made chicken florentine, french bread, enough mashed potatoes (his all time favorite) to feed an army and veggies. Not to mention a chocolate covered Oreo (another all time favorite) dessert. The best part was not telling him what I was making all night and watching his face before he tried it. To make me question my cooking skills even further... he had to smell it first. Dinner was a success though and I think he has a LITTLE more trust with me in the kitchen now. :)

Preschoolers know how to party

Our friend Carol turned 25 on the 21st of April. As a surprise to her we dressed up in our best 50's outfits, gave the kids some scarfs and glasses and danced to Grease for the majority of the day. Sometimes it is hard to believe I get paid to do my job.   

Birthday surprise weekend! 4.17.09

Mr. "can't get anything past me" got his socks knocked off this year. Not only was I able to buy a BBQ for his birthday without him knowing, but his mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, niece, nephew, my dad and my brother all came to surprise him without him having a clue. His mom and dad came in first. MIke was upstairs setting up the Wii and thinking our friends Nick and Megan were coming over. Ron and Tami crept in and let their pup run up the stairs just to confuse Mike before he actually saw his parents. A strange dog ran up the stairs of our house and all he did was point at it and look at me. Funny stuff. The Short family came in soon after with Natalie running up the stairs first to go see uncle Mikey. Dad and brother Mike came Saturday morning with the BBQ while Mike was out with Ode and his dad. We put it up against the house and blocked it with a giant table umbrella laying open on it's side. He had been wanting a BBQ for a while so when he opened everyone's gifts of BBQ accessories, he was pretty excited. Then I brought out my gift... a $30 baby BBQ. Told him we can play with this one until we can afford a bigger one. He was VERY thankful and played off the "it's perfect" role very nicely. HAHA! After he opened it dad said "let's set it up and get cooking!". We all stood outside and watched him try to put this little thing together for a good while until Natalie took his hand and walked him over to his real gift. Hilarious. It was really a gift to myself because he has not stopped cooking on it since day one.

Celebrating Tarah's 17th!

Her actual birthday is April, 7th, which was a Tuesday, so the weekend before we had a family dinner at the Olive Garden where she got her night of being spoiled. After dinner, Tarah, Sarah and I met up with Liz and Alicia for a girls night then up bright and early afternoon for some prom dress shopping! Liz, Sarah, Alicia and I took Tarah to every store in the mall that could possibly have a dress and or shoes.... twice. She found a very cute blue dress added some yellow accessories, was taught how to do make up in another store and she didn't pay for a thing! It's gotta' be nice to be the baby sister of numerous girls! 


pictures soon!

1.16.09

The big 51! The day after brother Mike's birthday, husband Mike's dad, Ron, celebrated his big day! We were there along with Kelsey, Odus and their little ones. We played a number of games all night and if you have ever played the game 'spoons'..... forget what you know when you play with the Van Tassel's and be prepared for some battle wounds. It was a fun, fun, fun visit and worth having to get up at 3:30 Sunday morning to drive back to Washington for Mike's boot camp class. I'm SO thankful that my husband is now a morning person.

1.15.09

The big 25! Thursday night Meagan invited family and friends over to celebrate brother Mike's birthday at their apartment in Portland. Driving down from Washington, Mike and I got there a little later than everyone else, but we stayed long enough and played the Wii until everyone started yawning and falling asleep.   

Elijah is ONE! 11.01.08

 Eli is my sister in law Kelsey's little boy for those who don't know and WOW that was one quick year for those who DO know him. During his party he let his big sister Natalie do all the unwrapping while he played with what had already been opened. SUCH a fun little guy. 






Picture one: Kelsey and Odus. The proud parents of their two adorable children Natalie (3) and Eli both who fill up the rest of the pictures below.