8 Ball

Ahh, the magic 8 ball. I remember playing with those in middle school, asking it the age old questions about pre-teen romances and my imminent future. I always knew it was a joke, but don't we all wish it were real? Even if the answer was "maybe", it still felt good to be given some hope, despite the fact that it comes from a mass produced game!

I wish there really was such a thing that could just tell me "Hey Bethany, don't stress it. Baby will be here by Sunday afternoon. So go out shopping with your sisters and get pedicures and live it up!". Wouldn't that be nice??

On Halloween afternoon, we frantically threw the boys in some last minute costumes. Lazarus was going to be the most adorable fireman, but backed out last minute. We threw him his blankie, named him Linus and called it good. Elijah scored an awesome Optimus Prime costume (at half off day!) at Goodwill but it didn't come with a mask. Thankfully, mama's got killer face painting skills. Funny thing is, I actually found (and purchased) a real Optimus Prime transformers mask yesterday at a kid's consignment shop-day late and a dollar short I suppose.

And I went as an 8 ball.

We had fun walking around downtown Bellingham, popping into shops and getting free candy. Yesterday, the ladies and the little lads went down to the boardwalk for some exercise in the cool fall air. Walking seems to help things start up, but it's not quite time yet. We're having a blast together though! If nothing else, this week has been a really fun time with my family!!!

Killin' Time

We're just killin' time here, waiting on a baby to come!

We've been thrifting....

 Walking around town looking cool...

Visiting the beach....

Even drove up to Mount Baker for some fresh air!

Hiking through the woods...

Just waitin' on this dang baby to COME OUT!!!!!

We've found our beach

There's a small rocky beach just 3 minutes from our house. It's not the soft beautiful sandy kind where you lay there all day with a book. It's the rocky kind with crabs, oysters, muscles and other cool things to explore. We've been a few times now and love it! This time, we visited at low tide and made some HUGE discoveries!

I saw a pile of these giant oysters and thought they were drift wood at first.

We also spent some time digging for clams.

I've decided I prefer this type of beach to a sandy sunny beach. There's so much to explore here!

Visitors for Dan

The weekend was busy with Dan leading a funeral and preaching on Sunday. On top of that, we had his parents and the Riberas come for the day. It was fun hosting people in our house! It's also fun having family and friends so close by.

The Riberas got to stay the night and we explored Bellingham a bit together. We found a park on the beach of Lake Whatcom.

 Bunk bed boys!!

On Monday morning, we walked around downtown and happened upon a delicious bakery/cafe'. We ate lots of food :) The Riberas left after brunch and we headed home for naps. 

That afternoon, we checked out another beach, this time with Pacific ocean water!

Oh Laz....

It was a great day to celebrate daddy. Lots of sand and food and play time!

My Little Sister's Wedding

My little sister got married just two days before our loooooong road trip to Bellingham. I was probably more emotional on Abby's wedding day than my own. Luckily, both Abby and Wes have fun laid back personalities. The entire day was a blast!

Every picture below was taken by the amazing Amber Beckham. She is a photographer in the Nashville/Franklin TN area and really was a pleasure to work with. AND, she got so many special shots! The ones below are some of my favorites.

Amber did a full blog post with many more pictures over at her site. Check it out!!!

Wrapping Up Tennessee

Movie nights, tea parties and playing cards with uncle Jesse.

My family threw me a surprise baby shower, even in the midst of a busy wedding weekend. So thoughtful!! And pink and ruffly and fun :)

Center piece flowers in vintage tins, so cute! 

 Rehearsal dinner family pics:

 Mani's and pedi's for the wedding! Even Flannery got her nails done. So cute!!

Saying goodbye to aunt Abby:

 We had a busy weekend putting on the most beautiful outdoor wedding. My dear younger sister is officially married and we are leaving town today. I cannot believe it's all over! We packed the truck, spent over a week in Nashville and had a wedding. AHH! I'm so thankful for my family and the time we've had here in the woods. I'm also very much looking forward to it being just the four of us. I've been absent all weekend and can't wait to reconnect with my boys!

Next stop: Southern Alabama!

Nashville Vacation - Part 2

Oh, just kickin' it here in the woods while we wait for the wedding party to begin. Here's what we've been up to.

We start the morning with "coffee milk". I don't know how she does it, but grandma has so much energy in the morning!

 Dan has been on kid duty while Sally and I perform our 'matron of honor' duties. He had the brilliant idea to bath the kids in the blow up pool. It actually had a sprinkler function that worked very well!

A little bit of tackle time with Dan.

 Lazarus went cat hunting, but came back empty handed.

As you can see, we've been pretty productive this week :)

This weekend is busy with the bachelorette party, rehearsal and dinners and the WEDDING! I know it sounds silly, but I feel like it's already over, even though we have so much work to do. I realized that in just a matter of days, my baby sister will be married and we'll be on the road to our new home. AHHHHHHHHHHHH!