Monday, January 10, 2011








A New Beginning

It is officially 2011! It is amazing how fast a year passes. So much happened in 2010 and we are looking forward to all the new adventures and memories this year will bring.

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2010:
-We had tons of fun with a new baby (Caleb) in the house

-We have spent the year enjoying our new home

-Tiff was called as the first counselor in Primary

-Jeremiah got promoted to Field Manager

-Brynley went to Disneyland with her Aunt Jen, Uncle Matt, and Abby for her birthday

-Tiff's cousin Brittany graduated from high school and we went to Idaho to help her celebrate

-Tiff ran the Newport Marathon with her friends from Puyallup (including Grandma Debby...her first marathon) and the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon with her friends from Maple Valley

-Jeremiah ran his first half marathon along with Tiff and a bunch of friends including Grandma and Grandpa Shakespeare

-Brynley got braces

-The family went camping at Banks Lake with 125 of their friends

-The girls skim boarded and Brynley went on the wake board

-Jeremiah wakeboarded for the first time and Tiff slolemed for the first time!

-Kylee and Kennedy played baseball and their coach was our friend Jeff

-Brynley sang in the choir at school

-Uncle Jerry rode the STP (Seattle to Portland) with my cousin Doug

-The kids and Tiff went to California to visit Kev and his fam and cheered on Tiff's cousin Doug as he completed his first full Iron Man. It was awesome!

-Jeremiah took a 'man trip' with a bunch of buddies to Provo, UT for the BYU vs Huskies

-Kylee and Kennedy started Girl Scouts and Tiff is one of their leaders
-Brynley and Tiff started a running club for youth girls and the twins run along side. The girls ran in a Turkey Trot race in Snowqualmie.

-Our ward was split into the Gem Heights and Silver Creek wards :(

-Caleb waved goodbye for the first time at my parent's ward to Aunt Christie on December 5th

-Tiff's family came to stay for a week at Christmas. It was so much fun. Jeremiah's family was in town too!

-We celebrated the last day of the year with Jeremiah's family and spent most of our night having dance competitions on the Wii.

2010 was such a great year. Those were just a few highlights. We feel so blessed to have great children and a supportive family. We are especially grateful for Jeremiah's job and all of our friends and family. We love the Lord and know that He watches out for us. Happy New Year!!!

Monday, November 2, 2009

WE HAD SUCH AN AMAZING TIME AT THE EVER POPULAR 'BANKS LAKE' THIS SUMMER. ABOUT 130 PEOPLE FROM OUR WARD GO EVERY SUMMER AND CAMP FOR THE WEEK. JEREMIAH WASN'T ABLE TO GO, BUT THAT DIDN'T STOP THE GIRLS AND I. WE WERE OUT IN THE BLAZING HEAT ALL WEEK AND LOVED IT. BECAUSE I WAS HALFWAY THROUGH MY PREGNANCY, I DIDN'T GET TO CLIFF JUMP, WATER SKI, OR ANY OF THE ADVENTUROUS THINGS, BUT IT GAVE ME A GOOD EXCUSE TO JUST PLAY WITH THE GIRLS ALL DAY LONG. WE HAD ICE CREAM CONES EVERY NIGHT AT THE LITTLE STORE, STAYED UP LATE PLAYING DON'T EAT PETE, COOKING A BAKED POTATO BAR/DINNER FOR 130 PEOPLE AND WATCHING THE LASER SHOW ON THE GRAND COULEE DAM. MY FRIEND ANNA AND I WERE BOTH PREGNANT, HAD THREE GIRLS EACH AND SLEPT IN THE SAME TENT. IT WAS AN ADVENTURE! IT IS A VACATION (IF YOU CAN CALL IT THAT) WE WON'T EVER FORGET.



BRYNLEY HAD SUCH A GREAT TIME. HER SWIM SUIT WAS ON BEFORE BREAKFAST AND SHE WAS OUT IN THE WATER WITH HER FRIENDS FOR THE REST OF THE DAY. WE HAD TO DRAG THEM OFF THE WATER TRAMPOLINE AT NIGHTFALL. SHE MADE AWESOME FRIENDS AND WAS SUCCESSFL AT WAKEBOARDING AND CLIFF JUMPING. SHE JUMPED OFF THE 20 FOOTER, I JUST DIDN'T GET IT ON CAMERA SINCE I WAS IN THE WATER.






KENNEDY AND KYLEE LOVED THE 'BIG GIRLS'. THE YW WERE SUPER SWEET TO LET THEM HANG OUT AND PUSH THEM ON THE SWINGS.
KENNEDY HIT SOME PRETTY ROUGH WATER AND MADE IT THROUGH. SHE SURPRISED US ALL WITH HER BIG SMILE AFTER CATCHING THE WAVES!



kYLEE DID SUCH A GREAT JOB BEING BRAVE AND GETTING ON THE SKIM BOARD. SHE WAS A LITTLE AFRAID AS YOU CAN SEE, BUT AS SOON AS WE PULLED HER IN...SHE CRIED AND WANTED TO GO BACK OUT. THERE'S ALWAYS NEXT YEAR!