July 16th- 22nd

Week of Monday July 16th- Sunday July 22nd: Another Week Has Come and Gone . . .
Written by Annaliese

Seriously I have no idea where this summer is going. But it's all going very fast! And this last week didn't even FEEL like summer- it's been rainy & cold! I was very grateful to see sunshine yesterday!

Monday, July 16th- we were surprised to learn that the city & our new maintenance guy would be there THAT day to dig up our sidewalk (which was horribly cracked and crumbling) and part of our driveway so that we could get a new one! We've recently gotten a new owner for our house who has been WONDERFUL about doing little things that were much needed around our property. By the end of the day everything was dug out, framed in & ready for pouring. I had spent the afternoon at the library with Corrine & the girls I babysit as there were art classes for older kids and Corrine can play with the doll house at the library for hours on end.

Tuesday, July 17th- brought the rain. So it looked like all the pouring of concrete would have to be put off for a day or two. Luckily we have very nice neighbors across the street who have let us park our vehicles there while we wait. Chris went into work late that day so he could be home with Corrine during my doctors appointment. So far so good with this little guy- he seems to like to lay sideways with his head pushing right up against my ribs. Which for now is ok by me, I'm not ready for him to come any too early! We had another afternoon at the library for more art classes and playing.

Wednesday, July 18th- We left work a little early and went to the Hoquiam (city right next to us) for a program at their library. It was a guy who turned himself into a clown while doing magic tricks, puppetry, balloon art, etc. Lots of fun- Corrine is STILL talking about the puppet doggie and how funny he was. That night I had a presidency meeting at the church. I usually take Corrine with me as Chris isn't home when we need to leave. The other members of the presidency are really great- they let us have our meetings in the nursery so Corrine just plays while we talk.

Thursday, July 19th- We had been trying to make plans for the week to somehow meet up with Talmage, Kelly & kids who had taken a last minute trip to visit my parents and help them get moved into their home in Maple Valley. Our original plan was to meet in Olympia and enjoy a picnic dinner together, but traffic, rain and a few other obstacles changed those plans. Corrine & I drove up to Point Defiance Park (right next to the Zoo) and brought a few extras for dinner. The kids had a BALL playing together. Corrine had been asking me for days when she could to play with Grant & MacKenzie. I think Grant & Corrine only had 3 bites of their food before they were off playing on the toys- everything was wet, but they didn't mind a bit. After dinner we all walked down to the boardwalk where the ferry docks, a restaurant & gift shop and a few other things are located. The water was clear and we even saw a jellyfish! The most fun was watching Grandpa Allen JUMP & SPLASH in all the puddles with the kids. Keep in mind he was in his work clothes- Corrine & Grant giggled and got soaked to their hearts content. It all ended too soon as T&K had to get on the road to Portland so they could get an early start in the morning. But I was so grateful we got to spend some time with them- even if it was short!

COUSINS: Grant, McKenzie & Corrine at the park
Grandpa Allen splashing in the puddles with the grandkids
Saturday, July 21st- was Chris' company picnic in Olympia. We enjoyed the afternoon of good food and visiting with his co-workers and their family. Many brought their kids, so Corrine loved having so many playmates. They also planned some fun kid activities & projects for the afternoon. A great day together as a family.

All in all a great week. We're finally getting some sun, so maybe we'll have a sidewalk & driveway and place to put our cars sometime soon! Hope life is treating all of you well! We love you!

Family Blog Started

July 3-16, 2007
Written by Annaliese

Well- we've had our family longer than we've had this blog, but I figured since I'm not doing very good at keeping a record for our family I probably should do something like this. I keep my own personal blog over at livejournal, but not everyone I know has an account over there and I don't want all those posts to be public- so blogspot it is. :)

A quick recap of our last few weeks:
I made a crazy decision to take some time off the week of the 4th of July and drive to Utah. It actually worked out wonderfully. Taylor had just returned from his mission in New Mexico and would be reporting the Sunday after the 4th of July. I figured since I had the 4th off from work anyway- I wouldn't be missing quite as much work time that way.

So, Tuesday, July 3rd after work Corrine & I headed North to Seattle where we picked up my Dad in Maple Valley. My wonderful Dad was kind enough to cancel that leg of his flight and drive with us. I always love the chance to visit with my dad- he's just got a lot of great advice. Corrine was excited to get on the road and was such a fantastic traveler. It helped that we drove through the night and she slept most of the way.

Wednesday, July 4th- We arrived in Layton EARLY- about 6:30am, just in time to hug everyone, change our clothes and head out for the days festivities. Taylor woke up to Corrine's voice and it took him a minute to figure out who she was!

The Pease Family & Grandma Lewis were staying with Mom & Dad so all of us trekked to Provo for the 4th of July parade. Taylor & I drove down together and couldn't get to the other side of the parade where the family was sitting- so we had to walk about 7 blocks- that may not sounds like a lot, but Utah blocks are HUGE! We certainly got our exercise. And it was fun to walk through downtown Provo- such a pretty city. It was lots of fun as we were joined by a large portion of the Corwin Lewis Family who was in town for a reunion starting the next week. We got lots of sun and enjoyed the bands, floats and each other's company. Corrine LOVES parades so she was in heaven. Even more she loves all the people that bring their dogs to the parades with them. :)

After the parade and the trek back to the car we went to LaDawn & Danny Masons beautiful home for lunch. It was so fun to have so many cousins there- I barely saw Corrine as she was running non-stop with anyone who would play with her! Of course we had a program (it wouldn't be a Lewis gathering without one!) on America and the 4th of July. Then Corrine & I crashed- we both needed a nap! We woke up just in time for a wonderful BBQ dinner and were joined by a few more cousins!

We finally pulled ourselves away later that evening and headed north to Layton- since we figured we wouldn't make it home in time for fireworks, we pulled off into a church parking lot just past Lagoon and saw fireworks from a couple cities and Lagoon! It was a great show! Then we watched at least 4 other cities shows while we were on the road home. I don't think I've seen that many fireworks ever!

Thursday, July 5th- we took the kids to McDonald's for lunch and then to the TreeHouse Children's Museum- very well done and of course they had a blast. Corrine found a little doll house that we played with for at least an hour until she found the babies. :) She loved playing with the Pease girls. She was so tired from all the playing that she was sound asleep before we even got back to the house.




Corrine & the Pease Girls at the Treehouse Museum

We weren't sure what to do with Corrine asleep, as we didn't want her to wake up at a strangers house- so Camilla said she felt ok about having her there. Luckily Taylor got home too so when she woke up she had familiar faces. Graham & Emily joined us and we enjoyed a temple session and mexican food, treat of Grandma Lewis.

Friday, July 6th- The Pease Family & Grandma Lewis left that morning to get back to Arizona, so with only 5 of us in the house it felt kinda empty! Mom, Dad, Corrine & I ventured up to Camp Bartlett where McKay is working for the summer and where I had been program director for 2 years. They've done a lot of building since then so it was lots of fun to see the changes at camp and watch McKay in action. John Anderson is the current program director, a friend of mine who had been on staff before his mission when I was the program director! Lots of great memories at that camp.

Corrine with G&G Allen at Camp Bartlett
Saturday, July 7th- was the "anniversary" of Graham's accident. We had a pretty low-key morning and then a nice family get together with the Garners and our family in the afternoon just talking about our own feelings from a year ago and how grateful we were for the miracle that took place for Graham and our families. And of course we had to play a few games of Settlers before the night was over.

Sunday, July 8th- Taylor gave his missionary report in sacrament meeting and did a wonderful job. He's of course funny, but had just the right mix of humor, spiritual stories and it really showed his maturity over the last couple years. Lots of the Allen side of the family came up and it was so fun to see all of them. Mom of course did a wonderful job as usual feeding the multitudes (I think there were about 70 people at the house) after church and we all enjoyed visiting. It was a little bittersweet as I realized that I wouldn't be attending any more large gatherings in that home! It's been "home" to my parents & family for so long- the longest they've ever lived anywhere. I'm thrilled to have them in Seattle and closer to us, but sad for them as I know they love the area and the people there.

Monday, July 9th- We said goodbye to mom & dad early that morning as they caught a flight to California and Corrine and I finally got on the road. It was actually a really good travel day. We got off a little later than we hoped, but Corrine traveled well and we stopped a couple times so she could run around and we could get something to eat. I had to make sure I got a lemon-berry slush from Sonic before we ran out of Sonics! We made a quick pit stop in Maple Valley to drop off some paintings/pictures for mom & dad and made it back to Aberdeen around midnight. My sweet husband was up waiting for us. It was nice to be home.

Since then things have felt like a blur just catching up from the week we were gone! It seems to take twice as long to do that! We're back to our regular work week and schedules. This past weekend we just enjoyed time at home and tried to do a few more things around the house to get ready for the baby- it's coming closer and closer all the time! Just 8 more weeks or so!

Monday, July 16th- Mom & Dad officially arrived "home" in Maple Valley on Saturday night- the house in Utah is empty and the moving truck will arrive in Washington tomorrow. Talmage & Kelly & kids are driving up today to help them and spend the week with them. I'm hoping I can get away for an afternoon & evening to at least see them. I can't wait to have so many more siblings coming this way to visit!

This first entry was a long one, hopefully I'll stay on top of things and have a running record of our lives! Who knows- maybe I'll get Chris to post too! :)

Four Generations: Corrine & Annaliese (Allen) Priamos, Dantzelle (Lewis) Allen & Myreel (Smith) Lewis