Andrew's First Race

With the Track Club at school being a popular venue to find Andrew during recess, we soon discovered his love of running. Oh, mommy is so proud to have at least one runner so far. Although still a little young to be racing, we are happy to encourage him in the things he loves. The Seattle Kids Marathon was the perfect opportunity for Andrew to feel what it is like to run in a race and to accomplish a long awaited goal. Those who signed up for the race were encouraged to run 25 miles in small increments before the race (Andrew just made it into the 50 mile group at school). The last 1.2 miles would be run the day of the race making it a KIDS marathon. With over 3000 kids who signed up for the race, you can imagine this was quite a big race. Mike and Andrew had so much fun running together--maybe we will have to make a tradition of this every year.



ON YOUR MARK, GET SET...GO!



All Finished! We are so proud of you Andrew!

T H A N K S G I V I N G

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving and were so happy to share this special day with Grandma Anne, Grandpa Franz, and Uncle Greg. I think we must have gained at least five pounds with all the great food we ate. The day was spent watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a little football, and playing the every so popular Mario Galaxy on the Wii. The things we were the most grateful for on this day were FAMILY and GOOD HEALTH!







A little whipping cream, Andrew??

Grandpa's Property near Squim

Ok Grandpa, don't sell this beautiful piece of land! We had so much fun spending the morning walking around Grandpa's piece of land near Squim. The boys had so much fun being silly with grandpa and Emma just loved being under the umbrella with Lorene. We were lucky that it stopped raining so we could eat lunch outside. We literally drove 10 seconds down the road to the bay and ate our sandwiches on an old log while enjoying throwing many rocks in the water. What a fun morning we had!

Hurricane Ridge

So after eating lunch by the bay, we took Grandpa and Lorene to Hurricane Ridge. Oh yes, it was super cold...34 F and windy. Luckily we brought all of our winter gear and got dressed for our short little hike. The view was spectacular. Everyone had fun, but we were a little frozen when we got back to the car.







Andrew was a little excited about the little snow on the ground. He was so determined to make a snowball to throw at Grandpa and Dad. He soon realized that the little snow he had was making his gloves wet and his hands cold.

To see some more pictures, click HERE.

Making it PRIVATE

A good friend of mine has decided to make her blog private and I think this is a rather good idea considering all the crazy people who are reading our personal blogs. Although our blog was initially intended for family and close friends, it really can be read by anyone. I figure that although it will be a pain to sign in to view the blog, those who really want to view it won't mind. I keep thinking that one can never be too careful. So, starting next week I will be making it private. For family and close friends, I have most of your email addresses already. However, it would be nice if you could let me know if you want to continue viewing my blog so I can start with those email addresses first. You can either comment on this post or email me at my gmail address: wilhelmsara@gmail.com with your email address if you think I don't have it. Sorry for the inconvienence!

Growing up too fast

Everyone has been telling me how much Emma has grown up. I guess sometimes I still think of her as my little baby girl. The other day after church I just thought she looked so cute so I kept her in her church clothes to take pictures of her just playing. Her latest joy is turning the light switch in her room on and off. How does she reach it---she stands on the arm of her little couch chair and she is just tall enough to reach it. Other than her new temper tantrums and her ability to say three and four word sentences, I have been in denial that she is growing up. The other night when we were singing songs before bed, she sang most of the words to "I Am a Child of God" and "The Temple Song" with me. I was so touched that she could actually sing with me and that she had been listening to those songs as I would sing them to her before bed everynight. Now as I say, "Goodnight Emma," she says, "Goodnight mommy." Then before I walk out of her room I say, "I love you Emma," and she says, "I love you mommy." Why do they have to grow up so fast? I sure am lucky to have this little girl!

A L O H A

This picture says it all....beautiful, warm, relaxing, serene...just perfect. Our trip to Oahu was as relaxing as we hoped (except for the cranky baby on the flight home). We stayed in Waikiki for the first couple of nights and enjoyed the pools and beach at the Hale Koa. Our favorite part, however, was the quiet southwest side of the island at the Ko-Olina. Fun pools and sandy lagoons made for fun mornings, afternoons, and nights in the water. The kids lived in their swim suits and spent every minute they could playing in the water. Why do vacations have to be so short?







Here are some more pictures of our family on our vacation:

Polynesian Culture Center


Beach Fun


Photo shoots on the beach


Hawaii Temple