All the girl cousins

We should have had Nathan in this picture, but the girls were wearing matching dresses, so I guess that is why we did only girls. Anyway, Alice was NOT having it. From left to right: Ruby, Hailey, Sarah, Alice and Emma.

Best Friends--or so Ruby would say...

Ruby is always anxious for any excuse to mother and kiss Alice. Alice is just beginning to initiate some kisses from Ruby, but she is a bigger fan of cuddles and hugs.

The "other" Hamms

Here are some pictures of the other Hamms in the family.

First, (or on the bottom) Robb, Heather, Hailey and Emma Hamm. Heather is expecting baby #3 in October!

Second, (or on top) Jeff, Mary, Sarah and Nathan Hamm.

The grandchildren have thus far been born in waves...the eldest, Ruby, Sarah and Hailey will all be in the same grade in school, and the second batch, Emma, Alice and Nathan will be in the same grade as well.

April 28th, 2007 Braden and Amanda got Married!

Soon after walking out the temple doors as husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Hamm were ready for hugs from anxious neices.

Dress up with Sarah

Ruby and Sarah (cousin) have all kinds of fun together at this age. The rivalry is gone, and we will usually only hear from them when they want food. They go for days just playing and pretending. Here is a great idea they had to dress up! Sarah's suit is on backward, and they are wearing my shoes!

Indoor Camping

Ruby has been talking a lot lately about camping. Mostly she just wants to roast marshmallows. Chris decided to make her a little bed inside of her "princess tent" so she could camp a night in her room. The excitement dulled her marshmallow fixation and she was pleased to sleep in her tent in her bedroom.

Of course Ali had to climb in for a look as well.

Puyallup's Spring Fair

Puyallup is well known all over Washington for its annual fair. The fair begins late summer and runs several weeks. It is fun, but it is also crowded and expensive.

The last few years, we have discovered that we are perfectly pleased by the two-day, Spring Fair. It still has great rides, lots of animals and fun things for the kids, but it is cheaper and less crowded.

Ruby was a daredevil this year! she went on several big rides and didn't regret it for a second.
We went with our friends, and Ruby's new playmate, Ella is in some of the pictures.

Here's Ruby and Ella on the "Lil Coaster", Ruby loved it, but Ella was ready to get off right away.

Ruby and Chris went on this crazy, dizzy ride. I was having a hard enough time watching, but they enjoyed themselves.

Jump Planet

We have discovered this great place closer to my parent's house called, Jump Planet. It has huge blown up jumping toys and the kids and adults have a great time there.

The first time we went, Alice wouldn't leave my arms, but this time she had a great time.

The pictures aren't much to be pround of, but at the very least, they remind us of how much fun we had! We'll be going again!

Photoshop Fun

I've been enjoying little excuses to dabble in Adobe Photoshop. Here's a little announcement I made for fun with a few picture I took of Aksel. The announcement wasn't officially for the parents to send out...rather it wasn't solicited by them, but I enjoyed giving myself an assignment and I learned new things in the process. I ADORE his wrinkly face! Definitely, if I were to create one for print I would want hands or something on the left...or three pics of the baby and no feet. I just used these pictures because they were some of my favorites. Okay, now it is bothering me, I think I'll have to get back to it and change that.

Baby Aksel Ray Keim

Our long-time friends, Kelly and Danny Keim had their first baby...a boy! Alice was fairly indifferent to the little guy, but Ruby wanted to hold him. It was close to his mealtime, so he kept making faces and looking like he might cry, and that made Ruby nervous. She kept saying to Danny, "I don't think he's happy," which was the nice way to say, "You hold him now."

It was interesting to realize that Ruby has actually forgotten when Alice was that little. It doesn't seem like it has been very long since she talked about it from memory, but lately when we ask her, she claims not to remember. That's fun for us because we love to tell her about all the things she doesn't remember.