Sand in the City

Neither Tristan or I have ever been down to the Annual Sand in the City event that Olympia Hands on Children's Museum holds each summer, so this year we decided to do it! We made the mistake of waiting until the afternoon, when it was boiling hot and we were rushing before dinner, but we still got some fun play time in!

We quickly walked through and saw some of the amazing sand sculptures, but failed to get any pictures of them...oh well, next year!

They had a couple of large sandboxes for the kids to play in and Ethan dug in to the fun!

We spent most of our time at the toddler rotation stations. There were lots of things to do that were right up Ethan's alley. He LOVED the Play Doh table (which we already knew) so we spent a lot of time there.

He also really liked the sand painting. I've recreated this at home using sugar and he has a great time making designs in it with paint brushes.

We finally got him to leave the toddler stations to explore a little more and found this fun water station. The garbage cans were full of sponge balls and you had to throw them and try to get them through the holes...Ethan just liked taking them and dropping them in the pools. Tristan tried to help him throw some, though!

He also really like the touch tank with the star fish. He wasn't sure what to think at first but then I had to keep pulling them away from him!
We only ended up getting to spend about an hour and a half down there but it was lots of fun and we look forward to going again next year!

Ethan's 2nd Birthday Party

August was such a busy month that we didn't end up having a birthday party for Ethan until the middle of the month. I'm glad we waited, though, because it ended up being our hottest day of the summer so far and it was perfect for the outdoor construction-themed party we had planned. Ethan has really been into everything construction lately, so we thought he would love it. We kept it to family and a few of my closest friends and their kids, but we still had quite the crew!

A few shots of the decor and food set up

After people ate, we let the kids swim and play in my parents' backyard. This year my dad had an even bigger pool set up (obviously not filled all the way) and with as hot as it was, everyone was taking advantage of it!
I printed some coloring sheets off of the Tonka website, but the water was way more appealing to everyone!This is the first picture of me and Kelly in I don't know how long! I'm so glad to finally get to spend time with my friends that I haven't seen on a regular basis for a long time.

I set up a sand dig for the kids as a game. There were toys and candy buried in the sand and they got to dig up as much as their bags would hold!

Afterward it was time for dessert--dirt cups and cupcakes!
Getting ready to blow out his candle!

I love that he will actually smile for the camera now...it really helps to get some good shots of him!

Yummy! I remember last year he had no interest in cake! It was a much different story this year!

My aunt, cousin and her kids came down from Burien to be part of the fun! The girls were really good sports about all of the boy party favors! Lowe's hooked my dad up with aprons and goggles for each of the kids and I found the construction hats online.

Anderson enjoying dessert in his hat
Skyler sporting the whole ensemble

Lowe's also send my dad home with build-it-yourself binocular kits and badges for each of the kids, so I put them into goody bags for everyone to take home. Good thing I assigned that part to my dad...he rocked it!

Time to open gifts! As you can see, I had to bribe Ethan to help me by bringing trucks over for him to play with.
After presents it was time for more fun in the pool! Ethan really loves the water and loved going down this slide over and over.

Ethan and Anderson having a blast

It was a fun, long day. I wanted to get a shot of Ethan before bed with his new construction bedding and pajamas and the balloon from his party.
This was him not long after we put him down. All worn out from a full day of partying!
We had such a wonderful day celebrating our little man and we were so glad to get to do it with family again this year. I can't believe that another year has passed...it seems like yesterday that I was posting about his first birthday party! We are so grateful to everyone who helped to make it a special day!