Westport,WA--Day 1: The Evening

After we got settled in at our cabins, we decided to head into town to wander around and pick up some salt water taffy (of course!!).  The boys were so tired and Ethan had a hard time staying awake on the short (less than 10 minutes) car ride.

 Carter, who isn't used to not napping, just couldn't hold on.  You know he's fading quickly when his arms go behind his head.  Usually it's both arms but he must have been too tired to bring the other one up!

Going, going...

 ...gone!

 We grabbed a parking spot and went for a little walk along the boardwalk.

Ethan checking out all of the boats

 It was such a pretty day.  You could clearly see the Olympics in the distance.

 We caught all the fishing boats as they were coming in, so we stopped to watch the people weigh in their catch.  Look at that salmon!!  Yum!

 We wandered out on the pier to check out a gift shop and, of course, made a few purchases!!

 Crab pots stacked on the pier

 Then we headed back to the boardwalk to find a kite to use the next day.

The boys had to stop and smell the flowers!

 Ethan pretending to sneeze

 Carter loving the pinwheels at the kite shop

 Ethan really liked this flower pinwheel.

 Then we walked to the end of the boardwalk to pick up a BUNCH of taffy before we headed home for a late dinner.

The cottages we stayed in were really cute (and really reasonably priced.  I think they were around $60 a night)!  I thought I got a picture of the outside but I must have forgotten to.  Each one has it's own theme.  My parents' was a nautical/pirate them and ours was a Hawaiian theme.  This is the living area.  Behind it there are two bedrooms with 3 beds total and a bathroom.

 Off the living area there was a full kitchen.  There is also a little playground and picnic area that has both propane and charcoal BBQs.  We decided to BBQ burgers and hot dogs and had a nice little dinner at our cottage.

 After visiting for a little bit, my parents headed off to bed and we settled in for a movie night.  The beds couldn't be moved against the wall and I was worried about Carter rolling off of it, so we just decided to put one mattress down on the floor for both boys for the night in the living room (there wasn't enough room to do it in the bedroom).

All settled in to watch Madagascar

 Sleepy little guys

The boys slept great.  This was their first glimpse at what it will be like to share a room when their little brother arrives!  It was a full day with lots of fun and sun and we were all ready for some rest by the end of the day!

Westport, WA--Day 1: Hangin' at the Beach

My dad has his own business now and has accounts that he services twice a month in Westport.  Once a month he stays the night out there so he has gotten to know the area and people really well and wanted to treat us to an overnighter with our family before little one #3 arrives.  We decided to go in July partly because that's when the cabins had availability and partly because we figured August will be busy with birthdays, anniversary and baby preparations.  We headed out early Monday morning and stopped right outside of town to pick up Subway for a picnic on the beach.  We made a quick stop by the cabins, but they weren't ready yet, so we decided to go straight to the beach and play and eat.

Happy boy at the beach

 It was a really pretty day, but it was slightly foggy and really windy when we arrived so we weren't exactly hot.  That didn't keep the boys from taking to the water--first starting out in this little tide pool that had been warmed by the sun.  They saw a jellyfish and a large crab crawling around, which was great fun to chase!

 Then Ethan, our water baby, headed out to the big waves.  That water was COLD.  I mean, make-your-bones-ache cold.  But Ethan LOVED it.  He must have been out there for at least 45 minutes with Tristan jumping the waves as they came in to the beach.  He was wet well above his waist and cold by the time they finished, but he had a great time!

 Carter opted for the safety of "papa's" arms.  He wasn't at all interested in standing in that cold water.

 After a bit I brought Carter back in toward the tide pool and he ran around with the dump truck.  This garage sale find is a beach favorite for both of our boys.  It never gets old!

 Eventually the fog burned off and it was warm even though it was windy.  We set up a shelter from the wind and the boys turned it into their little cave while they ate their lunch.

 We accessed the beach just down a little road from the cabins to make it easier, but when we arrived we took one look at the sand and knew we weren't driving on it.  So we opted to just park there and set up just a little ways away for the day.  Well, one little Hyundai didn't think things through and just drove right out into that soft sand and got stuck right off the road.  My dad and Tristan went up to help and eventually my dad went and got tow cables from the cabin owners to tow them out.  Needless to say, those people were done with the beach after that and didn't stick around to enjoy the sun.

 After lunch playtime

 Ethan loved using the pinwheel my cousin, Carrie, and her family brought to them the weekend before.

 Carter rolling around in the sand

 Such a big boy!

 The boys decided to try to bury the dump truck.

 Apparently at one point Carter just walked over to a pile of sand and BIT it.  I missed it because I wasn't watching, but he had a lot of sand in his mouth...live and learn, Carter!

 Caught in the act!  Who needs bathrooms when you're a boy?  We caught him too late to stop him (this is actually him pulling them back up), but I guess that's part of enjoying the wilderness when you're a boy.

 Chasing the seagulls

 The boys had fun taking turns getting a ride in the dump truck and wore their dad right out!

It was such a pretty day at the beach.  Everyone we talked to kept saying how this was one of the nicest days of the year there so far.  Our boys always love going to the beach and having all of the open space to run and play in the sand.  We stayed down there until around 3:30 or so before we headed to the cabins to check in and unpack.  We are so grateful to live so close to the coast so we can go and enjoy it so easily!

More of July 2013

Summer time in Washington is such a great time of year.  I have found that the boys are more tired and nap and sleep in longer in the mornings because they are so worn out from all the playing, activities and sunshine that we have.  It has turned out to be another BEAUTIFUL summer here this year and it has kept us busy!

Tristan's sister, Tennille, came home from California to visit so we headed over to Tristan's mom's house one morning to have a late birthday lunch for Tristan.  The kids loved playing and running around and Carter skipped his nap.  This was about 2 minutes after we got in the car to come home.  Carter was so tired!

 He even slept through being moved back into the house, which is really unusual for him!

 We love berry season!  Since we live close to the berry farm I always watch for specials.  One day I caught a special on strawberries and grabbed a couple of flats for some jam and freezing for smoothies. Ethan just couldn't resist diving in to them!

 My parents hosted a mini-family reunion a week after the 4th of July.  My aunt passed away back in the spring and while I was at the reception for her my cousin and I talked about how we didn't see each other nearly enough.  We decided it was time to have a happy occasion to get together, so we picked a weekend to BBQ and visit and catch up.  It was a beautiful day.  Perfect for a BBQ and some swimming and water guns!

Ethan and Carter had a great time playing with Carrie's daughter, Meagan, and especially loved the light up pin wheels, bubbles and water guns that they brought to them as a gift!  And, of course, Papa's backyard never gets boring!

 Uncles and nieces--Randy, Carrie, Me and my dad

 Another no-nap day...Carter got pretty tired while eating his snack and just decided to veg out!

 My Uncle Randy and Aunt Linda got this cool car.  I totally can't remember what it's called, but the steering wheel is even on the right side of the vehicle instead of the left!

 Since Tristan was gone for his birthday we decided to celebrate it in July since we were celebrating Father's Day when he was home in June.  Ethan said he wanted a chocolate cake for his dad (I think there was some selfish motivation in his choice) so I made a double chocolate bundt cake with homemade hot fudge glaze.  The boys like to help put the candles in the cake.

 That's a lot of candles!

 Make a wish!  I thought it was cool how the smoke from the candles completely surrounded the cake.

It's amazing how much is always going on in the summer time.  It seems like there is never enough time to do it all and see everyone we want to see, especially with Tristan's schedule.  Sometimes I don't feel like I can keep up with it all!  But through all the busyness, there are lots of good memories made and lots of quality time spent.  With our third little one on his way, I'm sure things will only continue to get busier!

4th of July--2013

Tristan flew in on the morning of the 4th, so we didn't do a lot of the traditional daytime things we normally do.  But I was really excited to have him home to go watch fireworks as a family.  This year we decided to go to Barclift park again with some friends and then walk over to watch the Tumwater fireworks show.  We had a little BBQ here at home before heading over to the park around 5:30 or so.  Everyone brought snacky stuff to share and the kids played and played while the adults "supervised" and visited.  We had a good size group again and the kids wore themselves out, for sure!

Carter and McKenzie had fun playing in a dirt pile together.

We had time for a little baseball, too!

 The kids had fun riding around the park in this wagon...luckily one of the older kids did the pulling so we didn't have to!

 Ethan and Carter had a great time playing on the playground.

 Can you tell that Carter likes to try to be like his big brother?  ;)

 This?  Well, this was MY ice cream cone.  I gave Carter a bit and the rest was history.  He LOVED it.

 Yummmmmm!

 He was so funny with it.  He kept sticking his tongue out way too early and even when he wasn't licking it.  He really, really enjoyed that ice cream cone!

 At the beginning of the festival in Tumwater they have a bunch of people jump out of a plane with parachutes.  This person had an American flag, which was really cool to watch.

 We had some time to set off some small fireworks as a warm-up for the big show.

 Ethan, Skyler and Dylan were matching in their "Red, White and Cool" t-shirts this year.  We couldn't get Dylan to join in the pictures, but the big boys cooperated for us!

 Around dusk we walked across the street to where Rich and Tristan had reserved seating for our group to wait for the show to begin.  Tristan spent some time wrestling with the boys.  I was really impressed with how well he help up since he had been up since 4 in the morning traveling and was still living in a time zone that was 2 hours ahead of us!

 Dylan being a conehead

 Carter's reaction to some fireworks

 Skyler, the conehead

 Carter kept being silly and making this face and laughing about it.  I think he was delirious since he was up more than 3 hours past his bedtime!

 Dylan was a happy boy watching the fireworks!

 It was a good show and we had a blast with our friends and being together as a family.  I was so grateful that we got a break from the intense heat that day.  It was a great temperature and there wasn't any rain!  Definitely a wonderful way to celebrate this great nation that we live in and appreciate all of our freedoms!