Sand in the City--2012

Sand in the City fell on my birthday this year AND Tristan was home for it!  He took his vacation so he would be home for both my birthday and our anniversary (a day later).  The weather was great so we met up with Kelly and Anderson to go explore.  We stopped at the bubble station first and the boys had a great time blowing bubbles with all the different kind of wands.

 We stopped by one of the big digging sandboxes and Ethan and Carter dove right in!

 Checking out what's inside that bucket...you can never be too sure!

 At this table you got to dig up shells and make necklaces out of them.

 We found a digger!!

 Feeding the baby alpaca

 Carter straining to see it

 Sculptors hard at work.  I didn't get any pictures of the completed sculptures this year.  We normally go on Saturday when they are closer to being finished, but we had plans to go up north and see Tristan's brother for his birthday this year.  So Friday it was!

 This is the new river feature in front of our new Hands on Children's Museum.  It was a summertime favorite.  It's shallow and the kids love running and playing in it.

 This is the other end of it and that is the new museum in the background.

 Stopping to make a visor craft

 Just finishing another fun craft

 Ethan loved this little duck run that used water to push the duck down the chute.

 Time to play in the stream!  Look at all that energy!

 Carter enjoyed looking on, but didn't enjoy the stream much.  I think it was just a little too chilly for him.

 Ethan and Anderson getting wet and cooling off!

Spending the day with family and friends was the perfect way to celebrate my 33rd birthday.  It was especially nice to have Tristan home for it this year!

Eat, Play, Sleep, Repeat

It seems like we were able to just enjoy a lot of lazy days this summer even though we were actually really busy.  Carter seemed to turn into a bottomless pit, whereas Ethan seemed to become a pickier eater.  Both boys spent a lot of time playing and running outside, which meant we also had lots of good naps and early bedtimes.  It's nice to just stop and enjoy the simple life sometimes!

Carter wanted to eat corn-on-the-cob like dad was!

 Gotta' teach them how to share somehow!

 Snacking at the park down by Capitol Lake

 Ethan decided to curl up and sleep in the Chariot.  If I remember correctly, he was pretending to be a "kitty".

 The sandbox was never lonely!  Every day I had to strip both boys down at the door and put them in to the bath tub because they would get so dirty!

 Spaghetti is a favorite meal...but the mess it makes is NOT my favorite to clean up!

 Anderson came over to play one morning in August and the boys had some fun inside...

 ...before heading out to the backyard!  It was so funny how Carter kept grabbing Tristan's swing and holding on to it while he was swinging.

 When Tristan got out of the swing, Carter kept holding on.  I can't remember how he got the other one, but we didn't hand it to him.  It was funny!

 Anderson and Ethan had fun running and racing in the backyard, too.

I really love August in Washington.  It has always been one of the prettier times of the year.  All that sunshine means lots of playtime!

Ethan's Birthday--Woodland Park Zoo

After all the celebrating leading up to Ethan's birthday we were tired by the time the big day arrived!  But we had promised Ethan we would go to the zoo for the day.  We headed up to Woodland Park Zoo, in Seattle for a change of pace.  It's further away than Point Defiance, but it's a much bigger zoo and really nicely put together.

We stopped by the penguins on our way in.  They used to be Ethan's favorite exhibit.  Now he enjoys them, but I don't think they're his favorite any more.

 Feeling some leopard skin

 We had a hard time getting him away from this butterfly display to go see some other animals!

 It was so strange to see this gorilla sleeping so soundly like this!

 Carter was very curious about this monkey statue.

 Ethan wouldn't go near the statue of the gorilla so Tristan stepped in to show him it was o.k.  He did end up going over to it, but I never got a really good picture.

 Time for another picnic in the grass!  Someone was hungry!

 The meerkat cave is always a favorite at this zoo.

 Inside the meerkat den

 Smily little Carter

 Ethan made a random friend.  It's so cute how often this happens!

 Checking out the orangutans

 Happy to be celebrating his birthday with his daddy

 Since it was his birthday he got a pin and a free token to ride the carousel.  He loved that pin and wouldn't stop talking about it for most of the day.

 Checking out the petting zoo with mom

 Well would you look at that...Ethan found a tractor!  Go figure...  ;)

 We stopped by Red Robin for him to get his free birthday meal on the way home, as well as a Sunday.  I also got my birthday burger than night, too.  The fact that there are no pictures of that should say something to you.  Yes, it was that bad.  He even cried over ice cream!  I guess that is a sign of a tired 3-year-old for sure!  We just ate as fast as possible and headed home.

When we got home we had him open his gifts.  I got him a few cars from Cars 2.  He was so excited about Finn.

 Closing his eyes for a surprise

 What could it be?

 An easel!  He dove right in and started creating.

Nothing could have made me happier at the end of the day than seeing my favorite three boys playing together after spending a weekend celebrating our big 3 year old!

Celebrating Ethan's Birthday--Part II

The day before Ethan's birthday we decided to have family over to celebrate Ethan's birthday with cake and ice cream.  Tristan's brother, Kelsey, and his wife, Nicole, came down from Port Orchard a little early and we grilled some chicken and corn on the cob.  Yummy!  I love summer cooking.  Then the rest of our families arrived.  We just got together for an hour or so since it was a Sunday and we didn't get home from church until 4:30 or so, but it was nice to let Ethan know his family loved him and thought he was special.

Getting ready to blow out the candles for the second time!

 Opening some gifts and being silly!

 Asking Uncle Kelsey how the cool truck they got him works...he loves that truck!

 Carter was very curious about this whole present thing.  He definitely wanted in on the action, as usual!

 Playing with the fun computer from Grandma Bernard...that has been a lifesaver in the car on many occasions--for both boys!

 Trying to get a picture with Grandma Bernard and Aunt Tennille...kind of hard to do with two squirmy boys!

 Being goofy with Uncle Sean

We really enjoyed making Ethan feel special for a second time for turning the big 3!  We love our silly boy!!