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!

Beatin' the Heat

At the end of June, summer finally hit.  We had a major heat wave.  One Saturday we decided to join the Marlatt's up at the Norpoint sprayground.  We made a trip up there last summer and both boys really enjoyed themselves so I figured it would be the perfect way to get out of the HOT house.  Carter didn't love getting sprayed, so he kind of stayed out of the water.  But fortunately, Norpoint also has a couple of great play areas.

Carter playing at the toddler play area

 He even ventured over to the big-kid playground to play for a bit.

 This spinning toy was a big hit with all the kiddos this year.

 Eventually they all figured out that they could lay down and hold on for a fun ride, too!

 Ethan, of course, really enjoyed the water.  He has always been a water baby.  I didn't get to get in much because I was keeping an eye on Carter, but he enjoyed running around on his own and playing with the Marlatts.

 At one point, Carter refused to even hang out over on the play areas and wanted to explore over by the bathrooms.  I'm pretty sure he found a bug that he was checking out here.

 More silliness in the water

 Dylan and Ethan

We actually ended up going back up a few days later with Kelly and Anderson because it was another crazy-hot day.  But I didn't get any pictures because Carter literally threw a tantrum for the first 30 minutes we were there.  I think he remembered that this was the place he got sprayed!  Eventually he calmed down and was at least willing to play in the play areas for a bit.  Ethan was even brave and went on the big-kid zipline.  We had a great time and this is definitely a warm-weather favorite for our family.

June Tidbits

In June we went back to having some rainy days, so there were times that I was struggling to keep the boys busy--especially when Tristan was working.  Well both boys are really into bugs and we did some buggy arts and crafts and activities throughout the month.  

 Then I found these plastic bugs at Target and decided they might be a fun rainy day toy...I know, call me crazy.  I have to admit, there are a few of them that made me do a double-take when they were left out on the floor, but now they are like part of the family!  ;)  They love them still and are constantly carrying them around the house, in the car, to church...wherever we go.  Gotta' love a life of boys!

 When the sun did make an appearance, the boys took advantage and got out to do some yard work.  They love to "help" Tristan mow the lawn, and since we only have one lawnmower Carter made due with the golf caddy.  It's fun to watch them follow Tristan's every footstep.  I figure it's great practice for down the road.  Little do they know that in a few years they will probably want nothing to do with mowing the lawn!

 With summer comes the annual "try to keep fish alive in Papa's fountain" event.  Every summer my dad tries and every summer the fish just don't make it.  But for the few days that they are around, the boys love climbing up and observing them.  Carter was especially fascinated this year.  Ethan just ratted Papa out by telling me he, "killed the fish".

 We decided to plant a few things in our backyard this season.  We chose cilantro, parsley, lettuce, and snap peas because they are things we use regularly.  They have done pretty well!  Ethan likes to help water them and also enjoys harvesting the snap peas--one of his favorite garden goodies!  Gotta' love the hose positioning...  ;)

 We didn't get to participate in the Run for Rhett event this year because we had other obligations and plans, but we did make it down for the end of the event to say hi and offer our support.  They boys even scored and got to play with some buddies and play on the playground for a while.  Skyler and Dylan's Aunt, A.J., even snagged them an ice pop.  Lucky kids!

 When the weather gets hot, all it takes is water to make these boys happy.  We filled some tupperware bins with water and the boys played and played in them.  Ethan decided that his dump truck needed to be washed one day.

 And when in doubt, there is always the pouring water game.  It never gets old.  Never.  :)

We love summers in Washington.  The weather is usually so nice that it's actually enjoyable to be outside and the area provides so many fun events to go to and places to enjoy the beauty of this part of the country.  I know that the boys especially love all of the outside time they get and they sleep so much better (and later) because of it.  I'm so glad they enjoy being out in the sun and playing together!