Fun at Home

Sometimes it's not until I empty pictures off of the camera that I see what Tristan and the boys are up to when I'm not around!

I'm not sure where or why this was taken, but Carter sure would make a cute little farmer!

 Apparently Tristan had the boys doing yoga one day while I was out grocery shopping!

 And they were using their construction goggles as makeshift SWIM goggles!  LOL.

 Ashton is a funny kid.  He discovered the door stoppers and LOVED the sound they made when he played with them.  It was hilarious.

One night we decided to put our tent up and have a movie night and sleepover in the tent.

 Getting the beds ready!

 Excited to watch Frozen!  Grandma and Papa Walker gave it to them in their Easter baskets, so it was time for a viewing!

 We had a great time and I'm sure our neighbors loved hearing "Let It Go" blaring out of our tent at 10:00 at night!

Afterward I headed in to sleep inside with Ashton since he was teething and not sleeping well.  They boys slept through the night and slept in the next morning which was impressive.  The boys couldn't wait to have another tent sleepover again soon.

Visiting the Temple

This year our ward is focused on "turning our tents towards the Temple".  As part of that emphasis, our Bishop encouraged us to take our kids to go and "touch the Temple".  Even though they can't attend the Temple yet, we want them to know it's a very special place.  So one afternoon after I picked Tristan up from the airport we stopped by the Seattle Temple and let them touch the walls and wander around the grounds.

Carter touching the Temple

 Ashton getting in on it, too.

 We found a photographer who was waiting for her wedding party and she was nice enough to take a picture of our family together.

 Then we snapped a few of the boys on their own.

We are so grateful to live so close to a Temple and that our children can grow up know how special and sacred it is!

Just Boys Being Boys

It's so funny watching my little "pack" of two turn into a pack of three.  Ashton always wants to be in the mix of whatever the older boys are doing.  When Ethan and Carter are playing, Ashton is either trailing after them or close by.  It's really sweet to think ahead to the three of them running and playing together in the near future.

Often the boys will end up playing on top of the toy shelf so Ashton can't reach what they are playing with because he can be a little rough with their creations.  Poor Ashton.  :)

 I walked into their room to find them playing school one day.  As you can see, Ethan was very excited to tell me all about it!

 Then the creative juices got flowing and they decided they wanted their students to ride the bus.  So they got an empty diaper box...

 ...and asked me to help them tape the "wheels" on to it.  I don't know where they come up with this stuff!

 So on a scary note, one afternoon while Ethan was at school, I put Carter in his room for rest time and went to go put Ashton down for his nap.  While I was in there I heard a crash, but not so loud that I thought it was anything major.  Well, I was prompted to go check on him anyway so I did.  When I got in there I found Carter UNDER the dresser.  And just to be clear, our furniture is HEAVY.  I have a hard time moving this dresser on my own.  All I could see were his little feet sticking out from under it like the Wicked Witch of the West on The Wizard of Oz.  I was terrified.  I rolled the dresser up on it's side and pulled him out.  It was so scary.  After a call to the pediatrician and a trip to the ER he was declared to be fine other than some scrapes on one of his shoulders.  I can't believe how blessed we are that he was o.k.  All I can guess is that he pulled a drawer out and was climbing on it to get to something on top.  Boys.

AFTER I got home from the hospital I decided to snap a picture for Tristan to see because he was out of town...every time I see it I remember how scary it was to see him underneath that dresser.

 Back to the fun stuff.  Here's more evidence of Ashton wanting to play with the "big boy" toys....Look at that smile.

 I love how they are posed exactly the same here.  Carter definitely emulates Ethan a lot.  He wants to do everything like Ethan.

 Carter was sitting nearby holding his own Lincoln Log...just wanting in on the action.

 The boys are often very good about including Ashton, so don't feel too sorry for him!  ;)  He loves to try to climb up Carter's toddler bed (now that the rail is up it's a little harder) and the boys want to help him do it.

 And this big boy learned how to pull himself up to standing (about 8 months old here).  I guess he figures, the sooner he learns all his big boy tricks, the sooner he can really be in on the action.

I love that they can be so sweet and play together and I especially love watching the younger ones watch and play with the older ones.  The relationships between brothers is such a sweet thing to watch. I sure love our boys.

Bringing in the Summer Heat

May brought with it some really warm weather.  I love it when we have hot days and the boys can splash and play to their heart's content.  My parents usually have us over for dinner once or twice while Tristan is away, which is always appreciated.  It gives me a break from cooking and the boys a chance to visit with their grandparents and get a change of scenery.  So since the weather was so nice we decided to BBQ and play in the backyard. 

My dad found this cool pool for Ashton that has a little canopy over it and doesn't get very deep.  He, of course, loved it.  Ashton loves the water even more than Ethan did, which I didn't think was possible!  He kept grabbing pea gravel and putting it in the pool with him--and his mouth.  So I was busy grabbing it out of his mouth as fast as he could put them in!

 The boys were being silly in the little pop up tent.

 Ashton was splashing away!

 My dad decided to build a treehouse in his back yard for the boys to play in.  He's really fortunate to have a friend in the construction business who drew up plans and helped him build the platform to put the treehouse on.  The boys are more than excited for it to be completed.

 This is Carter's favorite way to swing...and you can't see it, but he's totally naked here, too.  He's so crazy.

 Ashton snuggled up with Papa after swimming to dry off and warm up.

 After getting dressed, the boys decided to hit the pavement on their "bikes".

 Ashton had a great time watching (with his tongue out, of course)!

 Such joy!

We are so lucky to live someplace that has such beautiful weather in the spring and summer.  I'm so grateful that our boys love to be outside and play so much and that we have so many wonderful ways to do it!

Spring Silliness

We love spring and summer.  It's so nice to be able to mix inside time and outside time to make everyone happy.  I've really noticed a difference in Ethan since he started preschool.  He has gotten much more nimble with his hands and fingers--which results in some pretty creative building at our house.  He put this "train track" together all on his own

 Ashton really likes to play with anything OTHER than baby toys.  He really wants to be in the middle of what everyone else is doing and be a part of the group.  He really likes playing with things from the kitchen cupboard, which works well when I'm trying to cook or clean the kitchen.

 He has also followed suit when it comes to eating.  He's never been a huge fan of purees, opting instead for small pieces of whatever everyone else is eating.  He does o.k. with them sometimes, but mostly eats table food.  He still loves to stick out his tongue, too.  Lol.

 One sunny spring day we decided to hit up the park with the Marlatts and accidentally ran into our friends, the Fullers, too!  It was warm and beautiful.  Ashton loves the swing--there's that tongue again!

 At the beginning of school Ethan wasn't able to do this rope-walk.  He's really grown taller and in confidence.  It's fun watching him learn and grow and do new things.

 Carter loves to ride on this motorcycle whenever we hit this park up.  He's really becoming a big boy, too.  His speech is finally coming along more and I love being able to hear what's on his mind or what he needs.

 They really like the toys at this park and it's not usually too crowded since it's in a neighborhood kind of hidden away.

 Cody and Ashton had fun relaxing in the shade.

 Another thing the boys love doing is driving their cars through anything.  One day I came out to check on them in backyard to find that they had made a mudpit to drive their cars through.

Later they made a carwash and were taking their muddy cars through it to clean up (no pictures).  They are so silly and creative when they are playing together.