Family Pictures 2014

I decided to hold off on taking family pictures this year until Ashton was old enough to actually sit up and be seen in them, which worked out well because that put up right at the end of the beautiful spring weather.  We asked our friend Christie Marlatt to take them again because we really liked working with her and really liked her prices, too!  :)  She recommended Ft. Steilacoom Park and we LOVED it.  Our boys especially loved the playground that we played on at the end!

She got some really good, silly ones of Ethan (almost 5 here)

 Love this one of our whole family

 Me and my boys...Love how they are showing Ashton some love in this one!

 I also like that she got some of just the boys and Tristan

 Brotherly love!

 Another silly one of Ethan!

 She also managed to get some not-so-silly ones of Ethan, which was quite the feat!

 I love this one of me and Carter!

 The ones of Ashton are so, so sweet!  (About 8 months old here)

 Another great family shot!

 This is one of my favorites...all of my boys together.

 I love how sweet and gentle Carter is being in these pictures.

 This sums up our pace of life!

 Carter was tricky that day.  He didn't really cooperate very well with getting a picture of just him.  But right at the end she managed to nab one!  I love this picture of him.  (Almost 3 here)

 In heaven on a tractor!

 This is just a little real-life shot for you!

 Me and my sweet Ashton.  I love the blossoms in the background.

I love having such great pictures to capture certain seasons of our life.  I know it will be all too soon that my boys tower over me in our family pictures, and then I will have these ones to look back on when they were just small.  :)

End of Spring--Hello, Summer!

As the warm weather kicked in we got to see what a water baby Ashton really is.  We already knew he loved the bath, but who wouldn't love a nice warm bubble bath?

 Bubble beard

 He loves ANY water, at ANY temperature!  Again, as I unloaded the camera I got a glimpse of some backyard fun I had missed out on.

All smiles.

 He literally splashes non-stop when he's in the water!

 The boys have loved having a pool set up to splash around in on hot days!

 Ethan really likes to use the camera, so he took this picture of Tristan as we were getting ready for a family bike ride.

 Ashton's first time riding in the bike trailer.  He loves it!  Carter is good company for him and Ethan rides his own bike.  It's nice to be able to get out for some fresh air and exercise as a family.

 We went up to visit Uncle Kelsey and Aunt Nicole for a BBQ and some playtime at the park and Ethan was snapping some pictures again.  He's getting pretty good at it!

 They loved playing with their puppies, Kirby and Bella.  But I'm pretty sure our boys wore them out!  Ethan took this one, too.

 The last day of preschool!  It is so fun to see how much Ethan has grown over this last school year.  I'm so excited to see him grow more in Kindergarten next year.

 Being goofy.  He wouldn't pose for a "normal" one, so this will have to do!  ;)

While I know Ethan will miss school, I was so glad to have summer vacation start.  With it comes a more flexible schedule, playtime and SUN!  Summer is such a great time to live in Washington and we plan on making full use of it!  :)  Happy Summer!

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.