Puyallup Fair (Part II) and a Trip to Tolmie State Park

So I thought I had finished posting about the Puyallup Fair, but apparently the pictures downloaded from the camera funny and there is more! After a quick lunch, we hit up the petting zoo. I was excited to see how Ethan did with free-roaming animals. It was a long line, but it moved pretty quickly. While we held the spot in line, Ethan checked out some of the other sights like the baby chicks!

Petting the goat while watching the other animals...he tried really hard to multi-task!

After all that time out at the Boyer's home on the other side of the fence, he FINALLY got to get up close and personal with a sheep! This one was named Oatmeal, and he was really hairy...he kind of had the sheep version of an afro. He was super soft and sweet!

Petting 5 week old bunnies
I brought a stroller with us to the fair, but Ethan really didn't want to be in it. He was much happier roaming free, which made me panic a little--the crowds were rather large and it was very busy. Fortunately he had Grandpa Walker as his shadow and Grandma Walker and Bernard as back up! He did great and LOVED everything that was going on around him!

Ethan was fascinated by the rides. He especially liked the kiddie roller coaster and loved watching it pass by over and over again. He was a little too short this year, but maybe next year!

Having fun at the fair! (This was before we waited in line for scones for 2 hours--and yes, they are THAT good!)

After the fair we decided to stop by Kelly and Justin's and give the boys some play time (and deliver some scones!). Anderson and Ethan had a great time playing with all of Anderson's fun toys. While we were home Ethan really discovered his love for riding on things. He loved this little car that Anderson had (he also really liked Maddy!).

Two little boys ready for bed!
Story time on the iPod Touch with Tristan

After a fun start to our second weekend in Washington by going to the fair, we continued the fun with a trip out to Tolmie State Park for Ethan's first trip to the beach. It wasn't as warm as we were hoping it would be while we were there, but we decided to bundle up and do it anyway! Grandma Bernard had all sorts of fun beach toys to take with us. He wasn't sure what to do with the shovel at first, but luckily Grandma Bernard showed him how to use it.

Checking out the rocks on the beach...he kept trying to put them in his mouth at the beginning.

Ethan was not a fan of walking barefoot on the beach, although, I don't really enjoy walking in my bare feet on seaweed either, so I don't blame him!

Learning about the beach from Dad

Tristan, Ethan, Aunt Desiree and Grandma Bernard relaxing on the beach

While the weather wasn't what we expected from Washington in September, it was still nice to be in cooler weather and get a chance to introduce Ethan to the great outdoors! We sure enjoyed the beauty of the Pacific Northwest.

More from Our Trip to Washington--Time with Grandparents

Ethan loved being home and spending time with his grandparents. It was nice to be able to get together with both sets of grandparents at the same time and all spend time together. There is so much to do in Washington that, as usual, we had time fitting it all in! This year we ended up being there during the Puyallup Fair (the big fair in Western Washington). We decided to go on the first day when they were doing free admission if you brought a canned food donation. We met my mom and dad for breakfast that morning at IHOP. Ethan had a great time walking around the restaurant making friends and just being silly in general!

After breakfast, we met up with Grandma Bernard and headed up to the fair. We had a great time at the fair! We decided to take him to see the little piggies (Grandma Bernard's favorite).

Getting a better view from Grandpa Walker

"Wow!"
Taking it all in

We were so excited that our friends Tom and Julie allowed us to house sit for them for the first few weeks of our visit. It was nice to have space to stretch out and call home. They have a large piece of property with animals and lots of toys and baby gadgets (since they watch their grandchildren during the week). It was a perfect fit!

We decided to host a dinner for both of our parents one night so we could all get together again and play! There's that car again!

Running around
Tom has a herd of sheep right now and Ethan loved going out to visit them.

Aunt Desiree making friends with Dhali the llama

Getting in some play time outside was one of his favorite things to do. He would seriously throw temper tantrums when we would bring him inside...guess he is an outdoorsy person just like his daddy!

"Helloooooooooooo!" It was so nice that there were lots of fun toys to play with out at the house.
Getting caught by Grandma Walker
Playing with Grandma Bernard
Even Mom got a turn to play with him!

This was really the first time that he ate lasagna/spaghetti...it's kind of a tradition in our family to take a picture of that moment. He wasn't nearly as messy as me or any of my brothers were in our pictures, but we still took it!

Even with all of the wonderful toys there were to play with, Ethan LOVED the stairs. Between the stairs at Tom and Julie's and the stairs at Grandma Bernard's, he even learned to climb downstairs, too! He is learning all sorts of new tricks these days.
Ethan loved exploring the HUGE backyard...I was really worried about how he would adjust to coming back to Louisiana where it's too hot to be outside all of the time.

Because it's so stinkin' hot in Louisiana he doesn't really play in the dirt much. He wasn't sure about having that stuff all over his hands! Someday I'm sure we'll look back on it and laugh--he is a little boy after all!
We are so thankful for the generosity of the friends in our lives! It was nice to have a place to call our own and pretend that we live in Washington for a few weeks!

Our Annual Trip to Washington (Part I)

We always look forward to our annual trip home to Washington to see family and friends. This trip was especially fun since Ethan is now walking around and a lot more interactive! We were so thankful that our family friends, Tom and Julie Boyer, invited us to house sit for them while they were on vacation. They have a great house with a large back yard, lots of toys and all the baby accessories we could ask for (they babysit their grandkids during the week). It was so nice to have a place spread out and make our home!

We got in on Thursday and I got to spend the day on Friday doing girl stuff with Kelly. Then Saturday we kicked off our trip with my brother's wedding. We only got pics of Ethan on our camera, but I'm waiting for more from Sean. Ethan did o.k. at the wedding, but he was pretty tired. Luckily Tom and Julie had this portable high chair that we used, which was perfect for a snack break!

We ended up leaving the wedding a little early since Ethan was jet-lagged and grouchy, but we decided to make the most of the day and invited Rich, Allisha and Skyler out to the Boyer's for a play date. I didn't get any pictures of the boys together, but they had a great time playing on the porch/playground!

On Sunday we stopped by Grandma and Grandpa Walker's house before church. My dad had been busy garage sale shopping in preparation for our visit. This car was one of his finds and Ethan LOVED it! Good find Grandpa!

We spent Labor Day with Aunt Kelly, Anderson, Shina and Mack. Kelly wanted to take Ethan to the Hands on Children's Museum for his birthday present. The boys had a great time and it was the perfect gift! Thanks, Kelly!

Me and Ethan exploring the puppets

The things moms and dads make kids wear in order to get a good picture!

The trains were definitely a hit! We had a hard time getting him to look up for a picture!

All the boys playing together...

Mack was such a good sport, especially since the two littler boys hadn't quite mastered the concept of sharing or "turns" the way he had!

At first, Ethan wanted nothing to do with the lighthouse. But then he realized how handy it was for playing peek-a-boo and he was hooked!

I love how both Ethan and Anderson are looking at Mack with such concern and Mack is just having a good ol' time! These boys aren't sure what to think about their older friend who is a Hands on Children's Museum pro!

He loved "shoveling" the rocks at the sorting pile.

Visiting the farm
They had a tree that you could "pick" apples off of, which Ethan thought was pretty neat!

He made a quick stop and tried to make friends with the girls who were playing doctor...they didn't really pay him much attention, though, so he gave up and moved on pretty quickly. Look how sad he looks!

Another train set! This time he dug in with his dad.

Ethan's love for cars, trucks and other vehicles really came out on this trip home. He even has a "car" noise he makes while he pushes them around! Maybe all the cars he played with at the museum had some influence on him. He was fascinated by the lights on the ambulance.

Aunt Kelly and Anderson take the wheel!
We ended our visit by making a trip to the water table. Ethan loves water, so this was right up his alley!

It was sure a great start to our vacation. Thanks to Kelly for the great birthday gift to Ethan! The boys had a great time. More pictures to come in part II!