Long Beach, WA--September 2012

We had been trying to coordinate a weekend with my parents all summer to make a trip to the beach for a night.  One of my dad's customer's has just finished building a brand new house in Long Beach, WA, and offered to let us go stay out there if we were interested.  My dad's birthday is in the last week of September and we decided to plan our trip for that weekend.  We were kind of wondering if it was actually brand new, because usually at the beach the property is all taken, but when we got there we saw it was definitely brand new.  It was beautiful and fully stocked and we had a wonderful stay!

The back of the house

 The view from the backyard--if you look closely you can see the waves just over the hill.  It was about a 5 minute walk to the beach .

 The upstairs--kitchen, laundry room door on the left.  There are also two bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs.

 Upstairs--living room off of the kitchen

 Downstairs--past the kitchenette there is a bedroom and a bathroom

 The front of the house

Carter was so happy to be at the beach...he was all smiles!

 Ethan and grandpa checking out the waves

 Carter and Tristan digging in the sand

 Having so much fun!

 Our little picnic area.  Carter wandered up there and was just playing by himself for a while.  This section of the beach was so nice because there was NO traffic.  I think we saw 2 cars the whole time and 2 other people.  It was nice and private and relaxing!

 Still smilin'!

 Wandering on the beach

 Ethan loves to dig holes that fill with water whenever we go to the beach.  Then he likes to get his feet stuck in the mud.  It's kind of become a thing he and Tristan like to do together.

 Carter loved sitting in the big chair.

 Being crazy!

 It was so nice to sit and relax and play.  On Friday night we did a steak and salmon dinner for my dad's birthday and had cake, too.  Then we relaxed and watched a movie and headed to bed.  The boys slept great thanks to all the fresh air and exercise they got.

Saturday morning we headed into town for breakfast and some sight-seeing. Then we headed back to the beach for lunch before packing up and hitting the road to go back home.  We will definitely be visiting this beach house again next summer--and next time we will stay longer for sure!

Carter's Birthday Party

Since Tristan was gone for Carter's actual birthday we decided to do a birthday gathering for Carter once he returned home.  We chose a Sunday because that is what typically works best for our families, but that also meant having to squeeze it in after church got out at 4:00!  Fortunately, it stays light late in September.  The weather was still pretty decent and we didn't get chilly until after the sun went down.  We had hamburgers and hot dogs and just let the kids play!

The sandbox is always a fave for Carter!

 Birthday boy eating his dinner

 Opening gifts.  At first Carter just watched what I was doing...

 then he decided to get in on the action!

 Time for cake!

 Who cries over cake?  It's just a thing for my one-year-olds.  Ethan wasn't impressed either.

 Showing him how to blow out the candles

 Digging in!  This was right before he threw that huge piece in his hand!

 Trying to show him what he's missing out on

 No, mom, I don't want cake!  Seriously?!

 Yummy Costco cake for the rest of us!

One year has seemed to come so quickly.  I was so grateful to have the opportunity to celebrate Carter with our family.  We are grateful for those who came and let our little man know how special is to all of us!!

Carter's First Birthday

I can't believe our little man is 1 already!  Unfortunately, Tristan had to work for Carter's birthday so we planned a get together for when he was home.  On the day of Carter's birthday I decided to take the boys to the zoo.  I got a few girlfriends together and we headed up to Point Defiance Zoo.  I wasn't able to get many pictures since it was just me with the two boys...I was kind of running all over the place!  But I did manage to get a few of the birthday boy.

He loved playing at the playground area of the zoo!

 Love the intensity in his face as he's playing!

 He loved running through these plastic flaps.  It was cracking me up!

 In and out...in and out....

 When we got home Grandma Bernard came by for a visit and so did Grandpa and Grandma Walker.  My parents got him an actual sandbox to replace the kiddie pool sandbox that was cracked and broken after a long, hard summer of playing.  This will be nice since it has a lid.  I was done with sand for the summer so I decided to just put a little water in it and let them play.  It was fun for a few days and then it was time to clean it out, move it out to the yard and close it up for the winter.  I know it will be well loved when spring weather hits again!

September Silliness

Popcorn is a favorite snack around here--especially for the boys.  Carter had been trying so hard to get ahold of some everytime we had some.  Finally I just gave in even though he wasn't really supposed to have it yet.  As you can see, he enjoyed it a lot!

 Yum!

 One day we had apple smiles for a snack

 I started teaching Ethan how to use scissors and glue.  He loves it.  I think it makes him feel like a big boy!

 Doing some apple stamping

 For some reason, baskets and empty boxes are a favorite toy in our house.  Carter is constantly trying to climb into them no matter how small they are!

 Two boys in a basket!

 Later that morning I found them in my room rolling around in my DIRTY laundry.  What weirdos!

 We finally pulled up the last of our carrots.  Ethan loves, loves, loves carrots.  Carter wants to, but just doesn't have enough teeth yet!

 I love how they are looking at each other in this one!

 Ethan never really got into swings.  He still doesn't like them.  Carter, on the other hand, loves to swing!

 One night we decided to roast marshmallows in the back yard.  Here's Ethan, all ready to roast his first marshmallow!

 Getting it toasty brown!

 A marshmallow for each of us!

 Trying his first S'more...later he ditched it and just started eating the chocolate pieces.  That boy LOVES chocolate.

 Carter's first S'more

 As you can see, he was diggin' it!

 Shoving more in his mouth

 Apparently he was playing in the grass, too, because the grass was stuck to the marshmallow on his face!  That kid is so crazy!

I just love our silly boys!  There is no shortage on entertainment around here, that's for sure!