Funny Faces

One of the boys' favorite pastimes is to confiscate our camera and take pictures without us knowing about it.  They especially love taking pictures of each other making weird faces.  The other day they were doing this and I was too tired to try to stop them.  So here is our weird faces photo shoot.

 

I'm not quite sure why all of our "weird" faces include having our eyes half shut.  Obviously, this isn't my best weird face, but like I said I was tired and doing the bare minimum to appease the kids.

 

Ryan wasn't there but I found this one from a previous Tate photo shoot in Ohio.  I believe Ryan and Tate were taking pictures of each other jumping and shouting. 

Luke even got in on the action with a half squinty eye.  Now where did that elusive Cheerio go?

4th of July, Coeur d'Alene style

We decided somewhat last minute to spend the 4th of July up in Coeur d'Alene, ID, visiting Bart, Cheryl and Farel.  It was a blast!  Apparently, Coeur d'Alene goes all out for the 4th, and it did not fail to impress.  The scenery up there is absolutely gorgeous--it makes one kind of want to live there!  It was also so fun spending time with family and celebrating our great nation.  Oh, and did I mention I have never had a 4th of July with such great weather.  It was a beautifully sunny sky with a high of 72 degrees.  We didn't even break a sweat all day! (FYI, Ryan's shirt collar was up to shield his neck from the sun, not because he secretly wants to be on the cast of Miami Vice.)

 

 We started the day by watching the parade downtown.  The boys were so excited for the 4th of July parade, because last year we went to their first parade in Ohio in which they both came home with a bag full of candy.  They have since associated parades with people throwing free candy at you and had been not-so-patiently waiting for the next parade/free candy event.  Unfortunately for the boys (but fortunately for their teeth), there was no candy at this parade.

Thank goodness for superheros.  What the parade was missing in sugary treats it made up for in men wearing tights.  This picture was actually a blessing because Tate and Grant both saw Spiderman close up during the parade but missed the other heroes.  For some reason (maybe from the disappointment of no candy), Tate was pretty upset about not seeing Captain America and cried for a minute.  After the parade ended and we started walking back to the car, who did we come across? None other than Spidey and Capt. America!  When the heroes walked through the park after the parade, they were mobbed by children who ran up to high-five them and say hello. We convinced them to squat down for one more picture and fulfill a little boy's wish for the day.  They were actually great sports even though I'm sure they wanted to escape the crowd of picture-seeking little boys.

 After the parade we enjoyed lunch in the crowded, but shaded, park and the boys played on the massive wooden castle playground.  After lunch we went back to Bart and Cheryl's for a much needed nap.  In true Cheryl fashion, Cheryl was kind enough to keep Grant entertained while the rest of us took a nap. 

Then Farel and two of Bart's brothers came over with their families and we had a delicious BBQ at a park near Bart and Cheryl's.  Afterward, we went back to their place for s'mores and cake.  It's not the 4th of July without fireworks so we headed back downtown to watch them from the balcony of the resort where Bart's brothers had a room.  Coeur d'Alene had raised around $30,000 for their firework show, so it was pretty much awesome!  It was a wonderful way to celebrate the 4th and I think we might just have to make it a tradition.

Farm Fun

One of the great things about Yakima is how close we are to all kinds of delicious fruit.  A few weeks ago we picked Ryan up from work on his half day and headed over to a local farm for their cherry festival.  We picked a couple buckets full of cherries and then headed over to their blueberry bushes and filled a couple more buckets.  We picked so many blueberries I had to freeze a good portion of them.  In doing so we discovered a new favorite snack for the summer, frozen blueberries, yum! (The trick is to first lay the berries out on a cookie sheet and freeze them.  Then put the frozen blueberries into bags.  That way, you can get out as many or as few frozen blueberries as you want without them being all frozen together in one big clump.)

The cherry festival was at such a cute family-run farm.  They had a great shaded lawn area with tree swings and places to play and run around.  I believe this was Luke's first time in a baby swing (there aren't many swings in the parks in Yakima).  He was happy to ride as long as he wasn't swinging faster than the wind could push him.  He liked it slow and steady.

 There were a few games set up with the winners snagging a free dozen cherry donuts.  Ryan and Grant entered the sack race.  Ryan got second and could have definitely won but wasn't fully committed at the beginning of the race.  We bought a dozen donuts anyway, and they were awesome!

 

I think it wouldn't be a farm party without on of these tractor pull rides made out of old barrels.  Oh, and of course you need a good tractor to sit on!

The kids figured out how to get the goat feed out of the machine without putting a quarter in, so the goats got fed quite a bit.  But they never seemed full...

Enjoying the previously mentioned cherry donuts.  Man, you just can't beat warm, fried dough coated in sugar!

Counter-post to "Yaki-Blaa"

 My mood while writing the previous post was probably not the best for blog updating.  We have since had several fun excursions that have improved my outlook of central Washington.  Most of these took place outside of Yakima, but it still makes me feel better finding things we enjoy doing.  A couple of weekends ago the ward had a campout at Ensign ranch, a church owned ranch in the mountains about half-way to Seattle.  We were all ready to go camp with the boys, until a big rain storm the night of camping made us change our minds.  The boys were so excited about the prospect of camping that we decided to drive up Saturday to experience half-camping (without the tent, sleeping out, rain, cold, or mud).  

There were many fun outdoorsy activities available and we took part in all we could.  We went out in the canoe (without falling in the water), we hiked around and enjoyed the scenery, and the boys and Ryan enjoyed playing on a giant slip and slide set up at the ranch (unfortunately, I have no pictures of that).

I loved leaving the dust of Yakima behind and enjoying being surrounded by greenery.  I love trees!

Luke fell captive to the gentle rocking of the backpack carrier and was asleep for most of the hike.  In this picture he was right on the verge of falling asleep and I could tell he wanted to smile but was just too dang tired. 

Not the most comfortable bed but it will work in a pinch. 

Yaki-Blaa

 That title sounds pretty negative, doesn't it?  I actually don't think Yakima is that bad, it's just that we did some reminiscing this week and I got to missing some of the other places we have lived.  A day or two ago the boys and I were sitting on a blanket in the front yard eating grapes and I thought, man I would love to be doing this on a beach.  Preferably, at Sandbridge while visiting my parents in VA.  I'm really bummed we can't go out there this summer, like we have every summer for the past 8 years!

Another day that had me missing the East/South/or anywhere with greenery was when we went on a hike to a supposed waterfall and pretty much ate hot dust the whole way.  I guess it has been a dry year because the waterfall was actually a water-trickle. I think the day was doomed from the start because we had to make a few stops before driving out to the hike, and then got lost for about 45 minutes, and then ended up starting at the hottest part of the day during 2 of our kids nap time.  Luke pretty much looked like this during the entire hike, latched onto the side of the baby carrier, blue eyes completely zoned. 

There is a highlight to this outing, however.  Actually two.  To start the hike you have to cross a fast moving river and the only way to cross it is on a creaky wooden bridge.  (Don't worry mom, the bridge had been fortified by metal poles and rope).  That was really cool.  The second highlight was that one part of the hike also went right next to railway tracks.  Upon seeing the tracks, Tate was adamant about seeing a train and asked about every 45 seconds during the hike when we were going to see a train.  Well, we hiked out and back and never heard a train.  By the time we got back to the van, Tate was screaming and crying because he wasn't able to see the train (he was one of the two who missed a nap).  We were all buckled in the van, ready to pull out when we heard the train whistle.  Wanting to end this adventure on a positive note, Ryan and the boys unbuckled as fast as they could and ran the first part of the hike to the train tracks.  They made it in time to watch the entire train go by, right next to the tracks.  Tate and Grant loved it and we were able to drive home with slightly less grumpy boys. 

Happy Birthday Buddy!

 It's hard to believe that Grant is now a five year old!  We celebrated his birthday a couple of weekends ago and I think he really enjoyed it.  It just so happened that the father/son camp out was the night of his birthday, so Grant was able to enjoy a night in the great outdoors with his Dad.  They were able to dodge the 10 year-olds waving around burning sticks long enough to take the photo above.  He also had a great time staying up late playing Uno with some friends.

 Christine and Sam also happened to be coming up to Tri-Cities that weekend so they added an extra hour to their trip to come hang out with us in Yakima for Grant's birthday.  The boys were so excited to see their cousins and I'm so glad we live closer now, so we can get together more often!

 Blowing out the candles!

Grant requested a Wolverine cake for his birthday (which is kind of random since we don't have any Wolverine toys or action figures).  I was stumped as to what I was going to do for the cake.  Thank goodness for the internet and other people posting their creative ideas.  I found out how to make this cake here and it came together pretty nicely.  I traced Wolverine onto parchment paper and then was able to trace my drawing again with icing.  His mask and a few other areas got a little smudged by the time I took this picture, but it still turned out pretty good.  Grant loved it, which is really what mattered anyway.

 

I put together our traditional treasure hunt for the presents.  I love how excited the kids get deciphering and running to find each next clue.  Their excitement is infectious!

 Finding more clues!

 

 And at last, opening presents!  Thank goodness for the goody bags that every kid gets at the end.  No one even cried during the present opening this year, which was the best present they could have given us!! 

Grant is such a wonderful part of our family.  He is a fun-loving, energetic boy but he can also spend an afternoon being still, coloring or working in workbooks.  He is a great older brother and is especially kind and gentle with Luke.  He and Tate have become great friends and, though they still annoy and hit each other periodically throughout the day, Grant always sticks up for and protects his younger brothers (I tell him not to hit people but secretly I'm proud that he's willing to stick up for those he loves, even if that means decking bullies).  I love his sense of humor.  He's on his way to developing his father's wit and he's picking up my weirdness with his funny faces and random dances.  We love him so much and are so grateful to be blessed with him as our oldest child.  Happy Birthday, Granty!

Luke says Happy Birthday, too! 

(He loves to get two fistfuls of hair, then move in for a good scalp-gnawing, which is what he did shortly after this photo was taken.)

Continuing where we left off...part 2

 About a week after arriving in Yakima, we loaded once again into the van and headed back down to Utah. My brother, David, was graduating from BYU and my parents and sister and her family were going to be in Utah for several days, so we couldn't miss the party.  It was great to get together with family and it's always fun to be in Utah for a few days (especially when staying at Nana's).  We were able to spend time with family, go shopping, eat delicious food, make a couple trips to IKEA, and just have fun.  After my parents and sister left, Ryan also left to go to a shotgun course in Vegas with his brothers.  So it was just me, Nana and the kids for a few days, but it was still a lot of fun.  Oh, and I chopped off my hair. 

 My cousin Holly did a great job and I love the cut.  I can't tell you how nice it was the first few times I washed and then combed through my hair.  It was so quick to wash and then dry afterward, I didn't know what to do with the extra time!  I do sometimes miss having longer hair, but this is a fun cut and I'm enjoying having it shorter for now.

 So now we are done traveling and trying to get settled in Yakima.  Ryan officially started work the Monday after getting back from Utah and has really enjoyed it.  He really likes the people he works with and is excited about the opportunities ahead with the company.  Luke is really growing up in the month we've been here by learning how to sit up, crawl, and begin to feed himself. 

He was wondering where that last puff went he was trying to get in his mouth :)

 Tate has continued to be his regular self: a super hero, kick-boxing boy who also has a softer side that likes to clean, bake, and give hugs.  

Grant misses his preschool in the afternoons but still manages to keep himself busy during the boys' nap time by coloring or working on Kindergarten workbooks.  I think he probably already knows most things covered in the Kindergarten and 1st grade curriculums, but he's still excited for school in the Fall.

 We now have a lawn to care for here in Yakima and the boys are so excited to help (once again)!  They each had to take turns pushing the mower and running the weed whacker with dad, which has become a weekly obsession for them both.

 I like seeing these father/son moments.  Plus, I know it won't be too long before the boys are not excited to cut the grass.