Summer VA trip

 So way back in the beginning of July we set off across the country to spend some time in good ol' Virginny.  We hadn't been out for over a year and a half and we were more than ready for a visit.  Uncle David was there while we were and uncle Ryan was able to come up for a couple days.  The boys loved playing with Grandma and Grandpa and all the fun things we were able to do.

 We were there over the 4th of July.  We didn't make it out to any fireworks (too tired to face the crowds) but my dad and I ran a 4th of July race in the morning and the boys enjoyed wearing the swag we picked up there.  The race reminded me just how hard it can be to run in about 80% humidity, yikes!

 My mom and dad were able to be off work for a good portion of the trip and we loved being able to spend lots of time with them.  Tate discovered that Papa gives a lot better under-dogs than I do (under-dog: when the person pushing the swing pushes the swing forward as he/she runs underneath it).  He even got to try some over-cats :) (over-cat: another name for under-dog)

 Luke would have been more than happy to spend the majority of the vacation right here in the swing.  He would just sit there and zone out, swinging back and forth, back and forth.  If you'd try to stop, he'd just bring his little fists together (baby sign language) and whisper "more".

 Grant and Ryan proudly scaled a large rock at a local park.

 One of our favorite activities was spending a couple of days at the beach.  I love how the beach is free, but also great non-stop entertainment for the kids.  We built an awesome moat with 1/2 a sandcastle inside, played in the water, looked for crabs, played some more in the sand, picked over seashells, and caught lots of waves with the boggie board.  I took Grant out with the board and would set him up just right for a wave and he would ride them all the way into shore.  He caught almost every one I set him up for (with only a couple wipeouts!)

 One of the days, Ryan constructed a makeshift shade out of a beach umbrella, a tent rain fly, and two pieces of PVC pipe and it was nice to get out of the sun.  A regular MacGyver he is.

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of our day at Busch Gardens, but we all had a blast there.  We arrived right when they opened and enjoyed not having to wait in any lines.  In the afternoon, right when the park was getting too busy, a freak thunderstorm came through and it seems like most of the people in the park left.  We waited out the torrential rain, which stopped after ~45 minutes, and again had an almost empty park to enjoy for the evening.  It would have been even more awesome to not have been drenched and cold for a portion of the day, but luckily we brought a change of clothes and warmed up again.  The next day the boys were already asking when we could go again!

We had such a blast with our family in VA and hope we can make it out next year too!

Hiking Franklin Falls

Before we flew out for our trip to VA we stopped to hike to Franklin Falls in the Snoqualmie Pass.  It always amazes me how driving about 1 1/2 hours from the semi-dessert of Yakima can put us in a lush forested climate.  The hike was probably around 2 miles round trip but with a lot of ups and downs on the trail, so it seemed a little longer.  The boys were troopers and we all enjoyed being able to stretch our legs in preparation for the our cross country flight the next day.

We were pretty far from the falls right here, but really it was much, much bigger.

I loved all the vines on the trees.  After being in Yakima for so long I felt like we were in the jungle.  Too bad it rains too much on this side of the mountain.

On another note, one day Ryan came home from work with cotton candy from a party at work.  It was quite an exciting moment that had to be captured on camera.  Plus, I though Lukey looked especially cute with his backpack on and a backwards hat.  We have such cute boys!

Summer Fun Photo Shoot

 

In Ortho residency Ryan had to purchase a very nice digital camera to use for his patient records.  I have had a goal for quite a while to try to figure out how to use the camera and improve the quality of the pictures I take.  Unfortunately that goal must not be very pressing to me since I have taken the camera out of it's bag about 5 times.  Even though these pictures are probably all wrong with the lighting, aperature, etc. it's easy to see what a difference a nice digital camera makes.  These are just some pictures from one hot afternoon in June.

Tate was trying to go somewhere, fast.

 Grant's bandaid is to keep some fresh stitches he received out of the sunlight to help prevent scarring.  A few weeks after his trip to the ER for his broken arm, Grant got stabbed in the lip by a kid we were babysitting (Grant probably deserved it), with a toy dental drill.  Thank goodness for our oral surgeon neighbor who saved us another ER trip and stitched Grant up in his office that day.  I'm especially grateful now that we've started to receive the bills for the first ER visit, yikes!!

Later that day they snuggled up on the couch to watch a little movie.  Such sweet boys!!

Super Heroes Never Give Up

Back in June Grant participated in Yakima's Gap 2 Gap race with a few of his friends.  It's a relay race (with age groups ranging from six to adults) consisting of running, biking, skating and obstacle course legs.  Grant's team was The Avengers and he was able to test out his new birthday present in the biking leg.

Here he is after receiving the wrist band from his teammate who did the running portion.  It was definitely a high energy scene.  Parents were yelling for their kids to go faster, people were everywhere, competitors all over the course.  I noticed that Grant was getting a little nervous before his turn just because the atmosphere was so hyped up.  Once he got going on the course, he was flying!!

Grant did great and enjoyed being part of the race.  And yes, his left arm is casted.  That was from jumping off the couch and punching the ground Hulk-style one evening while I was at work.  Ryan had to take him to the ER and Grant got his first cast.  Exciting times.

 Tate cheered on Grant and is excited for when he's old enough to participate.

 Grant with his teammates, Luke, Jordan and Micheal.  They had a blast. 

 Later that day, the boys were able to go to a birthday party and came home with this balloon.  I had to work that evening as well but saw this nice piece of art work the next day.  Ryan said Tate and Grant were playing all afternoon and had decorated this balloon as their team motto, translation "Super Heroes Never Give up, by Grant and Tate.  We love this Balloon".  I love the super hero picture drawn on the side.

And this picture is just because The Duke is so sweet!!

Happy Birthday Grant!!

 Grant became even more of a big boy by turning 6 in May.  We had his party at a fun place here in town called Kid's Castle.  He had about 10 of his best buds come to his party and letting them run around and play at Kid's Castle, as opposed to our house, was one of the best birthday party decisions we have ever made. 

 The kids ran hard, played hard and had a great birthday time.

 Grant and all his buds enjoyed some pizza before the cake and presents.  Grant is really into making funny faces for the camera these days.

No special decorations for the cake this year.  But you know I bake from scratch and the cake was awesomely delicious :)

Grant received many nice presents from his friends and grandmas and grandpas, including lots of Legos, awesome!  Ryan and I got him a fancy new bike and he has been zooming around the neighborhood since.

 Grant is a great kid and we are so grateful to have him in our family.  Some interesting facts about Grant:

• He loves to read.  Halfway through the school year, the librarian let him pick out a chapter book to bring home to read with his regular book.  Since then he's read at least 10 Magic Tree House books by himself among all the other things he likes to read.  I love seeing him curled up on the recliner with a book or the Friend magazine in his lap. It warms my heart.
• Grant is a bit of a perfectionist and has to make sure whatever he is working on is spelled correctly and done just right (I wonder were he gets that one from :)
• Grant can be a great helper to me and I often send him to entertain Luke while I'm busy making dinner or such.  He can be so sweet and soft with Luke and likes to read him books.
• Grant plays the proper older brother role by teasing his younger brothers on a regular basis, then protecting them when the situation calls for it.  He has never hesitated to punch kids that have wronged Tate somehow, and even though it's annoying to keep him from taking revenge for every wrong deed, it's nice to know he's got his brother's back.
• Grant is thoughtful and likes to leave notes saying "I love you" or "you are awesome" for us around the house.  One day he set up a treasure hunt for Tate, drawing out his own clues and ending with the "treasure" of a couple of hidden Star Bursts for them to share.  It was so cute.
• Grant loves to learn and has an amazing memory for things that he's read about.  I'm convinced he knows more facts about animals than I do, especially when he starts telling me about the average speed of a cheetah, the migration patterns of the monarch butterfly, etc.  
• Grant has the perfect little boy giggle.  It's cute but in a strong way.  It's uninhibited joy that bubbles out of him when he hears or thinks of something funny.  His laugh is also very infectious, always making us laugh too when we hear it.
• Grant gets frustrated easily at times, but he has a tender heart and we love him and are so glad he's part of our family.  Happy Birthday Grant!! 

Super Hero Bash

 About a month ago, the Yakima schools put on a mother/son superhero social for K-8th grade.  I've been known to voice my opinion on occasion about the lack of mother/son events.  In the church at least, there are daddy/daughter, mother/daughter, father/son activities but not really any mother/son.  I ended up being scheduled to work the night of the social, but with persistent calling/nagging on my part and an awesome co-worker willing to switch with me I got off for the night and had a blast with my boys at the party.

 Luke really wanted to go with us, but he didn't quite meet the age limit, and I didn't want to be pulling his hands out of the punch bowl all night.  Ryan said after we left, Luke sat by the door and cried for about 5 minutes.  It's so hard being the little brother!  I'm pretty sure after he cried out all his sorrows, he forgot all about us deserting him and had a great night with Ryan anyway.

 There were tons of fun activities for all the little super heroes and their moms.  The boys loved the bounce houses and this one where you tried to knock the floating balls out of the air with a baseball.

   Probably their favorite activity was the laser tag set up outside, complete with inflatable "boulders" to hide behind.  Unfortunately, it was the favorite event of everyone there and we had to stand in line for about 40 minutes for a turn.  I didn't get any pictures because I was having too much fun trying to take down the older boys we were playing with.  Grant and Tate both ran out of lives before I was done, but I didn't think it would be right to stay in the game as long as I could, taking out little boys just because it's surprisingly fun.  So I gave up my gun early and we went in to get our ice cream.

 There was a DJ playing all sorts of awesome tunes, many of which we have dance parties to at home when we feel the need for a little Pandora.  Needless to say, the boys weren't shy this time about showing off their dance moves and we had fun wompin' Gangnam style.

 My camera was not doing too well in the dark indoor lighting, but the boys had fun playing all the games- like carrying Skittles in a spoon to put them in a cup across the room- and winning cheap prizes...

 such as tiny magnifying glasses to make you have huge red eyes.

I had such a fun time with my boys.  We'll be back every year we're here in Yakima, or at least as long as they still want to be seen out and about with me.

See, I knew Luke had a fun time with daddy.  How could a boy this cute not have fun?!

Gone Fishing

Last month, the Yakima park system hosted a fishing event for the kiddos.  For $10, each kid got a pole, bait, T-shirt and the chance to fish for 30 minutes in a pond completely stocked with fish.  Tate wasn't old enough to register, but he got to hang out and offer moral support. 

 

 It took us about 10 minutes to find the right spot and get set up, and then we weren't having any luck.  The fish would bite the bait, but the boys could never reel them in.  All the while the boy and girl on either side of us kept bringing the fish in without problem.  When the announcer gave the 5 minute warning, I was starting to get a little worried.  If we left without any fish I knew we'd have a day of weeping and wailing, with some gnashing of teeth thrown in for good measure.  Thankfully, Ryan and Grant changed form at the end and Grant caught a fish with about 2 minutes to go.  One of the kids next to us had three fish (each kid was only allowed two), so they had us take the other home.  Success, and a drive home with one less thing for kids to whine about!! 

Buddy was pretty proud of his fish, and I was proud of him too (even if I couldn't look at his catch.  Dead fish eyes--gross!).

Poor Lukey had to spend most of his time strapped into his stroller up on the walking path.  I know he would have been happy to pull a few fish out of the pond with his bare hands, but such is the life of a one year old. He did, however, find the strength to bury his sorrow in a stomach full of granola bars, though, so all's well that ends well.