Bikes and Bubbles

Preparing for a little practice riding sans training wheels. Our neighbor zipped by without her training wheels this afternoon. I think it annoyed Luke a little bit that a girl was "ahead" of him. But he took it all in stride and happily went for a spin. I ran alongside, awkwardly supporting his seat and yelling encouragement. I am definitely a mom.
Andy wanted all of his safety equipment on for 3.5 seconds to pose for a picture. Then he wanted me to take it all off again. This child is so "me" it's almost scary. He adores this jeep, by the way.

Quite possibly the best hand-me-down toy we ever received.

I tried to get Andy to ride Luke's other bike with the training wheels. He refused to pedal. When he sits on his tiny little trike, he won't pedal either. He scoots around with his feet.

We are totally exhausted by Friday afternoon. I'm so glad the bikes and the giant bubbles kept them entertained.

Trying to capture a giant bubble on the wand.
Can't believe we are still wearing sweatpants on the 25th of June.

One Week Down...How Many Left?

We have successfully completed our first week of summer vacation. The rain finally stopped and we were able to get outside. We spent most of Friday morning at our favorite park.

I've often wondered if I should capitalize on Luke's love of learning by implementing some informal "lessons" this summer. Nothing fancy, nothing official, just the basics. Well, the boys took matters into their own hands at the park. They love taking their hot wheels cars to the top of the twisty slide. This often leads to a confrontation as one boy climbs up and one boy climbs down. I'm glad I was standing there because suddenly there was a gasp and Andy was falling off the top of the slide. Luke grabbed his foot and I caught the rest of him before he hit the ground. An excellent lesson in basic physics, I suppose.

Steve took the boys to our local fire station for an "open house" on Saturday. They loved it! Luke got to dress up and use the fire hose. They also learned how to safely exit a house when there is smoke in your room. I stayed home with Eli, but I hear the whole event was a big hit.

We went to Eatonville to visit Papa Dave and Grandma Nancy for Father's Day. I have taken a picture of Steve with the boys every Father's Day out on the deck. However, it was pouring buckets so we opted for the couch. Andy is proudly displaying his craft project from Sunday school. Eli is in the way, but Steve is wearing his paper tie that Luke made for him at school.

Last Day of School

Luke's good friend Cooper hosted a last day of Kindergarten celebration. It was supposed to be a pool party, but the pouring rain forced the party into the garage. Including younger siblings, I think there were 8 boys and one very brave girl.

Thanks for the delicious cupcake!

C'mon! Give me some candy! Andy didn't want to take a turn smacking the pinata until somebody broke it open and he realized it was raining candy. He was all over that.

Relaxing after a long walk with Dad and a very fun last day of school. He had a great year in kindergarten, we are so proud of him.

It's All About the Tricks

"Watch this, Mom! Look me! Watch! Watch!" That's the theme at our house these days. I'm always interested to see what they are up to. This tower of cups is a funny story. Luke came home from school last week and told me he had learned about stacking cups in PE. I vaguely recalled a story about the world's fastest 5 year old cup stacker on You Tube but didn't really think it was the same thing. So he slowly and deliberately got out all of our colorful cups and began building a pyramid on the kitchen counter. Suddenly my life flashed before my eyes and I saw myself sitting in a gymnasium for hours on end, watching kids stack cups like maniacs. Yawn. On the other hand, aren't gymnasiums warm and dry? Free from the unpleasant elements of rain, wind, sleet and hail? With this epiphany in mind, I nearly jumped in my mini van and raced to accumulate all the necessary supplies to become proficient in 'speed stacking'. But, alas, the novelty wore off by dinner and he didn't mention it again. Andy, on the other hand, patiently waited for Luke to leave for school the next day, then climbed up on the counter, asked for the cups and wanted to build a pyramid. Hence, the photo with the proud smile.

If not a speedy stacker of cups, perhaps a rabbi? Just kidding. This was the trick of the day.

Six months and one week of Eli. Doesn't this smile just melt your heart? He's going to get away with A LOT of mischief. I can just see it coming.

Meanwhile, Jake has managed to survive the arrival of a third boy. He even gives him affectionate licks from time to time. Eli is captivated by this large, fury, jingle jangle that wanders around from time to time.

The biggest highlight of the week, of which there aren't any photos because he wouldn't have had time to take them...Steve took the boys to our annual community celebration: Maple Valley Days. They left at 8:30am to get a "spot" for the parade and I didn't see them again until close to 4 in the afternoon. They had a blast. Steve deserves a medal.
Summer officially starts for us on Tuesday at 11:56am when Luke kisses Kindergarten good-bye. Yikes!

Birthdays, Cousins and Cake! Oh, My!

Eli is 6 months old today, we can't hardly believe it. He is so easy to have around. His little belly laugh is just delightful.
Papa Dave and almost all of his grandchildren

We celebrated two birthdays today. We're efficient like that.

Allie and her assistant, Andy

The rain let up for a little bit so everybody went outside to practice t-ball, softball and shooting Sprite cans with the BB gun. Even though the weather was crummy (again), we were not discouraged. It was nice to be together. The kiddos are all growing up so fast. They keep us laughing with the clever things they say.

Happy Birthday, Heather and Papa!

Our Island Adventure

We decided to get out of town for the long weekend. I found a brand new, beautiful house overlooking the water that just happened to be available. Camano Island is an easy 2 hour drive, which is about all we can stand with 3 little boys in the car. This gigantic star fish is one of the many the boys discovered at the State Park.
Western Washington is having a miserably soggy May, but we would not be discouraged from getting out and about. The boys were good sports about putting on their rain gear and heading out for the afternoon with Steve. We just could not get over these amazing star fish!

Luke wanted to try a group photo. Andy is inside the house asleep. Honest.

My pictures are out of sequence and I'm too tired to fix it, but we stopped at the Children's museum on the way to the island. I usually take the boys here once a year. I wanted Steve to see it, too. We were able to connect with one of my college roommates who lives nearby. It wasn't quite as easy to visit as it used to be, with 3 adults chasing after 5 little kids, but still fun to see her and catch up a little bit.

Andy was in awe of the train exhibit. He spent almost his entire visit playing with the trains. I literally dragged him out, kicking and screaming, when it was time for lunch. They would've stayed all day, but Eli didn't have any place to nap and 3 hours without sleeping was about all he could take.

Although I wish the weather wasn't so nasty, I am glad we chose to go on our trip, anyway. We played lots of board games (hooray for Battleship!), read books and watched our favorite shows. The house was amazing and the scenery enjoyable. A great start to our summer.

Little Mister Goes Vertical

In keeping with his role as the third child, Eli spends a lot of time on his backside. The floor gym, the car seat, the stroller, naps in the swing, sleeping in his crib. Given the size of his noggin, he doesn't look like he'll be sitting up any time soon. Unfortunately, the back of his head is looking a little...odd. A baby in a helmet is about the last thing I need this summer, so I am on a quest to get that boy off his backside and hopefully re-shape that luscious melon.

Thanks to my latest acquisition from Craigslist (a nearly new Jumperoo), Eli has now gone vertical. He is in awe of his surroundings. At first he just sat there quietly and stared. Sucked on his fingers. Stared some more. I think it must be hard work holding up that giant head because he starts to cry pretty quickly. So much fun, this little guy.