Friday, August 22, 2008
Birthday Boy!
I cannot believe that it is already my baby boy's first birthday!! Happy Birthday Aaron! We are having Jeff and Jes and the boys and my Dad and Mom over for cake and ice cream on Sunday, so I'll post pictures then.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
First Steps!!
Aaron took his first steps a couple of weeks ago!! I was sitting at the computer typing, and I heard him laugh and I turned around to see him tottering around the corner in the hall! He laughs as he walks like he is completely amused and pleased with himself! I missed getting the first steps on video, but here is a shot of him "walking" last week at our friends' house (thanks Niki for acting as technical support!):
Wild Waves
I love my brother. He is definitely a yellow personality. The boy lives for fun! So he's been dying to go to Wild Waves and Enchanted Villiage, an amusement park here that has water slides on one half and regular roller coasters and stuff on the other half. He decided he wanted me to go with him, and Jesica told me that she would watch the kids for me for the day if I would go, just to get him to be quiet about it! :) It sounded like a great deal to me!
So on the 8th we headed off to be kids again! It really was a lot of fun, after I got over the mom reflex to panic over where my kids were every 2 seconds! We went early and hit up all of the non-water stuff first. One of the funniest moments of the day was getting kicked off one of the rides because Jeff was too TALL! For whatever reason, on the "Ring of Fire", you need to have two people per seat. The seats are only about 18 inches wide, and even for my legs, my knees were touching the seat in front of me. The only way Jeff could fit his legs was to sit dead center on the seat and spread his legs out to the side. Needless to say, this prevented anyone from being able to sit with him. After pointlessly trying to argue with the teenager running the ride that there was no good reason why you had to have two people per seat, we just laughed it off. The same thing happened on another ride as well...maybe this was the fates trying to tell us that we are too big to be playing like kids...nah!
The day really was a lot of fun, and I was just reminded of how much I love my brother. I never would have guessed it when I was growing up, but he really has become one of my very best friends!
So on the 8th we headed off to be kids again! It really was a lot of fun, after I got over the mom reflex to panic over where my kids were every 2 seconds! We went early and hit up all of the non-water stuff first. One of the funniest moments of the day was getting kicked off one of the rides because Jeff was too TALL! For whatever reason, on the "Ring of Fire", you need to have two people per seat. The seats are only about 18 inches wide, and even for my legs, my knees were touching the seat in front of me. The only way Jeff could fit his legs was to sit dead center on the seat and spread his legs out to the side. Needless to say, this prevented anyone from being able to sit with him. After pointlessly trying to argue with the teenager running the ride that there was no good reason why you had to have two people per seat, we just laughed it off. The same thing happened on another ride as well...maybe this was the fates trying to tell us that we are too big to be playing like kids...nah!
The day really was a lot of fun, and I was just reminded of how much I love my brother. I never would have guessed it when I was growing up, but he really has become one of my very best friends!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Indianola Sand Sculptures
Here's the pics of the sand sculptures from Indianola Days (read our last post) We decided to post them all instead of making a slide show so that they'll all show up when we print our blog.
VW Bug
Dragonfly
Spaghetti and meatballs with a fork
A giant squid attacking a submarine. Todd said he saw
this when the tide started coming back in and it looked really
cool because everything but the squid and the sub were under
water and it really looked like they were coming up out of the
water
The great wall of China...appropriate with the Summer
Olympics there this year!
Igloo
A cool castle
Not sure what this was...a building of some sort!
A giant toad...this was one of my favorites!
A shark(?) eating a canoe
A shark head biting into a raft
This one was cool too...a giant guitar
Patches the clown (creepy...I really don't
like clowns!)
Not sure what this was, but we think maybe King Triton.
Another King Triton shot
A bear going fishing
Mermaid
A dog fish (complete with a hydrant in front of him)
VW Bug
Dragonfly
Spaghetti and meatballs with a fork
A giant squid attacking a submarine. Todd said he saw
this when the tide started coming back in and it looked really
cool because everything but the squid and the sub were under
water and it really looked like they were coming up out of the
water
The great wall of China...appropriate with the Summer
Olympics there this year!
Igloo
A cool castle
Not sure what this was...a building of some sort!
A giant toad...this was one of my favorites!
A shark(?) eating a canoe
A shark head biting into a raft
This one was cool too...a giant guitar
Patches the clown (creepy...I really don't
like clowns!)
Not sure what this was, but we think maybe King Triton.
Another King Triton shot
A bear going fishing
Mermaid
A dog fish (complete with a hydrant in front of him)
Indianola Days!
Every year on the day of lowest tide (August 2nd this year), the city of Indianola on the Sound side of the Olympic Peninsula has a festival of sorts called Indianola Days. My dad's friend and his wife live right on the beach, and my dad has been going every year for the last 20 years. I had never been to it, and this year we decided it would be fun to take the kids, especially since Tori misses the beach in Florida so much!
Todd and I went over with the kids on Saturday morning, and Jeff came with Gavin and Ryan. Jes had to work, and we were sorry she wasn't there! We took a ferry over in the morning. Here's a shot of the kids on the ferry:
And another one of our family on the ferry:
As you can see by the outfits and by the comical look on Gavin's face, the weather was not cooperating for a "beach" day! You've gotta love western Washington!
Thankfully it warmed up and we had a lot of fun! There was a big sand sculpture contest, and it was fun to look at some of the crazy creations people came up with. I'm planning on posting a slide show of some of them soon. The kids played on the beach and we all just hung out for most of the day. It was good to spend time with Dad and Mom, and to see the kids have fun.
One of my favorite moments of the day illustrates the difference in the kids' personalities perfectly:
Tori: (in a fine whine) I want to play on the beach!
Me: Okay, well, there's the beach! Stop whining, and go play!
Tori: (pouting and dramatic) But no one will play with me!
Gavin: (with a very superior air) I don't want to play on the beach.
Ryan: (innocently oblivious to the other kids' moods, and cheerful for the moment) I'll go play!
Tori: (instantly cheerful and carefree now that she gets her way) Okay, let's go!
Tori and Ryan exit stage right and run happily to the beach.
Gavin: (reluctantly following them and in a chagrined tone) Okay, okay, I'll go, but I really don't want to get messy!
Gavin is the neatest 5 year old I know. He came to me later to report, in a horrified voice, that Tori was digging a hole, making a puddle, and was going to sit in it! He said this with the same horror and urgency that most people would use to inform the president that a meteor was headed directly to earth and Bruce Willis was nowhere to be found! I tried to calmly explain to him that Tori was on a beach in a bathing suit and it was okay if she got wet!
Tori's favorite part of the whole day was definitely the beach...here's some pics:
Tori and Gavin with the sandcastle they built
Tori and Ryan playing in a tide pool...Tori called it a
little lake!
Tori and Ryan playing in the "lake"
When the tide came back in, the larger sand sculptures
became little islands that the kids loved to play on!
Tori kept finding all of these little fish that were stranded
on the beach since the tide was out. She told me that her favorite
part of the day was rescuing the little fish and throwing
them back in the water. Kind of gross...but very sweet too!
This is a picture taken from under the pier. When we
got there, the water was out past the end of it. By the
end of the day, the water was completely back it...it was
incredible to watch it come in so quickly! Another of Tori's
favorite activities for the day was poking the barnacles
that grew on the posts of the pier. They were HUGE, and
Todd showed her that if you poked them gently, they retreated
back within their shell more. She poked to her little heart's content,
always being very careful not to hurt them, and had to show
Gavin, Grandma, Grandpa, and anyone else who would listen
to her!
I love this picture of Gavin because it just reminds me
of his personality. While Tori and Ryan were running around
being crazy, he was sitting and just watching the beach. He
can be so serious sometimes. I love the kid!
No day at the beach would be complete without
a picture of my brother being a dork! This picture
makes Tori laugh and say "silly Uncle Jeff!"
And of course we need Aaron pictures!
Here he is with Dad...
and with me (gotta love his little tongue sticking out!)...
and taking a nap with Daddy...
and just being completely adorable! Todd had him in
the back pack carrier, and he kept stealing his hat and
putting it on himself!
Where's Aaron?
Peek-a-boo!
So after a long day of playing on the beach there was a salmon bake (delicious!!) and then we headed home that evening. We were all tired and worn out, but the kids had a ton of fun! The ferry ride home was nice, and we got some great views of Seattle and of a beautiful sunset. It was incredibly windy on the ferry, so a lot of the shots were blurry from the wind blowing my camera, but here are some ones that turned out:
The Space Needle (obviously!)
Downtown...I love this city!
I took this shot for the building on the right (white with the
pointy top). It is a long standing joke with Todd and I...
the first time we went downtown together I mentioned that
it used to be the tallest building in Seattle (a random fact I
learned somewhere). Then I forgot that I told him that, and
mentioned it to him on two other occasions. So now, every
time we drive past it, one of us has to say, "Hey, did you know
that used to be the tallest building in Seattle?" I know, we are
dorks, but it makes us laugh. I also thought it was neat to see
it in comparison to the Columbia Center tower (the large black
building on the left), which is now the tallest.
Another waterfront shot
And our beautiful Sunset. A perfect end to a really fun day!
Todd and I went over with the kids on Saturday morning, and Jeff came with Gavin and Ryan. Jes had to work, and we were sorry she wasn't there! We took a ferry over in the morning. Here's a shot of the kids on the ferry:
And another one of our family on the ferry:
As you can see by the outfits and by the comical look on Gavin's face, the weather was not cooperating for a "beach" day! You've gotta love western Washington!
Thankfully it warmed up and we had a lot of fun! There was a big sand sculpture contest, and it was fun to look at some of the crazy creations people came up with. I'm planning on posting a slide show of some of them soon. The kids played on the beach and we all just hung out for most of the day. It was good to spend time with Dad and Mom, and to see the kids have fun.
One of my favorite moments of the day illustrates the difference in the kids' personalities perfectly:
Tori: (in a fine whine) I want to play on the beach!
Me: Okay, well, there's the beach! Stop whining, and go play!
Tori: (pouting and dramatic) But no one will play with me!
Gavin: (with a very superior air) I don't want to play on the beach.
Ryan: (innocently oblivious to the other kids' moods, and cheerful for the moment) I'll go play!
Tori: (instantly cheerful and carefree now that she gets her way) Okay, let's go!
Tori and Ryan exit stage right and run happily to the beach.
Gavin: (reluctantly following them and in a chagrined tone) Okay, okay, I'll go, but I really don't want to get messy!
Gavin is the neatest 5 year old I know. He came to me later to report, in a horrified voice, that Tori was digging a hole, making a puddle, and was going to sit in it! He said this with the same horror and urgency that most people would use to inform the president that a meteor was headed directly to earth and Bruce Willis was nowhere to be found! I tried to calmly explain to him that Tori was on a beach in a bathing suit and it was okay if she got wet!
Tori's favorite part of the whole day was definitely the beach...here's some pics:
Tori and Gavin with the sandcastle they built
Tori and Ryan playing in a tide pool...Tori called it a
little lake!
Tori and Ryan playing in the "lake"
When the tide came back in, the larger sand sculptures
became little islands that the kids loved to play on!
Tori kept finding all of these little fish that were stranded
on the beach since the tide was out. She told me that her favorite
part of the day was rescuing the little fish and throwing
them back in the water. Kind of gross...but very sweet too!
This is a picture taken from under the pier. When we
got there, the water was out past the end of it. By the
end of the day, the water was completely back it...it was
incredible to watch it come in so quickly! Another of Tori's
favorite activities for the day was poking the barnacles
that grew on the posts of the pier. They were HUGE, and
Todd showed her that if you poked them gently, they retreated
back within their shell more. She poked to her little heart's content,
always being very careful not to hurt them, and had to show
Gavin, Grandma, Grandpa, and anyone else who would listen
to her!
I love this picture of Gavin because it just reminds me
of his personality. While Tori and Ryan were running around
being crazy, he was sitting and just watching the beach. He
can be so serious sometimes. I love the kid!
No day at the beach would be complete without
a picture of my brother being a dork! This picture
makes Tori laugh and say "silly Uncle Jeff!"
And of course we need Aaron pictures!
Here he is with Dad...
and with me (gotta love his little tongue sticking out!)...
and taking a nap with Daddy...
and just being completely adorable! Todd had him in
the back pack carrier, and he kept stealing his hat and
putting it on himself!
Where's Aaron?
Peek-a-boo!
So after a long day of playing on the beach there was a salmon bake (delicious!!) and then we headed home that evening. We were all tired and worn out, but the kids had a ton of fun! The ferry ride home was nice, and we got some great views of Seattle and of a beautiful sunset. It was incredibly windy on the ferry, so a lot of the shots were blurry from the wind blowing my camera, but here are some ones that turned out:
The Space Needle (obviously!)
Downtown...I love this city!
I took this shot for the building on the right (white with the
pointy top). It is a long standing joke with Todd and I...
the first time we went downtown together I mentioned that
it used to be the tallest building in Seattle (a random fact I
learned somewhere). Then I forgot that I told him that, and
mentioned it to him on two other occasions. So now, every
time we drive past it, one of us has to say, "Hey, did you know
that used to be the tallest building in Seattle?" I know, we are
dorks, but it makes us laugh. I also thought it was neat to see
it in comparison to the Columbia Center tower (the large black
building on the left), which is now the tallest.
Another waterfront shot
And our beautiful Sunset. A perfect end to a really fun day!
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