Fun Memorial Day Weekend

My parents and two brothers came over from the "Eastside" (the REAL eastside, not Bellevue) and we spent the weekend together, it was super duper fun! Saturday we went letterboxing at a new park (new to me after almost 5 yrs! ) that I want to go back and visit. It has a lake with fish that little kids can fish in for free, so cute. Even without fishing poles, Ammon and Shayla were perfectly happy finding a long enough stick to poke at a dead fish floating by the shore. Nice. Then we went to Great Grandma's house after church on Sunday and spent more time with family, which was SO relaxing. Monday we headed to Illahee park (a place I went to all the time when I was in 6th grade FYI) and Uncle Scott with his license..yes we were legal... got a few clams and his limit on oysters. We had fun walking along the rocky shore finding starfish and tiny crabs...wait..ALMOST all of us had fun walking the rocks. Not Liam. He was a bit tipsy and would fall and hurt his hands on the hard barnacle covered rocks and then be a bit brumpy (how Shayla used to say "grumpy"). We all took turns trying to get him to sleep in the stroller, and of course about 10 minutes before the end of our 4 hr excursion, he fell asleep. What a stubborn kid huh.

We also got to stay in a hotel (thank you Grandma and Grandpa K!!!) with "strange beds" as Ammon said, since they were very tall beds, about eye level to him. But the nice tv with Disney Channel made up for it. :)

Shelley taking her turn with Liam

Climbing the fun Elbow tree at the park

Shayla climbing the tree

Uncle Zach being a darlin pushing the stroller

Bye Bye Sugar Bugs!!

Ammon and Shayla had their first dentist visit today and did great! Ammon went first, he just walked right back there by himself and played it Mr. Cool. Shayla and I (with Liam sleeping in my arms..rare..) went back and watched Ammon do his flouride treatment with his sweet sunglasses on, and that was enough to convince Shayla she could do the same. They shared the "magic chair" seat while Shayla had her teeth cleaned and counted, then both got to pick prizes and cool toothbrushes to put in their goody bags. When we got home the kids spent the rest of the afternoon brushing their teeth and flossing. Have we turned over a new leaf with this visit? Ahh..I love it! No more threats? Countdowns? Dirty looks? I hope so!

Showing off their new toothbrushes and toothpaste!

Birthdays, Mother's Day, and Wheat Grass Juice

I'm a bit behind on my posting, how'd that happen?! First, Josh planned an awesome birthday for me, he surprised me with taking the day off (of course he still made me get up early and he pretended he was getting ready at the regular time, and then started doing breakfast dishes after we said goodbye...tricky guy! I was SO happy!!) and we went letterboxing with my brave moms and kids, and lunch with great friends...then Josh sent me off with Anna for pedicures and a new haircut while he watched the kids...how did he know an afternoon of pampering is JUST what I needed right now? We all tried to extend the birthday fun to dinner at Red Robin, but that was the straw that broke the poor camel's back and we ended up gulping our food and leaving before another crying fit (especially before one of the adults started breaking down!) I told Josh it was "the best birthday ever", he is amazing!

My new haircut and my pampering sis Anna...

Mother's Day was fun, we celebrated with crepes and fresh strawberries and whip cream (made by Josh...I didn't know he could make crepes!), church, and a fun BBQ with family across the bridge. Poor Josh, my two days of pampering (bday and Mother's day) were only 1 day apart this year so he was hopping all weekend. :)

A few weeks ago we did a field trip to Jamba Juice, and the kids got to try wheat grass juice for the first time. I think Ammon faked a sip, Liam ran away-preferring his orange smoothie, and that left the whole cup to little Shayla. Poor girl, she sipped, then gagged, cried and dug at her tongue pretty much instantaneously. Being the compassionate mother, I quickly snapped a few photos before cleaning her tongue with a smoothie gulp. Nice, I know.

Gracie

I have a blog saved on my favorites and decided to check on it today and started crying while reading the most recent post. My buddy Kayrena knows I like to torture myself with emotional stories of others through blogs (I often pass them along to her), and this one seals the deal. Go to Gracie's blog and read this sweet baby's story through the eyes of her mother. Being a mother now has softened my heart and heightened my awareness of the overwhelming compassion a human being is capable of towards a sweet child, whether it's your own or someone else's. I think we women are blessed with "mother hearts", and if you want to reconnect with your mother heart, read just about any entry on that blog and you will hold all you have that much closer to you.

Comparing the boys...

Hmm.. I was talking to my friend about her two daughters and how alike/different they looked at the same age, and it got me thinking, do Ammon and Liam look the same? So I found two pictures where they are about the same age, 15 months...for me it's hard to compare. They both look so different to me (Josh looks younger though, back in good old 2005). Maybe I should try younger photos.... What do you think? :) They both have kissable chubby cheeks I know that!

Mom, we have a problem

Shayla and Ammon are "supposed" to be taking quick showers this morning, when Shayla comes running to me in the living room, dripping wet all over the place. "Uh Mom. We have a problem." So I go sprinting to the bathroom to see what's going on. Is Liam playing in the toilet? Is the water too cold? And here I find my Liam, IN the shower with the kids, FULLY clothed, and basking in the warm shower of water running down his neck and jammies. What a kid. He sure does love the shower. I was extended an invitation to join them, but regretfully declined. They'd regret it in the end, I'm the biggest water hog of all!

Jumpin Jack and Jill

For our field trip this week we went to a local jumping place and let the kids run out all of their energy (and mine!) A group of moms and kids came (including one dad..impressive!) for a couple hours and let the kids jump their hearts out. I ended going down the slides a few times with Liam--he's not a HUGE fan...yet. I think if I took the kids there a few times a week it'd be a great weight loss plan. It's work climbing this body on those toys!