What have we been up to lately...

Well since our last post Patrick has had to send the camera off to be repaired (got some kind of blur on the lense while we were in Seattle) so other than the I-phone I have been without anything to take pictures of the kids with. Needless to say this will be a picture-less post. What have we been up to lately...LOTS!! Here are a few things that the kids have been keeping busy with...

Emma is still enjoying several summer activities, including her intro to dance class that meets twice a week. She'll finish with a recital in a couple weeks and cannot wait to see what she's learned (this class includes tap and ballet, her other classes were just ballet). Emma also had another experience with dislocating her elbow. Not sure what really happened but it dislocated while she was at VBS a couple weeks ago and while we were getting it checked out at the doctors we discovered that she also had strep-throat, YUCK!! (but only the second antibiotic she has ever been on and she is almost 3 and a half years old- YEAH for breastfeeding!!) Emma and I went to see DORA LIVE this afternoon and she LOVED IT!! It was kind of a spur of the moment decision to take her so I bought the cheap seats (nose bleed section) but it was pretty empty so we moved up a few rows and Emma had a great time...cannot wait to take her to another live performance, perhaps a musical sometime soon. Emma is also looking forward to Zoo School which starts in a couple weeks. She'll get to spend a week at the Zoo learning all about animals and their habitats!

Bryan just never stops growing. He crawls (some times on his hands and knees and some times on his elbows and toes) everywhere and pulls up on everything!! Now that he is on the move we have had to put all the baby gates up and take down things that create a danger for a baby on the go- like the bar stools in the family room (our strong boy almost pulled one down on top of himself the other day!) Bryan started his Kindermusic class a couple weeks ago and according to my mom (she takes him to class) he is LOVING it. Emma took music classes as an infant too and I swear she first learned to speak by singing songs so I am excited to see what effect this has on Bryan. We have also started to eat some non-fruit and veggies solids- i.e. meats, yogurt, beans, rice puff- and he continues to love anything that we put in his mouth!!

Well hopefully we'll get the camera back soon and I can post some pics of our fun-filled summer!!

4th of July

A few pics from our 4th of July celebrations this weekend...

Vacation!!

The following is a really long picture blog of our trip to Washington. We had a wonderful time, the weather was perfect (highs in the mid 70's), the house we rented was awesome (it was a beach house in a town outside Seattle and sat right on Puget Sound), it was great to visit with all the family that was in town for my cousin's wedding and the kids did awesome with all the traveling!! It was such a great location for a summer vacation that we plan to rent the same house and go back next year!! (NOTE- the pictures are in reverse chronological order, sorry!)

When you looked out the back windows of the house we rented you could got a great view of Mt. Rainier in the distance, on the last day the sky was really clear and the Mt. looked beautiful!!
Bryan's first experience with sand, no so much a fan!!

Emma building sand castles on the beach

Patrick and Juan roasting marshmallows for s'mores, hmmm!!

Haley and Bryan waiting for s'mores!

Emma painting at the children's museum in down town Seattle

Bryan investigating a plastic taco at the children's museum (they had miniature restaurants that the kids could explore and pretend to be working in, Bryan just wanted the taco!)

Emma doing some grocery shopping at the children's museum

Bryan the firefighter, children's museum

Emma the firefighter, children's museum

Both kids sitting inside a whale at the children's museum

The family walking in Seattle (notice the Starbucks in the background- my mom is in heaven when we are in Seattle because it is the home of Starbucks!)

Emma and I on the ferry we took over to downtown Seattle (most everyone else stayed inside the ferry but Emma loved being out on the deck and watching the water and boats that went by)

Emma and Patrick on the ferry

Emma at the wedding reception

Wedding reception- everyone else was outside enjoying cocktails but Emma saw the dance floor when we walked into the reception and she wanted to dance right away!!

The reception was at this beautiful golf course that overlooked the water, it was in one of those big white tents and the back was open so you could see the awesome view!!

The four of us at the wedding reception (no it's not a flying saucer at my head, it's a heat lamp- yes I said heat lamp in the middle of the summer, it got down in the 50's at night)

The happy couple, my cousin Pat and his wife Kelsey!!

Kodak moment while we explored downtown Gig Harbor

Chelsey and Brandon at the rehearsal dinner with sleepy Bryan

Lindsy and Juan at the rehearsal dinner

Me and my sisters at the rehearsal dinner (the dress was Hawaiian attire, thus the flowers in our hair)

Emma with Ryan, Emma was the flowergirl in the wedding and Ryan was the ring bearer- the two got along great!!

The four of us in the matching outfits I made

The deer that hung out along the road our house was on

I LOVE this picture I took of my dad on the beach!!

Emma loved all the Adirondack chairs they had on the deck

Patrick and Juan found this type of seaweed on the beach that they kept calling "whale sperm" real appropriate when the 3 year old asks "what's sperm" but I guess boys will be boys and I get the feeling it will be a inside joke between the two of them for a long time to come

Patrick and Bryan on the beach

My sister Chelsey and her husband Brandon missed their flight because they had to drive back to their house to get Brandon's wallet (they live two hours from the airport) so Lindsy wrote in the sand on the beach "What's in your wallet?" and poor Brandon suffered through lots of wallet jokes the rest of the weekend!

Patrick and Emma dancing on the beach

Emma checking out the views with the binoculars

The weather was so nice we just left the back doors wide open and the kids played on the deck for hours each day! (no we didn't travel with the exersaucer, my aunt had one that we borrowed)

Emma eating breakfast on the deck

A view of the houses next door

The living room, the windows went all the way around the backside of the house, it was awesome! (Yes, I am feeding Bryan)