Dylan's Artwork - August

Dylan took an art camp this summer from one of our favorite people :) He had a blast... thanks again!

Peyton had to get in on the camera action :) He loved wearing Dylan's astronaut helmet. I love all of my kids artwork, but really... I can't keep everything. So, I try and squeeze as much in one picture as I can... Below are some of his projects from Preschool last year.

August Adventures

Dylan LOVES inventing things, he was so proud of his little machine. He also has become quite amazing at blowing up balloons. The boys think it is hilarious when Dylan blows up the balloon and then lets it go flying crazily around the room.


Peyton LOVES music! He is always playing a guitar, (real or pretend) drumming on something - he does have drums, but he will drum on anything :) It is so much fun to watch our boys develop their very individual personalities.

Enjoying the Beaches- July

We are so lucky to live close to so many different beaches. We definitely tried to take advantage of it this summer. It is hard to tell from the pictures, but these are from different trips, to different beaches :) I love this picture of Dylan in all his safety gear :)
We are also so grateful to have such great friends to enjoy the beach with!

"Big" boys camp out -July

PJ took Dylan to Cascade Park for a boys camping trip with some of his guy friends. It was a little sad to see them go, but they had a fantastic time. Peyton and I had some special time at home, but I think he wishes he could have gone too. Dylan loved going on the zip line, playing in the sand, getting soaked at the beach, helping the Missionaries on the tractor and just being a boy in the dirt.

Swimming Lessons (July)

Dylan had his first swimming lessons this year. He was so excited! The first week was cold and cloudy... and poor Dylan shivered all the time (outdoor pool). But he enjoyed the class much more once it warmed up. However, he did not love the head bobs... he has no interest in having his face under water. His favorite thing to do was wear the "noodle" so he could "swim" on his own. Peyton and I had a great time watching and eating snacks... but he has no interest in lessons right now... we'll see if he changes his mind next year.

4th of July

We spent the morning at Lake Wilderness with some our good friends the Hays and the Thulins. The weather was amazing and we loved that Lake Wilderness was not crazy crowded. The boys had a great time digging in the sand and wading in the lake.


After the lake we went home and gave Peyton a nap. Then we packed up again to drive over to Bellevue. We got to the park early and walked around for a while, got dinner and then claimed our piece of grass. Peyton and I ended up saving our spot while PJ and Dylan walked around. The boys were really patient while we waited for the fireworks. They loved the fireworks but hated the noise. They had their ears covered throughout most of the show. It was fun to be so close to the fireworks, but it was crazy crowded. It ended up that if your blanket didn't cover it... someone else claimed it. The boys fell asleep before we even got out of the mall parking lot. Good thing too, because traffic was crazy and it took us almost 3 times longer to get home than normal.

Seattle Science Center (July)

We surprised the boys with a trip to the Seattle Science Center. We got them up in the morning and told them we had a surprise, but couldn't tell them where we were going. They were really excited, but even more excited when they found out we were going to walk to the bus stop and take the city bus. I am always a little surprised how much they LOVE the city bus.

Here they are waiting for the bus...

It was fun to see the Science Center through the boys eyes.
I always love the butterfly house-- and this visit we got up close and personal with a butterfly. Dylan would have preferred to view them from a distance, but recovered once I had the butterfly off of him and onto me.

PJ and I were exhausted by the time we left, I think the boys would have been happy to stay longer, but luckily we had a super cool bus ride to convince them it was time to go.
We really did have a great time, but I confirmed that the Everett Children's museum is really the best place around for my kids at their ages right now :)

Enjoying the sunshine

(June 4th)

I normally don't love the heat, but I have a new found appreciation for hot summer days. I love that it was warm enough for the boys to break out their swim trunks and play in the water in our backyard. Dylan was SO excited to break out the sprinkler and would have stayed out there all day running through it. I set up the basketball hoop by the pool so that Peyton could enjoy the water and one of his favorite things... basketball. I can't tell you how many balls I retrieved for him (in an effort to keep the pool water somewhat clean- I didn't want him going in and out). We had such a great time enjoying the sunshine, water and each other's giggles. I sure do love my boys :)

Idylwood Park

(June 3rd)
We feel so blessed to live in an area where we have so many parks to choose from! Variety is the key for continued park enjoyment in our home. The kids had a blast, Dylan was going down the slide face first and trying all sorts of daredevil moves. He thought it was so great. Peyton brought one of his footballs to the park and was practicing kicking it out of PJ's hands. Dylan also figured out a way to keep his sunglasses about an inch away from his eyes so that when he would run around or go down the slide (see picture below) they would bounce. We all thought it was hilarious. I am so lucky that my boys enjoy each other so much, it is such great fun to be with them and watch them crack each other up :)

Snoqualmie Falls

Okay, so I am going to attempt a little catch up :) May 16th PJ and I took the boys to Snoqualmie Falls. They were amazing, they both pretty much walked the entire trail on their own. In fact at times they insisted on walking over being held. There were a few moments where they let us put them on our shoulders, but they were definitely pulling the independent card :) I had forgotten how steep the climb down to the water is once you get to the end of the trail, so I spoiled Dylan and PJ's fun because I didn't want to try and climb the rocks w/ Peyton and have an accident. I told PJ that he could take Dylan down and Peyton and I would just hang out, but he didn't want to leave us behind. So sweet :) Dylan was definitely disappointed and we promised to make it up to him next time. We had a great time, it was so refreshing to get out together as a family and enjoy some of the amazing things that the Northwest has to offer. We are going to have to take the boys on more little hikes like this... any suggestions?

Saying goodbye...

On Wednesday we said goodbye to a dear friend that has been a very important part of our family for the past 2 years and 3 months.

.... Peyton's beloved Binky

We went on a scavenger hunt throughout the house and collected all of his binkies and put them in a ziploc bag. When PJ got home we headed out to Target. Peyton was SO excited to use his binkies to buy this...

He has wanted this CD for a few months... but I told him that we needed to wait for something special and then we could come back and get it. So, when I asked him if he would want to trade his binkies for the new Mover's CD he was all about it. Might I mention how much he LOVES his binkies. I tried explaining this meant his binkies would be ALL gone, and I think he understood as much as he could. We went to Target, he picked out his CD, we got a couple other things, and then went to the register. PJ prepped the cashier and Peyton confidently handed over his little bag of binkies to "pay" for his new Mover's CD. He was amazing, I thought, maybe this won't be so bad after all. Then came bedtime. Yes, he cried, and cried, and cried. He normally likes to cuddle... but didn't want me to even rub his back. He kept asking to get his binkies back. He told me, "I am crying because I want my binkies... I am upset mommy". Well, we made it through night one- with a few wakings, and crying... :( But I am happy to report that last night was MUCH better. He only woke up one time, we cuddled for a few minutes, he went back to sleep and then woke up about 6:30am for the morning. Perhaps a little earlier than I would like, but I'll take it if he can learn to sleep through the night :)

I am optimistic that tonight will be even better (fingers crossed)

And he LOVES his new CD- we came home from Costco yesterday and I turned on his CD while I unloaded the car... I looked over and found him on top of our ottoman with his baseball tee (using it as a microphone) and his baseball bat (aka his guitar) and he was rocking out to his new CD :)

Everett Children's Museum

We had some friends invite us to join them for a free night at Everett Children's Museum. I was a little hesitant to go, I wasn't sure if the potential crazy crowds would be worth it. But I have to say, the boys LOVED it. It is one of the best children's museums I have been too. It was definitely crazy... but since the boys didn't mind I decided to jump in and have fun with them.

PJ was right again... he convinced me it would be worth going, and I am totally glad we did. Dylan keeps asking when we'll go again.