Christmas at the Space Needle

We took the boys to see Santa at the Space Needle. It was a beautiful, cold day. The boys got to make a chocolate cookie, which they promptly ate without sharing. I will try to scan their Santa picture and add it later. I will really proud that they took the picture even though they were afraid! And following the footsteps of their cousin Cooper, all they want for Christmas is a candy cane. Looks like we got off easy this year!

Big Boy Beds

My baby boys are growing up. Their long legs had just about outgrown their cribs...so we got them big boy beds. However, we couldn't do plain old boring beds. Tommy bought the boys slide beds. They love them...and the boys have done a pretty good job sleeping in their beds at night.

I only cried a little bit to see my boys move out of their cribs. Only a few more years til they leave for college.

Catch Up

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Moving and starting a new job has made our lives a little crazy. The boys are getting so big. They talk non-stop and have developed a new love for TV. I think they would stare at the TV for 8 hours straight if we let them. They also love to eat. I can imagine that our food bill in 10 years will be pretty scary.

A neat trick the boys have learned is spelling their names.

The boys love to sing songs, especially Justin. Here is a sampling of their new songs.

Hope you enjoyed the videos. I will try to post again before the boys turn 5.

Party Time!

Today was the boys' birthday party. (It was a birthday costume party.) It was part chaos, part fun. The boys loved it and I guess that is what is important. It was very rainy this morning, so we got to do the pinata in the kitchen. Having an ingenius dad is great! Thanks to all of our friends who joined us for the fun!

Thanks to Michelle for the awesome birthday cake. She is an artist! (Especially because she made it with our little boys in tow!)

For those of you too far away to come....or those stuck at home with swine flu, here is the birthday song. We missed you!

A day at the farm

Last weekend we got to take the boys to Remlinger Farms. It was a lot of fun to go to a fall festival and enjoy the "country". The boys even got brave enough to take a pony ride! They also got to ride the train and several rides, feed sheep, go through the hay maze and eat kettle corn.

Happy Birthday Buds!

Well, our boys are officially big! We have two of the most energetic and great little boys in the world. We are so glad they are 3! Just a few more years til they move out!

Trip to the fair

We went to the fair this last weekend. It was the boy's first trip and they loved it. Not only did they enjoy the animals, it appears they are a couple of thrill seekers. (Wonder where they got that.) They went on a few rides and then when they ended up on a "slower" ride, Mason made sure we understood that it was not going fast enough. You can imagine the dread I felt when I thought of the teenage years ahead.

We are really enjoying the warm, sunny days we are still enjoying. Fall is inevitably going to be here soon...and along with it the rain we love so much.

Lake Washington Swim

My husband is amazing! Last week he swam Lake Washington from Mercer Island to Seattle along the I90 floating bridge. The swim was just over 1.5 miles. This was something he has wanted to accomplish for several years and is one of his "bucket list" items.

This is a picture of our boat right before Tommy jumped in. He is looking across the expanse he was about to swim. He was probably wondering what he got himself into! (We are in our friends Andy and Wendys boat....thanks guys!)Here are the swimmers at the 3/4 point. I am amazed to look at how huge the lake is!

This is very close to the finish. I am sure at this point his arms were pretty tired.

Here is a picture of the swimmers after their successful venture.

After the swim we had a great time at a BBQ hosted by our friends the Hiltons. We had such a great time and we are grateful to have friends that are so generous!

Random Silliness

Well, life back in Seattle has settled into our usual chaos. The boys really do love to play and sing and be big helpers. They have decided they are no longer babies, they are "big kids". Not big boys, but big kids. Here are some fun pictures from our last week or so.

Since I know you enjoyed the loud itsy bitsy, here is the encore loud ABCs. We almost have this song figured out, but get a little lost in the i - p range. Maybe someday we will figure it out.




This morning Justin wanted to be a big helper and assist daddy in closing his truck door. I totally saw it coming, but there was nothing I could do. His poor little hand got smashed. We took him inside and applied ice right away. We are worried that he might have really gotten hurt. After a few minutes of crying he calmed down and said "My thumb doesn't hurt". We couldn't help but laugh. If only we could look at all of life's trials with his outlook.

A few hours ago it got really quiet and I immediately assumed that the boys were up to some evil plan which involved make-up or yogurt or plant food or windex or ketchup or (you get the idea). I ran down the hall and found them doing this:

I know we buy these kids toys! I hope you all had a great week too!

Itsy Bitsy

Here is Mason's newest rendition of the Itsy Bitsy Spider. It is quite the feat to sing at the top of your lungs, with very few breaths and all in one note. What a talented boy!

Our AZ Trip

Well, we are almost through week 2 of our trip to Arizona. We are having a great time. THANK YOU to everyone who has housed, fed, transported and entertained us. It is so great to spend time with the people we love. Somehow I have not taken as many pictures as I would have liked. So, if you have taken any of us, please email them to me.

Also, Tommy, we MISS YOU!!!! I am excited to be home in a week. The boys keep telling me, "No, daddy is the boss."

Here are some pics from our trip to Holbrook. The boys really liked the dinosaurs and four wheeler rides with grandpa.

I didn't take many fun pictures in the Gila Valley. Hmmm...guess I was having too much fun. We really enjoyed cousins, grandparents, swimming, celebrations and the sun. I wish I had taken some pictures. I did get a few shots of the boys after their pool adventure. I appoligize to Mason & Justin in advance...I didn't know I was buying princess swim diapers. Here they are playing in the dirt with cousins Matthew and Dean.

However, I did get some cool pictures of our ice blocking adventure last night. I had such a fun time...I almost felt 15 again! Thanks girls!!!

We are off to Colorado in a few days...let's hope for cooler weather!