In typical fashion it's been a number of months since my last post. Now that the chill of fall has set in and the leaves are turning, why not re-live the few glorious weeks of summer we did enjoy here in the Pacific Northwest? Rather than a boring narrative (aside from the fact that I've forgotten most of the details) I'll let the slideshow pictures speak for themselves.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Road Trip
I decided to take a solo road trip with the kids to visit my parents in Waitsburg. I might have been a bit delusional when I decided to do this on my own - after all 5 hours in the car with a couple of young kids is tough even with two adults. However, I persisted and the three of us arrived safely roughly 7 hours after leaving Seattle.
We all enjoyed our time with grandma and grandpa, and we even got together with one of my old high school friends and her kids for a play date and swimming.
We all enjoyed our time with grandma and grandpa, and we even got together with one of my old high school friends and her kids for a play date and swimming.
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| throwing rocks in the river. |
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| Izzy the camel - a popular roadside attraction in this small town. She's very friendly. Evelyn got to feed her and pet her. |
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| Isaiah was completely freaking out! He's holding on to me for dear life in this picture! |
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| Evelyn's really making Izzy stretch for this grass! |
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| Visiting the local library for story time. I used to come here for story time when I was a kid! |
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| Our visit also coincided with my birthday. My mom made my favorite cherry pie and the kids helped me blow out the candles! |
A Great Day to go to the Beach
Clear skies, sun, temps in the 70s and a minus tide = a perfect day for beachcombing!
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| that small brown dot that looks like a rock is a crab - one of only two live ones that we saw. |
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| Building sand castles. Isaiah was more into crushing them, much to Evelyn's frustration. |
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| A much bigger crab! It was trying to hide under the seaweed. |
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Vacation
Jeremy's youngest brother Jon got married over Memorial Day weekend. His bride is from Cincinnati, OH, so naturally that is where the wedding was. We were fortunate to all be able to go and celebrate with them making this our third official family vacation.
This was only the second time we'd flown with the kids. I was a little worried since the flight was so much longer and wasn't sure how the kids (especially Isaiah) would do confined for so long. As usual, my worries were needless. The kids did great and were so well behaved. The only tough time we had was when we missed our connecting flight to Cincinnati from Atlanta literally running from one end of the airport to the other (terminal E to terminal A) where our plane had left just minutes before, and then having to go all the way back to terminal E to catch the next flight!
Despite that, we arrived safely and the rest of our trip was relatively uneventful.
Aside from the wedding itself, some of the highlights of the trip included:
Visiting the Krohn Conservatory where we got to walk through their butterfly exhibit and tropical gardens.
Riding the tractor lawnmower at the Bates house (fun for Jeremy and the kids!)
Swinging on the porch swing.
Evelyn wanted to try her hand at taking pictures. The one below is one of her contributions. Not half bad aside from Isaiah's expression.
Meeting Great Grandma Shultz. She lives in Missouri, and the last time we saw her was right after Evelyn was born. It was a real treat to be able to introduce Isaiah to her and re-introduce Evelyn. Unfortunately I apparently didn't get any pictures with her and the kids. And this is one that Isaiah "helped" to take so the lighting isn't particularly great.
Visiting the Cincinnati Zoo. It is the second oldest zoo in the country and has quite an extensive collection of animals. We only scratched the surface of what there was to see, but were pretty impressed with the experience. Our favorites were the animal encounters where we could touch and see some of the animals up close, and the baby animals in the children's zoo.
Swimming in the pool at the Bates' house.
Seeing the dinosaurs at the Creation Museum.
All told it was a very restful vacation. We tried to be selective in what we did so we wouldn't wear out the kids - or us! And still tried to allow some flexibility for naps and downtime. Of course, the wedding, which was the real reason we were there, was quite lovely and festive. We are so appreciative of the Bates' family for their hospitality and putting us up in their beautiful home.
This was only the second time we'd flown with the kids. I was a little worried since the flight was so much longer and wasn't sure how the kids (especially Isaiah) would do confined for so long. As usual, my worries were needless. The kids did great and were so well behaved. The only tough time we had was when we missed our connecting flight to Cincinnati from Atlanta literally running from one end of the airport to the other (terminal E to terminal A) where our plane had left just minutes before, and then having to go all the way back to terminal E to catch the next flight!
Despite that, we arrived safely and the rest of our trip was relatively uneventful.
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| Isaiah actually slept a bit on the plane! |
Visiting the Krohn Conservatory where we got to walk through their butterfly exhibit and tropical gardens.
Riding the tractor lawnmower at the Bates house (fun for Jeremy and the kids!)
Swinging on the porch swing.
Evelyn wanted to try her hand at taking pictures. The one below is one of her contributions. Not half bad aside from Isaiah's expression.
Meeting Great Grandma Shultz. She lives in Missouri, and the last time we saw her was right after Evelyn was born. It was a real treat to be able to introduce Isaiah to her and re-introduce Evelyn. Unfortunately I apparently didn't get any pictures with her and the kids. And this is one that Isaiah "helped" to take so the lighting isn't particularly great.
Visiting the Cincinnati Zoo. It is the second oldest zoo in the country and has quite an extensive collection of animals. We only scratched the surface of what there was to see, but were pretty impressed with the experience. Our favorites were the animal encounters where we could touch and see some of the animals up close, and the baby animals in the children's zoo.
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| manatees |
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| touching a live snake! |
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| petting the goats. |
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| a baby alligator. |
Swimming in the pool at the Bates' house.
Seeing the dinosaurs at the Creation Museum.
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| The gardens at the Creation Museum were quite lovely. Too bad it was so hot! We were practically melting in these pictures! |
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| Another contribution from Evelyn. |
All told it was a very restful vacation. We tried to be selective in what we did so we wouldn't wear out the kids - or us! And still tried to allow some flexibility for naps and downtime. Of course, the wedding, which was the real reason we were there, was quite lovely and festive. We are so appreciative of the Bates' family for their hospitality and putting us up in their beautiful home.
My Little Helpers
Today Evelyn was begging to help me wash dishes. This isn't such a bad thing really, but since it often ends up a bit messy, uses up A LOT of water, and I have to be supervising, it can kind of be a pain in the behind more than actually being a help. But, she's got to learn sometime right, and I probably shouldn't pass up help when it's being offered. So, I decided to let her (and Isaiah of course, who would not be left out of anything his big sister is doing) wash all the non-breakable and non-deadly dishes.
Mostly they just like playing in the water, but they actually did a pretty decent job of getting the dishes clean thanks to Evelyn being the washer.
It was probably the most peaceful 30 minutes I had all day. No fighting with each other, and I really didn't have to provide too much supervision or direction. I just checked in occasionally to make sure the washed dishes weren't getting to piled up waiting to be rinsed and to help put them on the dish rack.
I love how they were so happy in their task. To them it wasn't a chore, they were having fun! When do household chores become something you dread rather than enjoy? I mean, I definitely take pleasure in the end result, but I can't say that I particularly enjoy the task. Talk about a good lesson for me!
The end result: Most of the dishes clean. I only had a half-dozen or so left to do myself which was great because I really hate washing all the plastic cups and bags!
The whole reason behind the demand to wash dishes: these silly water bottles they got at the zoo yesterday. They wanted them clean so they could drink more water out of them!
Mostly they just like playing in the water, but they actually did a pretty decent job of getting the dishes clean thanks to Evelyn being the washer.
It was probably the most peaceful 30 minutes I had all day. No fighting with each other, and I really didn't have to provide too much supervision or direction. I just checked in occasionally to make sure the washed dishes weren't getting to piled up waiting to be rinsed and to help put them on the dish rack.
I love how they were so happy in their task. To them it wasn't a chore, they were having fun! When do household chores become something you dread rather than enjoy? I mean, I definitely take pleasure in the end result, but I can't say that I particularly enjoy the task. Talk about a good lesson for me!
The end result: Most of the dishes clean. I only had a half-dozen or so left to do myself which was great because I really hate washing all the plastic cups and bags!
The whole reason behind the demand to wash dishes: these silly water bottles they got at the zoo yesterday. They wanted them clean so they could drink more water out of them!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Four Years Old
May 17, 2011 - Evelyn's Fourth Birthday
What a grown-up girl she has become in just four short years! Although there are still many things that are daily frustrations in parenting a 4-year old, I am so proud of all the ways Evelyn is growing and maturing.
She's beginning to make insightful observations - often coupled with numerous questions! Although her constant questioning and "whys" often drive me up the wall, I do hope this trait will serve her well as she matures. I don't want to stifle her inquisitiveness, after all that's what leads a person to discover new things. But boy do I need wisdom on how to teach her how to be thoughtful in her inquiry!
She's also picking up writing - mostly through her own initiative since I don't make it a point to sit down and have her practice writing or sounding out letters. She's been able to write her own name for a while and is now always asking how to write other people's names. She's gotten pretty good at being able to make many letters on her own.
She's a very devoted sister to Isaiah, and although there is competition and fighting, many times they are so sweet in their interactions.
Other things she loves are singing (I often hear her singing songs to herself that she's learned or mixing them up into something completely new!), reading books (both kids will sit and demand stories until you a hoarse!), running, swinging and swimming.
We were privileged to have Jeremy's parents in town for Evelyn's birthday, so as part of the festivities we made a trip to the Space Needle and rode the elevator up to the observation deck. Something she's wanted to do for a while now! We kept it a surprise and even though the day didn't turn out sunny, Evelyn still had a wonderful time.
What a grown-up girl she has become in just four short years! Although there are still many things that are daily frustrations in parenting a 4-year old, I am so proud of all the ways Evelyn is growing and maturing.
She's beginning to make insightful observations - often coupled with numerous questions! Although her constant questioning and "whys" often drive me up the wall, I do hope this trait will serve her well as she matures. I don't want to stifle her inquisitiveness, after all that's what leads a person to discover new things. But boy do I need wisdom on how to teach her how to be thoughtful in her inquiry!
She's also picking up writing - mostly through her own initiative since I don't make it a point to sit down and have her practice writing or sounding out letters. She's been able to write her own name for a while and is now always asking how to write other people's names. She's gotten pretty good at being able to make many letters on her own.
She's a very devoted sister to Isaiah, and although there is competition and fighting, many times they are so sweet in their interactions.
Other things she loves are singing (I often hear her singing songs to herself that she's learned or mixing them up into something completely new!), reading books (both kids will sit and demand stories until you a hoarse!), running, swinging and swimming.
We were privileged to have Jeremy's parents in town for Evelyn's birthday, so as part of the festivities we made a trip to the Space Needle and rode the elevator up to the observation deck. Something she's wanted to do for a while now! We kept it a surprise and even though the day didn't turn out sunny, Evelyn still had a wonderful time.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Turning Two
Isaiah celebrated his 2nd Birthday on April 27. It blows me away to think that two years has gone by so fast, and yet I can even remember (or imagine) what life was like without my little boy.
Here are a few photos from the past year and a simple acrostic poem to mark the occasion:
Here are a few photos from the past year and a simple acrostic poem to mark the occasion:
Intelligent
Silly
Affectionate
Independent
Adventurous
Handsom
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| 1 year ago - April 2010 |
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| 15 months, July 2010 |
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| Hugs and cuddles are one of Isaiah's favorite things. 18 months, October 2010 |
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| Isaiah loves to be silly and keeps us laughing! Nov/Dec. 2010 |
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| Reading is another one of Isaiah's favorite pastimes. He will entertain himself for quite a while with a few books, though he much prefers to have someone read to him. 23 months, March 2011. |
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| 2 years - April 2011 |
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| Happy 2nd Birthday Sweet Isaiah! We are so glad to have you in our lives! |
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Let's Fly a Kite!
My mom sent the kids kites a while back. We finally got a decent windy day where we could go fly them! The wind made it a little cold, so we didn't last long, but both kid's got their kites in the air and kept them there long enough for me to get a few pictures.
Thanks Grandma J!
Thanks Grandma J!
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| From May 7, 2011 |
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