Bondin' with Budgies & Camel @ Pt. Defiance

T'was Luke's first trip to zoo! He liked it @ beg. chillin' with cousin Paige courtesy of Uffens' double stroller-
& Cole took great pic of happy ending...However in between aforeseen pics, he sure made it memorable by doing a nosedive outta a snail shell in the kids' zone while mom held camera instead of him-oops!
He also spewed x3 throughout our visit:( Poor guy has been super congested & prob combo o' that & fact that I insisted on squeezing him into Baby Bjorn for most likely last time (just ask my back?!) made it all come out-ugh! I know you wish I had pic to capture upheaval but I didn't want anything else within range:( Still took decent nap in transit & tried his best to be perky; however, he missed his bros' highlights incl feeding the budgies...Seed sticks a bit more pricy than I anticipated, but cool to be one with winged friends & boys resembled Ace Ventura :) I was bummed that Luke was asleep & Paige kept calling everything a "dog" or so it sounded:)



















Kendra wanted to sample herself! She is same age as Luke & Paige-As sidenote 'cuz didn't have pic to blog, funny to be in restaurant year ago all pregnant incl another sis-in-law of Rachel's; got some looks from waitresses who thought we met @ childbirth class:) nope! just 4 related & had babies within 3 wks of each other:) Annie wasn't so sure, but let mom bring it close for sec:)














Next on sched=camel ride! Had hoped to get all 4 on board, but Annie opted out prior to mounting the hump:) Notice they ceremoniously saved her spot & Alexa acted as proxy:)
Seriously when would we have that oppor again in near future without going to Egypt? I indulged boys 'cuz they had finished summer reading prog, which enabled us to have free admission:) Figured I pretty much spent same amt by time done on extras despite my efforts to pack a lunch 'cuz they convinced me they needed a drink as well after all of that walking-We keep telling 'em they have to practice for Disneyland, but I'm afraid we would've made terrible pioneers!!
Otherwise same ole' stuff yet still captured digitally ie

tiger sighting (once awake & up front pacing for his dinner)...feeding goats, observing meerkats, exploring aquarium in classic shark jaw & dress-ups...

Now they have touch tanks too; pretty sure that's new feature as well?!Good thing they've enhanced the whole experience 'cuz used to take us all of 45 min. to traverse entire map, but hope my boys don't assume we will get to enjoy all of bells & whistles every time 'cuz adds up!! Of course, we had to go all the way around to polar bears & reindeer but missed out on walruses 'cuz their tank was being cleaned & apparently no more beluga in case you were outta that loop as was I:) Only discovered that after trek across grounds toward end (only one trail?! ugh!) Also made it to the Wild Wonders show for first time since Dane was newborn-

We enjoyed last outing with cousin Annie & my sis Rachel before they return to Vegas heat as well as Brooke who heads back to Provo this week. Cait is always up for an adventure & Britt was trooper even though Lil' B was zapping her energy. We also met up with Rachel's sis-in-law Kistine & her two cuties from Redmond (fun 'cuz about same age as Rach's girlies) I like when I like my sis' in-laws too! Kinda making a tradition of bonding with both sides (well, theirs @ least)! For the record, could've seen on my sis' blog sooner, but I finally copied pics from our visit with her sis-in-law Marnie & kids from Royal @ Seattle Center's Whirligig in Apr.
Speaking of which, we also hang out with my sis-in-law Jodi's sis Wendi in Silverdale:) She has twins who are 6 mos older than Cole & now 2 little girls as well...Keepin' it all in the family but certainly not exclusive-

On the Up & Up

Luke is getting closer & closer to being a two-legged animal! Whether or not he'll beat his bros to walking is yet TBD, but he certainly isn't gonna let 'em leave him in the dust:) His ultimate goal in life is to be incl in their activ. He waves to 'em & gets all excited first thing in the am when he see them awake then follows 'em around or calls out to 'em throughout the day just so he feels like he's playing with the big boys now! When they don't block him out like pic on R:)
And he (& i) would be lost without Cole & Dane to keep him co in the back seat! I could do without their latest antics to pick him up though-ugh! Today I caught Dane hanging him upside down?!

Guess he's too grown-up to need this saucer anymore...We can pass on to my middle sister whose first son will arrive right after Christmas!! (Sorry Britt if that stole your thunder, I've been waiting for you to post yourself:)













This is the scene that I found after his afternoon "nap" (read: cry session); a few tickles & bottle of juice later & he was all smiles. On the downside, notice somehow he managed to take off his pants??
















His temperamental sleeping habits, seemingly constant runny nose & velociraptor shriek esp when in presence of food are not my favorite features right now, but overall enjoying each moment as he is my last!! I really like this age=10 mos. He even cleans up after himself:) & common items like this vacuum kept him occupied for half hour the other day?! Yes, I try to keep cord-sucking to a minimum...











And what do we have here? Guess stairs are next vertical venture:) Too bad he's so proud of himself, he turns around on every stair & looks to see how far he's gone-ugh! In fact, I can't seem to get him to sit down for very long @ all as pic here in tub & whenever I want the boys to chill together for a wardrobe shot.

Go Figure!

As the summer draws to a close, I realized yesterday that my efforts to expose my boys to a variety of fun activities are somewhat for naught?! IE
Why is it that they prefer to pretend on arcade games or do laps around the pull-tabs (don't worry they don't know what those are yet in background:) vs bowling @ the alley?! Oh, then they have to beg for quarters to actually use the machines for real, but not exactly what we came for-ugh! As if that wasn't random enough: 2 days later, their grandpa was kinder than their mom & hooked 'em up with a few to try those dumb stuffed animal grabbers; however, they did manage take home 2! This was only after Dane solicited the hostess @ Red Robin for a quarter herself-are you kidding me?!












We did see some sweet dance moves thanks to the background music:)












And both Cole and Dane were all about using the ramp in addit to the bumpers (btw the latter should go all the way down to the pins eh?)














Also why is it that they would rather kill bugs around a tree trunk, throw piles of grass & wrestle in the shade instead of getting wet @ the spray park?!

































Honestly guys, I'm all about cheap entertainment & am grateful to not have spent a lot before understanding that it doesn't take much to amuse ya BUT we can do all of that without leaving our humble abode--From now on, guess I'm gonna save the gas money (no offense to the people with whom we've enjoyed this summer's fun & games:)

Caution: Mom @ Work

Don't know if pic truly does justice to its sheer majesty but thought merited a blog post! My, I mean, Cole's crowning Bionicle achievement is finished:) ... 693 pieces and @ least 3 hours later and I wonder why my 9 loads of laundry took 3 days to complete?! I gently encouraged him that he should use b-day money for that particular set 'cuz it was on sale for $50 off (normally $80?!) Guess I didn't realize who'd be responsible to put the dumb thing together-ugh! Don't get me wrong, the assembly is usually my forte as opposed to the playtime (the latter requires too much imagination of which I lack:) I just struggle with these vehicles as I had to pass the pieces to Chris on the Christmas version when it wasn't looking right half-finished & this time his artistic eye noticed midway that slanted as well when should've been parallel lines?! Of course, I couldn't admit failure so carefully studied the pics & counted the spaces/holes until could redeem myself & surprised my firstborn the next am when it was standing in all its glory on the table for him to enjoy! Glad we have a few mos for me to rest up until holiday workshop resumes-I made them promise to keep it intact as long as possible in meantime (we'll see if that passes the selective hearing test?!)

Soggy Bliss

Every year we look forward to concentrated time & quality fam bonding @ our beloved cabin on Lake Merwin. This past week in Aug. was no exception with lots o' cousins to add to fun regardless of fact that sun decided not to show up:( even if occas made a few valiant attempts to tease us...Hard to believe when we had such a heat wave for the previous 2 wks? Just our luck, eh?In fact, I ran outta dry, warm clothes mid-week & endured few challenging nights in tents; boys even joined Aunt Brooke for a couple nights in back of car-ugh! Hard to admit we're growing outta cabin:) but kinda sentimental re: rebuild although lots o' people in Woodland Park are doin' it!Warm Welcome even in rain to Laytons (drove up from Palo Alto, CA),



















Marshalls (flew up from Douglas, AZ),



















& Websters (drove up from Heber, UT)!














Didn't dampen our enthusiasm for steady naptime (considering 5 kids under age 3),














lots o' walks, few runs, skiing/wakeboarding, kayaking/paddleboating,
tube rides,
blackberry picking=Tiffin's fav,fishing (this Tiger Muskie actually caught himself?!), plus great food, movies & card games!! My boys played for hours on beach even in downpours, which usually was @ its finest en route to/from dock...Much appreciation to Ryan & Ed for being such great playmates despite age difference:) Seriously they were so content to have duels with driftwood weapons,


















build l to r: fort/castle/"planning room"; not pictured=ship complete with cannons not to mention sand creations...possibilities are endless with little boys! Great to have Zac too!!Even Huey got in on the action once he realized that didn't taste good for the umpteenth time-binkie helped defray the ingestion but not the only one as constant battle for Grayden & Leah too:) Last but not least, initiated my second bro-in-law, cousin's spouse & middle son on hike to waterfall-

Rest of us had been up multiple times, but cool to see how it had changed so dynamically & what new natural water features we could enjoy...Our fav little waterfall was no longer, so we claimed new one.



















Still had natural waterslide near top, but I was only one who tried it out-Amazing that winter weather just widened whole way up overall, but those brave enough to venture into pool below would attest same frigid temp as in years past!!