Home away from home...

We got back from a ten day trip to Washington yesterday. It was an amazing, wonderful, beautiful, fun vacation for everyone. It's the first vacation that I actually felt relaxed during since Jeremiah was born! We love Washington, and I've tried to pick out my favorite photos from the trip. (I only had 380 or so! Jeez!)


Our first day - no naps, but these kids are thrilled to be outside in 70 degree weather.



Day 2 - perfecting his jumping skills



Family woods photo shoot



Day 3 - still outside, still loving it



See how much he loves it?!?



Day 4 - Seattle, Pike Place Market



City Fish, AKA, "those guys who throw giant fish to each other"



Visiting the Ballard Locks in Seattle



Day 5 - awesome park with streams.. (Farrel-McWhirter Farm Park)



...and tire swings



Then we headed to Remlinger Farms for more fun! J is riding a pony named "Apple."



Sarah is riding "Bumbleberry" (cutest name ever for a teeny pony!)



They let us, yes, all of us, even Sarah, ride this roller coaster. it was wild! J liked it even though it was loud and Sarah signed 'more' when it stopped. Crazy children!



After naps, ice cream! J got a giant cone of bubble gum. (gross!)



Sarah shared my chocolate peanut butter. She liked it, of course.



Day 6 - Build-a-bear!



Flying at the park



Day 7 - more parks! Look at this crazy thing he had to climb to slide down the slide! (Shawn went with him, don't worry.)



Day 8 - Cougar Mountain Zoo



Family photo time! Look at that view! Gorgeous.



Finally a smile out of him!



These three ate a lot of meals together. Caleb would be silly and make them crack up, especially J. We miss him!



J was so happy to ride Papa's shoulders!



Gasworks park



In front of some diggers at another park



Brunch on the waterfront



Frisbee!



A little 'football'



Sad goodbyes...



J didn't know it, but he was going to miss Caleb!

Our trip was so much fun! We love visiting Washington, it's beautiful there and the company makes it even nicer.

Don't try this at home.

Last week was a rough one. On July 4th, I woke up with nasty food poisoning. On July 6th, Shawn and I woke up in the middle of the night to a hot house and a broken air conditioner. My friend, Andrea Whittle (who is also a fantastic photographer, how did I get so lucky to know so many good ones?), offered to let us come over and hide out in her house. She lives far away from us, about a 40 minute drive, so I figured if anything the kids could sleep in the car. We were there almost all day, and she took that hilarious picture above. (hilarious and maybe a little scary, I admit) Thank God for generous friends! Our air conditioner did get fixed at about 7pm, the house quickly cooled from 95 to 90 at 8pm when I put the kids to bed.

Speaking of the kids...they're still simultaneously driving me mad and making me laugh and sigh over their cuteness. How do they do that?



We went bowling recently for Shawn's birthday. (He's finally 29, so that means the teasing about me being 'older' will stop for awhile!)



Sarah had fun as long as she was well-fed.

Dirt Party!

When I asked J what he wanted for his birthday party, he replied "dump trucks." Now, you may or may not recall that's exactly what he had last year for his party - not sure if he really enjoyed it or what. But I tried to take a different spin on it so I didn't do the same things over again. These gorgeous photos courtesy of Aubrey, who's a fantastic photographer. (Click on her link!)


Snacks, of course...



"Dirt" cake in the back of a dump truck



A perfect candle extinguishing execution




Dirty kids eating the dirt cake...


And dirt lemonade (lemonade with food coloring)




Digging in the dirt for their favors..



We had so many friends come over! It was great.



Birthday boy was a little overwhelmed.



Lots of presents and helpers to help open them.



Two happy (tired) parents and two happy (distracted) kids



My new favorite picture.

All in all, a great party, it was over and done with in 90 minutes. Awesome. I think J would prefer a small party next time, because when he went to bed that night he said: "Next time I want a small party." Ha.

Stats at 15 months and 3 years.

Yesterday the kids had their checkups - Sarah for her 15 month and J for his 3 year. Sarah had four shots and J two. J got his first and while he toughed it out for the first, the second hurt and he cried. Then he cried when it was Sarah's turn because he didn't want her to get hurt like he did. (SO sweet considering the pain he tends to inflict on her himself!)

Sarah at 15 months:

My little helper assisting me with flour tortillas
She's 24lbs, 1.5oz (75th percentile) and 32 3/4" tall (97th percentile). She's meeting all her milestones and looks great. I did bring up one issue with the doctor (her lips turn blue periodically) and apparently that can be a side affect from the reflux. I had weaned her from her prevacid months ago, and assumed she was doing okay. So, she's going back on the prevacid and we'll re-evaluate at her 18 month check up. She has a few words - "Ada" (Dada) "Iah" (what she calls Jeremiah) "Mama" "Da" (for yes) and occasionally when I ask a question like: "Who wants milk?" she'll parrot J and say "I do!" She definitely tries to speak and occasionally sounds like she said a word clear as day but won't repeat it. She has lots of signs and is very curious about everything around her. She's a major climber and has the bruises and cuts to prove it.

Jeremiah at 3 years:

J with his birthday breakfast cookie
He's 27lbs, 6oz (5th percentile) and 37.5" tall (50th percentile). They ran his BMI and he wasn't even on the chart! It made me laugh because he's just so thin. No doubt because he's so active, of course and eats half the amount Sarah does. He's just amazing us day by day with how much he talks and how he can now tell stories...he's growing up so quickly!

And - bonus - hilarious video of the kids dancing. Just check out the arm moves on J.