Annual Kelsey Creek outing

to see Cherie and the kids. It sure is easier planning to get together now that school is out. Cherie is one of the most laid back, easy to talk to people I know and her kids are so good - I wish I got to see her more often.
Here are all the kids, plus two friends that came along.

I definitely need a Jesse in my life. She is so helpful!

The park has all your basic farm animals to look at.


And a play area. Ben was making james laugh so hard on the swing.

Polar bears

Today was the perfect 70 degree zoo day. The cool thing about Point Defiance Zoo is that it has sharks, and it has people with animals out of their cages placed randomly around the zoo for the kids to get a close look at. Ian likes to ask these people a LOT of questions about their animals. He sure is good at talking.
Here the kids are looking at an iguana.


Don't tell Michelle I posted a picture of her on my blog. She is such a cute pregnant lady.

My favorite was the polar bear - he was eating a gigantic bone and weighs 900 lbs. He also eats 5 lbs of fat each day.


The kids favorite part was the sprinklers at the play area.



We ended our trip with a ride on the carousel.

I love how James enjoys everything so much at this age - I would take him anywhere to see that face everyday.

To all my favorite dads:

Love you guys.

Seattle Aquarium

From the moment we walked in we heard nothing but "are the sharks next?"


I think it might be time to invest in a sit and ride.


Oh look, I was there too.

Unfortunately, the most impressive sharks were found in the gift shop.


The antique cars on the pier were impressive, too.

Another gray day

We met michelle and evie at the tacoma waterfront today and let the kids bike along the path. James impressed everyone with his scooter skills - he has a look of pure contentment on his face when he rides that makes me laugh.



We had to stop along the way and throw some rocks in the water.




We also stopped to watch a really long train go by. James was mesmerized.


Water on one side, trains on the other, and a waterfront restaurant with the best fish tacos I have ever ever had = the perfect bike path. After we ate we went outside and the kids watched the jellyfish float along through the water. It reminded me of the time my brother got stung by a jellyfish and his thumb swelled up like a water balloon. It was gross - I bet that hurt, dave.

This was the Saturday

when we had to bathe 6 out of the 7 kids playing together at the Penrods. Evie spread an entire container of glitter make-up around her room. Ian started a mud fight with Grant and Reese. Lucy and Evie painted themselves black like kitties. I could go on - it was that kind of day.

Last day of Preschool

I found the sign I made stuck in one of my Barefoot Contessa cook books so I thought it would be fun to have a last day of school and a first day of school picture. I was a little emotional picking him up today, not just because he finished his first full school year, but also because Miss Rhonda turned out to be the most perfect Preschool teacher - we will miss her.
Last day:

First day:

So it turns out he still has a goofy smile but his hair has gotten much darker over the winter and I am pretty sure he is actually wearing matching socks under his pants.

Other things that have changed:
At the beginning of the year he wasn't really in to coloring or writing - now it is all he wants to do. He is also working on learning to read and it makes him so excited.

He never used to threaten to ban me from his birthday party when he got mad at me and now it is his favorite thing to do. Sometimes I try to explain that there would be no birthday party if I weren't there but that conversation leads to true hysteria - definitely better left alone. And yes, maybe he spends a little too much time hanging out with girls.

He has started requesting stories about going to the lake before bed every night. It is definitely summertime - now if it would stop raining...

Conversation I had with James this week (who apparently inherited the never-ever-stops-talking gene along with his brother):
James (with a light saber hitting the walls): Mom I am cutting your room.
Me: Stop cutting my room.
James: Sorry mom, your room is dying.

The O'Neals and the Goonies

This weekend we went to Astoria to visit Grandpa Ray and Grandma Barbara. The kids were so excited to go - I am glad they love their great grandparents.

Grandma thought James was so funny with his "binka-bunny" - I think mostly because she had never seen such a worn out, dirty (smelly) bunny.


We spent some time at the Astoria park.

James did this trick over and over and over.


Then down to the waterfront and shopping in town.


And we were lucky that this weekend happened to be the 25th anniversary of The Goonies. They had bus tours of some of the movie sites, meet and greets with the cast and were playing the movie in the town theater. It was kind of awesome.

Wrestling

This is all I've got

And they aren't even clear.
It turns out May has been a really bad month for taking pictures. I mean what could compete with ashley and cami's pictures of them together in CA doing every single fun thing you could do. Together.

We had a couple of nice days last week and the boys have already rediscovered the magic of the backyard hose. Hours and hours and hours of fun. James basically refuses to wear anything but sweatpants and long sleeve shirts no matter how hot it is because he is always "so cold mama, I so cold". Of course on the hose day he insisted on his wool church sweater. So stubborn.

Other than fun with the hose, the boys are spending a lot of time wrestling and doing art projects. Of course when things don't go James' way he usually reverts to calling Ian poophead - which makes Ian furious and makes James want to use it over and over and over. Oh the vicious cycle.
They also love to go to our Neighbor Joan's house every couple of days and pick fresh flowers for our kitchen. I love it and think it is so sweet. I also love to see things through Ian's eye view - like the picture below.

I promise to take some worthwhile pictures of my children soon. But probably not today because right now it is downpouring, they are both asleep and I am off to indulge myself in a book.