Brotherly Love

The boys were playing around the other night and Mike snapped a few pictures of Andy and Jacob playing together. It warms my heart to see these two enjoy each others company even if they are 5 years apart in age. They have a sweet relationship and I pray that relationship grows as they grow.

First Day of School

The first day of school came and went without much fan fare.  Mike was in Chicago so it was up to mom to remember to take pictures and make sure Andy had all he needed for school.  I wanted to take more pictures but we ended up running late for school and of course the place is maddeningly crazy because every parent is there to see off their kiddos on the first day.

Andy did have a great day and so thankful that God placed my son with the right teacher for him even if he isn't with some of his friends, but lucky for him, there is always recess.

Aaron's first day of preschool went great as well and since mom is the class photographer, I had my camera ready to snap pictures of the kids and their parents.  One of the other moms took a picture of Aaron and I and I'm grateful she did.

woah, has it really been two years?

Wow, how did 2 years just pass without me posting pictures about the boys?  Shame on me, sorry nana & papa..

Well, since I started a new blog for myself, tulipsandpine.blogspot.com mainly for my etsy store and will be blogging there, I will be making regular appearances again over here updating all the crazy life with 3 boys.

I plan on posting pictures I currently have availability to here to do a fast over view of the last 2 years and some of the big and not so big events.

Stay tuned.......

Meeting the Latest and the Greatest

We had the great privilege of having Great Grandma come up for a visit from Sun City West, Arizona to meet her latest great-grandchild. Since grandma's house is currently under construction, we spent the morning at the preschool park, as Andy calls it. It's a great park with a ton of shade but the sun does peek through and is a wonderful place to play when it gets hot around here.


The boys enjoyed having grandma play with them and give them the appropriate pushes, pulls and lifts for playing on the play structures. Great-Gram spent some time with Jacob holding him and keeping him safe so mom could take a few pictures.



Before Great-Gram headed home, our family met up with her and grandma at IHOP for breakfast before she went to the airport to fly home. This way, Mike was able to see his grandma and the boys had more time with their great-grandma. I believe Jacob is great-grandchild number 20 for Gwen :)

Of course, no trip to IHOP would be complete without the funny face pancake. Aaron was excited to have such a treat for breakfast. Grandma's trip was fast and it didn't help that our family was gone over the weekend, but we were all glad to see Great-Gram and spend some time with her.

She was probably just as excited to go home to the quiet, too. It can be a bit loud around here :)

Ocean Shores Camping Trip 2010

This years Cornerstone Camping trip was a bit different. A group site had not been secured, so if you wanted to go, you got your own camping site at Ocean Shores in the loop. Mike and I seemed to have picked the wrong side, so we were kinda on our own most of the weekend.


We spent Saturday morning at the Pacific Ocean playing in the sand, keeping Jacob shielded from the wind and chatting with friends. We had a great time until the tide came in where we had set up our little camp. Our family decided we would just head back and enjoy some lunch.


On our way home, Mike and I decided to take an impromptu road trip. It was some what of a trial run to see how the boys would do if we decide to drive to Oklahoma for Christmas. We took Highway 101 around the peninsula. It was a gorgeous day and a beautiful drive and the best part the boys did fabulously.


The last part of our drive was the ferry ride over from Bremerton. By this point, Jacob was done and wanted out of the car seat and the older boys could use some time to play, stretch and run a bit. It was also Jacob's first ferry ride across the Puget Sound.

Overall, we had a nice time as a family and a fun camping trip.

Last Playdate for awhile

Our friends are moving (insert sobbing and screaming, NO!)

Okay, so yes our friends are moving away, but it's only for a year and no, the sobbing and screaming isn't going to happen. Unless they don't come home and then it might happen. We got together at Pine Lake Park for an afternoon of some park fun and a few moments of moms catching up.


I love this picture. The four older boys playing on the firetruck with Ethan looking on like he is missing out on the fun. The boys all get along great and always enjoy seeing each other as most of them have known each other since birth.

Okay, Crystal, you have to come back and that's that.

Cama Beach 2010

Once again it's time for the annual family trip to Cama Beach, Washington. This cabin camping trip is turning into an annual trip with friends and once again we had a great time. The older two boys had a blast running around with their friends, playing in the water and spending time with mom and dad. Dad was able to enjoy some guy time playing golf one morning and spending a couple of evenings playing poker. Mom remembers a lot of time with the baby.


It doesn't matter the water is the Puget Sound, the beach is mainly rocks and that it's not much over 70 degree, the kids loved playing in the water. They found a log to keep them entertained, along with the various inflatable toys.


Each night three families would make dinner for the group. It was fabulous to only have to cook one night instead of all four. The kids were thrilled to eat with each other and we had some great meals of BBQ chicken, tacos and grilled chicken. Each family provided their own dishes and drinks and it went quite smoothly for 50 plus people.


My sweet Jacob who spent a bit of time in the cabin sleeping or in the car seat sleeping. The goal was to keep him out of the sun since he is too little for sunscreen.


Each family was on their own for breakfast and lunch. We had our camping breakfast of pancakes and bacon. We made our meals on the camp stove for the most part but it was nice to have a microwave and electricity as yes, I did bring our espresso maker.


One of the activities enjoyed by Andy and Mike was a little boating excursion. Aaron didn't want to join the fun, so he and mom watched from the shore. They motored up and down the coast line of Camano Island and had a great time together.

Of course, as we were checking out, we made our plans for summer 2011. We are all looking forward to another week by the water spending time with great friends. I'm sure next year the dynamics will change again as all those babies will be toddlers, but that's what super yards are for.

Self Serve

Who needs mom anymore? Certainly not the 2 year old. Aaron decided he was thirsty, so he opened up the lower cabinet door, used the shelf as a ladder and climbed his little self up to the counter top to reach the upper cabinet where the glasses are housed.

Once the glasses had been retrieved, the milk, chocolate syrup and vanilla syrup were next on the boy's list. Andy had requested vanilla milk and Aaron wanted chocolate milk.


It seems as if Aaron's chocolate milk wasn't quite what he had wanted and he proceeded to let me know about it. I am glad the boy's are gaining more independence and wanting to help each other out. They are learning teamwork and no matter the mess I may have to clean up, teamwork with the boys is a skill they need to master.

A Day Out With Thomas

Aaron is a huge fan of trains and of a specific train named Thomas the Tank Engine. Some great mind came up with a great way to entertain little boys and girls who love Thomas and milk money from the parents. This year, Mike and I became those parents who forked over good money to see Thomas. We knew that Aaron would be over the moon to see Thomas and decided this year would be a good time for us to go.

The train event was held out in Snoqualmie where there is a train depot and a train museum. Various food vendors set up camp and there was also family friendly entertainment including Casper Baby Pants otherwise known as The Presidents of the United States of America. Booths held various forms of entertainment all about Thomas. There was a coloring booth, tattoo booth, an entire area with numerous train tables set up at just the right height for the 2-4 year old crowd. We luckily managed to avoid the merchandise tent and save ourselves a fight and a few lost dollars.
I thought it was so sweet to see Andy and Aaron holding hands while they were waiting for Thomas to return from one of his many trips. In the background to the right is also a little train that would go up and down part of the tracks to give a mini ride in which of course we partook.

It's Thomas and you can spend more money to get a professional picture with the infamous train. Jacob and I hung back to take our own picture. The boys were so excited to see Thomas and be relatively close to the tank engine.

Finally, after cruising the grounds, checking out the exhibits and running into some friends, it was finally time to line up for our turn to take a little trip with Thomas down to Snoqualmie Falls. It was getting well past nap time because we bought out tickets late so the times available were very limited, but the boys were such troopers and hung on the whole time.

Note to self, do not let the 2.5 year old choose the seats because we sat on the wrong side of the train. Most of the view was obstructed due to foliage, but the falls are also under construction under 2013, so I suppose it wasn't too great a loss.

All in all, it was a fun, family outing. We had never been to the train depot in Snoqualmie which has a little museum to walk through and sit and watch the train come and go all day long. The weather was so nice which has been rare, but we are hopefully the nice weather is here to stay for a couple of months.

A Summer Evening

Ahh, the sun has come out and summer might have actually arrived, but we won't hold our breath. The grill is fired up and a great evening meal is ready to be enjoyed out on the deck. It was so nice to have dinner outside as a family and enjoy some gorgeous weather.