Hood Canal-SIBS weekend

14 of us gathered at Hood Canal for Sari/Chambers SIBS weekend. Lisa and Dom wanted to bring their siblings together for a weekend of fun and we were able to make it happen. Dom is the oldest of 7 and with the Sari 4 and significant others we had 14 sibs plus Owen and Clara. We introduced the Chambers to the excitement of the Canal...crabbing, sea life and even raw oysters! We all enjoyed each other and can't wait to celebrate together at the wedding!!

Lis & Dom making dinner on Friday night

sib swim

the Chambers family lined up for raw oysters (a necessary ritual for Hood Canal newcomers)

walking on the beach at low tide

dinner time

Sibling Laughs

Longview fun...

swimming in "Papa Bill's big pool"

snuggling with Sari at the pool

backyard with Gramma

Teresa practicing with 2 on her lap (she's due in 2 months with a little boy)

Matt & Teresa-how cute are they? Thank you for BBQing for all of us!

Owen & Maddie cooking dinner

snack time at the Castro's

playing at the Castro's house-Bailey, Addy, Owen, Clara and Maddie

making breakfast with Papa..."hawk eyes"

Whistler

Last week while we were having fun in Woodinville, Brett, Eric and Justin went riding in Whistler. They rode hard for two days and came back Saturday to hang out with us and treat their injuries (mostly minor...right boys?).

Toasting with Whistler Ale before leaving Woodinville

Eric & Brett on the mountain

Papa Bill's pool

A Duet, by Owen & Jack

Woodinville

On Tuesday night, Justin, Brett and I loaded up the kids and they boys' bikes and drove to Woodinville. Brett, Justin and Eric have had a Whistler trip planned for a long time and were all very excited to get there. I made it to Seattle with them and the kids and we had a fun week with auntie Ria and got to visit with some other friends too!

playing in the water at Redmond Towne Center with Ria

Cassie came over for dinner and after Clara doused her in spit up, we roped her into bath and story time with the kids-thanks Cass!

We loved seeing you, thank you again!

On Thursday the Fraser fam came from Bremerton to stay for a night...yep, 4 kids 2 and under sleeping in the same house:)

Maggie and Clara are a little over a week apart and had fun looking at and sucking on each other

Jack and Owen are 7 weeks apart and had way too much fun together

Owen really liked Maggie too and wanted to read her Caps For Sale in the morning

We were out the door by 9:30 to hit up the Woodland Park Zoo!

Woodland Park Zoo

On Friday morning we hit the zoo with the Fraser Fam! The orangutan was our first stop and he came right up to the window to greet Owen and Jack. Jack LOVED it...Owen was not so sure about him. The monkeys and elephants were the favorites of the morning and the kids did really well. The Frasers had to get back to Bremerton after lunch, but we stayed at the zoo until 3:45! Owen wanted to go back to see the orangutans and elephants and he was much more comfortable the second time around.

The Otters

checking out the elephants or "AREAS!" as Jack would say :)

feeding the giraffes with Ria

Mr. Mom

Kid clips...

"What animal is this?"

Clara being cute

Little Boy

Where: Bob Ward's (sporting goods store...Bob's equivalent for the Longview folk)

A few weeks ago I took Owen to the store and he was very concerned with the little boy on the wall. The store has a climbing display where a little boy mannequin looks like he is climbing up the wall. In the store, he kept saying, "be safe little boy", "he has black shoes and a helmet" and we checked on him several times before leaving the store. Since the first visit he often asks, "Mommy, member that little boy? He's on the wall." Brett took him to the store on Friday and took a little video of Owen checking on the boy. What a funny and sweet boy I have!

Kidapalooza...and rolling over

To top off a super summer week, my friend Sarah and I took the kids to Kiddopalooza. It was an awesome event just for kids held at Caras Park by the river downtown. Owen loved the bounce house, and both he and Syd had fun at the gymnastics station. They spent some time in the giant sandbox and took a few minutes to get their hands painted too. Owen watched Syd and one other little girl go before him, so he also chose to get a butterfly with pink sparkles on his hand! It was so fun to see him enjoying the activities and all the kids. At the gymnastics station he watched intently as kids did back somersaults down a little ramp. Before long he was sitting backward on the top of the ramp flipping himself backward down the ramp (well a little off to the side). It was so sweet to see him try it over and over again to do it like the big kids. What a fun Friday night...and after having the kids for the afternoon, Brett was on a bike ride getting ready for next weeks Whistler trip!

While I was gone for the afternoon for appointments, Clara rolled over on her own. She did it before in her swaddle, but this time it was for real. She went from her back, made it over her elbow, and onto her belly with a smile. Way to go Little Miss!

Yay for July Sunshine

With the first full week of July also came what felt like the first full week of summer weather. Here are some of the weeks events to show how much we have been enjoying it!

Thank you for the awesome sprinkler Heather!

Our Wednesday playdate included Emma & Silas, Mya & Brady, Syd & Sigourney, Isabell and us...the kids hit the sprinkler after lunch

and Mya shared a snack with everyone

That same afternoon (post-naps), Brynn and Ryan came to play

Yesterday we met Gracie and Jen at Bonner park-oh and the Little Dipper Ice Cream truck pulled up too!

sharing ice cream on the turtle :)

Happy 4th of July

On Saturday morning we headed west to Kellogg, ID. Why? Our plan was to go to Coeur D'Alene for the day on the 4th and we wanted to break up the trip...and it ended up being a great stop. As we pulled in to our hotel Owen spotted the green and blue gondolas going up the mountain. We checked in, grabbed a lunch for the ride and were on our way up the mountain in a green gondola car. It was a clear day so we had a nice view and we were pleased to find an awesome playground on the top. After riding back down, Brett and Owen went for a little swim, we went out to dinner and Brett and I got 12 hours of sleep! Owen didn't get his regular nap in, so was very ready for bed at about 7:30...and so were we!

In the morning we drove to Coeur D'Alene to meet up with Tyler & Nora for a day at their friend Brian's lake house. They picked us up at the dock and we took a boat ride to the house. Owen kept saying "I go in the big boat. It's not Papa Pat's boat." He had a blast playing in the sand and water all day (no nap again) and we loved hanging out so much that we stayed until dark! Our intention was to leave before dinner-oops! It made for a late night, but it was well worth the time with our friends-thank you guys!

Friday Fun

What a great first half of the day...

Snuggle time

Sharing the tub

Watching the Freestyle Kayak Championships at Caras Park

So awesome! This was the competition to earn a spot on the US team...and it was right here in Missoula. We watched the junior men and the senior women and were impressed by all of them.

trying out a new toy (well...new to her) before nap

Owen says "Owens a baby!"

Now, to get some things done while the kiddos are napping!