So much fun...

We have so much fun talking with and listening to Eli these days. Today, he gave me the best laugh! (And it's nice to have something to laugh about when it's 100 degrees outside, and 87 inside)...We were listening to a Ralph Covert CD (and parents, if you haven't listened to any of the Ralph's World CDs, you're seriously missing out! Even if you're not a parent, you have to listen to my personal favorite, The Coffee Song!)...anyway, I digress (what's new?)! So we're listing to a song and Eli says, "Mama, that man has too many apples in his car." I was perplexed...until I listened to the words of the chorus: "Driving all the way to Minneapolis in my car." Hysterical!!

It's hot!

This is how my poor, sweaty kids spent the night...

It's midnight (and yes, I should really be sleeping!) and it's 86 degrees! Yikes!

Eli's tricks

One of Eli's favorite things to do these days is "tricks." A trick can be anything from walking funny to falling on the floor to throwing Zoe's ball somewhere she can't get it. The other day he put on a little show for us with a new trick on the couch. He was actually far more entertaining in person than in this video!

Milestones

Our baby girl is three months old today! And on Thursday Eli wrote his first letter...an E of course! A month ago Ryan showed Eli how to write an E, but we haven't talked about it since. Thursday he grabbed a marker, headed to the white board, and turned around with a big grin on his face and said, "Look, I wrote a letter!"
We sure love these kids!

Bath time baby

Well, I think out little girl is going to be a swimmer! She has so much fun in the bath these days! She's always pretty active, but you put her in the bath tub and she goes crazy! We end up with water literally all over the kitchen. We may have to relocate the baby bath tub to the big bath tub pretty soon!

Abby plays

Abby recently discovered her feet, and she enjoys using them to play! Friday while enjoying some time on her play mat, she was joined by her adoring big brother. I can't tell you how much we enjoying watching these two together!

As you can imagine from their attire (or lack thereof!) it was quite a hot day!

Pine Cone Drive-In

This weekend we had the priveledge of attending a very cool annual event put on by the parents of some very good friends of ours. The event is called Pine Cone Drive-In (they live on Pine Cone Drive)...they choose a weekend every summer and invite family and friends to come camp on their property near Lake Wenatchee. Each night the home-made movie screen shows classic cartoons for the kids at 8, followed by a short intermission for bed time, and a 10:00 feature for the grown-ups. They provide breakfast each morning as well as the main course for dinners. Everyone who attends pitches in with side dishes or dessert as well as movie snacks. They even fire up an old-fashioned popcorn popper! Since this was our first attempt at camping with a baby we opted to stay just one of the three nights. So, we packed up the van Saturday morning and made the two (or should I say four) hour drive. We set up camp and relaxed a little before heading over to Lake Wenatchee for some fun. It was beautiful, and the cool wind provided relief from the dry heat elsewhere. Instead of putting the kids to bed and taking in the late movie, Ryan and I headed to bed after cartoons and dessert. Ryan and Eli camped in the tent - one of their new favorite pasttimes - and Abby and I "camped" in the back of the van. Have I mentioned how much I love our van? Though it may not have been the most decadent (or comfortable) of accomodations, it actually worked out really well! We're looking forward to attending again next year, and we might even attempt a longer stay. :)

Man date campout

So how did Ryan choose to celebrate his 30th birthday? With a guys-only campout in the back yard (to their credit, they did invite Abby and I to join them...we politely declined)! He and Eli had a great time together...we started with a family campfire and got Abby all bundled up. We also taught Eli how to roast marshmallows. He loved the roasting, but wasn't so sure about eating the marshmallows afterward (he loves them raw, but they were a little too gooey roasted!). By the time we all got ready for bed, Eli was an amazing mess...his face was covered with a mix of strawberry juice, pizza sauce, marshmallow, dirt, and grass! Finally, Abby and I headed inside for the night and left our boys to enjoy the fire and sleep in the tent. The next morning they were in pretty early...Eli had slept from about 11-6. He took a three hour nap that day (and he rarely naps anymore)! They had a blast, though, and plan to camp again this week. :)

It was one of those moments...

I had one of those parenting moments the other day...every parent knows what I mean; one of those moments when you're really supposed to keep a straight face and correct or discipline your child, but you can't stop laughing at whatever you're seeing. I had such a moment on Thursday. I walked out the back door and saw this: Eli was standing in his pool, fully clothed - including shoes, completely soaked from head to toe, splashing the water with his golf club. Adding to the hilarity, Eli looked up at me and asked, "Mama, can I splash the water?" I just stood there cracking up! Of course, Eli thought it was pretty funny that I was laughing, so he started gilggling too. Since there was no hope of him taking me seriously at this point, I grabbed the camera for this pricesless photo op. Later, of course, we had a very serious talk about water safety and pool rules. I think looking at this photo will forever elicit laughter from me! :)

Sweet little feet

Abby was very proud to show you all that she wore her first pair of shoes the other day! Yet again, Blogger won't let me rotate my photo...ugh!I sure love this precious little girl!

Oh no...it's the big 3-0!

Happy Birthday Ryan! Yes, my wonderful husband is 30 today! So, even though I'm going to be in big trouble for this, I just couldn't help but share some photos of the cute little boy who grew up into the handsome man that my kids and I love so much!

Welcome to your thirties Ry! May it be your best decade yet! :)

Happy 4th of July!

I'm a little late in posting this, but what's new? :) We had a great 4th of July this year, lots of fun and unbeatable weather. We started the sunny day with some friends in Snoqualmie Ridge. First off was the children's parade, and Eli had a great time riding with his buddy Charlie in our friends' wagon. Next up was the carnival - an amazing carnival! They had a petting zoo, pony rides, circus train, tons of bouncy houses, live music...and it was all free! We all had such a good time. Eli's favorite things were the train rides, the bouncy houses, and playing games with his friend Grace. After a pathetically short nap time, we headed to another friend's house for a barbecue. We contributed to the meal with my new specialty: Patriot Salad! (I don't know why, but Blogger won't let me rotate this photo)Eli also had fun with his first sparkler. Hope you all had a happy 4th!

Miss Mohawk

Check out Abby's new look:

After her bath last night, Abby's hair had a mind of its own - and it stayed that way all night and all day today, despite my efforts to flatten it. Fortunately tonight's bath marked the end of the mohawk...at least until she's 16. :) My complaints, of course, are tongue-in-cheek - she's awfully cute, even with a mohawk!

Strawberry Festival

Last weekend Bellevue held its annual Strawberry Festival, and since Eli's such a berry lover we just had to go! It actually has surprisingly little to do with strawberries - though we did enjoy the obligatory strawberry shortcake. Eli had a blast in the bouncy house and mini-golfing...he came up with his own technique, and even got a hole in one! :)It was lots of fun!