Safety Day at the Museum

We went to the Museum of Flight last Friday for Kids Safety Day. It was loads of fun! We started out outside in the parking lot and I was completely unprepared for the day. When we left the house it wasn't that ugly outside. By the time we got to the museum it was raining cats and dogs, goats and frogs. Max was still happy to be there and see all the fire trucks. We got loads of new coloring books about fire safety and Smokey Bear and a new fire hat. He loved walking around looking at the fire trucks, getting to go inside an ambulance and the swift water rescue raft. The rain didn't bother him at all. A true Washingtonian.

By the time we made it into the museum we were all soaked to the bone and Max was on fire. He ran around looking and touching everything. I have never seen him so fired up. Terry was kind of suprised by his exhuberance also.

 Max and daddy as firefighters! Aren't they a handsome pair?

 Flying a plane in the kids zone.

Flying a helicopter and loving it.

Never again will I leave the house without the proper gear and fully prepared. I am hoping that summer actually arrives and I won't need to worry about it. On the plus side, Max didn't even seem to realize that anything was amiss, so once again it is all me and my issue and needing to learn to roll with the punches.

Happy Father's Day

Okay, okay, so I am a little late, but I am not a slave to the calender. Besides we have been far to busy!! Here is part of Terry's Father's Day gift.

I can't wait to see what fun I have next year putting something together.

Happy Father's Day Daddy! You are the bestest!

Father's Day Campout

This year in honor of Father's Day we went camping! Daddy has been chomping at the bit to try out our new tent and when the campground at Lake Kachess finally opened for the season we were there. Camping with Terry is great because I don't have to do anything really. It is like a mini vacation for me because he does all the camp set-up, cooking and cleaning. I love it!! My work usually consists of making sure we have everything before we leave the house, supply wise, and packing up the food and clothes.

The weather was going to be kind of hit or miss but I was mostly prepared. As long as Max is covered, I figure I can live with only one pair of socks for 3 days and no shower. Max really enjoys the camping experience also. He got much more into this year, then last year at the ocean. We had a blast! As an added bonus, Uncle Mike, our former neighbor, joined us. It was great to have him along for company.

Our first day we arrived a little later then we expected and after setting up, Max and I tried to have a little nap. He wasn't having any of it. Way to much to see and do and he just knew he was missing out on something. Max is a little man that regularly naps 2 to 3 hours a day, so I was a little concerned by this lack of sleep. He was a trooper though. There were a few hiccups throughout the afternoon but for the most part he did pretty well. The weather was mildly uncooperative and that may have been some of his frustration. As were some of the safety rules of being near the fire pit and wood chopping. Overall, all three of us were pretty impressed with his no nap attitude. I, however was determined to make sure he napped the second for fear of sensory overload and total meltdown.

We had an awesome campsite with a path that lead right to the lake and had some nice shady and open sunny areas, when there was sun. It really was the perfect spot. Daddy and Max had scouted it out a couple of weeks before hand and picked it out special. Excellent job Daddy.

 Making Daddy work down by the Lake.

 Uncle Mike being super protective of Max while Daddy shows off how to chop fire wood. They really are not as close as they seem in the photo. Max did always want to be right up in the action though.

 Collecting kindling and bringing it to Uncle Mike, who was the official firestarter. Max loved having a job to do and always wanted to help out.

 First night treat! Jiffy pop! Max loves popcorn. Here is the happy boy sitting in his new Lightening McQueen chair. He thought having his own little chair was great.

 Using "Molly Hatchet," to show Daddy and Uncle Mike how it is done. Don't worry Gramma, it is duller then dull!!

 Max's favorite mode of transportation, riding on Daddy's head! He is wearing daddy's hat and "steering" him with his ears. Pretty comical!

Carbon Creek. According to a friend with a house out there, the bridge washed out a few years ago and they have yet to replace it. It was a short but nice hike all the same. Someone else told us that if you follow this specific trail around the Lake it comes to an old mine and there are lots of quartz crystals in the water around the area.

Curious if anyone knows what this plant is. It was all over the campground.

 Amazing star-like clusters of flowers on a Liatris like stem with a grassy base. No fragrance but growing in sunny and shady areas. The flower stood about 18 inches tall.

 Max and I lounging in the hammock Daddy got us as a suprise! Thank goodness for looooooong rope! We put it between the 2 closest trees.

 Daddy being goofy! Max's laugh could be heard for miles.

We had such and amazing time and want to go back for more. I am hoping for better weather, as it intermittently rained on us the entire time we were there. Thinking about trying it after the baby comes if summer holds on until the end of September. Since summer hasn't actually gotten here yet, we might be in luck.

Just a few words about Terry. He really shines when he is out in this kind of environment. Now having Max with us he becomes such a good teacher and guides Max's any interest. He gets down on his level and explains everything using real words and ideas. Max is now starting the "how does it work" phase of asking a million questions and Terry is right there to answer them to the best of his ability. I love watching them together. They are like 2 peas in a pod. He really is a great dad and often times has much more patience then I do. I can't wait to see what a little girl brings out in him. He won't know what hit him!! 

Zoo Day

We have been so lucky to have daddy off of school for the last 3 weeks. He did AMAZING and earned a 4.0 for this past quarter!! Dean's List again!! Way to go daddy! We are so proud of you!

Anyway, we have tried to stay busy and do lots of fun things while it is just the three of us, before the little sister arrives. We took the opportunity to go to the zoo last week, on one of the nicer days and let Max run wild. At least that was what we wanted him to do. It turns out he really likes "riding on daddy's head," instead. There were several 2 year old toddler moments when he wouldn't even walk, not even a little!  More then a little frustrating when the plan is to tire him out. We managed to get some great pictures though.

 We have been calling Max, silly monkey, for a while now. Mostly because he likes to hang on the bars at the park and climb on to the kitchen counter and anything else he can find.  So this photo op seemed appropriate.

He climbed up on to this silver back statue with no assistance from mom or dad.

 At the petting zoo area, the goats were being lazy in the sun, so Max had a great hands on opportunity to pet them. Not exactly sure why he has such a concerned look on his face. He did seem to enjoy petting him though.

As we were walking to go get lunch, from on top of daddys shoulders, Max started freaking out. He kept saying back, back, back. We hadn't even seen what he was so excited about at first. Once we back tracked, we got it. He loves bubbles. They had a huge vat of super bubble soap out and were letting the kids try to make bubbles. Max did a couple, but daddy was a rock star! Better then the volunteers working the bubble area!

On our way out we stopped by the Humboldt Penguin exhibit again and Max spotted a little boy sitting in one of the visual bubbles watching for the birds. He slyly snuck up and squeezed himself onto the same spot. The boy is just now figuring it out and climbs over Max to get away. We thought it was kind of cute. I guess the other little boy didn't appreciate it the intrusion.

 

It was a nice day and we hope to have a few more trips to the zoo in this summer. There is so much to see there and we rarely make it to everything before we have leave to get home in time for a nap. As it was, on this particular afternoon Max did not fall asleep in the car, as usual, but was still awake when we got home at 3pm. More on napping in the next post.

 

Play Date with Jake

Not only does it seem like forever since I posted to the blog, it seems like forever since Bridget and I have been able to get the boys together to play. Weather and schedules and mostly the weather have made it challenging. We like going to outdoor places to let them run around and get some energy out. Obviously winter in Washington makes those "good days," few and far between. Neither one of us want to deal with wet, muddy, little men.

We finally got together last week at Luther Burbank Park on Mercer Island. They have a great play area and some hiking paths. The boys love, love, love the fire truck. One of Max's favorite things is spraying out fires. He pretends to put out fires with everything, it doesn't even need to look like a hose to be used.

Here are some excellent pictures of the boys.

Following the leader. Max kept calling this a slide, even though there are real actual slides at the park.

 Max is always interested in the snacks Jake has. I can usually count on him to try something new. Peer pressure can be a good thing at this age. Bless Bridget for always having good stuff. On this afternoon, Max was more interested in Jake's lunch box.

Bridget, always a good sport, playing the lone customer at Max and Jake's restuarant. She would place an order. They would keep handing her pinecones and rocks that she pretended to eat. It was great!!

 Max loves Bridget! He would only hold her hand when we walked back to the car to leave. It even made Jake a little jealous. Bridget says Jake never wants to hold her hand anymore. Like I said, peer pressure can be a wonderful thing at this age.

Jake, a very happy, handsome little man! I will say it again Bridget, we are excellent bakers!!

Hopefully now that summer is here, it is here right, we will be able to get the boys together a little more often. Bridget and I even got to catch up a little. Ususally the boys don't actually play together and we never see each other or only in passing. They are a little more interactive with each other now and it was wonderful to be able to actually talk, bounce ideas, concerns and just have a general conversation with her. Lets do it again soon!