Friday, July 20, 2012

Catching Up - Part 3 - Grandpa Arrives and Then Some...

Grandpa flew in for the last leg of Grammy's visit - and so we met him and Brian down in Poulsbo....  But first we got doughnuts for the morning and checked out the Slugs everywhere (some sort of a fundraiser)
 Lucas has developed this new pose.....  Hmmmmm....
 The boys were all excited to see Grandpa!
 And we celebrated with delicious ice cream down on the waterfront.
 We went for a quick (though much tougher with my stupid cast-boot) hike along a boardwalk and had fun spotting crabs and little fish.  Lucas has some great observational skills - though soon he was having fun making stuff up...
 Cooper got himself all tangled up, but seemed to enjoy the ride....
 The boardwalk leads to a little trail through the woods....
 To a cute little playground where the boys loved the bouncy toys and teeter-totters...
 The next day, Lucas got to participate at Ryan Ranch too - as a Mini-Buckaroo!  He loved going to see the peacocks a lot!  I was so proud of him, going off with his teachers.  I hid from afar and watched him - wanting to build that confidence and independence.
 I got to use that time to go and watch Ethan ride - and how cool was that!  He was so proud and confident on that horse - so cute too.....
 Late nights and wacky schedules led to one massive meltdown from this 6 year old....  I took a picture and told him I'd show it to him the next time he wanted to go somewhere.....
 And Lucas kept smiling and saying he was looking for "Policemans to come and get you Eflan!"
 After naps, all was well with the world...  Lucas helped pick raspberries - and ate a million of 'em....
 We said good-bye to the fam, as they went back home, and off we went to swimming.  I'm so proud of the boys for the progress they've made - real little swimmers!
Wednesday was another day at Ryan Ranch for both boys and their love for all things horses grew even more - Ethan learned to trot and thought it was hilarious!  As did I, since he was bouncing all over the place...
Lucas loved going on a hunt through the woods to pick weeds to feed to the different animals.  He was terrified of the goat - but loved the chickens.  Huh?!  Those chickens are nuts!  Although, I did see the goat try to eat a pigtail.....
 Lucas got to go on the ponies each day and that was such a thrill for him.  He chattered away the whole time - cracked me up.  Those teenage girls know all about him life now....
 That evening, we invited Nadia (and her mom) over for a pizza dinner and s'mores.  See, we take advantage of house-sitting.....
 These two just crack me up....
 We had "Sparkling Spiders" to drink (sparkling cider) and had some delicious s'mores, once Sonia and I managed to get the fire going....  Girl scout, I am not....

 Thursday was Ethan's last day at the Ranch - and he was so sad...  He got to show off a lot of what he learned in some races and an obstacle course, and I could not be prouder of him.  He really learned a lot and they were just great with him.  There were a lot of things he was nervous about and they worked him right through it - even got him really jogging by the end of it.
 He knew he'd be sad to leave Honeybuns, but I don't think he realized how sad.  I think there were more than a few tears shed at the end of the day....
 He brought her a treat - carrots - to say thank you - and it was a crack up watching him try to hold the bucket as she went for 'em.
What a neat experience -for both of them!  I've been amazed to see how the compassion they developed for animals there has transferred over into their attitudes toward our pets at home.  They're begging to help care for them and do little jobs here and there.  I love it!
 And that brings us to today...  In short (I'm impressed you are still reading) - My boot came off for good  - woohoo!  Lucas counted to "ferty" by himself, and that earned him a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese (Ethan had met his goal a while ago - to learn to swim, but we'd waited).  And fun, they had!
 And then this just cracked me up.  Lucas was sleeping, I was reading, and Ethan was developing a game - FuzzBall Attack! (By Ethan's Games)...
The goal is to get from your team's box on the top, to the correlating box on the bottom - without being taken out by any of the firebolts, bombs, etc. residing in the middle. The touch screen gives you special powers you can activate to get through and the levers at the bottom of the circle propel you back up...
Creative, yes?  And way better than just playing someone else's game, methinks...
And now it's late, and I have to finish getting ready for our next great adventure.....  But at least this is caught up....  One thing off the to-do list!

Catching Up Part 2 - S'mores and Sun

Grammy, Auntie Angie, Cole and Cooper came out to spend a couple of nights with us while we were house-sitting - and we took full advantage of the house!  First stop was to make s'mores around a campfire. Never you mind that it was raining - we managed.  It took a while to get the fire started, but once we did, it was perfect!
 As long as we could keep Cole and the dogs back from the fire, it was great.  I think Ethan has mastered the art of a good s'more.
 Monday morning started Ethan at horse camp!  I pretty much just dropped him off and headed back - kind of scary, but he was ready for me to go - "I got this Mom."  He and his partner shared their horse over the week - Honeybuns - quite the name!
 While he was at camp, we took the little ones to Raab park for the children's garden session.  Lucas loved 2 things - moving bark around in the wheelbarrows and watering the plants....  And pretty much refused to do anything else...
 Cole wasn't really sure about anything...  He tried watering, but then dumped it all over himself and was having no more of that.
The afternoon was gorgeous, so after naps, we headed outside to play in some water...  The pool had issues staying blown up, but it served its purpose.  And the dogs were in doggie heaven - they absolutely love playing in that backyard!
 The boys turned the slide into a water slide - which was really cool!  And really fast...
 Cooper made cute faces at me over in the shade.  He loves crawling around outside, and managed not to try to eat too much....
 Cole took his time getting used to the water, but eventually did go in, so he could get the ball back out.
 And this guy just kept charming me.....
 Mostly it was just a perfect day to hang out and enjoy the sun...
 Did I mention how happy the dogs were?
 Lucas learned to spray the hose and watered everything that could possibly need it... and a few things that didn't....
Who knew summer would actually come here?!

Catch Up.... Last Week/End

We came back from IN, and the boys were inspired to make a band...  So Ethan took some marketing promo shots of Lucas.  I'm not sure they're going to drum them up any business, but he sure has the tortured artist look down....
 We went and celebrated our friend Nadia at her Hula Party and had a blast.  Ethan figured out the hula hoop and entertained himself for hours.

 VBS was happening and I'd volunteered to work in the Pre-K class, so we spent our evenings of the week singing songs, doing crafts, and playing games.  Lucas was a hoot.  He loved being on stage, but refused to do any of the motions while he was up there.
 Ethan on the other hand, was all over those motions!  And had a great time with his "Crew".  I hardly saw him, but every time I did, he was smiling.  He got to do slip-n-slide, and a big ol' zipline.  Since the theme was "Trusting God", I let him go....
 The rest of the week was a lot of sleep catch-up and trying to get organized and back into a routine.  The weekend came and we decided to head out to the trains in Port Orchard.  We love these scale model trains and they did not disappoint.
 Except that my foot did not enjoy the angle in that boot, so I only rode once, and then read in the shade (works for me!)
 The Bug Museum in Bremerton was having it's one year anniversary.  And we LOVE that place, so we headed over to celebrate.  The giant tortoise was a big hit!
 Especially when it tried to eat the garden hose.
 We looked at everything and asked for some advice on our next family pet....  (coming soon!)
 Sunday, the kids got to perform their VBS songs in front of the congregation.  Ethan weaseled his way up to the front...  And Lucas stood right in front of me, facing the back of the stage - perfectly still.  And was very proud of himself afterwards...  Little goals I guess - he did get up there after all....
In the afternoon, we headed out to the park to celebrate a cute little one-year old's birthday!  Miss Elizabeth (who you might remember from our party as Princess Peach, guarding the castle).  Ethan buds were there and he loved running around with them~!
 But his favorite part was when Miss E. would not stop hugging him - even licked his neck at one point....  He absolutely adores her - but then again, who doesn't?
And then we packed up and headed out for a fun filled week of house-sittting at my parents'.......