Happy Birthday Papa

Happy Birthday Papa from your Grandkids in Vancouver. We love you.

Oaks Park June 30th

Aunt Heather and I decided to try out toddler time at Oaks Park. We got there 10 minutes before the park opened and were able to ride all the kiddie rides before there were any lines. The boys' favorite ride was the airplanes with guns and Star Wars theme music. We will definitely come back to this summer hot spot.

June Rain Dance

Sometimes it's nice to just enjoy the moment. It started pouring in the early evening so the boys wanted to watch the rain from the front porch. With door wide open, sword in hand, TJ and Russell went out and fought the rain. I just sat back and watched the magic.

Papa Tom, Grandma Andrea and Uncle Tyler come for a visit

Back in April we were so lucky to have Papa Tom, Grandma Andrea and Uncle Tyler spend a few days with us. We wanted to do something special for their visit so we rented a friends beach house for a night in Long Beach. We had such a wonderful time. We played games and watched movies when the weather was not so great and then spent time outside when it was. Uncle Tyler and Papa Tom were experts Light Sabor warriors. TJ and Russell got surprise Bat Man Capes made by Grandma Andrea. We need to get pictures of the boys in those online.

Walking down to the beach

I actually won a game of Scrabble against all these brilliant people

April Catch up

Now that I've posted Hawaii I need to go back and catch up on a few important events prior to our trip. In April, Carol, Kim and I took the kids to the Tulip Festival in Woodburn Oregon. I have never seen such beautiful flowers. I'm sorry to say I've lived here for almost six years and this is the first time I've ventured down to the Tulip Festival.

TJ practicing his tractor driving

Holland Wooden Shoe theme

Russell's favorite relaxed position

Blake and TJ right before the wild cow ride. I wanted to throw up after this bumpy adventure.

Just a quick video of the fields.

Hawaii

Trevor and I spent the last 7 days in Kauai celebrating our 10 year anniversary. Yes we were married in December, not May, but we wanted to spread out the vacation time (things get too busy in December). TJ and Russell played with Grandma Kathy, Aunt Beth and Auntie Heather while we were gone. It took a little adjusting not to worry about anyone but ourselves. We were in paradise. Everywhere in Kauai was beautiful. There is a reason why it is called the garden isle. Here are just a few pictures from our trip.

Our adventures hiking and snorkeling are caught on our disposable underwater camera which has not been developed yet (yes we did more than just golf).

A quick shot at the airport

Looking out one of the five pavilions that surrounded the resort pool

A peek at our paradise (pool and beach).

Beach access from our resort

Our hot ride for the week

A night out to dinner

The pool at our resort at night

Lagoon's Golf Course

Flowers covered the grounds of the Lagoon golf course

Roosters everywhere

Waimea Canyon

Na Pau Cliffs

Spouting Horn

Our view outside The Beach House right before sunset

Fabulous Crab Cakes at The Beach House

Prince Course on the north end of the island

The world's best shave ice from Jo Jo's (ice cream bottom, shave ice, flavor, and sweetened cream on the top).

Loading up two suit cases and two golf cases into our Mustang convertible to catch our red eye back to Seattle

A video taken at The Beach House restaurant

Playing Catch up

It's no fun to get behind blogging. Every time I go to my blog I'm reminded of all the events that I have not posted yet. Here are a few March pictures with cousin Savannah and Grandma Russell. Christian, Heather, Trevor and I all love this local dinner called Carole's Corner. We took a few pictures of the kids sharing our favorite breakfasts with Grandma.

That pancake is 10 inches

Great Grandma Russell and Savannah Russell

Can someone get me a tall milk please?

YUMMY FRENCH TOAST!

Notice the portion size...half is on Christians plate, the other half is in the box

Grandma Russell and I in my living room

Heather and I spent some time outside in the sun with the kids. Any time it shines here in Washington you just have to get out. The kids tried to soak up as much vitamin D as possible.