Memorial Day Weekend

It all started innocently enough and well enough. We got up Saturday and headed out on a secret adventure. West to the coast was the order of the day--- main goals: see the Pacific and go up in a lighthouse.

The trip to breakfast, breakfast, finish trip to beach, and success finding Westport lighthouse!! (thank you DVD player and DVDs of the Muppet Show).

The lighthouse tour was good. Westport is the opposite of 99% of other lighthouses--- it is gaining beach instead of losing it. 100 years ago it was on the beach and today it is about a mile away. This pic is taken from the topWe all climbed the 135 steps to the top (M was carried). E and G were over the moon, M was acting like Satan ( the impersonation is almost perfect now) and I was holding anything that looked stable on the tiny little walkway around the light and was whisper-yelling at the children not ot move. Our guide seemd a bit nervous, I wonder why?? After the lighthouse we went down to the beach.

Let me break at this point to say I planned for a cool day with showers; it is now a warm 70ish and very sunny. I only brought change of clothes for Max thinking the other 2 could just roll up pants and stay relatively clean.

We get on the beach and everyone is playing and there are sand dollars as far as the eye can see. One of the boys begins throwing sand dollars.(imagine the next in slow motion) A sand dollar goes into the air, the wind catches it and it pops E on the crown of the head. You wouldn't think a fragile sand dollar could hurt, but as E ran to me with blood dripping from his head, soaking his shirt we thought we had a disaster in the making (2 hours from home, 10 minutes walk from the car, 3 kids, no idea where a hospital is). Luckily D stopped tossing sand dollars and came over and calmed E and I down. The bleeding stopped after a couple of minutes. While I went to the car to get a bag for the sand dollars and check for antibiotic cream, the boys continued to play on the beach and gathered @300 sand dollars. Everyone was wet and sandy so we cleaned up as best we could; the big kids went the rest of the day with no shirts (just putting on jackets and zipping when we got out of the car) and had to just let their pants dry. We drove to see a little town up the coast where we thought we might vacation sometime, stopped for another quick beach walk and headed home. Saturday night we were all so tired when we dropped into bed that we fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows.... oh yeah, until the coyotes screamed about 10:30. D and I both bolted awake thinking it was M. And then we listened again. If you haven't heard this sound.... don't. It is disturbing. We both then lay awake thinking of all the times we let the kids play outside with only light supervision and thinking other alarmist parent thoughts.

Sunday and Monday were spent mainly relaxing and recovering from Saturday. We grilled, planted, taught the kids to stay away from any strange animal that comes into our yard (don't laugh but the black bear who lives around our neighborhood wakes up in mid-June and uses the cul-de-sac next to our house as a path to Wollochet Bay for fishing),and spent time with neighbors. Belated Happy Memorial Day!

Quotes for the Weekend:

G "Daddy, I'm trying to catch a cold. I have been trying all weekend and I just can't catch one."

M "Wow....cool."

E upon getting his first sunburn(slightly pink not really burned even) "Will I get skin cancer now?" Maybe it's not such a good idea to explain everything to him.

love and hugs and remember your sunscreen and animal safety lessons,

B

E's Birthday and Beyond

Sorry it has taken so long to post E's birthday stuff; Grandma and Grandpa G were here from VA! It made for a very nice long weekend. Dad is still nursing his finger along, I think it helped us have a more relaxing weekend--- without the finger to stop us we would have played in the yard all weekend.

F 5/16 We finished prepping the house and I went to read to E's class for his birthday. Mom and Dad came in the late afternoon. We spent a beautiful afternoon relaxing on the patio and watching the monsters play.

S 5/17 It was E's birthday wish that he could go to the zoo to celebrate. We were waiting outside the gates for the zoo to open when he bit into his snack and out popped his second loose tooth. Could this day get any better??!!?? The zoo was very fun and we finished before lunch (and before it got too hot). Grandma brought E and G binoculars which they wore around at the zoo so they could see all the animals up close.

After lunch I worked on E's cake with Mom, G and M napped, and Dad, D, and E went off to explore on Fox Island (they went out to the fishing pier and saw a seal in the distance playing in the water--- lucky!) That night we grilled out and celebrated the big 7! E's cake was a tank cake. It turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. I guess I won't ever get to make little flowers and princesses and pink ponies, but figuring out how to make the gun stand up on the front of the tank was fulfilling enough I suppose. Making a camo cake does take some talent and E loved it which made it all the better.

Happy 7th Birthday E! Thanks to everyone for the e-cards, cards, gifts, and silly phone calls! You all know how to make E feel special for his birthday!

M got a bit excited during the party and ended up looking like a party animal. Does anyone else imagine him smashing cans on his head later in life?

S 5/18 - T5/20 Sunday through Tuesday was spent taking walks thru the neighborhood or on the beach or in Gig Harbor, visiting some nurseries (the plant kind--- don't get any ideas), eating out a bit, watching the kids play a bit, doing downtown Tacoma (OK so we went to D's office, walked across the glass bridge, got cupcakes and dinner-- that is pretty much doing Tacoma), and Mom and Dad had the thrill of running some of my regular errands so they know what and where I am talking about. Not super exciting but really a nice visit.

Dad's finger seemed to get better while they were here and Mom seemed to have a good time so we are all hoping they come back again soon.

Anyone else ready to visit the beautiful Pacific NW? Currently booking summer stays at our beautiful bed and breakfast..... hope to hear from everyone soon.

Love and hugs and plan your visit soon,

B

A Gift from D

D gave us all a gift last night. Actually, M is responsible since he woke us up at 5am on Monday and Damon took him on a bike ride as punishment (he thought he would get to cuddle with Daddy and eat some snacks and he ends up on the back of a bike for an hour). They went to Fox Island and found tidal pools to play in.

We took all the munchkins last night after dinner and they were thrilled. Picture this:

Mount Rainier is out on one side and the Olympic Mountain range is out on the other with the sun just beginning to sink in the sky (it's only 7:15---no sunset until 9ish---more on that later). There is a bit of rocky beach showing since the tide is on it's way in and we walk down an embankment to find two tidal pools filled with live sand dollars and minnows and tiny shrimp and baby dungeness crabs. We walked around and played and got sandy and wet for a few minutes and the kids gathered 20 sand dollars (only the dead ones--we had a lesson on not killing God's creatures) and just had the most fun :)

All this and bath and bedtime at regular time too.

Thank you D for finding a little "secret adventure" so close to home.

love and hugs,

B

Two Little Words

It is amazing how two little words at the right time can make a depressing day better. From Thing 1 I was getting attitude usually not dished out until teenage years; from Thing 2 I was getting the usual cluelessness that is getting frustrating to say the least; I am allergic to something that is blooming now so I am not feeling my best. The oldest two went to bed early and M got to stay up a little while longer. We read some books and cuddled and as D took him up to bed I said "night-night" and he said "night-night.... love-love". Boy I needed that. All at once the whole day was better.
love and hugs,
B

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

My boys do spoil me. I received gifts from each a couple of weeks ago; none of them can keep a secret or can stand to wait to surprise someone. D is probably the worst about this. E got me a clock, G got me a pretty plate with birds on it for the living room mantle, and M got me a rain guage that has 3 little birds in a nest (he's young, he doesn't realize that a rain guage is a bit of an ironic gift for WA).

This weekend they took me to lunch and spoiled me with the best gift of all----- MULCH!!!! We got it Saturday afternoon on a spur of the moment decision and worked on it that day and finished up today on Mother's Day. Yes, it seems like more work than gift but for me it was wonderful. M managed to be a supreme baby (oops! toddler) and napped during mulching both days. The concrete curbing around the beds that I have a love/hate relationship with was very helpful because you do not have to edge beds before mulching. I cleaned up where beds meet areas like driveway and sidewalk and we were good to go. I sometimes still feel trapped by the curbing because you can't change the lines of beds at all. With fresh mulch the curbing looks really sharp. Rhododendrens are blooming; I haven't killed any yet but several have developed root weevils since we bought the house---- it's just a matter of time til they die----- they know I have a poor history with azaleas and their relatives.

I also went out and splurged this week and bought fuschia baskets for the front porch; I am now freaking out and babying them so they live because I feel like I spent too much. If I follow directions well I can overwinter them here and use them again next year. Keep your fingers crossed that they live. Pic included.

Happy Mother's Day to all the other moms out there reading.

love an hugs,

B

PS I feel like I am running out of material. Suggestions would be helpful. Would you like to see video of M's tantrums or G trying to make a decision (never mind that would be too long)? Any input would be great!

A Hole in One

Yes---- it finally happened! No, not our first trip to the ER ,pessimists :(

E lost his first tooth :) It's difficult to tell from the picture since the big tooth was over halfway in(check the bottom front ). The tooth fairy brought a one dollar gold coin; E wants to spend it at the book fair.

Also, happy 18 month birthday M! With his attitude lately I think he realizes the best 18 months are behind him and it's all uphill from here.

Not much new here. We planted last Saturday (annuals and a couple of trees) and then went to the zoo Sunday. We saw the walrus feeding and they did some tricks----- I want one for a pet. We saved coins for a few months and adopted animals, but the kids got to choose; G picked the black tip shark and E chose the arctic fox. It's a cute program because when you donate money you get a little packet with a stuffed animal of your animal with a picture and a certificate. The kids were thrilled! We also found the playground area at the zoo which is where you will find us all summer.

one pic of the kids watching the walrus show at the zoo.

love and hugs to all,

B

All About Eli

OK. I haven't done this so I am going to..... you don't have to read it. Just click the little X in the corner and all my bragging goes away.

Eli is a good little artist. yesterday when I went to pick him up at art class I asked the teacher how long it took her to make all the pictures so the students would have work to say they did it. She said she didn't want to do that much work so they had to do their own. Eli even got to be a helper yesterday and helped a little girl who came in late by explaining how to use pastels. Pics I am posting include his chalk cat, pastels of a tree in front of the moon and painting of an Indian mask. Beautiful!

He loves the art class though he doesn't like being the only boy in the class.

Yesterday he also impressed me when we went to the library. We have been talking about who is running for president whenever the boys notice a pic in the paper of a canidate. Yesterday at the library Eli came over and said there was a book he had to have but he couldn't reach it. When I walked over to help there was a book on one of the canidates. I asked if he was sure and he said "If he wants to be president, I need to learn more about him." What a smarty!

OK that's all. Until he finally gets that first tooth out.

love and hugs,

B