What is he doing now?!

A couple of weekends ago (yes, I am behind), we had a wonderful surprise visit from some friends, Renny and her husband Chad. I used to live and work with Renny about 10 years ago and hadn't seen them in at least 5 years. It was so fun!!! Weston loved her; she's so great with little guys... she even got a wet one from West!

Our incredible babysitter, Alexi, has this sweet little dog Nika. Nika is the best dog with the boys and they LOVE her. Weston put on his super small dog costume from a couple of years ago and pretended to play like a dog. He seems to keep himself quite entertained these days.

Our days of fun in the Northwest were coming to an end... but before we headed back to Portland, we made a stop at Great Grandpa Keith and Great Grandma Jean's.

To say Merrick liked the boat ride is an understatement. He wouldn't get out. We sat in the boat for so long after our ride around the lake, he loved it.

Eli and Marin were able to come play one last time too (boo... hoo...). What a treat to be by the lake on these hot summer days. Love it! If the valley was sunny and warm even a few more months a year, it would be such a wonderful place to live. I am no amateur, the summer is beautiful, but don't be fooled, Winter is rough :)

Of course one more evening with Grandpa George, Merrick is his biggest fan these days.

It all comes to closure with a very late bedtime, beautiful starry night, roasting marshmellows with Grammy and Grandpa Bob by the fire. What a treat! Thanks everyone for hosting, playing and making our visit so incredibly special! Can't wait to see you again.

Daddy's Family

As if our week could get any better... We finally get to see Auntie Em, Uncle Rob, Maleah, Kalin, and Hailey! All the way from Louisianna.

Gubby and Gramps were so great to host all of us. Meme and Papa were there to play with all the kids too! Merrick took awhile to warm up as you can see...

After about 60 seconds Weston was head over heals for Hailey and Maleah, not to mention the excitement of playing Legos with Kalin.

What a special day. Wish is happened more often because we have so much fun together. Although it just wasn't the same without Daddy. We miss you Dad and can't wait to see you soon! Weston said a million times on the way home 'Mom, what a great day. That sure was fun!' Even though he acted like he was being tortured in the photos.

A day on the farm

The Dow's farm is a place I spent over half of my childhood. Taking my boys out there brings back so many great memories. Like being so scared of the big, old barn at night, watching calves being born, stumbling upon a bull in the midst of a field and sprinting through gigantic corn stalks to escape, listening to the coyotes at night, and spending time with the Dow's. My boys LOVE it out there. The barn is now empty, except for little critters who now call it home and an owl we intentionally quietly crept up on. He lives at the very top of the barn and flew right over our heads once he noticed us. It was so cool! I could not get Merrick off of the 4-wheeler. I put a little helmet on him and took him for a ride, he was so excited!

I didn't get any photos with the cows or fields, but it is absolutely beautiful, almost makes me want to live on a farm... almost. Thanks Auntie Kim for sharing your photos!

Skagit County Fair

It was so special to be with my family! How could I be in my home town and not take the boys to the fair? Livestock, rides, country singing cowboys, kettle corn, and tons of friendly faces, what little boy wouldn't enjoy this?

Spencer and Weston were so excited to ride the dragon. I try so hard to remember their faces these days. They're so pure, sincere, and truly joyful experiencing all of these 'firsts' as they become big boys.

Merrick did not want to leave the animals. He is definitely in the phase of mimicking every animal sound, most words, and very opinionated about what he wants.

Auntie is a must when you're out and about with kids. She is so good with them; playing, helping, loving them, and they love her!

Weston still favors the carousel. He loves this thing, and this particular one was extremely fast, kind of scary in my opinion, but he didn't seem to notice.

And they're on again... no off again... on again... the intense relationship of best buds. It's so hard to be 3 1/2. Thanks Grammy and Grandpa for a special day together!

Family

After arriving at Grammy's house we were ready for some fun... and it has been one busy, beautiful week! Weston loves to snuggle Maggie Dog, she's one of his best friends.

I don't know how my Auntie Ann does it, but she always finds Weston the best costumes. His dress up collection is pretty cool, mostly compliments of Auntie Ann. She also has tons of rescue figures and superheros at her house for the boys. Thank you Auntie Ann and Uncle Jerry for the yummy crab!

Who better to share a delicious meal with then Spencer, Grandma Joyce, Grandpa George and loads of other family. What a day!

Summer fun

Last weekend we celebrated at our church's summer baptism and BBQ. They had everything to keep the whole family smiling... Weston chose to have this painted on his face all by himself. Merrick loves slides, although he wasn't too sure about the bouncy part of it. The weather is just beautiful. We really had an amazing month of sunshine and warmth!

Pirates

Whether it's pirates, superheroes, a race car driver, a bull fighter, Weston is ALWAYS up to something very creative. Lately it's been 'Mom, can we play two kids and a snowboarder?' Which I still don't really understand how to play... but I follow his lead and pretend to be a mom with two kids (funny?!), and we discover Weston, who is a famous snowboarder (or something of the sort). He waves at us, smiles and maybe even talks to 'us'. This is our neighbor buddy Daniel, he and Weston talk to each other through our shared fence and love to play together.

Pacific City, OR

We spent a beautiful weekend in Pacific City. The Oregon Coast is such a wonderful escape from the city, long sandy beaches and tons of adventures! We all stayed in a big, cozy house together playing endless scrabble games, enjoying conversation, delicious food and entertainment by Weston, Merrick and the 'other boys', Niko and Echo.

Aunt Katie and Uncle Rob (along with their furry, four legged boys), found hermit crabs, starfish, and anemones in the tide-pools. Katie and Cale even made the trek down for the night!

Merrick's taking advantage of the many snuggles he's getting from Grammy and still choosing not to walk...

This beach was amazing early this morning. The tide was really low, hardly any wind, and just gorgeous.

We climbed a humongous sand mountain many times... Merrick loved the sand.

Thanks Grammy and Grandpa for a wonderful family weekend!

Seems like our weekend family time goes by too quickly :)

Girls

We don't see too many girls around here. Most of the boys' friends and neighbors happen to be boys. The other morning at Sunday School I counted 19 boys and only 8 girls in the preschool class. So, when Kaitlyn's around, she gets lots of attention!

She's a pretty tough cookie and can hold her own with West and Merrick. But lately we've started to see some pretty cute snuggles, kisses, and extra attention between these two...pretty cute.

Well, if they're anything like their father, charm comes quite naturally!