Family Time

We had a great week with my BIL and SIL when they came to visit from Montana. They stayed with us for the week and we had a lot of fun! Allie loved that "Tim and Paula lived in the library" :) We went on many adventures!

We visited the aquarium, walked along the waterfront, visited the new carousel...  Very cool! On the way to the aquarium we got stuck in some horrible traffic. There is a reason I do not like driving in the city... All the one way streets for one. The traffic and nowhere to park for another. Anyway Allie had announced she had to go potty. We could SEE the aquarium I just needed to park and get there. It SHOULD HAVE taken us less than 5 minutes. 10 minutes later, sweet Allie is kicking my seat almost in tears she has to go so bad! Quickly Auntie Paula gets a cup and has Allie pee in it... Allie is not sure what to think at this point. I just think she was a little relieved she finally went! We were stuck in traffic for another 10-15 minutes and Paula had to hold onto the cup until we could dispose of it. Of course it was very full and we went over multiple railroad tracks! But eventually we parked and went to the aquarium.  It was a first for the kids and they LOVED it!

On the way home we couldn't figure out why traffic was so bad... It wasn't Friday or even close to Friday. Cops were everywhere! Blocking the streets, on the overpasses. Southbound on the Freeway was completely blocked by the Secret Service. We had no idea what was going on. We were just glad to be getting out of the city. Come to find out the President was in town! That explained our 2 hour commute on the way home...in the carpool lane! It should have taken an hour or less.

We went to local touristy places that we normally do not visit. It is nice to have people from out of town go on adventures with you.  Then you can really appreciate the beauty all around you. Even it if We stopped for ice cream and treats a few times. We really wore the kids out. Or so we thought... They still didn't want to sleep at night!

We played in the water, went out to eat, had family over for BBQ's. We had a lot of fun and it was sad when it was over. Hopefully they can come back soon. After all, the girls love it when they live in the library!

The kids asked when we get to go to Montana. I explained it takes a long time to get there. We would have to be driving in the car from the time we woke up in the morning to the time we went to bed. We would probably have to stay overnight in a hotel. They were up for it! Hopefully soon we can take a road trip to Montana.

Chopped

I think I am going to end up styling the girls hair in all the fun ways I never had the courage to do. Beware girls... Mommy may just get a pair of scissors and spur of the moment idea and chop your hair off :) That is exactly what happened a couple weeks ago.

We were all at home, no plans for the day. I grabbed the scissors and asked the girls if I could cut their hair. Of course they were up for it. I grabbed their put it in a ponytail and cut it right above it. No turning back... Now they had cute little bobs. Allie was moving a lot and so she has more of an inverted bob. I kept cutting it to even it out and it somehow it got shorter and shorter :)

I am starting to get used to the look. It is pretty cute. I kept their bangs long as we have been growing them out. They did not want to sit still for the pics... Go figure!

Summer Fun - Part 1

What's the best part of summer. Doin' stuff (whether the sun comes out or not)! Here's a few of things we've been up to this summer:

• Picking and eating strawberries and raspberries
• 4th of July - parade, s'mores, friends, BBQ & fireworks
• Playing with snails
• Swimming at the pool and the lake
• Bike riding
• Picnics
• Playing at the park
• Slumber parties in the "library", as the kids call it

Check out Allie's glamour shot with the snail. Priceless.

Daddy took Trevor, Allie and Kara to the new Lego store in Alderwood when it opened and the kids got to help a Lego Master Builder build an 8 foot tall Yoda! Trev is a little bit obsessed with Star Wars so he was excited to get his pic with some of the characters at the mall!

Jedi Training Academy

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... Trevor decided to have a Star Wars theme for his 7th birthday party. He wanted it complete with lightsabers and Jedi training. He invited a few padawan pals over for some intense training, battling and fun!

Traditional Star Wars fanfare along with words of wisdom from Yoda greeted the padawan partygoers. They were met and guided by Jedi Masters Scott, Jackie and Jason. The younglings received the traditional Jedi garb of a brown robe. Of course, no Jedi is without his/her trusty lightsaber. The Jedi training consisted of activities to prove your worthiness and skill with your mind and your lightsaber.

A disturbance in the force was felt by the Jedi Masters. The young padawans had proven there skills and were ready to battle the dark side. Darth Maul (in shorts and flip flops) showed up at the the party to try and turn the younglings to the dark side. An epic battle ensued between Darth Maul and the Jedis, but the force was too strong in them and they defeated Darth Maul.

The training was completed by destroying the Death Star, then refreshments of Yoda Soda and Wookie cookie ice cream sandwiches. Each Jedi was given a certificate showing that they were now an official Jedi. May the force be with you.

 

Happy Birthday Trevor. We love you.

Kids love swings, Daddy loves building them

Our plan was to get the kids a swingset this spring. We looked at Toys R' Us and Costco and one thing was clear...they are pricey. That alone made my brain click on and decide to design and build one myself.

Trevor and I starting sketching ideas of what we wanted. Here was our criteria:

1. Big enough that the kids wouldn't quickly outgrow it.
2. Strong enough so I could play on it. Duh.
3. Swings.
4. Slide.
5. Better than "crappy store bought" ones.
6. It must be super cool, rad, stellar, epic and awesome all at the same time.

 Here is the pictorial adventure:

Daddy's original sketch (left) & Trevor's sketch (right)
Trevor's sketch has a place for lightsabers, a Lego table and a TV.
It did have to be awesome, right?

This beast is built to last. Look at those beefy hex bolts. [grunt arr-arr-arr]

Phase I - structural framing, railing & slide. Done.

A-frame for the swingset. Allie says, "Is it done yet, Daddy."

View from our kitchen window with swing beam and a few rafters in place.

Not exactly sure what I'm doing here. My motto...when in doubt, just add more wood.

That's my head sticking out of the roof. Custom wavy rock wall installed. Final shingles going up...way up.

Success.

Glamour shots. Ka-chow.

After countless trips to Lowes and countless hours designing, measuring, cutting, MacGyvering and hauling tools around, this project is done. It was a 3-month project from start to finish with many, many days of rain in between. It turned out to be more expensive than just buying a crappy one from the store, but in my opinion, it was well worth it. The kids absolutely LOVE it and I found it to be very rewarding to build.

Trevor calls the swingset, "The Death Star". The girls call it, "The Clubhouse". I call it "Super cool, rad, stellar, epic and awesome"

Project materials:
4 x 4 - legs
2 x 6 - framing
4 x 6 - swing beam
1/2" and 3/8" galvanized bolts
5/4 x 4 cedar decking - railing
2 x 4 cedar - railing
5/4 x 6 cedar decking - floor
2 x 4 studs - rafters
3/8" sheathing
asphalt shingles

Sports weekend

Soccer

Trevor really wanted to play spring soccer with his new friend from school. So we decided to sign him up. It was only on Saturday mornings and they practiced right before they played. He has done really well this year! Last week he scored all 3 goals and this week he got another one and 2 assists! He really has become more aggressive and now that understands the rules he is playing smart. That doesn't mean he doesn't stop to pick flowers or do some Star Wars moves...because Battle Droids are everywhere, right?

 

Baseball

A few weeks after we signed him up he decided he REALLY wanted to try baseball this year. Practices were twice a week and games on Saturday. Since Soccer was only once every Saturday morning we decided to let him do both sports at the same time. So we had soccer games early Saturday morning and around noon he played baseball. He has really caught on to baseball. He has a great throwing arm and is improving on fielding and batting. When he does make contact, he hits it pretty hard. He has had a lot of fun doing both sports.

Tooth fairy makes a visit!

Not only do you see his missing front tooth, but you also get a nice view up his nose.

Trevor came home from school the other day with a paper towel in his mouth and I noticed a little blood on it. I thought he had gotten hurt, but my friend who dropped him off didn't act like anything was wrong so I calmly asked Trev what happened. He said while on the bus he was eating an apple and his friend told him his mouth was bleeding. Trev hadn't even felt it. He then discovered his tooth was loose. We had no idea it was loose!

So when he got home he went to look in the mirror. Sure enough it was loose! I checked the others and they were not loose. He tried twisting it and within 10 minutes it was out! He was so excited!! Tooth number 3 has finally come out! Upper front tooth. And this time with no help from the dentist and no permanent teeth already there! He has a cute gap when he smiles:)

The tooth fairy made a visit that night and Trev was happy that he got money!