Summer Finally Arrived

Brother graduated from preschool!!!

His graduation theme was "Down by the Bay" which implied it would be sunny and summer-like. Unfortunately, we had overcast and rain instead. Still, the kids didn't seem to mind having it sprinkle on them as they played at the park during the potluck following his graduation.The weekend after Sister finished the second grade we celebrated our wonderful Daddy! Here he is sporting his "King for the Day" tee-shirt. He enjoyed taking a long nap and requested homemade chicken pot pie for dinner. He really loved the photo collage mousepad and coffee cup I special ordered for him. Sister made him a cute bird house in school and they all picked out a really funny card that fit our Daddy to a tee. Still, no sunshine, though.

Finally, yesterday that yellow ball of fire broke through the clouds and we saw...

SUNSHINE!!!

So, today we enjoyed every moment of it.

The kids and I headed down to the local falls and walked around them. We stopped to explore each opportunity to go down next to the water. I kept picturing a child falling in and mentally calculating how I could save him/her while making sure the other two would remain safe on the shore. Fortunately, none of my emergency plans were required.When we stood below the falls Sister was thrilled to feel the power of the water flying down, while Brother was upset that his hair was mussed by the wind and was all wet from the mist. Where is Baby Bear, you ask?Here he is. He who attempted to climb through the fencing every chance he got so he could tumble down the cliff into the rapids would not stay long enough with Brother and Sister so I could get a picture of him next to the falls. Go figure.After we returned home, the big kids played for hours in the "loop" with the neighbor boys while Baby Bear napped. I had to force them inside for dinner.

Now, Sister is nursing a bit of sunstroke on the couch with crackers, water, and an ice pack as they watch an original Scooby Doo movie, ABRACADABRA-DOO.

It's supposed to start raining again tonight, so we're thankful that we were able to milk every moment of sunshine out of today that we could handle.

It finally feels like summer has arrived!

NW Trek

Towards the end of May we took a Saturday trip to one of our favorite places, NW Trek. We love it because the kids can run free, be loud, and the rain wont spoil your fun. Boy did the weather prove that last one right. We had fun spending the day with a friend of mine and her two boys.
All aboard the tram for an animal adventure.

Daddy lucked out and got a seat with a window that opened, and Sister.

I was trapped in one without a window that opened, and wiggle worm (aka, Baby Bear).

The new male moose came so close to our tram that his antlers nearly knocked the camera out of Sister's hands. Then, he proceeded to get in front of the tram and "lead" us through the park.

Obviously, by the end of our adventure not all of the kids were so excited to pose for photos any longer. Fortunately, said child, was able to catch a nap in the van on the way home.

What a wonderful, wet day with some Northwest wildlife and some fun animals at the park too.

Second Grade Field Trip

Sister's second grade class took a field trip to a local Air Force Base at the end of May. The field trip form stated that it related to their studies of different communities. I thought it would be a tour of the base housing and school. Fortunately, for my dh (who helped chaperone the trip) it was a tour of various military air craft throughout the base. My husband was in heaven. Since he didn't even know the names of the other girls in his group, I'm guessing he really enjoyed himself. Luckily, there were only two kids per chaperone and so they were put into groups of four with two adults per group. The other dad was the responsible parent who dutifully kept track of the girls while mine learned even more about military aircraft than he already knew. Let's just say, this is his favorite field trip in the four years of Sister's schooling.Here's Sister outside of a plane. Don't ask me which one. My dh has been asleep for hours as I type this and I don't know aircraft at all.Sister loved being in the cockpit of the plane. I think this one is a Gooey Duck or something. Sister insisted on having her picture taken next to it because of its name. Sister and her class touring the airfield.

Here's a group shot with one of the planes.

I'm so proud that my dh actually got it from the front. On a previous field trip to the pumpkin patch they had all the kids line up in front of the barn and my dh took photos from the side rather than the front. He didn't want to "get in any one's way".

Yeah, tell that to your angry wife when she's trying to scrapbook the field trip and can't see any one's face in the group shot. (; He's obviously improving, though.

GREAT JOB, HONEY!!!

Update on Baby Bear

Baby Bear made a visit to the pediatric cardiologist office in May. It had been nine months since we had last seen them. They were all excited to see how big he has gotten and how well he is doing. They also saw quite a bit of his temper since he did not appreciate any of the tests they had to perform. It may not be clear in the photos, but he was not harmed at any time during this visit. It all began with the stickers. Baby Bear has never been fond of the stickers (nor the cords that clip to them), but this time he had an all out tantrum over them. I was worried that his attitude and behavior would affect the test results, but the nurse assured me that it was not a problem.

Not even his Thomas the Tank Engine song book could make him happy.

After this test, he had to have a test which involves him lying down for 30 minutes while a tech uses an ultrasound wand on his chest. Let's just say, this was stressful for all of us. Fortunately, the tech (who is trained to work with young children) was very patient and sweet. I have no photos since I was lying down on the table with him (to help comfort him and keep him there) while we watched Elmo's World. It's not the first (second or third) time he's had any of these tests done, but it certainly gets more difficult for them to be performs as he gets bigger, stronger, and more stubborn.

What were the big kids doing during this two hour doctor appointment you ask...

Watching The Incredibles on our portable dvd player, of course. Little tip for those of you who have not experienced taking three children to a two hour doctor's appointment. Bring a bag full of snacks, toys, and a portable dvd player if you want to come out of it alive. It works for me at least.

It does help that it is a pediatric cardiologist office, so all the nurses, techs, and (of course) the doctor are really great with kids. I think Baby Bear's doctor is amazing. He's been with us since the day Baby Bear was born and he was so happy to see how healthy our little man is today. I know that there was a time that the doctors weren't sure Baby Bear would survive.Baby Bear's heart is doing really well. The pressure has gone down, there hasn't been any narrowing of his vessels, and his oxygen levels are perfect. We're so thankful to the amazing medical staff for our little miracle baby!!!

We'll see them all again in a year. (Yes, you heard that right...it'll be TWELVE months until our next appointment. This is big news in the heart world). (=

Zoo Trip

Brother's preschool class took a field trip to the local zoo and aquarium. We rarely go there since my dh doesn't think it is a "real" zoo as it doesn't have many of the typical animals you think of when you go to a zoo. Still, it is nearby so it makes a nice day trip for preschoolers. Plus, it has some fun aquarium animals too that the kids enjoy.

We started out at the gate with some of Brother's friends.

Then we headed over to the kid play area since the boys had lots of energy from our time in the car.

So, climbing the statues is more fun than looking at animals, at least they entertain themselves easily.

The peacock was really into showing off his feathers today. Unfortunately, the boys were pretty nervous about getting too close to him and so I never did get a shot with the front of the peacock and the boys in the same photo.

It was so sunny we slathered sunscreen on the boys while they enjoyed a morning snack. Here the boys are with the seal statue. Baby Bear really loved it and kept cuddling and kissing it.

You can't go to this zoo without getting a photo of your kids inside the shark's mouth.

During the show, the skies opened up and it really poured on us. As I had to push a stroller with Baby Bear in it uphill all the way back to my van, I thought it best to stop and rest at the carrousel since it is inside. Brother was thrilled. I wasn't too happy that they are charging money for it again now. Oh well, I paid for my brief respite from the downpour.

What a fun day at the zoo!

Meeting Elmo

After Brother's baseball game one Saturday, we stopped by Costco for some lunch (and ice cream of course). Guess who was waiting for us out front...

That's right, ELMO!!!

Baby Bear loves Sesame Street books and toys, so we thought he'd love seeing Elmo. We were wrong. Baby Bear was terrified of this huge, red monster. I guess when you are used to Elmo being much smaller, it is a scary thing to have him larger than Daddy.
Here's Baby Bear with just a couple of his favorite Sesame Street items. Yes, I've read each of these books at least three times a day (no those aren't all of them) and he plays with the water toys in the bathtub almost every night. The toy was given to him in the hospital from my confirmation sponsor and friend and it can be typically found in his bed. As you can see, he is really happy with a small, red monster.

BTW, we don't need more Sesame Street books. We have more than enough. (=

PS, I thought it was quite strange that Elmo was at Costco as there wasn't any advertising for it. I guess they'd had a different character the week before. I wish we'd known. Oh well.