We had another fun trip to Texas this year to see Grammy and Papa. We had a great time and all of the boys made incredible strides with their swimming. There are a ton of pictures here, so I’ll let them speak for themselves!

“We’re here to pump (clap) you up!

At the airport. The boys and I flew out together, and Jonathan joined us a week later.

They were troopers on the airplane. I even got to read for an hour!

Checking out those emergency manuals. I remember reading these thoughtfully as a child.

First stop: LegoLand!

On one of the rides.

Poor Silas was an inch too short to join his brothers in this cool play space

So he kept busy doing other things

Silas was also a year too young to participate in this fun activity (which is such a shame, because he drives his Jeep so well!)

Playing with my old toys

Raising the Jolly Roger

Grammy and the boys

Happy hour

Silas loves Cosette! He is asking for (two) kittens now.

He enjoyed being in charge of her meals

Bedtime

Papa and Avery heading out to the Perot museum of Nature and Science

Meanwhile Grammy and the little boys did some baking

Daddy finally arrived! The boys were (literally)  lining up to be tossed into the pool!

Happy hour!

Photo courtesy of Avery King

Notice Silas saying “suckers!”

Water War 2015

At the park

In the evenings we worked on this 750 piece puzzle (Avery’s choice)

Playing Mille Borne

And we’re off

Highlight of the trip home was not only saving money on a layover, but getting to ride in a prop plane!

We went to Neskowin to visit Nana in August. We had a fun time playing on the beach and in the nearby stream. Unfortunately we didn’t get our camera out very much, but here are a few cute shots we took on our phones.

Room service

The boys loved burying each other in the sand. Avery made Kieron into a sea monster, compete with shovels for wings, a trough for a tail, and even some decor on top!

Then it was Avery’s turn

The boys took this small inflatable out in the stream.

To beat the heat this summer, we spent a lot of time at the river and Rattlesnake Lake. It was the longest, hottest summer I can recall, so much so that the river and lake got incredibly low and revealed ground and stumps that I don’t think had seen the sun in many years! We had a fun time canoeing, paddle boarding, and swimming around. Each week we returned to the lake it revealed more stumps and treasures to explore!

My little monkeys! I’ve always wanted to get a shot like this of the boys (thank you Pinterest).

That’s Rattlesnake Ridge up there in the background

Paddle boarding

That’s Jonathan towing the boys back to shore.

Cheers!

This little guy had a close call. As I returned to shore with the paddle board, I discovered him just before I stepped into my flip flops, he was perched right in the middle of one of them. He became the boys’ pet for the afternoon.

Dry, cracked earth. I never realized that when lakes dry up, the mud left behind is so sticky that any and every bug that lands on it gets stuck. Sooooo gross!

The weekend after the cousin swap, we drove over the mountains to return Nicole/retrieve Avery, and visit with the Avery’s of Pullman. We had a really fun time. We took it easy, dropped by the farmer’s market, played at the local park, and just generally enjoyed each other’s company. We got this cute pic of all the cousins together.

And here are the adults

My favorite brother and me

Does this kid love the camera or what?

Silas sitting on his Great great aunt Bernice’s old Cosco chair

This summer has been hot, hot, hot! To keep cool, Jonathan and I have been taking the boys to the Snoqualmie River in the evenings. We can’t believe we’ve lived in Snoqualmie for more than four years and hadn’t been here yet! We tried a few different spots, and found our favorite. It’s beautiful!

This is a spot we checked out on the south fork of the river. We were having a great time and the boys decided to swim across to check out the other side (the water isn’t moving much here). Avery made it across no problem, and Kieron even made it too with a little help and encouragement from his big brother. They played over there for a while as the sun moved and the area became shady. When it was time for them to come back, the water felt much colder, and the boys didn’t want to get in the water/didn’t think they could do it. Long story short, it took a lot of coaxing, crying and drama before the boys made it back, but finally they did it!

We also found a canoe on Craigslist and have been padding around Rattlesnake Lake and Lake Alice with the boys. It’s small, and it doesn’t have an engine, but it gets us on the water! All Jonathan’s years on the crew team at Western are coming in handy, and the boys love taking turns giving Mommy a break paddling!

Avery and Kieron at Lake Alice. Much of one end of the lake is shallow enough for the boys to walk around. There are lots of lily pads, cute little houses along the water, and very few people. Avery swam the whole way back, probably 1/2 mile (with his life jacket on)!