Forest Park Animal Farm

On July 10th we went to an animal farm that was next to a water park.  Between the two, everyone had a blast, but Sienna especially loved the baby goats. Lucky for me, the park also included a special anti-bacterial hand-washing stand for little kids.

Sienna feeding the goat wood chips. I'm sure the goat loved it.

Sienna trying to ride the goat.

After careful observation of goat behavior, Sienna quickly decided she was not about to be at the bottom of the goat pecking order. This is actually a picture of Sienna head-butting a goat. I'm not kidding. It was pretty quick and she hit the goat rather hard. I laughed in amazement but was a little unsure whether to be proud of her or maybe take it as a hint that we should go (since I don't want her head-butting other kids).

No hard feelings. They resolved their differences and became friends.

I love to See the Temple...

On July 5th, after church we decided to go to the Seattle Temple and walk around the beautiful, landscaped grounds. We've had a couple of Family Home Evenings about the temple recently. We have pictures of the temple in Ethan's and Sienna's rooms and hope they will have a goal of attending the temple when they are older.

As usual, taking pictures of young children with a severe case of the wiggles (it happens when you've been in the car for 20+ minutes)can produce some pretty funny pictures.

I thought taking a picture of the kids in front of the temple hugging each other would be so cute and touching. When I asked Sienna to give Ethan a big hug, this is what they did. Wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but kind of close, I guess.

After we saw this picture, we realized this shirt was a little small.

After begging the kids to stand next to each other and smile, this was the best we could get.  They look thrilled, don't they?

"Lead me, guide, walk beside me..."

4th of July Weekend

On Friday, July 3rd we spent a day visiting beaches and playing in the sand! Our first stop was Mukilteo beach  near the lighthouse.

Next we ran up to Kayak Point, which is a beach between Camano Island and the mainland. The water is very smooth, making it an ideal place for water sports. We took a picnic lunch and enjoyed our time on the beach.

This is Seinna's "camera smile," believe it or not.

On the 4th, we drove to Puyallup to spend the day with the Horsley's. Ethan loves visiting the cousins and really looks up to them. He is in heaven playing with so many fun boys. Here, Ethan is learning the art of bo staff fighting - very important for a boy to know.

 

All tuckered out after a night of fireworks!

Becoming Friends

For the most part, my first job as a mother is to keep Ethan and Sienna separated at all times. If I don't dutifully attend to this top priority, sibling squabbles immediately erupt.  However, the other day (7.2.09) these two little rascals called a truce and snuggled together on the couch while watching a little television. It didn't last long, but I had to capture this moment so I could savor it forever, especially during the rough times.

Little Squeaker

I have to admit, in my completely unbiased opinion, Sienna is quite a little cutie.  She's our muffin-scruffin, honey-pie, and as Ethan will sometimes call her, "fettie-pie" (that's toddlerese for sweetie-pie).

Fathers and Sons Camp-Out

On June 26th and 27th, our ward had the annual Fathers and Sons  Camp-Out! Jeff and Ethan had do much fun camping with the guys. Some of the other sisters in the ward got together that evening for a special "Girls Night Out" and we also went out for lunch the next day!

 

Taking a nice Sunday afternoon nap the next day - I love these guys!

Everett Aquasox Baseball Game

On June 24th, we went to a minor league baseball game between the Everett Aquasox and the Spokane Indians. Taking two young children to a baseball game was quite an adventure filled with chasing, entertaining, rationing long licorice ropes, and more chasing. Fortunately, on that night the stadium hosted a "family night" with giant inflatables for the kids to jump in. This was especially useful for us since our kids didn't last more than two innings.

Chocolate Pudding

I made some homemade chocolate pudding the other night when Jeff was at an Elders Quorum meeting. Good thing I did it before bath-time. 

Soccer Class

We recently finished a soccer class through  Mountlake Terrace Parks and Recreation.  He had so much fun! You can imagine how delighted I was to hear him say, "I'm tired!" after class!  By the end of the session, his soccer skills surpassed mine (which isn't saying much).

His soccer coach was very patient and did an extraordinary job of teaching 4-years-olds soccer skills (i.e. herding cats).

Ethan's first goal in a real scrimmage!

Another great kick! Didn't quite make contact with the ball this time, but those details will come later.

This is a classic Ethan face.

Sienna liked to dribble the ball off the field.

All pictures were taken on 6/11/2009.

Ethan turned 4!

On June 3rd, Ethan turned 4! We threw a racecar-themed party for him. It was the first time we had thrown him a birthday party, so it was an adventure for us all. While I was preparing all the party details, I began to feel a little overwhelmed, so my ever "saving the day" husband rescued me and took the day off of work to help with the party. Thanks, Jeff!

After serving lunch to the kids and parents, we made our own license plates out of foam cut-out letters and string.

After everyone had their own license plate to wear, we all pretended to be racecars and play "Red Light-Green Light." Now, playing this game with a bunch of 3 and 4-year-olds really just turns into a mass mob of kids running to the checkered finish line no matter how many times you say "red light" after they start running.  It was pretty cute.

Next was the racecar piñata with the Lightening McQueen baseball bat.

For the birthday cupcakes, we did chocolate cupcakes with white frosting, orange sprinkles, Peachy-Oh's (for tires) and toothpicks with checkered flags!

Of course, the presents. We coached Ethan beforehand about always saying "thank you" and not making weird faces while opening presents. Obviously, he did pretty well.

He wasn't letting go of either of these presents.

We love you, Ethan! Happy Birthday!