Phineas & Ferb

We thought it might be nice to get some family time before daddy left to go hunting. So we decided to go see, "Phineas & Ferb".

Everyone was very excited. Poor Brody got stuck sitting next to me so it's hard to see him in the pictures.

The show was about the very last day for summer and Phineas & Ferb's efforts to create an idea mix up machine so that they could create as many things as possible at the end of the summer.

The kids were so excited about everything in the show. All of their favorite songs managed to fit into the show. However, my favorite song, "You snuck your way right into my heart" (by Love Handel), did not make the cut. It was a very upsetting day for me.

Of course, Perry the Platypus stole the show. He even had a light saber. Which, of course, made him even cooler than usual.

And he was there with his nemesis, Dr. D. It was great comedic relief.

Visiting with Grandma Mary & Papa Steve-A Rare Treat

When Mary & Steve moved to Florida seven years ago, we never dreamed that we would see so little of them. However, life starts spinning out of control and it's very hard to catch back up.

That's why we were so excited this fall when we ended up with a visit from them. They had a rental car but we couldn't wait to see them so we went to the airport to see them.

Brownie was extremely excited to meet her Grandma for the very first time.

Mary & Steve are very good at enjoying the sunshine (being transplants from Florida & all), so they took some time to relax and enjoy our swing. Brownie likes my porch swing the best.

Mary & Steve ended up coming out to see us three or four times. We were able to go to the rib cook off together and we had lots of time during the week.

But all too soon it was Sunday and we were getting ready to say goodbye. Because Mary & Steve have so many people that they are close to in the area, we had some of them over to visit. we got to see Steve's son, JJ and his family (another rare treat!) and we had an amazing visit!!

But we had to let them go, so they could go meet up with our beloved Uncle Tom.

The boys get to do one crazy picture for every nice picture that they sit still for.....this was the silly.....

Family Trip to Sacramento

We had opted not to take a big family vacation this year because our ten year anniversary is looming on the horizon and we are thinking of doing something big for that momentous occassion. So this year we decided to see what wonders lurk close by in the capital of California.

After we were done at the zoo (where I almost picked up a new kid in the form of a chimpanzee...he looked so much like my kids...) we decided to head over to Fairy Tale Land. The entire time we were on our way there the boys kept telling us that they don't really care for Fairy Tales anymore.

However, after the first five or ten trips down the vast number of slides, they decided that maybe they could have some fun there, too.

Point Defiance Zoo

Sam & Brownie

Well, we decided to spend some time at the Point Defiance Zoo to see their new baby leopards that they have. We started out in the aquarium and Jen got to put her degree in Marine Biology to good use talking about her favorite topic (after her kids...): sea life. They actually had a very interesting poop exhibit....I'll keep the pictures out of the blog. We ended up spending time in the budgie house. Everyone liked the budgies. They got seed sticks and fed the budgies. We had a lot of fun there.

We took a brief break to have a picnic lunch.
And then we finished our trip out in the kids play ground complete with a water park. It think the last time I was at the Point Definance Zoo was sometime in 1979 and I was there with my cousins Chris & Pat. It's a relief to know that they've updated things since then. It's even more exciting to realize what a spectacular job creating an amazing place for kids to learn all about all the animals they love. The kids had a great time and they were exhausted in teh end. It was great to get some more time with Grandpa Bill and Nana Joan. They even got to meet their Great Uncle Pat (Sam & Riley's Grandpa) at the end of the day.

Grandpa Bill's Retirement Party!

So we started planning a retirement party for Grandpa Bill in July. The plan was that we would all meet in The Dalles. Aunt Becky would bring Grammer and we could all get together for a little bit. Unfortunately, Aunt Becky had a stroke and so we decided to bring the party to her instead. This was just as good because the point of the visit was to celebrate Grandpa's over thirty years in service to other people via the Mid-Columbia Medical Center. It was even better to get together up in Tacoma. Uncle Charlie very thoughtfully loaned us his home for this fete, and we all had a great time getting together. Aunt Becky is doing very, very well. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins and it is so much fun to watch the kids with their Grandparents and Great-Grandparents. When I was a little girl, dad would tell me that he pulled call at the hospital a lot so that he could retire early. Apparently his idea of early and my idea of early are pretty different (as it's been 34 years...), but he is an inspiration to me for his work ethic and the way that he stayed dedicated to his job as a Medical Technologist for so long.

Headin' to Auburn

After we left Bremerton, we headed over to Auburn. Cousin Sam was excited to show us the amazingly cool giant banana that she won and Wild Waves. Everyone needs one of these!

The boys were also granted unlimited Wii privleges (normally they only get to play the Wii for half as much time as they read. They were a little low on their time when we headed up).

Riley has some serious moves where Dance Party is concerned. She taught the boys a thing or two.

And the best part is eating the amazing food that Aunt Gab cooks. She is awesome! She took some time off and we went to the lake by their house. Sam took care of Brownie.

Pacific Northwest fun

So we took a quick trip up to the Pacific Northwest this summer. We spent our first day with my cousin, Courtney, and her family. Her son, Colin, is 10 and the boys thought he was pretty amazing. We went up to the school by their home and played some basketball. Colin, Brody & Brady teamed up against Colin's dad, Ryan. It was a tough game, but the boys lost by one point.

Brownie kept trying to get into the action. However, Courtney kept her out of trouble so I could talk to my Aunt Patty.

Colin showed the boys his very cool puppeteer skills. Colin has many amazing puppets!

The boys also found another fan of legos. Colin has many collector sets of the little plastic things and the boys were very excited to check them out. The boys also learned a few tricks to playing lego Star Wars on the Wii. It was a lot of fun!