Beach Day

We have been a little slow to go to the beach this summer since walking in the sand is a challenge with Damien's knee. We finally went down to Alki this Thursday and the kids went in the water and ran around in the sand. A group of kids in the beach found a log that was probably around 12' long and put it in the water and rode it up and down the beach for 15-20 mins. They kept it in the shallow water so if one fell off they were able to stand up and get back on. It is always nice to see kids that don't know each other play so easily and get along.

New park for the weekend

We visited a new park with the kids that had 2 ziplines and a new play structure. Addie loved the zipline from the get go but Calvin had to warm up to it. With Addie's help he started to ride on it (I think the fact that he had his TMNT costume in helped/ notice his hand made sais he made with one of our plants?). Addie also enjoyed the large net swing for a while and tried to pry Calvin off the zipline but was unsuccessful. 

The Fourth

We had a fun forth despite Damien being on crutches. We skipped the kids parade since Addie is off training wheels but not quite riding her bike and instead went to the beach in the morning and did sparklers and snappers at night. Addie and Calvin got some new outfits from my Aunt so they looked patriotic as they played in the yard.

Roller Calvin

I took Calvin roller skating for one of his friends birthdays.... Man, I forgot how hard it is to skate. It took me 20 minutes to talk him into it and I think he lasted 10 minutes on the floor. They did have walkers which helped a ton but I don't see roller derbies in his future.

Calvin turns 5

I realized that I forgot to post some pictures of Calvins birthday last week. I decided to save the cake for his party this weekend but he had plenty of gifts and birthday wishes and we passed out lollipops at Calvins school while everyone sang Happy Birthday.

Calvins new haircut= Bruce Wayne

Calvin went to get a haircut at the new barbershop next to the store.... It is a pretty hipster place with taxidermy animals and vintage barber chairs . I don't think they get a ton of kids in there but they were really good with him. The barber asked if he wanted the batman haircut, to which Calvin said it should be the Bruce Wayne haircut. Either way it looks much better than the hatchet he job we did on him.

We have a yard!

I have never been so happy to see dirt as I am with this yard. The kids are spending a lot of time in the yard as I work to clear out some of the blackberry, ivy, holly and other fine thorned vegetation. We are trying to do more art since it is something they like to do and the mess is contained outside. The kids have seen plenty of bugs and even a little birds nest. So, even though it is a lot of work to clean it up we are loving the yard. 

Seattle Center weekend

We went to the new play ground at the Seattle Center this weekend so the kids could run around. It is a pretty neat playground, great for climbers with huge slides and nets. Addie and Calvin tried to climb up to get to the slides but stopped and turned around after 7'. They still enjoyed running around and the swings. After we had lunch we visited the fountain and despite the cold weather the kids played chicken with the water..... Addie lost, Calvin got a little damp but then of course freaked out to stay in a wet jacket so Damien gave him his sweatshirt to wear. 

Post New Years Snow

The kids are getting a bit stir crazy and we are as well with all the holidays and weekends so we decided to take them to play date to get some energy out. It's nice that we can sit while the kids slide and run in the huge play structure. For the most part they stick together but at some point Calvin usually gets tired of being manhandled by Addie and ventures out on his own. 

The next day we had a nice snow flury so we went outside for a bit. None of the snow stuck to the ground but it was still fun to see snowflakes falling. 

Happy New Years

We went over to friends house last night for an East Coast New Years where we watch the ball drop NY time so we can head out and have the kids to bed by 10. Calvin always enjoys playing with all of the older kids and fits right in with Addie and everyone else. All the kids have such different personalities (most very strong) so it is neat to see the dynamics change as they figure out the evolving social dynamics of the group.