Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Wacky Wednesdays

Wednesdays are a relatively free day in our schedule and our best chance to take field trips, so this month I initiated "Wacky Wednesdays."  The goal is simply to try something new--or at least do something we don't do very often.  Our first field trip was a round trip to and from Vashon Island on the ferry.  Since we JUST missed the 10:50 ferry, we had some time to kill before the 11:40.  The boys were perfectly content wandering on the boardwalk. 



We didn't get off the boat when it docked at the island, but the boys and I really enjoyed the ride.  On the first leg of the trip, we rode outside.  On the way back we sat inside an ate part of our lunches.




For our second Wacky Wednesday outing, my plan was to go to Wiggle Works at South Hill Mall.  It turned out to be much more expensive than I was expecting, though, so we just played in the kids' area in the mall.


Here are some other recent photos that I love.
 
Micah is so brave!  Levi still has never dared to go down the big slide.

Loved it!  Now he's hooked.

Little boy in a big chair at GG's place

Hey, boys, I don't think you can both fit in that small box.  Good try, though!

Family shopping trip at Lowes

We stop at the library every Tuesday after preschool.  The boys just recently discovered
the computer games.  I love it when Micah wears the big headphones!

GG thought Micah's hat was hilarious.
Isn't he a little angel, sitting there with his hands folded?


Twenty Months Old

I'm a bit late in posting, but here is Micah's 20-month photo.  He wasn't really into the photo shoot that day, but he is generally pretty happy nowadays.  It's fun to see him play with Levi.  They are becoming such good friends!

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Puyallup Fair

We had a good time at the fair this year!  As usual, we went on the morning of opening day because there was free admission.  This year I got smart and went as early as we could.  We were fortunate to find a parking spot less than a mile away from the fairgrounds, we got to scope out the rides before they opened at 10:00, and we got to take a little more time looking at animals since the barns weren't as crowded as they are later in the day.  And since we were finished before noon, we got to save a fortune by eating lunch at home.
Here is our annual chicken shot.

Levi's very first amusement park ride: a fire truck!

It went around in circles several times, switching directions halfway through.

Mildly pleased with the experience
 
There's Micah way down there!

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Levi starts preschool!

Today was the orientation for Our Savior Lutheran Church Preschool.  It was a shorter class than normal, but we had to leave Levi at the classroom door while the parents were in a separate meeting, so I'm calling today Levi's first day of preschool!  His regular schedule (Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:15-11:30) officially begins next week.

Levi was okay with the idea of going to preschool.  We've been talking it up for months.  This morning when we got there, he didn't like having his nametag sticker on the front of his shirt.  We took it off and put it on his back.  He didn't like that, either.  Miss Judy worked pretty hard to get him engaged in playing with some toys.  When we left he wasn't totally at ease yet, but I felt okay about letting him figure things out on his own.

After our very quiet, very slow, and very positive parent meeting, we went to pick Levi up.  He didn't really care that we were there; he seemed a little lost as to what he was supposed to do.  Miss Judy gave him the treasure box that he had decorated and a "super star day" paper.  Miss Robin said, "He's a stubborn one!  We finally figured out that he likes orange, so he could use that [to color his box]."  Miss Judy said to Levi, "We know about you.  We've got your number."  Both teachers showed a great attitude toward him, and Levi seemed to respect them.  But ... oh, boy!  The first impression Levi's teachers have is that he is stubborn?!?  That's not a surprise to us, but it's not exactly putting his best foot forward!  Oh well!  I suppose he's a lot like his mother!

Overall, Levi seemed happy about his time at preschool.  The highlight of the day was the Oreo cookies for snack.  He is ready to go back for more!  Way to go, big boy!

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

August activities

Carmen and Vivienne came over. They loved squirting water, and Micah was ecstatic to ride around the yard with Carmen.



I took Levi to see a musical.  Although we had purchased tickets at the back of the house, just before the show began, the house managers asked if we wanted to move over next to the orchestra.  Um, yes!!!  The players were impressed the Levi knew so many of the instruments.  One of the trumpeters asked Levi if he wanted to hold her horn.  I actually turned her down because I knew Levi would start blowing on it.  I suppose it would have been cool for him to press the keys, though, since Grandpa's trumpets don't have keys.

 Levi really enjoyed the show, but his favorite part was definitely the intermission snack!
 
 
We went to the Jefferson Park sprayground with the Gorhams and the Wrights.  As expected, Levi and Micah stayed dry.

It's been fun to see the cousins start to play together more.
 
 
On August 16th, I ran the Pound the Ground for Ultrasound half marathon.  My time was 2:32:31.  I had been hoping to run 2:40, so I was pleased with my performance.
 
 
Evan came for a visit!  He makes funny noises!
 
 
Twice we went to Dash Point State Park, just the three of us, to play in the water and eat lunch.  My cautious boys threw caution to the wind and marched right into Puget Sound.
 Levi was WAY out there!  Thank goodness the water was so shallow!


 
 
We tried hiking, too!  Since I had bought the State Park Discover Pass, I was determined to get our money's worth.  This day we went to Flaming Geyser State Park.  Micah adores being in the backpack, and Levi loved being able to choose our hiking path.  We probably walked 3/4 of a mile, but I think it took 45 minutes.  We all enjoyed it!

 It took me awhile to get the car packed up after our picnic, and this little goofball climbed up into the driver's seat!  What do you think you're doing, Micah?
 
 
We got to attend the ABAM company picnic at NW Trek.  Here we are before our tram ride.
 
 
In preparation for installing our new swingset, we had two yards of sand delivered.  (So cool having a dump truck come to our house!)  The boys were super excited to help Daddy move the sand into the backyard.  What a team!