The County Fair

Today I took the kids to the fair. They had a great time. We looked at tall the animals. There was a Zonkey (a Zebra Donkey mix), snakes, alpacas, goats, sheep, rabbits, cows, pigs, horses. The boys were in heaven. They had a pony ride, so I took Gabe...Anthony freaked and didn't want to go. I don't have pictures of Gabe on the horse, but a photographer from the local paper was there, so I am going to see if I can get one of his. Also, since it was the first day, it was dollar days. I got a root beer float, a mocha, and 3 donuts each for only a dollar.



Here is Gabe petting the Zonkey...Anthony said no thank you to petting it




He was however willing to pet the baby goat

The kids also got to play on a fire truck and have a yummy fair lunch.





Gabe and Anthony on a fire truck with friend Mason

The nice thing about the county fair is that it is less than a mile from the house so we can walk. They love the stroller, so that works great for us. The boys even fell asleep on the stroller walk home.



Best of all was the sprinkle donut for on the way home

I love Rainy Days

But only when they follow 25 days of nothing but warm sunshine. Today was our first day of significant rainfall in 25 days. The lawn really needed it. Best of all, it will be sunny again tomorrow.

Swimming and Diving

Anthony is fascinated with swimming and diving in the olympics. We have watched the US trials at least 5 times. So today I took the boys to a local pool. They have a 12in wading pool where we spent most of our time. Gabe still managed to try and drown himself several times. This is mostly because he thinks he is a 3 year old and not an 18 month old. I did however manage to get two pictures before having to jump in and save Gabe...again.

This weekend, we spent laying new lawn in the back. For those that are regular readers, you are aware of the housing saga. We got about 1/3 of the back with no moss, new dirt and seed. Now the gophers are tunneling holes in it...I hate nature.

De Plane! De Plane!

Gabe loves airplanes. Whenever he sees them, he screams..."A pane!" So we went to the McChord Air Show with the Thunderbirds. The boys were both mezmerized by the airplanes. The best is that Gabe fell asleep on the way there and when he woke up in the stroller, he was staring at a C-17. He was literally shaking with excitement.

Here he is flying like an airplane. He must be a fighter with variable wing geometry.

Anthony got to go inside a plane...he is still talking about. He also got his face painted. This was the one thing he really wanted to do there, so it was his special treat. Gabe was just amazed. He loved the sounds of the planes flying over. It was fun to watch as he looked for them all around.

What I liked is that the run way for McChord has a fantastic view of Mt Rainier. So many of our shots have the Thunderbirds with Mt Rainier in the background.

Just a basket

This week with Rob working till all hours, I have been going through the house trying to reorganize the chaos. I was putting away some shoes and found that I needed a basket. Not just any basket, but a basket for my shoes. This is not a new phenomenon. I had a basket for my shoes...several in fact...but they all seem to get taken up by other things. My shoe basket becomes the kids' basket or Rob's basket or the outside basket or a space ship or a boat. The truth is that it is never just mine.

I really want a space that is mine, all mine. I want to put my shoes away where they won't touch anyone else's. I want a place to put my coupons that doesn't have a kid's crayon in it. I want a desk that isn't littered with random treasures from the day.

I console myself that this will end. But then again...it won't. When my mom comes to visit, I still drink from her tea glass. After all, mom's tea always tastes better. Her purse is always cuter, so I take it. Her shoes are always more comfortable, so she gives them to me. She is well on her way to retirement, and she still doesn't have a basket that is all her own.

Maybe it isn't the basket of my own that I miss. Maybe it is the idea that my identity is forever intertwined with someone else's. First with marriage, then with kids, one day (hopefully) with grandkids. It will never be just me...no matter how many baskets I buy.

Maybe that's ok.

Good and Bad

So what has started as tragic news has turned into a fantastic story. Yesterday I heard that one of the guys I went to OU with was killed when the bomber crashed in Guam. There were actually 6 killed. I am not going to post his name right now since the AF has released the names officially.

But in the wake of the tragedy, I have been able to reconnect with two people I lost touch with. The best is that I got an email from Robyn. She was my best friend, room mate, sister, everything in college. We had a falling out after I moved to Alaska. I have always regretted the poor friend I was to her. I hope I will now have the opportunity to change that.

The other is Becky Doty (now Range). We were friends in college and just lost touch along the way. She now lives in Frisco (just north of Dallas). Hopefully I will get to see her in Dec when we go visit my folks for Christmas.

I will try to get to the pictures at lunch. I have a lot to post so I guess I need to just get on it.

More to come

This week is chaos. We spent the weekend playing, first at Lakefair then at the air show. Rob is working crazy hours this week 5a-10p or later. He comes home long enough to make a mess and rile up the boys then leaves again. Oh well...it is only 1 week out of 52...guess I can handle it.

Anyways, we are getting our carpets cleaned today so I have to pick up the living room while the boys sleep. It is free, and I am so excited. I think this is the best thing I ever won from a contest.

Promise to post pics tonight.

Lake Fair

Every July, the town of Olympia has their Lakefair parade and celebration around the capital's lake. Last year it rained and was around 60...needless to say I did not drag two kids out in that. However, this year was sunny and 75. The parade is really a parade of beauty queens from around the state. All the junior, junior, miss, cinderella, tiny tot pagent girls are on floats. There is also a classic car show associated with the parade. So when I asked Anthony what we saw at the parade he said, "pretty girls and fast pony cars...oh and one baby horse (pony)."

Gabe liked the motorcycle drill team the best. He seems to like anything loud. Most of the little kids were in tears over how loud the motorcycles were, not Gabe, he was trying to leap at them as he was giggling and clapping.

But by far the most amzing thing was the monster school bus.

The boys did amazing though. The parade didn't start until 5p. We didn't eat dinner until 7:30p (1/5 hors late). And they didn't go to bed till nearly 9p. But they hung in like troopers.

So my friend posted that we always look like we are having a great time. I think I am just building a case for when my kids say, "but we never get to do anything." I know that day is coming, and this is my digital revenge :-)

Today we made cookies. By we, I mean...I prepped all the materials and ingredients, I stirred, mixed, and scooped to make the cookies, and my two little munchkins ate cookie dough. While I was always fairly certain, this just prooves they must be Rob's kids. But they had a great time. Anthony did actually break the eggs and measure out the sugar. He is getting to be a little helpful...when he isn't being a 3 year old jerk.

Above is my digital scrapbook page so you can all see what I am doingwith all these pictures.

More Friends to Visit

We spent Sat and Sun on Whidbey Island with some friends from Hawaii. It was great to see Amanda and Hobe. They now have 2 boys of their own (3.5 and 2) so you can imagine the energy level with all of us there. All of the boys got along great. They spent a great deal of time looking for treasure in the tidal pools during low tide. We also dug for and with shells. Anthony recently saw the olympic swimming trials and now wants to swim all the time (water is not necessary in his mind for this event).

Negligent Poster

I have been bad lately. It is all the same excuses that everyone else has, only less valid. Truth is that I have just been having too much fun playing and didn't want to post. Sometimes I am not sure where the week goes. I know I spend time doing stuff, but it all seems like such a small accomplishment...laundry, dishes, dinner, playing in the sprinklers, going for a treasure (rock) hunt. Yesterday we took my mom to the airport. Here are some pics of the boys before she left.





Here they are fishing from the laundry basket that is filled with all the stuffed animals. Anthony spent a great deal of time teaching kitty kat to fish too.



Since they only napped for 20 min that day, we went for a run in the afternoon. As I suspected, they both need a little more snoozing. They both looked so peaceful I hated to wake them. But alas, it was 5pm and all good things must come to an end.

Wedding Bells

Rob and I spent 3 nights in Montana together. A friend held her wedding up near Glacier Park in Bigfork. We had a blast. We met a ton of great people (but that always happens when I hang out with Gen) and got time without children. It was a 9 hour drive, but that was ok considering we were in the 07 Mustang. I almost think the car was a good purchase :-)

Here are some pics. It was really beautiful there. The last time we drove through Montana was on the way to Alaska...I think I slept for the entire state (seriously). The only downside is that the town was full of daddy's little girls playing with daddy's money (aka spoiled little rich kids). These are a few of the pictures of Gen and Paul at the wedding. Hopefully I will have some of us when the other people get their pics posted :-)

The Cavalry

My folks came to vist 1-10 Jul. We had a blast. The kids got spoiled rotten and so did I with all the help. Below are some pics of my folks with the kids. I always feel like we never take enough even though we take hundreds.

But best of all, they took care of the kids while Rob and I ran away to Montana for a friends wedding. (See the next post for details)