Graduating from his crib. Kind of.

Sunday night, I took the side rail off of Eli's crib. I have NO idea whatsoever possessed me to do it. Considering that since the sudden and abrupt departure of his paci from his life, he has made very little progress in self soothing, I don't know what made me believe that the ability to get out of bed by himself would remedy the situation. Bryson and Dallin were both in big boy beds by this age, and doing great... and while Eli talks a good game about crawling up on Bryson's bed to go 'nigh-night', he lays there for all of 5 seconds before crawling back off.

But, nonetheless, off the side rail came, and on went a little 3/4 rail- to keep him from falling out when he's asleep and practicing his acrobatics.

The first night, he didn't get out of bed once. And he didn't cry at all. First time fluke I was sure- plus, it was almost an hour past his usual bedtime- so he was pretty tuckered out.

First naptime, he got out once, I told him to go lay back down, he did, fussed a little for a few minutes and then was out. Hmmm.

Second night, he got out twice, but again, it was past his bedtime and he was pretty tired.

Second naptime, (today) it took an hour before he went to sleep- but it was 1/2 my fault- I had to make a 'quick' phone call- he shut his door while I was dialing, and since I didn't hear anything else from his room, I figured he was going to sleep.... when I got off the phone 1/2 an hour later, I peeked in his room, and he was having grand ol' time in there by himself! Many trips to his bedroom door later (where I was waiting just outside and telling him each time to go lay back down) he finally sat on the edge of his bed, touching his chubby little finger to the snot running down his nose to make strings of snot as he pulled his finger away.... and then licked it of course *gag* After that lost it's amusement, he just sat there for a few minutes, gazing at the door (he couldn't see me through the crack), then, he got down, picked up his blanket and bear (which he had thrown off his bed a few minutes before the stringy snot experiment) crawled back on his bed, layed down and went to sleep! It really was hilarious watching him through the crack in the door, and trying not to laugh when he'd come to the door... I wish I could have videotaped it, but I think that would have sent him mixed signals *wink*wink*

Tonight at bedtime (+1 hour - hey, it's Christmas break!!) he got up once and then went to sleep- he didn't like the idea of bedtime, but complied nonetheless.

It sure would be nice if this trend continues, because he's doing much better this way than in a crib without a paci... I guess we'll need to set up his real big boy bed pretty soon... instead of a three and 3/4ths sided crib.

Merry Christmas!

From our family to yours...

I guess this is the best you can ask for when you're using the self timer on your point and shoot camera....

Special visitor

For two years in a row, we've had a special visitor come the day before Christmas Eve... the fat man himself has amazed my kids by stopping by to check up on them and ask what they want for Christmas.Bryson was beside himself with excitement- and decided to make a last minute change to what he wanted from Santa- just like he did last year.

Dallin definitely 'gets it' this year

We purposefully had Eli go last so he could see his brothers sitting so nicely on Santa's lap...

but it clearly didn't help.... the candy cane barely pacified him long enough to snap this picture. Pretty much the same reaction to Mr. C he had last year.

Christmas cookies

I so did not feel like making Christmas cookies this year. Call me scrooge. We did make a gingerbread train and houses, but I didn't get pictures apparently. Sugar cookies just didn't float my boat. Rice Krispy treats, however, did. So I pressed them out all flat and cut them into shapes.... and let the kids press m&m's and raisins into them to decorate them... it was all the decorating-type candy we had left after the gingerbread affair. But they didn't seem to mind the lack of variety...

Dallin affectionately calls them rice 'krisTy' treats

Eli knew just what to do- after eating most of his m&m's and watching what his brothers were doing anyway.
Bryson ate most of his 'gingerbread' rice krispy boy and then decided to save the rest for dad. He sure is becoming a thoughtful boy.

Priceless...

Christmas Programs

I found out a few weeks beforehand, that Bryson's and Dallin's Christmas programs were both scheduled for the same evening... I debated how best to deal with it.... though one started at 6pm and the other at 6:30 and their schools are about 10 blocks apart, I knew it wasn't feasible to be at both for their entirety.... turns out, Dallin took care of it for me. He woke up from his nap on that day complaining his tummy hurt- he proceeded to run a fever and writhe on the couch for the remainder of the afternoon, poor little guy!

So Bryson and I ventured out together in the sloppy rain for his debut.

Front row, far right- red shirt (he insisted on his shirt being tucked in before hand, but when he emerged on stage, it was untucked...)

It was nice that it was only a kindergarten program, so I didn't have to sit through hours of the other grades.... and I loved that they sang lots of Christmas songs.... during the 'intermissions' the pianist even played religious Christmas songs- love his school. Bryson was quite the performer- as usual...
I'm pretty sure that after every song when the audience clapped, he thought it was only for him... he took a bow after every song- the only one to do so- he even progressed to curtsy-ing after some songs- it was hilarious.

When will he figure out how to smile for the camera normally again??

Dallin was still stick when we got home- and all night. Around 2am his fever broke and he wanted a drink- I took it for a good sign, considering that he hadn't had anything to eat or drink since breakfast the day before- but then at 7am when he woke up, he was complaining that his tummy hurt again... but he still wanted breakfast... toast, with butter, no jam. He wolfed the toast down, promptly threw it up into the bowl provided (the only time he puked...) then jumped up off the couch, and exclaimed, "I feel better!" He insisted on eating breakfast again... first toast, then scrambled eggs, then juice, then cereal, then sausage- all of which he kept down and had no more signs of being sick. I couldn't help but laugh... and breathe a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, no one else got it either. Thank you Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer.

MINE

I've been meaning to post this for a few weeks.... oh well, better late than never.

So we can add the word 'mine' to Eli's extensive vocabulary at 21 months. I'm kidding. He doesn't say a lot of words. Noises- yes, words- no. But he's getting there.

Out of the blue, he started saying, "mine?" a few weeks ago- as if he was asking a question. He'd pick up his fork or his cup or his paci and look at me and say, "mine?" After confirming that indeed it was his, he'd pick up something of his brothers, and look at me and say, "mine?" I'd tell him that no, it's not his...

Then, in a single day, the word took on a new life. Instead of a question, it became a statement- a proclamation of sorts, "MINE!" as he'd pick up his toy, "MINE!" as he'd show me his blankie, "MINE!" as he'd hold up Bryson's shoes or Dallin's train....

I've considered explaining that possession is 9/10th's of the law, but I don't think that would help the situation much.

Shock and Awe

I've posted before about how much my kids suck. Like as in pacifiers and fingers, of course... Breaking Bryson and Dallin of the paci was no easy feat- and both of them ended up sucking their finger anyway. But add Eli's stubbornness to his habit, and I've just been dreading trying to get him off the paci. Continually I underestimate my kids. Continually they amaze me.

Knowing that a having a new baby around who's sucking on a paci (of COURSE I'm giving the new baby a paci!!) isn't an ideal time to wean a sibling, I've been contemplating just HOW I could go about it with Eli. With Bryson and Dallin, I started by limiting paci time to being in their crib, ie: usually bedtime/naptime... but Eli kept getting his brothers to climb in his crib to fetch a paci for him... or he'd just stand at his crib crying- so I'd put him in with a few books, and come back a few minutes later to get him out.... but repeating that sequence every 5 minutes was getting old. For whatever reason, Monday, Eli was just plain ornery. He spent most of the morning crying for one reason or another and it mostly revolved around wanting a paci. When he figured out he could push the chair to the drawer where I kept the pacis to help himself, I'd had it. I decided then and there, he was DONE with them. No weaning, just cold turkey, baby. Once I made that decision, the rest of the day went quite a bit smoother. Around bedtime, I was really rethinking my executive decision though. The child had never once gone to sleep without a paci. Ever. And if he were to misplace his paci in his crib, upon the course of going to sleep, we all knew about it. But I'd made up my mind on the matter- it was better in the long run- Merry Christmas Eli (can you tell that he gets his stubbornness from his Daddy? *wink*wink*)

So to bed he went. And we ALL knew just how unhappy he was with my decision. It's a good thing I can't understand a thing he says, 'cause I'm sure it wasn't loves and kisses for mom! I was pretty surprised that the two times I went into his room to comfort him and hold him for a second, he calmed right down. I explained again that his paci went 'bye-bye' and put him back in his crib... he of course started screaming again, but to my surprise, it only lasted about 25 minutes before he stopped and went to sleep. I decided to turn in early too, sure that he'd be up off and on throughout the night, missing his paci, but I actually had to wake him up this morning!

All morning he was surprisingly cheerful, never once hinting that he wanted a paci. But nonetheless, I was dreading naptime. Would he even take a nap? Would Dallin be able to? He immediately started crying for his paci when I put him down. After about 10 minutes I peeked into his room and saw that at least he was laying down and crying, so I let him be. 10 more minutes, and he was quiet. After about an hour, I heard him cry a few times, but then he went back to sleep.

I was all geared up for another tearfest at bedtime tonight. I held him for a few minutes, layed him in his crib, he asked for some water, and when I came back with his sippy cup, he was still laying down... and he went to sleep with no tears. I really don't know what to think. Maybe his paci's were laced with some psychosis-inducing drug or something, but it sure seems in the 30 hours or so that he's been paci free, he's been a much happier and nicer toddler.

Just hoping it sticks!

**update 12/9/09**
2am- Eli fussed for a few minutes, but was quiet by the time I peeled myself out of my [amazingly comfy new] bed, so I went back to bed myself.

3am- He cut out the fussing altogether and was VERY mad- downright DEMANDING that I come and get him, "MAMA!!" So I obliged. He was content as could be for me to hold him and rock him... for a few minutes- and then he spent the next 40 or so minutes using me as a jungle gym, running down the hall to my bedroom door, and pretending he was going to go inside, and then running back to me, then going into Bryson and Dallins room.... he was WIDE AWAKE. I was not. I have no idea why I let it go on for so long, other than he was pretty cute and I was very tired. So finally I mustered the energy to explain to him that it was time to go back to bed, put him in his crib (w/ no paci), shut the door and turned on the laundry room fan, hoping to drown out his instantaneous crying. No dice. He was serious. But so was I. I knew there was nothing wrong with him, so I did my best to go back to sleep. But sleep alluded me until he quit crying.... 53 minutes later. Nathan then made the comment that he'd rather he cry at bedtime than this.... um, ya think?? Needless to say, his little voice was kinda hoarse all day.

8pm- Bedtime with no crying again. BUT, he didn't get a nap today- (I had some errands to run... oops!) so I'm pretty sure he was stinking tired, and *fingers crossed* will hopefully sleep all night.

Secrets

I'm really bad at keeping secrets- and leaving well enough alone when I know that someone else has a secret. I can keep secrets if someone confides in me and all, but otherwise, the excitement gets the better of me. As a kid, I got pretty good at unwrapping Christmas presents well in advance... you've got to be careful to cut the tape right on the seam and then reapply the same exact amount of tape over the tape you cut through... and then there was the time my sister left on her honeymoon, and all the wedding gifts were left at our house.... ya, most of them got unwrapped and re-wrapped- you knew about that, right Kim?

But I've actually gotten better at keeping secrets. I can keep Nathan's birthday present a secret until at least the day before his birthday....

Nathan's a lot like me... but he especially loves to find secrets out.

I've recently learned that Bryson is a REALLY GOOD secret keeper. Quite surprising to me, and most of those who really know Bryson, since he's such a talker. About three weeks before Nathan's birthday, I took Bryson out with me to look for a birthday present. Our grill had bit the dust (numerous times) and needed replacing. I was hoping that since it was nearing October and 'grilling season' was mostly over, that I could get a smoking deal... not so much, but when Nathan heard I'd taken Bryson, he immediately started asking Bryson what he was getting- Bryson wouldn't tell! Foreseeing the need to know just how good of a secret keeper Bryson really was (for reasons shortly to be explained), I had Nathan keep pestering him over the next few weeks, even offering candy as a bribe if he would just tell Nathan was his present was. Nope, Brysons lips were sealed. We were both very impressed (and shocked).

So when Bryson started getting very concerned about why I've been so sick, I knew I could trust him with my little secret. He was asking questions, and obviously quite worried that something was really seriously wrong with me... when I told him that I had been so sick because I was going to have a BABY, his face completely lit up and he exclaimed, "Oh, I hope it's a baby sister!" It was a priceless reaction. I love that he's old enough to understand, because Dallin and Eli (and Bryson with my other pregnancy's) are clueless as to what a 'baby in mommy's tummy' really means.

With all my other pregnancy's, we've spilled the beans right away. I think with Dallin, we waited til we were 7 weeks, really only because my brother and his wife were coming to visit us in Kentucky, and they had just had a miscarriage, so we wanted to wait a little before we told everyone... But with this one, (for some strange reason) we thought it would be fun (wahoo!!) to wait until we knew what we were having before telling anyone. But when you look like this at 12 weeks, it's kinda hard to keep under wraps...Well, I really started looking that huge at six weeks, but it was mostly just miserable bloating and would come and go.... Another nurse at work actually asked me if I was expecting when I was 7 weeks.... she could see my belly despite the shapeless scrub top I had on... and my sister totally accused me of being pregnant at 7 weeks, but I brushed it off and pretended to be shocked at her accusation. When my belly was not miserable, I sure flaunted it's lack of roundness off as much as possible to dispel any thoughts that may have been in my family's heads. But by 14 weeks, nothing was hiding the bulge, so I begged my OB for an ultrasound- and since I was measuring large for dates, he agreed....
The sonographer's 12 years experience is very convinced that this is a baby girl. I even called her back a few hours after my appointment just to see how strongly she felt about it.... she said that the baby couldn't have been more cooperative in giving her a good view- and that there was no evidence of 'boy parts' anywhere- and that 14 weeks is plenty late to determine gender by ultrasound- and that she'd be shocked if my ultrasound in 5 weeks showed otherwise based on the view she had. So while I'm really trying to keep from being TOO excited, I am pretty stinking enthusiastic about the prospect of pink and hair bows and dolls and tea parties.

And surprisingly, I really haven't been very worried about delivery with this one, considering my 2-contraction-and-the-baby's-born labor last time.... well, at least not yet *grin* I just hope I get to have this baby in a hospital- or at the very least that Bryson doesn't have to deliver...

Cars... errrr, Disney on Ice

We took the kidlets to see Disney on Ice when it was in town a few weeks ago... the boys had such a great time. We went with my sister Kim and her family and my brother Dan and his family. The excitement in my boys grew tremendously when they got to hold their very own ticket (!) and walk through the turnstile.
The very first part of the show had Mickey and Minnie driving a little car that broke down... my kids were pretty interested, because these are cartoon characters, but they were real(??)- anywho, then Mater and Lightening McQueen and other cars from the movie came out on the ice- My kids reaction was priceless. They were so amazed/transfixed/a little confused how this could really be... it was so great.
After Cars there was The Little Mermaid (Bryson didn't want to look at Ariel because she "didn't have very much shirt on" *yay*), The Lion King and Tinkerbell.... it was entertaining and held the boys attention, but it wasn't Cars.... seriously, I think the hope that McQueen would reappear played a small part in them watching intently.

I was a little nervous about Eli, since it didn't start until 7pm and he was pretty tired.... the last thing I wanted was to be chasing a kid around the arena, but he was absolutely entranced by the show- he even clapped at the appropriate times... well, a bit delayed with the clapping, but an 'E' for effort. He was perfectly content to sit on Nathan's lap for the first half and my lap for the second half.

Bryson kept asking me to take pictures of the action on the ice, "so we can remember this later." Too cute. I only regret that we didn't watch Lion King and Little Mermaid at least once in the week or so before the show, because while I know Bryson has seen them both (it's been a while though), I don't think Dallin has, and I had to explain the basic story line to them.... I think it would have been a little more fun for them if they knew what the heck was going on- but regardless, a great time was had by all.

Making a List

You've got to love when the Toys R Us Christmas catalog comes in the mail.

They literally spent hours pouring over the pages

How could I forget??

Halloween Costumes! In no particular order....

Dallin was so excited to be Thomas the Train. He sure loves all things trains right now-

Here's Bryson in his most intimidating pose as Darth Vader:
My sister had the costume from years past from her boys and Bryson had already commandeered it before I was consulted, but it required no effort on my part, so I wasn't too opposed. He's not so obsessed with Star Wars as he has been, thank goodness.

And Eli. Dallins Elmo from last year fit. 'Nuff said. He loved the idea of the costume, just not wearing it so much... but for the pictures, well, he tolerated wearing the hat since he was the center of attention.

a frightful trio for sure

Preschool Update

Dallin did great with preschool all of September. Getting him out of bed continued to be an issue, but he was always excited to go once he was up. The month of October, however, he cried almost everyday when we got to school, not wanting me leave! Though Dallin is decently shy and quiet, him crying when I leave him is not his M.O. He was actually getting up himself by about 7:30am, so it wasn't that he didn't want to get up, but rather it all would start when we pulled in to drop him off. The first time, I thought maybe he just wasn't feeling well, so I took him home with me... the second day, it worked out that I just stayed to be the aide, but after that, I just had to just leave and let him cry. He would calm down quickly after I left, but still, I hated leaving him so upset. By the third week of this, I was thinking of pulling him out.. we had a field trip to a farm that week which he was really excited about, so I hoped that that would 'make it better' somehow... but it didn't. I decided that if it wasn't better in a week, I would un-enroll him- I was doing preschool more because he wanted to than anything anyway.

But magically once November came, he happily started going to school again! I have no idea what the difference is, but I'm glad he's happy and enjoying school again.

Pun-kin carving

I know that just as it's somewhat universal for kids to call a backpack a 'packpack', they also call pumpkins, 'pun-kins', but I just love hearing my kids say "punkin" and I never correct them...

 Our annual tradition of carving pumpkins for FHE continued this year... we let the two older boys each clean out and carve their own pumpkin... with a little help of course... Bryson really didn't like scooping out the guts, and Dallin did, which was surprising to me for some reason. Eli wanted to be a part (of course) and had fun playing in the 'guts bowl'- he even tried some of the raw membranes/seeds- he wasn't a big fan.

Bryson wanted his pumpkin to be sticking it's tongue out, "and say Blah!" he's in such a silly boy phase...


Eli had pumpkin guts all over him by the time we were done... too bad you can't really see it in this picture.

We got Dallins pumpkin on his field trip to the farm (which I didn't bring my camera to!!)- I tried really hard to find one that hadn't frozen and thus wasn't mushy- I thought this one was a winner, but after a few days inside, it was rather soft on the back- Dallin didn't mind of course. After he was done, Eli decided he wanted to get in on the carving and made two extra 'eyes' on the back of Dallins pumpkin in the mushy area...

Our spooky pumpkins- unfortunately it was just windy enough on Halloween night to keep blowing out the candles... I'll have to get some electric candles for next year...

Halloween cookies

While the boys enjoyed decorating Halloween cookies for our friends and neighbors, they had much more fun just eating the cookies... And while the cookies were pretty stinking good, they soon figured out the frosting is the best part-

I told them they could each eat TWO cookies... after his first, Bryson licked the frosting off his second one just to frost it again.

I think Dallin had almost as much frosting on him as on the cookie

Eli watched what his brothers were doing very closely and then copied... he did a pretty good job frosting his cookie-

And then, he cut out the middleman.

(As a sidenote for any CPS workers who may be reading this, the knife he's using is actually an hors d'oeuvre spread knife with all blunt edges)

Hiatus

Well, I'm back. Since it snowed last week, I guess my summer break *wink*wink* is officially over. Updates to follow...

Tables turned

I know I'm a bit of a neat freak (at heart... but looking around my house, boy has that gone by the wayside recently!) but I don't think I'm the only mom who gets a little (dare I say) annoyed when kids come over to play and they systematically dump out every toy bin in the house and then don't even play with the toys... I've definitely come a long way since just having one child, and while my kids make messes with the best of 'em, I've always been a little thankful that my kids don't instantly make messes with anything they can.

But boy how the tables can turn. Very quickly. I now have one of 'those' kids. Eli is a dumper. At least he dumps for a reason though?? As if that makes it okay *grin* He loves to climb inside of stuff, and it's much easier to do if the contents of said drawer or cabinet or basket are first emptied. A few examples for your viewing pleasure:

I assure you, that the contents of this sippy cup drawer were very shortly thereafter all over the floor.

The train box is a favorite. Sometimes, it'll be sitting upside down in the kitchen... and then magically it starts to scoot across the floor. I'm sure he had no idea just how unexpected and funny it was to me the first time he did it, but I still laugh a little inside every time he does it.

Tired boy

Dallin still needs his naps. Summer was busy and lots of days, we'd be outside playing and would loose all track of time... it was never a surprise to come inside and find Dallin like this:

Sometimes, he'd be in the hallway too.... too tired to make it to his bed... or take off his sweaty helmet- comfy!

Water water everywhere

The heat of summer came fast- and we loved spending time in the water- my boys are all water babies- Bryson and Dallin have always loved the water, and Eli learned to love it this past summer.

We took swim lessons this year... it was Bryson's 2nd year and Dallins first- they both did great- both their teachers were so impressed with the lack of fear either of them has with putting their face in the water- Dallin especially- as his teacher would bring him around the pool with him kicking, he would hold his face in the water and come up with a smile on his face every time- it was too cute. Unfortunately, our lessons were at 9am and the water was not real warm some mornings-

Bryson especially loved jumping off the diving board at the end of each day.

And what would summer be without going to the lake? Bryson is still 'all talk' when it comes to wake boarding, but he gave it a good shot.

Nothing says summer like a little watermelon... this kid will eat the watermelon, rind and all if left to his own devices.

Kindergarten!

Bryson's long awaited first day of kindergarten finally came. His excitement was only slightly dampened by the fact that he doesn't get to ride the school bus since we live too close to the school.

He was up and dressed with his bed made and READY TO GO! at 6:45am. Ya- I wasn't. But he was content to get to play until it was time (finally).


His teacher is so great. You can just tell she genuinely loves what she does- and she's great at it. She's constantly sending home fun things to involve the parents.

All lined up, ready for class...

There were so many parents all taking pictures the first few minutes, it was kinda comical. And that was that. There certainly were no tears on his part, I wasn't sure how I would react, I mean, I was sure I wouldn't cry when he was born, but ended up sobbing like a baby... but as I left him at his school, I couldn't cry because I was so excited for him. Maybe it would have been different if he were emotional....

The second day of school he was up and dressed with his bed made again by 6:45am. We had a little talk *grin*. We rode bikes to school, so I hung out for a little while and watched him on the playground, making sure he knew where to go when the bell rang... and he did just fine....

It wasn't until the third day (after he woke up at a decent time *phew*), when I drove him to school and dropped him off... and he ran a little ahead of my car, and then stopped and turned around with a big grin and waved before getting lost in a sea of kids on the playground, that I got emotional. I sat there in the car, watching him struggle on the monkey bars as ten other kids wrestled their way across, going in every direction- at one point, he got bumped so he was holding on with only one hand- and I remembered how just a few weeks earlier when we played on the same playground and he slipped and was holding on with only one hand, how afraid he was of falling, and how much he needed my help... and now, here he was, struggling to hold on with one hand... but he swung his other arm up and reached with all he had to grab a hold with his other hand- and eventually make it across to the other side. Ya, that pretty much did it, and I cried all the way to where ever it was I had to go.

Dallins First Day of Preschool

Surprisingly to me, Dallin was so ready for preschool. I didn't know if I was going to send him when he was three or not... with Bryson, it was a no brainer- the kid was so excited and ready for the social interaction/learning/being away from mom. But Dallin is a lot more shy and content to be at home... and not as verbal or interested(?) in learning the way #1 soaked everything up. That's not meant to be a slight to Dallin, it's just that he's a different kid from his big brother- he learns 'more quietly' than Bryson and doesn't vocalize his knowledge as much.

Anywho, during the last few months of preschool for Bryson, Dallin was more and more resistant to leaving the school when we dropped Bryson off... he wanted to stay and play too! He would often ask me when he got to "go to seu-ul", so I registered him, knowing that I could always back out if I felt he wasn't ready yet. But as Bryson prepared for and talked about kindergarten over the summer, Dallin likewise prepared for and talked about preschool. When Bryson had his first day of kindergarten, Dallin had a really hard time understanding that his school didn't start for another WEEK!

But the week passed quickly and finally his first day came... unlike with Bryson, I had to peel my night owl out of bed the first day of school so we weren't late. He just kept saying, "I still tired mom, I'll go to seu-ol tomorrow." It wasn't that he didn't want to go, he literally just hates getting out of bed in the morning. Once he was up though, he was very eager to go... He was very excited to get to wear his Thomas shirt that whistles and to wear his "packpack"- why they need backpacks I'm not sure- he actually comes home with something in it maybe once a month, but he loves his backpack nonetheless.

Dallin with his teacher, Mrs. Marshall

He has class on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the morning which is just enough for him right now.

Ross Family Reunion

With August came our bi-annual Ross Family reunion. We went to Discovery Bay on the Washington Peninsula and saw the sights. We drove up to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic Mountains where the kids passed a series of exams to be Junior Rangers...

Bryson took it all very seriously... Dallin slept through his initiation.

He still wears his badge from time to time (a month later)

The next day we went to Fort Worden- first to the beach...

And then to the various batteries located in the hills overlooking the Puget Sound (or the entrance to it anyway)... it was rather impressive, but unfortunately, my pictures are NOT... I didn't take any pictures of the actual batteries... dang.

Natalie was such a big helper!

So they had these huge U shaped batteries that you could walk all the way through in the pitch black dark- thank goodness for prepared men with flashlights!! Apparently in the opening outside, there once were huge mortars for firing into the Sound if need be... Anywho, inside one of the U shaped batteries, there was a ladder... so my brother climbed up, way up at least 50 feet- and ended up waaaaay up on top of the hill- Most of the kids of course wanted to climb the ladder too- And Nathan let Bryson!!
It's really tough to see the two of them up on the hill, but they're up there- really tiny too, it's hard to tell just how high up they are...

After a day to rest, we headed to the coast, stopping in Forks, WA (while 1/2 my family dreamed of Edward - no, I haven't read Twilight, nor did I care to stop in Forks) before heading to the Hoh Rainforest - yes, it's pronounced just like it looks... my brother couldn't get enough of making jokes about it either.

Too cute all nestled in this hollowed out tree

The whole fam... minus Scott- we missed you!

Nat pushing Dallin again.... she loves being a little mom.

Then we headed to first beach... or maybe it was second beach- not sure. I just remember how COLD the water was- it didn't stop the kids from playing in the water- BRRRRRR!

Bryson's older cousins were full on in the water up to their chins- c.r.a.z.y.

Lovin' the sand

One the way home, we decided to take the ferry to Edmonds instead of driving all the way around the Sound.... um, ya, it definitely is faster to drive around. Especially when there is traffic in Seattle... it added almost THREE hours to our trip. But the boys loved the ferry ride.