CATCHING UP

Summer is coming to an end and we have had a great time.  We go to Berthusen park every now and then and here are a few cute pics from one of our recent visits.

All the boys always love to go down the slide and it is sad to see Baker left out and Deegan really wanted to take him.  I had to help hold him of course to make sure he was safe but he really loved it.

The other night on bath night, I had just taken Baker out of the bath and Madden was anxious to get in and I kept telling him to hold on a second because I needed to get Baker dressed and I walk out of the room and  I hear a little splash and bam, he jumped in fully clothed, shoes on and all :)  The bath is only a few inches deep b/c Baker has to lay down in the bath so that is how it is safe for him so it wasn't horrible but it was funny and I walk in and he is just laying there like ok mom I am ready for my bath. 

Then comes fair week.   My mom came over when the little ones were down for their nap and then I took Talan and Deegan to the fair.  When Jeromy got off work he joined up with Baker and Madden.  Talan and Deegan loved the rides again and wanted to do every one of them over and over.  When Jeromy came we went to see all the animals.   Baker was actually really watching the pigs and I am always so excited to see him interested in anything so that was so fun to see. 

Talan and Deegan always love to see the tractors and this year Madden really liked them too!

Another day at home Talan and Madden got stung by bees.  Madden got stung once behind the year and once on the mouth.  Here is a sad little picture of his big lip.

Here is a picture of the boys with their cool tattoos.

This weekend we went camping with my parents to the Oak Harbor City Park.   We went their last year too and we love it there!   The boys have so much fun it is great.   There are a bunch of paths for the boys to ride their bikes on, there are a couple shallow pools that they can play in all by themselves, there are a couple of great playgrounds and then of course the ocean where they love to throw logs into.  It was raining, windy and cold our first day there so we were a bit worried but it got better and was just cold off and on.  We still had fun though.    Talan and Deegan turn 5 next weekend so my parents gave them their bday presents early, which were new bikes, so they got a lot of practise on them.  They are bigger (16 inch), they really needed them, there other ones were a bit small.  Madden is still trying to ride their old bikes and if only his legs were just a pinch longer he would be able to do it.   The boys even went swimming one time even though it was freezing.  They had been begging and we kept saying it was too cold but my mom and I ended up taking them one time and they didn't last too long but they splashed around awhile, so at least they can say there were able to go swimming.

Next week Saturday and Sunday the boys will turn 5, yes they were born on different days.  So they are of course excited for that and then the following week they will start preschool.

CAMPING

Last week Thursday the boys had their last day of T-ball clinic.  They did Monday-Thursday for 2 weeks in a row (so 8 days).   They seemed to really enjoy it and the weather was great for them.

Thursday afternoon we headed out for another camping trip.  This time with the Stauffer's to the Concrete KOA.   This is one of the boy's favorite spots and we all love it there.   They have a fun jumpy pillow which is like a huge pillow/trampoline that all the kids can jump up and down on.  I took Baker on it a few times and layed him down in the middle and sat next to him and the boys would come jump by him and he would laugh so hard it was so cute.   Madden even had fun on there.    They also loved the playground, the mini golf, the wagon ride and of course the pool.   I tried to take Baker in the pool again this trip and this time he was not up for it so we just watched the other boys play.   Madden loves the water and of course Talan and Deegan do as well.

Thursday was great weather, Friday was really cold (I was actually wearing 2 thick sweatshirts all day) until 4:00 when the sun broke through and it got nice.  Then Saturday it was a mixture of raining and pouring all day long.   Sunday was cool in the morning and we came home that day anyway.

While we were there Talan and Deegan learned to ride their bikes without training wheels :)  It was very exciting.  We had talked about it awhile and it didn't know how it would go but wow, they really took off and made it look so easy.  We were so proud of them and it was so fun to see them ride like big boys.   Deegan had a couple wipe outs so he is a little apprehensive but when he gets going he really goes.   He needs help getting started yet and gets frustrated when he can't get it on his own.   Talan can start and stop really great all on his own.  He said he was just going to keep practising and practising until he got it and he did...very quickly.   I think we could have taken their training wheels off a long time ago!

The boys had so much fun playing with Brooklyn (she is 5) and she encouraged them to try riding without training wheels since that is the way she does it :)   She even supervised as they took the wheels off all by themselves. Looks like they are going to be handy just like their daddy! 

On Saturday the boys and Brooklyn were coloring in our trailer for awhile and I was sitting in there with Baker and Talan had a notebook that he likes to draw in and he was looking through the pages in it and he said "Mommy, there are so many good memories in this book....this is going to be my memory book"  it was so cute.   Some of the things that kids say just crack me up, you never know what to expect.

We didn't take the double stroller this trip b/c Baker does not sit well in it at all b/c of the lack of support and we figured Madden could just ride his trike.   Well, he didn't ride in the gravel as well as he did at home and he would get really distracted and go off course and so sometimes when I would want to go for a walk with the boys I would just throw him in the basket under the single stroller.   He loved it and it looked pretty funny :)

Here are some pics of the boys on their bikes without the training wheels:

Here is a picture of Madden playing mini golf and looking to see where his ball went

Here are just a few sweet pics I love

Here is a picture of Baker adoring little baby Kingston...he loved him!