Last week we took the boys to Remlinger farms. They have TONS of things to do for kids ages 4+. Lots of goats, rabbits, chickens, peacocks, and turkeys in various areas of the park for kids to harass. There were rides perfect for bright's age; a small roller coaster, a train that goes around the park, a track with pedal bikes to ride on, and even a hay maze. There's lots more to do but I won't bore ya. check out their website and definately take your kids if you can, the puppet show is worth the drive alone. It was the perfect day to take the boys, sunny but not blazing hot about 73 and gorgeous. The first thing we did was let bright ride on the canoe ride. he liked it. It was his initiation into amusement rides. I think it was the perfect one to ease him into as he is VERY wary of things of that nature.
here he is still unsure, but 100% willing to hop in alone.


and here he is having so much fun in his " 'lil boat"!



"The train's comin', mama"


in this photo you can see we're on the train, but we're looking at the old timey car ride in the background as well as the little farm type buildings that house the turkeys and peacocks. Asher LOVED the old timey car ride.



Asher getting to ride the big (stationary) tractor.


GOATS! Asher just adored these guys. he was squealing with joy each time he touched one.


Ok I am having trouble with blogger now, so I will upload remaining photos after I go to the gym. Maybe things will have settled down by then!

"grasshopper" the frog.

Yes, that's the name that was chosen. I am pretty sure that Bright picked the name "grasshopper" since the frog hops and is green like grass. I am pretty sure because that's what he told me, he was VERY specific. Bright has been keeping him busy in a jar for a few days and we picked up some crickets to feed him and make him happy. I took some cute pictures of the boys playing with it. they had fun chasing it around the kitchen at my parents house and watching it very patiently as it hunted the crickets which kept drowning in the tiny drop of water in the bottom of the jar. And, every frog knows you don't eat dead crickets.

He wants him to climb on the "bridge".



isn't it so cool?! check out the texture!



this photo is blurry because I can't control the excitement that is vibrating out of asher! he was practically bouncing all over and I think I took about 5 pictures with just a green streak and a caucasian streak across the frame, this one you can at least tell what is in the photo and see asher's expression! priceless.

last week's photos

Last week we had A few hot days and mostly Cool rainy days. It was Lyda's birthday, then Toby's birthday, then my dad's, then father's day! whew!
here's the boys looking xtra sunny with their beautiful blue eyes.




Here's Asher being a cutie in his pirate Jammies. He looks so old to me in this picture.



Snugglin' with grampa.



Happy Birthday Grampa!!



Cutie pie Asher in the rocker at LaLa's house.



Asher's new hiding spot.



It started raining so hard that a stream of rainfall flowed down the street and into the yard! the kids thought it was really cool, gus and bright were having a laugh about something.



Happy birthday TOBY!



This German Chocolate cake from Whole Foods was AMAZING! so so so good. very coconutty. Asher just had to try some!

Father's Day!

IT's father's Day here in the states, but for Max it's already June 22nd. The day AFTER father's day. It makes me feel dense, and lame for not remembering that he's a day ahead especially when I spoke to him yesterday and didn't mention it. and I always feel totally small when I realize I need to remember to be better about those things(sending packages, emails, good phone convo topics) while he's deployed. He's such a great daddy to our boys and I can't wait to see him in action as we continue to add to our family. He's been an excellent provider, taking care of us financially and is so good at handling it that I feel 200% secure with his decisions in that area. He spends time with the boys and knows just what his little dudes love, and knows just how to make them laugh. WE miss you honey! We can't wait to snuggle up with you when we are all in our cozy home together again.



What a daddy!

some photos for max

Max was deployed on june 1st. The boys and I trekked over to WA to hang out while he's gone. We have been having a marvelous time. The boys especially. Max asked for some pictures of our adventures so here are a few, since it takes so long to upload, we'll see how many I actually get op here! Here's Asher sitting on the river bank. it was hot ('bout 95) and we went down to the VERY icey cold river to cool down. no one swam but we took turns daring eachother to sit in the shallow water. it was freezing! Asher enjoyed getting muddy and Bright liked throwing rocks. this picture shows a bit of the beautiful river landscape we got to enjoy. here's the squinter:



Poppa Jim and Bright found a HUGE moth that was Brown and pink. really pretty and pretty weird. bright tried to pick it up so it flew to the nasturtiums in front of the gordon's house (they are famous for those nasturtiums (no evidence of flowers in these pic however)!



here's the cutie pie:


We got some chickens to keep at my parents while I am here, we want some yummy home grown eggs and all that so we looked up on craigslist and found some laying hens that were ready. this chicken farmer in Orting had all sorts of animals wondering around his farm. We found a horse in the barn and asher was in love! he kept kissing it and wanting to hug it and pet it. here he is petting it at about 90 miles an hour as you can tell by his blurry hand in the photo.


We picked out a few chickens but our favorite is this little teen girl, a buff colored Orpington. she's just the sweetest and our most favorite of the bunch. she's at home right in the middle of the boys being crazy, which is amazing, and she's so snuggly. She won't struggle to get free of your arms at all. she seems to just cuddle up and fall asleep, happy to be held for hours on end. here she is at the boys construction site.


Asher wants to hold her so bad.


this last one is of bright pulliing asher in the "train" he says he's the big strong engine. sweetie.

This is a picture of bright after opening his first present. A calico critters "general store". it's basically a girls toy, but we won't tell him that. it's a miniature grocery shop with tiny fuzzy animals being the shoppers. everything in miniature and bright is really into miniature things right now, hence the legos. Here's bub playing with his boat trailer lego's and calico critters store thing. Here's asher watching him play. It was hard for asher to leave all the new toys alone, but he did really well. Bright just plays on the table with them and asher can't reach them to ruin them. if you look closely mabe you can count the teeth!
Bub had so much fun on his birthday. with each new box he was as excited as the first. he kept asking, "mama, is it still my birthday?" I was asked this about 4 times throughout the day I think he was feeling like he didn't want it to end. I was surprised that he didnt fight at bedtime! finally after a quick webcam chat with grampa, he went straight into bed and said "I'm tired mama." Then when I tucked him in he said "thank you for my birthday, mama. it was nice"


watch how excited asher gets with the marble run. this marble run has over 200 pieces, and it took me an hour to put together what you see, apparently I am not a good engineer.

Bright bright is 4!

Today is Bright's birthday! He woke up to find a present at the foot of his bed and was super excited for his gift of calico critters. Little animals that have clothes and things. he likes miniature things lately. legos and mighty world are big as well. in honor of his birthday I just thought I would post some pics of bright through the ages. he's changed so much since he was born and watching those changes has been the greatest gift. Everyday I think of how lucky I am that I was chosen to be his mom. He makes my heart beat, this boy! Here he is on the day he arrived, May 14th 2005. Here he is around his first birthday. completely bald save a few platinum strands. with daddy shortly after moving to grand forks. his hair is getting longer here, and I remember that was the day max heard him say more than the usual words( mama, no, yep) he was saying sentances, and max was FLOORED. "watertower" was I think the biggest one he said that day here are his cute curls. I will miss those the most, even more than the wrist wrinkles. his third birthday last year. THE SHARK TENT! it's still a favorite. this was last christmas time. This was today.