Annual Mountain Drive...resurrected

For many years we enjoyed doing an Annual Mountain Drive in the fall with my parents.  That tradition was put on hold when little kids came along because we couldn't imagine that long of a drive and day with 2 little ones. But the event has finally been resurrected!  We finally felt like the boys are at a good age that we could probably manage the trek this year.  And it was a great success!

Starting from our home we drove through Carnation, Duvall and on to Highway 2 to the town of Sultan.  First stop: Sultan Bakery for a yummy breakfast complete with enormous doughnuts.

Second stop: along the Wenatchee River after going over Stevens Pass to enjoy the beautiful colors of the leaves.

Third stop: the bavarian-themed town of Leavenworth complete with lunch at a very German establishment

Final stop: Smallwood Farm to get apples and enjoy the kids activities including a crazy train ride through the farm and orchards

It was such a fun day and the boys did great!  They actually slept the entire way home through Blewitt Pass since we tired them out so much.  We're so happy to have brought back this annual tradition and now we can share it with the boys!

Cameron's 2nd Birthday

Now that I have finally moved through the dense fog of busy-ness at work and to distract myself from the craziness of the election, I'm finally doing a post about Cameron's 2nd birthday.  It was only 2 months ago....sheesh!  But man this time of year is hard to stay up on documenting our family.

Cameron is a lover of animals.  So of course the natural choice for his birthday this year was the zoo. We did the same thing for Nate when he turned 2.  There's just something about animals when you're a 2-year-old I guess.  Our wonderful family joined us for a beautiful day exploring the zoo and visiting all the animal exhibits that we could fit in.  Cameron was in heaven!  Then we drove a few blocks north to celebrate with dinner and cake at Zeek's Pizza.  Photos to follow.

But first I wanted to record what Cameron is like at this age:

*Cam is super funny.  He brings so much laughter and humor to our family and loves to be a "ham."
*He is our rough and tumble kid--loves all things sports related and loves throwing, catching, kicking any ball he can get his hands on
*He also has no fear whether it's climbing to the top of the play structure, jumping off our furniture, or trying brand new things Cameron has incredible bravery and courage.  We also have to watch him like a hawk though too
*He is still cuddly and sweet...thank goodness!
*He loves animals, trucks, trains, legos, "guys," wrestling with his brother, playing baseball or soccer, watching Lion Guard, and reading books
*Nathan is his absolutely hero.  He's at an age where he copies Nate and always wants to do what he's doing.  They are pretty good buddies.  Obviously they have their moments, but for the most part they really love each other's company
*After a slow start he's talking up a storm and learning new words and phrases all the time
*he's a big helper.  We're always amazed at how good he is at picking up toys or being helpful around the house.  At the same time though he's also definitely 2 and has an opinion about what he wants to do or not do.  But once we get him going with helping out, he is awesome.
*We can't imagine what we would do without Cameron's fun, funny, sweet, happy personality in our family.

We love you Cam and Happy Birthday!

Summer 2016 Highlights

Well it is definitely starting to feel like fall.  Labor Day has come and gone.  The last few days have been rainy and colder.  The sounds of football on the TV are now filling out house.  I'm very excited as I love fall and all the season has to bring.  But before we officially say goodbye to summer, I wanted to make sure to record the highlights from this summer through some photos.  It was a great summer overall since the boys are at such fun ages.  And the weather was really great too--not too hot like last summer.

Here is our walk down summer 2016 memory lane:

Celebrating Father's Day with Pops at the Edmonds Art Festival

Celebrating Father's Day with Grampa and James watching the Mariners Game

Nathan's 1st Movie in a Theater--Finding Dory!

4th of July neighborhood celebration and parade!

ChelanMan weekend (which I already posted about)

Nathan's soccer class

Cameron's Dedication ceremony (which I already blogged about)

SeaFair Torchlight Parade (sadly they cancelled the run this year :(  )

Celebrating Papa's Birthday

Mariners Game celebrating Ken Griffey Jr.'s retirement

We got to run the bases!

Trip to Camano Island with Warners

Crazy fun in the mud flats!

Other fun memories that I don't have photos for:

• Cameron got his first balance bike; fun to watch the boys ride our back alley together
• Eating meals outside on our deck and the boys playing in the yard
• 2 family bike rides in Snoqualmie
• Beach time with both sets of grandparents
• Washing the boys feet every night because they got dirty running around barefoot
• Buying treats from the ice cream truck

It was such a fun summer with lots of special memories and wonderful family time.  I feel like we took advantage of the season and lived it well, but it also didn't feel overly busy or overwhelming. We rested a lot too and enjoyed each other and the lazy summer days.  It's always sad to say goodbye to summer, but I feel ready for fall.

Farewell summer!  See you next year!