Saucersizing Sissy

I was busy taking a picture of Lucy last night in the saucersizer. She really isn't quite old enough for it yet but she seems to enjoy some time sitting in it so we just go with it. Zane insisted on having his picture taken with her. Shocking turn of events for him since he is usually so anti picture. I took advantage of it though. He thinks that toy is lots of fun. We had a whole conversation about how we don't bonk sissy in the head with the tall toys and not to spin her around and around until she gets dizzy. I think he got it. Maybe, we will see. Lucy may end up with an aversion to spinning rides if Zane gets too out of control. At least I have been able to keep him out of it. He shows no desire to sit in it himself which is a really good thing. He was almost too big for it when he was a baby. I can only imaging how ridiculous he would look now!

The Zoo

Sunday we went to the zoo right after church. We got there about 11 and quickly got in and sat down to eat some quick lunch. The kids were excited but still a little bit worn out from all the excitement of Deception Pass and Fort Casey on Saturday. Eric and I both knew that the day would probably not go quite as smoothly but we were willing to go for it anyway. There are only so many weekends left with Crystal here and we have to make the most of them!



As some of you know Crystal does not like snakes. In fact, not liking them may be the understatement of the year. Those of you who have been to the Woodland Park Zoo already know that there is a sneaky snake hidden by the orangutans. It is the only one not in the reptile house. I decided to not tell Crystal it was coming up just to see her reaction.

Crystal's reaction.

Honestly though, the picture doesn't do it justice. She let off a super shriek and wouldn't even look at it. We could barely convince her to walk by it. She got all upset that their was no warning but then she looked at the map and sure enough, a snake symbol was on it. I also drug her into the reptile house. I told her to just look at the stuff on the right though since there are no snakes in those openings. She did ok and I think liked the nocturnal house. She could have done without the snakes though!

Some of my favorite animal pictures. I stood and waited for the tiger to wake up for a long time. Sneaky little bugger, he was taking a nap on the ledge and you could barely see him. I did get some pictures though. I must say, I do love my telephoto lens!

Giraffe through the trees.

The new baby gorilla. You can even see Andrew looking at it through the glass. It was awfully cute and it just hung out by it's momma the whole time!

My favorite wild animals at the zoo!

Deception Pass and Fort Casey

Today we went on a Washington adventure! to Deception Pass and Fort Casey. Our first stop was Deception Pass where we took some pictures on the super high and scary bridge and then had lunch at the state park down by the water.

Lucy getting some special Daddy kisses!

Everyone had a great time at the park. Even Lucy, although she doesn't look it in this picture.


The favorite activity of the day for the boys was throwing rocks into the water. Zane took one look at all those rocks and started chucking them. He was in seventh heaven. Especially since we weren't yelling at him to stop. I think he thought he was getting away with something.

Crystal learned a new activity today. How to skip rocks. You should have seen her face when she finally got one to skip. It was very cute!

Once the boys tired of the rock throwing we hopped back into the car and headed toward Fort Casey. Eric and I were a bit unsure of whether or not the boys would be into it because it is kinda scary with the dark and high stuff. We shouldn't have worried. They loved it. I was totally freaked out because every time I turned around they seemed to be on the edge of the fort about ready to fall off and crack their heads open. Fortunately they didn't and I was stressed out for nothing. Plus, they thought the dark parts were super cool. I find them freaky and refuse to go way in. Two things I can't stand: the dark and heights. Both prominent at Fort Casey but I still managed to have a good time.

Andrew checking for attacking ships!

Two exploring boys!

Zane picking flowers for me and Crystal. Every time we turned around he was picking some daisies for us. There were plenty for him to pick too. I think he could have spent all day picking flowers. He certainly does love the ladies in his life! He was such a sweet boy and so cooperative with the pictures. I asked him this morning if he was going to be so cute and let me take pictures and he said yes! Let me tell you, I held him to that all day! It was very surprising to me that he didn't flip out mid day though. He didn't get a nap and he woke up this morning with a super snotty nose. I can't even count how many kleenex I went through on him but he seemed to have fun regardless of probably not feeling his best. Maybe he was just too out of it to be ornery. Either way I will take a cooperative Zane anytime I can get him.

Crystal trying to put daisies in Zane's hair. He wanted nothing to do with it! Let me tell you, we are taking advantage of all this nice weather. Eric has the weekend off which is rare and since the weather is finally sunny we are going to do some of the stuff the we have been meaning to do with Crystal since she got here. Next stop is the zoo tomorrow. We are all excited and I am hoping to get some more good pictures!

Soccer time

We signed Andrew up for soccer this fall It is shocking how early you have to do these things. I hope that it goes well. He said that he wanted to play and it was about the same cost as him doing swimming lessons so we opted to do it. I figure that even if he ends up not enjoying it, it is only for 2 months on Saturdays. I think he will like it though. He has really come out of his shell in the last 6 months or so and enjoys playing games with other kids. It will be nice for him to have a once a week activity rather than swimming in the evening. Especially since he is starting kindergarten. But don't think that I will be done ferrying kids to swimming, oh no, Zane will be starting that in September. The parks and rec people require a kid to be 3 and that will happen right before Andrew starts school. So, I am really not cutting down on an activity just adding a new one. At least this one will be in the middle of the day though and not mess up my dinner schedule. Not that it is too bad since we switched to morning swimming. That has been great and I think Andrew is enjoying it even more. I know he is learning more too. Not that he is ready for the English channel or anything :)

Time for Tulips

Today we braved the crazy weather and went and saw the tulips in Mount Vernon. They were very pretty and it relieved me that we got up to see them. It seems like every year I want to go and see them but I only have a small window of time to go and do it. The weather has been so crazy this year that it made it even worse. Add in my ladies retreat that I went on, Eric's strange days off and Crystal's school schedule and frankly it is a miracle that we made it at all.

A very nice lady offered to take a picture of all of us by the windmill. It is so rare that we have everyone in a picture, usually Lucy is sleeping.

The cute decorative frog. I tried to get a picture of both boys sitting on it but Zane wanted nothing to do with it. It was one of those days with Zane and pictures.

Crystal among the flowers. Isn't she so sweet!

Lucy, doing what she does best!

Another happy one of Andrew. I think I may have had more of Zane but he got tackled by another kid within minutes of us arriving at Roozengaarde so he decided to be "little stinker" the rest of the day with pictures.

The best ones I got of Zane were of him smelling flowers. He absolutely refused to smile or even pretend he was having fun in any of the other ones. Oh well, we will try again a different year!

Andrew the photographer

Andrew loves to take pictures. I have been letting him play with my old digital camera (yes, the crappy one because it won't be a big deal if it breaks). Here are some of his first pictures. FYI, we are working on the holding steady part of picture taking.

A turtle toy.

His dune buggy

The snow

What is up with that??????

Lucy Fern- 3 Months and the cutest thunder thighs ever!

So when I was posting earlier I forgot that Lucy was 3 months today. Oops! Well, my girl is that old and it is awfully cute to see all the changes. She is getting plump and super sweet cute. I just love roly poly babies and I guess that it is a good thing since I don't seem to know how to grow small ones.

Check out all the little rolls. Aren't they just delicious!

This is Lucy's swimsuit. We had to get her one that covered her shoulders since we are going to be in California and I really don't need her to get burnt. Plus then we won't have to sunscreen under the suit. Have you ever tried to hold onto a sunscreened baby in the water. They are as slippery as eels! Aren't the little ruffles just to die for? Oh yeah, the suit has a little whale on it too, appropriate if you consider the chubby little legs :)

Ahhhhh...... Sleep

Lucy has turned the corner. She is starting to sleep through the night which is so wonderful I almost can't describe it. For the last few nights she has been sleeping until 6 or 7 am. If she does wake up it is around 4 or so and then goes back to sleep. There is no guarantee this is permanent but if it is I will be supremely happy. The only bad thing is that if she starts waking back up again I have a horrible time dealing with it. Sleep is so pivotal to me. I have also been able to just feed her and put her down and she falls asleep on her own. I love that. It makes my nights so much less work. I pride myself on my babies putting themselves to sleep at a very young age. I think it is the only way I survive with Eric working nights!

Dot Com Generation

Andrew and Zane know dot com. As in, they recognize on a box what the internet site is. Several times a day I hear, Mommy can we go to whatever dot com? It is a totally different world then when I grew up. Crazy what those little buggers pick up isn't it?

Being Lucy's One and Only

Lat night Eric and I went to see Crystal's high school production of Sugar. Let me just take a small minute to flashback to high school myself. We did this play at Everett High in I believe Spring 1994 (c'mon all you ex-EHS'ers help me out!) I worked on the crew for it and have actually never seen the production. Although Some Like it Hot (the movie it is based on) is one of my fav's. Our little theater was designed with a turn table that we could quickly do scene changes with when it suited the play. I am discovering what a true gift that was because Sugar is a very technically daunting play without one. The play was very cute but the scene changes were a bit slow and there are tons of them. Anyway! back to the actual story.

Grandma Alice came over to watch the kids and put them into bed. All went very well until Lucy got hungry. Now, you have to understand that my girl has taken a bottle before when I have gone to the opera with Penny but last night she flipped out and refused it. I think she took one look at that bottle and declared, "This is NOT my mommy!" So, instead of settling down and coming to the conclusion that this is what she was getting (it was pumped milk for crying out loud) she decided to fuss and cry until we got home at 9:30. I took her from my frazzled mother in law and sat down and nursed her. About three slurps in Lucy stopped eating, grinned at me (all around the booby mind you) and had a big sigh of relief. Then she proceeded to consume all that I had so I wasn't even able to replenish the pumped milk that had been thawed. Bummer. When they are willing to take it, pumped milk is like liquid gold! I really hope that we can get this mommy dependency out of the way before my next opera though. Eric is going to have one rough time with her if we don't. Although I think I need to maybe change out the bottle nipple that I have. Come to think of it I think that it is still the slowest flowing one and that might be why she was having such a fit about it. If it doesn't flow like mom, it ain't no good!

Dedicating Lucy

Today was Lucy's baby dedication at our church. She got to wear the dedication outfit that was mine when I was little, which was kinda cool.

As you can tell, she was very happy with how she looked!

Me and my girl!

Daddy's little lady!

This was the actual dedication. We had a lot of friends and family there for the big event which meant a whole lot to both Eric and myself. Here Pastor Eric is praying for Lucy and our family. We got to pick a life verse for her just like we have for the boys as well.

Lucy's verse is Matthew 5:16 "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." We picked the verse because Lucy means light and I couldn't get the concept of her being a light to the world out of my mind.

Zane's verse is Isaiah 58:11 "The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." We picked this verse for Zane because it talks of strength and I feel that Zane will be someone who is strong not just physically but also strong mentally and with great resolve to stand up to opposition. That stubborn trait has to develop into something positive right? :)

Andrew's verse is Psalm 25:4-5 "Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." This verse I picked for Andrew because I feel that he will be a follower of God his whole life. He has great compassion and I believe he will take that gifting and use it for God's purposes in his life.

So, there you go! Now you know all the kids verses and why they were chosen. God didn't give these verses in vain. I truly believe that each of my children are destined for greatness in God's kingdom. Eric and I just have to do our best with the help and prayers of our friends and family.

Bathtime for Calvin and Phoenix

Today was the day for some doggie washing. Both dogs needed a bath and it finally wasn't raining or snowing so we could give them one. Calvin absolutely hates getting a bath. He hates the hose, the shampoo, the drying and the brushing afterward. He avoids water at all costs other than to drink it. He is very wussy that way.

Why must you torture me this way?

Phoenix on the other hand was a mystery as to how he would react. Since this was his first bath experience with us we were in for an adventure. Phoenix liked the bath no more than Calvin.

The difference was that Phoenix has not yet learned that there is no use fighting it and just accept it like Calvin has; Phoenix fought, whined and cried the whole time. Hopefully he will get over it and learn to like the water but for now he is even more work to wash than Calvin. At least we did it outside this time. Always before we have washed Calvin in the house and it is a wet mess. We have clean dogs for a while. Hopefully they will forget about baths so we can surprise them again!

Zane the Brilliant?

We went out to dinner last night and while we were there Eric and the boys went on a little walk. They saw a sign that said "No Commercial Use". Zane started pointing at all the letters and naming them. He forgot a couple of them and said the wrong letter a couple of times but Eric said that he got most of them right. It is funny because we really haven't worked on letters with him at all. I mean, we have some alphabet books and stuff and we watch an absurd amount of Wheel of Fortune but never did I think that he was recognizing what letter was what. THEN! tonight he was sitting and looking at this Thomas the Tank Engine book that he loves and he was basically reciting it. The parts he didn't remember exactly he just kinda said what was on the page from the pictures. I guess there is a benefit to reading books to my kids :) I think that he has been super sneaky with his learning while Andrew was much more obvious. Either way, it was pretty cool.

Ahhhhh..... Spring

Spring has finally arrived at our house. I refuse to believe that there will be more snow. Snow in April in Western Washington IMPOSSIBLE! Although I would have said that about snow in the end of March too.

Blue Slurpee Sky!

My two guys enjoying the sun. Unfortunately it only lasted a few minutes because......

Phoenix started chasing the kids and nipping at them. Lucy was crying and I was trying to feed her and......

Zane put his foot through an icy puddle in our swimming pool making his foot and pants soaking wet. Short lived trip outdoors but the sun certainly felt nice!

Maybe we will try again later this afternoon.