The Heat Was ON!

Tyler was gone. For 6 days. Even though we don't see him as much as we'd like normally, he's still around every couple of days to hang out with and I always get to go to sleep with him by my side. So he was missed. Lots. This is what he was doing...

Backpacking through the Olympic Mountains with the Young Men

Gorgeous much?

He showed them the easy way to get down a snowy mountain

Oh my!

This picture makes my heart beat a little faster...he's so handsome!

And this was our week without our favorite man...we still managed to have fun because I had to compensate for his absence. And because I'm pretty fun too. :)

This is always cute to walk in on...

We had a some scorchers this week. With no AC, anything over about 85 degrees is hard to handle. We did our best to stay cool...spent a lot of time outside in our kiddie pool, ran through the sprinklers, went to parks near the water, ate a lot of picnic lunches and dinners. The house was NOT the place to be in this kind of weather.

I was in the house and realized I hadn't heard Kelly for a bit...she fell asleep on the deck during one of our picnics

Oh, something funny. When we were running through the sprinklers (yes, we...girl's gotta stay cool in this heat), Max kept saying, "This is so refreshing!" "Isn't this refreshing, Mom?"I don't think I use that word often? It was amusing to hear my 4-year-old little man use it.

On Friday we went to Scenic Beach State Park to escape the heat in our abode. We had a fun picnic lunch under beautiful trees, changed into swimsuits and headed down to the water. It was such a nice, relaxing, perfect kind of afternoon. I really, really love these little people I get to hang with day in and day out.

Scenic Beach State Park - the PERFECT afternoon

I really needed someone behind the camera to get him to look in the right place...ah, well.

Could these little bodies be ANY cuter?! I LOVE Kelly in a swimsuit.

We spent about 4 hours there altogether because I knew that inside my house it was about 92 degrees and I wanted to have no part of that. We were getting ready to leave the water and play on the playground so I decided to change the kids back into their clothes on the beach (and by 'beach' I don't mean sand...we don't have many of those kinds of beaches 'round these parts). I told Max that we'd hold up his towel while he dropped his drawers and we did just that. I was helping to get his shorts on when I heard him giggle. I looked up and he was looking around at the people on the beach with a huge smile on his face and said, "They don't even know!" He was so tickled that we were changing his clothes 'secretly'.

Being so brave on his own...

I caught the end of a conversation between Kelly and Max in the car on the way there. I think Max said something about how we can't speed in the car and Kelly said, "Or the police will take you to jail?" Max said, "No, Kelly, you have to do something really, really bad to go to jail." Kelly said, "Oh (nodding her head)...like say 'butt'?" I'm glad that's the worst thing she can think of doing! We say 'bottom' in our house. Man, that's made me giggle the past few days.

I want to squish her

Ty came home on Saturday! Ahhhh....all is right in our world again. He had an amazing time on his 6-day hike with the Young Men, but I think (know) he was really happy to be home. We really dig this guy.

Heads On The Couch - a Foster tradition from Ty's dad. He traveled with work often and when he got home he would say "Heads on the couch!" All of the kids would run to the couch and put their heads down and their dad would put something he brought for them on their backs. The tradition lives on....

Some cool sticks that resemble a gun and a wand, plus some cool rocks

You'll see below one of the reasons he was missed so much...the man knows how to totally impress his kids. Dress in white temple pants and a white shirt and suddenly you're Silver Surfer to Max's Batman and Kelly's Lady Spiderman (with a backward cape, of course), running through the house and saving every other super hero your 4-year-old can think of.

Lady Spiderman, Silver Surfer, Superman

Oh, and while Ty was on the hike this week we found out that he once again got theMilgard Scholarship for the coming year of his MBA program! What a blessing! Between his work covering a good chunk of the cost and then this scholarship we are very well taken care of. Last night I learned how MUCH his MBA actually costs - $44,000.00 - and that we'll only have to pay about $7500.00 of that when all is said and done. I sure am proud of my hard-working, smart, hunk of a man. And SO glad to have him home...

Jotting it down before I forget...

We were eating lunch outside today (it's super HOT and we have been spending the day in swimsuits and water...like most people in our area we don't have AC and Kelly is sick so going somewhere to cool off has been out) and Max said to me, "When I'm 16, and if you just want to relax and not make dinner, then when I'm 16 I can make dinner so you can relax." I told him how much I would love that. A few minutes later he said, "But I think I'll need to take a cooking class."

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Tyler is on a 6-day hike with the Young Men this week - he left in the wee hours of Monday morning and won't be home until Saturday evening. We had to make a countdown chain so that I could refer to it whenever Max asked, "When is Daddy going to be home? Is it one more day or two more days or three more days?" This question was being asked every few hours the first day. The chain has been awesome. This morning he climbed in bed with me when he woke up and said, "Mom, while Dad is on his hike I want to remember everything about him." I said, "Okay, so do you want to talk about what you love about him?" "Yeah." On the list was:

• He's really good at wrestling
• He is a great snuggler
• He's really funny and tells good jokes
• He's very handsome (that was mine)
• He tells really good stories

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Oh, and Kelly called the sprinkler the sprinkles all day..."The sprinkles are getting me!" "Mom, I'm running in the sprinkles!"

The Haps

I know we're a little late to the game, but we just got Max a bike for his birthday and we finally made it to a flat surface (Ridgetop track) to teach the boy how to pedal properly. We live on a pretty steep hill, so the track it is. He's a pro (albeit a little timid and cautious) and we're proud!

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Max and Kelly built a "Mighty Machine" which consisted of almost every toy in their bedroom being piled onto the baby bassinet in some form. Apparently one has to pose with a serious expression when showing off their Mighty Machine.

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We camped! (Again! Because we really like it!) You'd think when you make nonrefundable reservations for the perfect camping spot for the 4th of July weekend that you could count on some sun. You'd think you wouldn't have to pack - and USE -your kids coats and beenies. You'd think you would be packing swimming suits to cool off in the Hood Canal when you get a little hot. Well, you might think that but you'd be totally WRONG! We ended up not even going the first night because there was so much rain in the forecast for the night (which materialized and we were glad to be in our home that night), but had fun the time we did spend. It's oh-so-beautiful at Scenic Beach and we did have some dry times with a little warmth. *When, oh when, is the darn summer going to start around here?!*

Beautiful surroundings almost made up for no sun

Is that cute or what?

Our dear friends, the Lintons, joined us for dinner since our site was just 20 minutes from home. This is Reyes, two months younger than Max and his BEST friend. They love each other so much. Reyes is a total doll.

The self-designated hammock pusher

Ryan, Max, Reyes, Kelly, Tyler and Camila

Besties

My beautiful friend, Marcela

Camila (she's 6 days younger than Everett) and Ty

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I had a Funny Face Photo Session with Max to the Max when we got home (and were smelling better)

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I like this little man-o-mine. Lots.

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Poulsbo, a Norwegian town just north of us has a 3rd of July fireworks show every year, which worked out nicely since the 4th landed on Sunday. So we ventured along with the rest of the Kitsap Peninsula to enjoy the show. And enjoy it we did! It doesn't get dark until about 10:15 so 'twas a late night for our munchkins. But worth it, we decided. I love a good fireworks show!

Kelly and Ty taking advantage of the over-priced fireworks on a nearby Indian reservation

The flash was harsh on their little eyes :)

Again with the harsh flash

My manly men beautifully withstanding their desire to squint when faced with bright lights

Now I'm headed out front to watch my man do our own little pyrotechnics show!

Free Summer Fun!

A few years ago my sister-in-law Jenn told me about this...FREE summer movies for kids. We've only done it once, but are planning to go a few times this summer. Thought I'd pass the link along so that you can check for showtimes near you:

http://www.regmovies.com/nowshowing/familyfilmfestivalschedule.aspx

Have fun! And take your own treats. :)