RV There Yet?

It's nearly the end of June, and you have yet to see a decent run of summery days.  What do you do?  Pack up your bags, rent an RV, and go camping somewhere sunny, of course!  We recently joined the Freemans for a few days at Lake Wenatchee in an attempt to capture some old fashioned summer warmth.  Fortunately, it was nice weather; unfortunately, the mosquitoes were out in full force.  Also, while the weather was pleasant and warm at the campground, down by the water was fairly blustery and much cooler.  Not to be thwarted, our youngsters dressed in their swimming gear and we headed to the lake, expecting to swim.

Justyn bravely joined the kids as they dipped their feet in the chilly water.

Kellan was none too thrilled with the lake's conditions and asked Daddy to brave the waters with for him. ;-)

The only one who truly didn't mind the cold lake was Finley - what a waterbaby!

Thatcher was happy hanging out on shore, finding interesting sticks and throwing them into the lake.

Kellan tried to warm up under a towel with Mommy... but we needed a bigger towel.

The Freeman Clan, circa June 2012

Despite the nippy conditions, Kellan maintained a cheerful smile.

Of course, maybe it had simply been frozen that way.

We took a jaunt to Leavenworth one morning and enjoyed the Bavarian-themed atmosphere.  We spent time in a Christmas store, bought some jam, creamed honey, and candies, and stopped by Jared's favorite hot sauce shop, where he tested the hottest sauce they had and survived to tell the tale.  Before leaving, we had lunch at the Freemans' favorite bratwurst stand.

Kellan and Thatcher, hamming it up while waiting for their food.

Mommy and Kellan

I'm not sure who's the bad influence or if it's a shared title, but at nearly every meal we share out with the Freemans, Kellan and Thatcher end up under the table at some point.  I don't know why I thought it would be different in an al fresco situation...

A statue near the eating area featured a man playing an accordian and a dog dancing at his feet.  Kellan thought it was pretty funny to sit on the dog and pretend to ride it - as you can see, Finley thought it was silly, too.

We may have come home with a combined 13 mosquito bites (Justyn outmatched our combo single-handedly), but the trip was really fun.  As demonstrated by Kellan's three pocketfuls of sparkly rocks he HAD to take home and his "I don't want to go" meltdown just prior to our departure, I think he had a great time, too.  Hopefully, we'll have another chance to take pleasure in the great outdoors with the Freemans soon!

There He Grows Again...

June was packed with activity and fun.  The first weekend, our PEPS group celebrated everyone's 3rd birthday by having a gathering at Om Culture near Gasworks Park.  The venue was great and reminded me of a being inside a big top circus tent.  There were piles of pillows, several tunnels for crawling through, bars for hanging on, and interesting swings dangling from the ceiling.  There was even a huge trampoline!

Here's Kellan in the biggest pile of pillows he could find.

Each PEPS group birthday party has included some sort of "craft" for the kids to wear.  The first year, it was birthday hats.  Last year was customized t-shirts.  This year we opted for the "superhero" theme and made each munchkin their own cape.  I honestly feel they turned out fabulously - we have such a creative bunch!

A photo showing everyone's cape - you'll notice Kellan sitting second from the right.

It was hard to get the kids to all look in the same direction at the same time, but one of our more industrious (and hilarious) parents stuck a giraffe head out of the top of his shirt, and it provided just enough of a distraction to get a somewhat face-forward photo of each of them. 

The annual Mommy and Me photo (yes, I am wearing a cape)

The annual Daddy and Me photo

The party included a book exchange, where Kellan received a collection of Curious George stories (a new favorite).

The weekend after the PEPS birthday party we had another birthday party honoring Kellan.  This time, it was at home.  There was a perceptible Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme, complete with appropriate party hats and birthday cupcakes... see below:

Grandma and Kellan, sporting their uber cool Mickey Mouse birthday hats.

Finley and Kellan were having a good time looking at pictures on Grandma Jean's iPad.

It's Super-K-Man!

One of the gifts from Aunt Justyn, Uncle Ian, Finley, and Thatcher was a superhero costume, including the all important identity-masking headwear.

Kellan's big gift from Mommy and Daddy was a Radio Flyer Cruiser Bicycle with training wheels.

Aunt Bun helped Kellan round out the development of his serious biker persona by giving him all the necessary biking accessories - a new helmet (with flames), elbow and knee pads, and super-cool biking gloves.  Her gift also included a horn and a water bottle with holder to attach to the cruiser.

Kellan (eventually) blew out the candle on the special Mickey Mouse inspired birthday cupcake.  I wonder what he wished for?

The day after the party, Kellan took his first test ride on the new bike.

As you can see, he was decked out in his various cycling accoutrements.

We opted to ride to Northacres Park, which was recently updated with new playground equipment - including a big slide just begging for a grandma and her grandson to test out together.

Another piece of recreational equipment that nearly the whole family can enjoy.

Kellan, doing his usual "peekaboo" routine through one of the many portholes.

This is one of Kellan's favorite playground rides - I don't know it's technical name, so I just call it "the bouncer" (it rocks back and forth on a large spring).

The update to the park includes a water spray area that can be turned on at the mere press of a button (which we discovered inadvertently while - you guessed it - pressing a button).

Since receiving his bicycle, Kellan has become somewhat of an expert at riding it and is particularly adept at ringing its bell while in the middle of pedaling.  I'm still a bit shocked at how naturally he's picked up on everything!

May Days

That was me slapping my hands for not completing a single blog post last month.  Shame on Mommy!  And I really have no excuse... so, I guess just enjoy the deluge of photos and posts I'm about to unleash.

In May, we took Kellan on his first train trip.  We hopped on the Amtrak Cascades in Edmonds and headed north to Bellingham.  Kellan loved walking through the train cars, playing in the seats, and especially looking out the window.

The scenery for the first part of the trip was lovely, save for the rainy day.  It's so pretty while the tracks run along the water.

Kellan would stare out the window for minutes at a time, mesmerized.  So cute!

Also in May, we got one of our only three (it feels like) sunny days this year on Mother's Day - lucky me!  We were able to enjoy the outdoors by having a picnic at the Arboretum.

Kellan and Mommy on a log.

Kellan and Daddy in front of Lake Washington.

I would have liked to have more photos to share with you from May, but I think I put the camera in a mini-hibernation for a couple weeks... oh well.  Next up?  June!

A PlayDATE at the Zoo

One of Kellan's closest friends at daycare is Abbey.  They've both been there since they were infants, and they are very close in age (Abbey's just a few weeks older than Kellan).  Since they have so much fun at school together, we thought it would be cool to invite Abbey to go to the zoo with Kellan on a Saturday morning a few weeks ago.  Abbey's parents agreed, and she and her mom met up with us for our first playdate together.

As you can see, Kellan was very excited to see Abbey

While we waited for Abbey and her mom to arrive, we were fascinated by a peacock at the entrance to the zoo

Look at the size of that peacock!  And it wasn't shy, either... obviously.

The first animals we saw were the giraffes.  Can you find all three?

Abbey and Kellan enjoyed looking at the hippos in the water together

The lion was conked out on the rock, as usual

One of Abbey and Kellan's many "discussions" - this one was while we were watching the elephants

We fed the birds at Willawong Station (it was the busiest we'd ever seen it!)

Abbey and Kellan tested the strength of some of the tree limbs at Willawong

Photo op on the rocks outside of the meerkat exhibit.  Don't they make a cute pair?

We played inside for a bit at the Zoomazium, then it was time to say goodbye

I guess it wouldn't have been a true first date without the awkward hug at the end

I hope we get another chance to chaperone a date between Kellan and Abbey... maybe we can end with ice cream on the next outing. :-)

Outdoor Fun and Other Favorite Things

It's been another long while since I've put up a post, so I've put together a handful of photos from the last couple months showing some of Kellan's favorite activities.  Enjoy!

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In the field across from our house, there are seven large rocks in a group that Kellan loves to climb on.  He's assigned rocks for nearly everyone in the family, and the owners change depending on who happens to be at the forefront of his mind.  His memory is impressive, however - he always picks the same ones for him, Mommy, and Daddy.

Lounging on Daddy's rock

Hamming it up on Kellan's rock

When the weather is nice, it's fun to take Kellan somewhere he can ride the red tricycle we've borrowed from the Freemans (thanks again, guys!).  He looks like such a "big boy" when I see him riding around on his own.

Just about to start pedaling!

One of our favorite places to walk or ride to is the Lakeside Upper School campus.  It's gorgeous and makes us think of Harry Potter for some reason.

Kellan, exploring one of the soccer goal posts at Lakeside

What luck to find a big, sturdy stick just lying near the track...

...and if one stick is cool, two is double the fun!

Here's Kellan performing two acts at the same time: tricycling and flashing a smile.  He's just so talented.

We had a perfect rainbow appear outside our house one afternoon.

(no, it wasn't a double rainbow, but we had our hopes)

One of Kellan's favorite places to visit is Grandma and Grandpa's house in Bellingham.  He gets to feed ducks, throw rocks into the lake, and watch Cooper and Connor run around the yard.  Oh yeah, he likes seeing Grandma and Grandpa an awful lot, too.

Kellan listens intently as Grandpa shows how he'll throw a toy for Cooper or Connor to retrieve.  The things "boys" will talk about...

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Next post will focus on something else Kellan has recently enjoyed... going on his first "date"!  Stay tuned!