What a Week!

Last Sunday, Happy, Patrick's grandfather, flew in from Indiana. He hadn't met any of our kids and we hadn't seen him since our wedding. It was amazing how quickly Connor and Laura took to him. It's not that they are ever shy but they were really affectionate right from the start. We ate out more times than I can count and had a BBQ at both our house and Ryan and Cari's. Happy gave both Connor and Laura their very own fishing poles and tackle boxes. They were ecstatic! On Wednesday, the busiest day of the visit, we took Happy out for lunch in Bellevue, went blueberry picking and fishing then had a BBQ dinner at our house. I think the fishing was the most fun. Everyone caught some fish. Happy caught the most, at least 12. They weren't very big but we were just releasing them anyhow. Laura wanted to PET everyones fish. I even heard her say "nice fishy, so pitty (pretty)!" It was really nice to get to know Happy. When he was here last time, for our wedding, I was so busy and preoccupied that I didn't really get to know him. This past week we got to spend lots of time with him and Connor and Laura really got to know their "Great Grampa Happy". We are all hoping he can make it back again this winter. He said he would try to come out again around the holidays.

Bicycle Built for Three?!

Fun with Cousins!

Yesterday morning, Lisa and Ellie came over to play. The three kids had a great time playing in the back yard. In the afternoon, we went up to Andrea's house. We loaded bikes into the cars and went to a local elementary school to ride. It was Kelsey's first day without training wheels and she did great! Connor especially like riding Kelsey's old trike because it was so big. After about an hour or so, we went back to Andrea's for homemade chocolate ice cream. It was delicious!

An Evening at the Beach

One evening, we went to the beach by the ferry in Mukilteo. Connor and Laura met a little girl named Elenore or Ellie. She had turned two in May so was right between Connor and Laura age wise. The had a great time playing in and around a fort someone had made out of driftwood. Laura collected rocks and made a "table" with "plates" and "food". It was a really pleasant evening. I love going to the beach!

Blueberries!

"I'm going to pick lots of BLUEBERRIES!"


"I love blueberries too and I'm here to help you eat them!"


"We found some!"


The tired and successful pickers!


On Thursday, Pat's day off, we went to a blueberry farm in Bellevue to pick berries. The fields were pretty well picked over, but we managed to get 6lbs. The kids had a great time going between the rows and eating at least as many berries as they picked!

Swimming Pool Time!

Fishing

Two weeks ago, ( I am a little behind!) we went to Bellevue on Patrick's day off to visit some of the beaches he manages and let some of his staff see the kids. I guess they had been bugging him about not having seen them for a long time. We tried fishing at a couple of the beaches and Connor and Laura were really interested as long as they were catching stuff. At the first beach, they caught 7 fish! Every time I got back to our beach blanket and sat down, I would have to jump back up to go take another picture.

Sophie's Talking!

Connor and Laura wouldn't want to miss out on any action and so had to make plenty of their own noise.Luckily,they didn't completely drown out Sophie!

A Busy Wednesday

We got an early start on Wednesday. Mom called at 7:30 to let me know that I was an Auntie!! Emma had had her baby, a girl, at 5:25 that morning. After everyone was fed and dressed, we went to Forest park to visit the animal farm. Laura was very excited to "Feed goats" and "feed ducks". We heard this over and over. Connor had already been there once this summer and so he knew where everything was. He ran around trying to show us everything all at once. Next, we headed out to Silver lake to say hi to the guards out there, let them see Sophie and to play at the park. Then, it was home for lunch and naps. While the kids were sleeping, I finished making new cushions for our garden swing. In the evening, Patrick's friends Jason and Leasel and her daughter, Chase,came over. We ordered pizza for dinner and they stayed and visited 'till it started getting dark.