Mueve el Ombligo

Choose the RIght

2011-06-23T21:08:00.000-07:00

Ryan's parents got the boys some cute CTR shirts for christmas which I have finally managed to snap a few pictures of. The boys were excited to all be matching.

Yeah for CTR!

Austin doesn't cooperate too well with pictures but even he has one.

Here he is. Whats that he's eating you ask? Is it Saltine cracker? or dirt? I think the correct answer is a little of both.

Sweatshirts too!

2011-06-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

"Brandon.. look at the camera.. Say cheese"

There you go. too bad no one else is looking now.

Love the shirts and sweatshirts. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Best Buds

2011-06-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

Carter and Brandon have been playing so great together lately, it has really been awesome. I just had to post these pictures of them telling each other "secrets." All day they were whispering things in each others' ears and then they would laugh and laugh. They haven't always played together this way, so I am so grateful for the stage they are at right now, and I am going to enjoy it while it lasts! It makes me think that through all the really tough things that come along with having young kids so close together, moments like this make it all worth it! I love that they will always have each other as friends!

Just had to post this cute one of Austin. This one is nothing but trouble! He does love being outside though.

Weekend Getaway!

2011-06-06T22:40:00.000-07:00

Last month I was lucky enough to escape for the weekend with my mother and three sister in-laws. We had a great time hanging out in San Franscisco for the weekend and got to do all sorts of fun stuff like bike the golden gate bridge, tour Sanfrancisco in GO-carts, eat at all sorts of delicious restraunts, and just plain relax and have fun! Here are some of the highlights

Biking the Golden Gate Bridge

Eating ice cream at ghirardelli chocolate factory. (can't get much better than that!)

We even did a little gardening. :)

My Sisters!

2011-06-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

A really yummy fondu dinner at a little place called "Melt"

Scenic stops while touring San Fransico in our go carts!

So Fun!

You will notice that I am absent from this jumping picture. All my sister in-laws have some awsome cheerleading skills genetically ingrained within them I think. I somehow didn't come with those same abilities. Thus I managed to ruin every jumping picutre I was in, because I barely got off the ground!

"Let's Pick A Topic"

2011-04-17T21:53:00.000-07:00

Let's pick a topic, is a phrase that is commonly heard in the Hastings household. I guess it started a few years back when the boys started to get really silly at the dinner table. (......breakfast, lunch, dinner, any meal really) I am one to definitely tolerate a little silliness but not at the table while trying to eat. And no matter what I tried nothing seemed to deter them when they got going. So I came up with this idea, "Let's pick a topic". Basically the kids get to ask about whatever they want, and I tell them all I know about that subject. They usually pick something like beetles, spiders, ants, or other insects. Germs are also a favorite. But today at lunch Brandon chose babies. "Ya where do babies come from?" Carter says. I was not prepared to be addressing this subject so early, but luckily my boys are still very easily appeased with my simple answer that babies start out as just small cells and then grow and get bigger in mommies tummies. Then Carter moved on to the topic of playdough. "How do they make playdough?" he asked. I was very surprised by his question because we make playdough together at least ever couple of months. (it is still one of his favorite things to keep him entertained.) So I ask him what he thinks it's made of.. "hmmm Rubber?" "Don't you remember making playdough Carter?" I ask. Then he says "oh yeah, I know!" "Food Coloring!" I guess that must be the most memorable part. :)

IBALLE

2011-04-17T21:48:00.000-07:00

Carter has been really into writting lately and trying to spell different words. He and Brandon were both asking me how to spell some words the other day so I went ahead and wrote a few for them on their white board. Then he said ok, I got one for you mom, and he wrote down ....IBALLE... for the life of me I could not figure out what he was trying to spell untill he explained to me, "you see, there is a silent 'E' at the end mom so the 'I' says its name." Then it clicked..oh... EYEBALL!! I shouted and then just laughed and laughed. Unfortunately Carter thought I was laughing at him because he spelled it wrong, and the sweet little guy just burst into tears. I felt so horrible. I had to take a picture though, to remember the moment. I thought it was so cute. It turned out really hard to see though because our pen was running out of ink.

Brandon

2011-03-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

I Just wanted to give a quick little Shout Out to my middle child. Brandon I feel like gets so neglected some times. Our lives seem to revolve around either Carter (getting him to and from preschool) or Austin, (getting him fed, changed and down for naps) and Brandon just seems to get lost in the mix sometimes. He is so great about it though, happily riding along to drop off or pick up Carter and never asking when it will be his turn. Then when we get home he entertains himself while I get Austin down for a nap. He is always making up games that he plays on his own, Throw and Go being a favorite right now (yes he makes up the names for them too) in this game he throws a ball and then runs to get it before it reaches a certain point. Then he increases the level "I'm on the second level mom!" he'll inform me and he adds in more balls. He is such a great brother, standing by Carter while he plays a game on the Wii, and getting so excited for him if he is winning that he starts jumping up and down saying "YES!" He also agrees to play games with Carter such as Chess, which Brandon has no interest in playing and can't even understand, but yet he does because Carter asks him too. He's such an easy going kid and I'm so grateful for him right now. Love You Brandon!!

Austin's One!

2011-02-26T14:45:00.000-08:00

Austin turned 1 on the 7th! I can't believe he's one already, my baby sure has grown up fast! He is such a happy guy! He loves chasing his brothers around the house, throwing balls, and giggling at the crazy things his brothers do. We are so lucky to have him!

Brothers

He did the best I've ever seen with his cupcake. Took it into his two fists and started packing it in! No hesitation there.

Love you little man!

December

2011-02-25T22:10:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know I am way to late to blog about christmas/December, I am a horrible blogger, but what can I say? I'm just going to blame it on the the kids. We had at blast a grandma and Grandpa Hastings, here are just a few of the highlights.

Making Gingerbread houses (still in Seattle) Not sure why Carter is wearing a neclace.

Acting out the Nativity. Always a Christmas favorite!

Sledding with Cousins! Brandon didn't really Love this ("Snow is not my favorite season" he says)
But Carter got to be quite the daredevil going down the slopes, would laugh when he wiped out and had an all -around great time

4-wheeling with Daddy. Fun, fun times in Wyoming.

plane ride

2011-02-25T22:08:00.000-08:00

Ryan's Dad was nice enough to take us on a little ride in his plane. None of us had ever been in a small plane before and it was so fun. It was a beautiful sunny day and the valley was absolutely georgeous from the view up above. I must have snapped 100 pictures, but I'll just share a few.

Carter and Brandon both fell asleep right after take off. I think the noise and lull of the plane just put them right out. It was kind of nice, that way I could just sit back and enjoy the view.

Breathtaking

Here is Ryan when his dad let him "take the wheel" for a minute. I was pretty nervous at this point!

Halloween

2010-11-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

Carter and Brandon had a great time being Mario and Luigi this year. They love playing the Wii, and Brandon always wants to be Luigi. It was quite the popular costume this year!

This is Carter's pose when I told him to make a face ike Mario

My cute little pumpkin! The hat was a bit too small.

He always want to be standing up nowdays.

2010-11-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

Our cute little pumpkin of 2006. (Carter) He was just a few months older than Austin is now. Doesn't seem that long ago. How time flies! They remind me so much of each other.

2010-11-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

We packed in the fun on Haloween. Pumpkin carving..(Carter was a bit scared the knife was so close to him)

Doughnut eating contest..

Trick or treating with friends

The finished product pumpkins.

Happy Birthday Brandon

2010-10-31T21:09:00.000-07:00

So Brandon's Birthday was back in September but I thought I would post the highlights. He had quite the party. He loves Buzz and toy story lately so we did a Buzzlightyear theme.

No party is complete without a pinata at our house. Not quite sure how that came to be, but I am hoping on ammending that tradition soon.

One of the games we played was "shoot Zurg" I hung up pictures of Zurg and let all the kids shoot the pictures with silly string. Brandon loved that.

2010-10-31T20:00:00.000-07:00

I was especially proud of the cake. I think maybe I have just been watching a bit too much cake boss or something, but for some reason I wanted to try making a cake with fondant. It was actually a lot easier than I thought it might be, and quite fun. Here is the finished product.

In the end though I realize I don't really need to go to that much effort for this 3 year old. Anything sugary is bound to be loved and devoured no matter what it looks like. :)

Happy Birthday Brandon! We love you!

Hello Again

2010-10-22T23:50:00.000-07:00

okay, so maybe it has been a bit since I've blogged. We kind of took the summer off, well summer and maybe most of fall as well. Having Three little kids will do that to you I guess. Anyways, my apologies to the throngs of avid readers we have following this amazing memoir of our lives. (or maybe just to the 3 or 4 people who may have happened to notice) In any case I will do a quick catch up of our summer/fall.

We Begin with the 4th of July.....

There is a community parade every year, and both the boys rode their bikes this year. Dad did a good job of decorating.

We were also lucky enough to have visitors in town for the 4th so we of course took them to the good old traditional seattle fireworks show at gasworks park. We arrived there right at noon. (of course we didn't want to miss the fireworks show which would begin at 10:30pm) A little over 10 hours hanging out at a park should be good right?

2010-10-22T23:48:00.000-07:00

Here's everyone camped out on the hill

We played around and had some fun for a bit.

Carter couldn't get enough of following Daxton everywhere he went.

Lovely view of Seattle. Fittingly overcast. I assured our family that came all the way from Las Vegas, that is was NOT going to rain though.

Here's us leaving as it started to pour, (of course) around 4:00pm.
oh well. We tried.

Cousins

2010-10-22T23:45:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to have the whole Hastings family come in July, (except for Danielle who we missed!)
Unfortunately I didn't really get any good pictures of us together. I did get some cute ones with all the cousins though.

We went on a few hikes. It was a beatiful time of year to be outdoors.
The boys gotta have their sticks!

This is such a cute one of Avi.

Brandon was so worn out, he crashed on the way back down. Uncle Alyn was nice enough to carry him down!

Seaworld

2010-10-22T23:24:00.000-07:00

We got to have quite the adventure trip to California this year with my family. We had a great time seeing everyone and also went to seaworld, disneyland, AND legoland! I guess we just decided to do it all while we were there. We had a lot of fun. Here are some of the highlights......

We got great seats to the dolphin show at seaworld. We were warned that we could get sprayed, but it was a hot day so were weren't that worried. Besides, how bad could it be? Its just a little dolphin right? Those smiles didn't last long.....

Here's Ryan with Austin underneath the little blanket getting ready just in case we get sprayed. And oh boy did we ever.. The Blanket was definitely NOT thick enough! The dolphins soaked us before we even knew what was coming. The boys were really taken by surprise and cried pretty hard. We all dried out in the end though. I guess thats what you get for getting front row seats! Too bad I didn't get a picture of the aftermath. The show was pretty cool though.

There are the dolphins. They are amazing.

Lego land

2010-10-22T22:59:00.000-07:00

We have some cousins that are really into legos so we went to Legoland. It was a blast. The rides were all just right for preschool age. And the lines weren't long at all. We would definitely go again.

It was cool to see all the stuff made out of legos

Brandon driving his lego car

They got to play miniature golf there and LOVED it. They still talk about it.

Disneyland

2010-10-22T22:40:00.000-07:00

Carter loved this talking garbage can at disney land. There was actually a man standing by it doing the voice, but all the kids loved it.

Carter and Ryan in front of the Space Mountain ride. Carter actually went on Space Mountain! I didn't realize how scary this ride was and agreed to let him go. (He loves space/astronauts, etc.) He actually did really good! He said he was only screaming through the first part. I think I may have actually screamed more, just thinking about my 4 year old being on the ride!

(see space mountain reference in Things Carter and Brandon said today section to the right)

Carter on the teacups

All of us after the fireworks show. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa King, and Aunt Katie for coming with us!

Playing in the backyard

2010-10-22T22:29:00.000-07:00

At the Lake

2010-10-22T22:28:00.000-07:00

We got to go the lake quite a bit. Carter and Brandon loved these ducks at lake Samammish. They were pretty cute.

Austin Discovered he likes peanut butter and Jelly

Carter is my little lizard. He could just lay out in the sun forever.

And we did quite a bit of just chillin'

Spokane

2010-10-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

We got to go to Spokane and spend some time with Cousins! Austin loves his Cousins, and they loved holding him. Here his is with cousin Mary

And here he is with Cienna

Brandon and Annie looking for "rolly pollies"

my park

2010-10-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

We got to go to a park by where my grandpa used to live that I used to play at all the time as a kid. It was soo fun seeing it again and having my kids play there. It brought back so many memories!

This is the 2in deep pool I used to wade in as a baby!

These are the tunnels I used to crawl through
Cousins Avery and Bre. :)

This is the merrygoround I used to spend hours spinning on!

And this is the tire swing I loved to spin with my sisters on.
So fun. Sorry this post is probably really boring to everyone except for me!

My Smiley Guy

2010-05-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

I love these. I don't usually get great pictures but it happened to be a sunny day so they were easier to capture.

2010-05-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

So some of these aren't the best quality pictures but I just can't get enough of his smile. He is such a smiley guy, I just wanted to share them with you! He's the cutest kid ever.

This one is a bit fuzzy but I love it of him smiling up at me. He especially get this way when he is tired and I am trying to put him to sleep he starts giggling. Then a few minutes later he is out. :)

Austin's Blessing Day

2010-05-21T22:00:00.000-07:00

Austin was blessed over a month ago and I have been meaning to post some pictures ever since. (It takes me about a month to get most anything done lately.) It was a very beautiful day and we were so happy for all of the friends and family that were able to come celebrate with us for the special occasion.

A shot of the whole fam. Its too much to ask now to have everone looking at the camera I think.

I didn't get a picture of the whole group of friends that came and celebrated with us at the dinner we had afterward but it was so good to see everyone! I did get to snap this one of my good friend Maria and Austin and her cute little guy Davis.

We were so happy to have my sister Amelia and her family there!! They have come up from Spokane for all of our boys blessings, and we were so glad that they could make it!

Little Austin with Grandma and Grandpa.

Mom Says I Can

2010-05-21T21:55:00.000-07:00

My Mother-in-law is amazing. Every time they come to visit she always has something fun for the boys. This time when they came for Austin's blessing she brought the boys a new book called "Mom Says I Can" in the book it talks about a little boy dressing up as all sorts of different things, a pilot, an astronaut, a super hero, a pirate, an indian etc. It's a really cute book and the boys love it. Then she also brought them all the costumes they could wear to dress up like the different things in the book! Including all the little badges, a bow an arrow, and all kinds of things. Every boys dream! Here they are pretending with all of their new stuff..

Here she is reading them the story for the first time.

Carter as a superhero

The pirate and the indian chief searching their map to find the lost treasure. (The map was included of course)

Superman!!

2010-05-21T21:54:00.000-07:00

Arrgh.....

Of course Teddy must be a part of every adventure!

The Zoo

2010-05-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

We also got to go to the zoo while Grandma and Grandpa were in town. We had a great time. Here are some of the highlights:

An amazing peacock

The Giraffes

Stopping for a quick picture

The Elephants

2010-05-21T21:48:00.000-07:00

My Little climber

And the best for last, nothing beats a ride on Grandpa's shoulders. We had so much fun. Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!!

All smiles

2010-04-08T23:30:00.000-07:00

So I just can't say enough how much I love this little man. He started really smiling a few weeks ago and hasn't stopped since. He is just the happiest little baby ever, he sleeps great, and is perfectly content with just chilling wherever he happens to be. I don't know what I did to deserve such a wonderful baby boy, but I'm soo grateful to have him!

Austin's Bear

2010-04-08T23:14:00.000-07:00

Every time I change Austin's diaper he always turns to this little bear that is on his wall and starts cooing at it. He just smiles and talks to this little bear, I think it is so cute. It was so easy to capture because he really does it almost every time, and we spend a lot of time on that little table because the little guy poo's about 10-15 times a day I think! Thank goodness he's the only one in diapers now.

Easter

2010-04-08T23:09:00.000-07:00

Dyeing Easter eggs is of course the best part of easter. I got this little trick from the family fun magazine. You can put your eggs inside whisks and it secures them so that your two year old can dye eggs and dip them in different colors without cracking the egg. It worked wonderfully and didn't effect the dying process a bit.

We have a little community egg hunt every year at a big park. It always rains on Easter (or lets face it,, all of April - jan. feb. and march for that matter too.) So this year we were prepared sporting our rain coats and rain boots for the hunt. I don't think it actually rained on us while we were out there though. Just before and after. Here the boys are, enjoying the fruits of their labor. Brandon never waits to dig in when candy is involved!

Like Father Like Son

2010-04-08T22:52:00.000-07:00

I don't know if Ryan would approve my posting of this picture, but I just couldn't resist. Don't they look so much alike?! Same expression and everything, and both soo cute! Love you guys. :)

Mr. Independent

2010-04-08T22:38:00.000-07:00

So lately, (since having baby number three) I have been encouraging Carter to become more independent and do more things on his own. So the other day when he wanted to help make his own peanut butter and honey sandwich, I gladly showed him how. A few days later while I was busy nursing Austin, Carter announced that he was hungry and wanted to make his own sandwich so I let him go for it. What I didn't count on was my two year old deciding that he too, could go ahead and make his own! Thats what I get for encouraging independence I guess. He didn't really do all that bad. Luckily I was able to intervene before he got to the honey part.

Our New Addition!

2010-02-16T23:23:00.000-08:00

At last our long awaited little Austin Robert has arrived! He came on Sunday February 7th weighing 7lbs 5 oz. and 20 inches long. He is a happy healthy little guy and we feel so blessed to have him here. So far he has been a very calm and contented baby and we are hoping he stays that way.

Carter and Brandon meeting their little brother for the first time

My Boys!

2010-02-16T23:11:00.000-08:00

There's definitely no shortage of people looking to love and hold him. Most of all his two big brothers!

2010-02-16T23:04:00.000-08:00

A few of me in my sleep deprived perma-pajama state.

He already has daddy wrapped around his little fingers

Proud Grandma

A few close ups

2010-02-16T22:56:00.000-08:00

So far he reminds me a lot of Carter as a baby. He is usually very chill.

He loves to munch on his fingers when given the chance.

Haloween

2009-11-06T20:40:00.000-08:00

Haloween was fun this year with both boys really getting into dressing up and trick or treating. Like every year I feel like I didn't quite get the pictures I hoped for, but I'll take what I can get I guess. Here are my little monsters...

My cute little puppy dog. He loves puppies right now, so he was very excited to dress up like one. Although some people did mistake him for a cow. (which he was last year)

Carter was dracula

puppy kisses

2009-11-06T20:32:00.000-08:00

Carter was not so sure about touching the pumpkin guts. I failed to get a picture of the finished product.

Carter and Daddy, both with their cute litte grins. This is Carter in the same little dracula costume that Ryan wore when he was a boy. (His mom made the costume.) He made such a cute little dracula.

Showing off the teeth. He actually kept them in a lot more than I anticipated. I think he liked them because they were glow in the dark.

The full getup would not be complete without some sort of weapon of course.

Beautiful Sedona

2009-10-05T19:33:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time in Sedona with Ryan's parents. It is a beautiful place. The kids loved the good weather and the awesome hikes we went on. Sorry these pictures are not always in the order I want them. I guess I still have a lot to figure out when it comes to blogging!

At the end of one of the hikes we went on the kids found this little bridge which they loved. It had very shallow water running under it, and was just right for playing a game called "pooh sticks" (For any of you who have read "The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" you know what I am talking about) It is simply each throwing a stick in to the river and then seeing whose will come out on the other side of the bridge first. The boys love it. This shot is of them bending down to see if they can catch a glimpse of their sticks.

Carter hiking along with the gorgeous scenery in the background.

The pictures really don't do it justice. The sky was so blue that day and the rocks so red it was amazing.

stopping for a well deserved rest.

It is hard to see but all around me there are piles of rocks piled on top of each other. We saw these all along our hikes because people here believe they can create a "vortex" or a place with good spiritual energy by piling the rocks that way. (I think that is how the story goes anyway)

Ryan forging the river. We wanted to hike back a different way then we came, but to do that we had to cross the river. Ryan's parents were good sports and hiked down a hill and came across the river too!

Brandon wanted to explore every nook and cranny.

Yet another river. This time there were stepping stones though.

Another day we went on a hike to the "water slides" They are natural slides that are smooth rocks that the river flows over. At certain times of the year there are lots of people that go down I think but while we were there the water wasn't quite right and it looked a little dangerous. We still made a couple "sliding" attempts at other areas though. And Ryan almost went down right here.

My little mountain climbers

A beautiful Sedona sunset

2009-10-04T22:36:00.000-07:00

Carter and Brandon appropriatly sporting their dirt shirts that grandma got them before jumping in the bath. It is actually cupcake that they have all overthemselves though. The brithday party aftermath!

Brandon Turns 2!

2009-10-04T22:26:00.000-07:00

enjoying cupcakes with cousins

No party is complete without a pinata

lovin all the candy!

Las Vegas Vacation!

2009-10-04T22:08:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time in Las Vegas with Ryan's family. Thanks Nicole and Alyn for planning a great vacation!

"I don't want to go home"

They had a great time at a splash park we went to. Carter loved trying to chase his older cousins Daxton and Chase around the park.

Brandon loved trying to soak other people with water!

With all the cousins at red rock

Brandon loving hanging out in the pool, with aunt Nicole

Scaling down Red Rock

Ryan with his beautiful sisters!

Brandon finding a cool place to chill with grandma.

Summer events

2009-10-04T21:58:00.000-07:00

Carter's first day of preschool. He is loving it.

One of the many park days

We had an awesome time with all the family at Priest Lake. Too bad I didn't get more pictures!

Carter's Room!

2009-08-23T22:05:00.000-07:00

We finished Carter's room a while ago but I wanted to post some pictures for those of you who have been asking to see it. We went pretty bold with the colors, but all in all I think it turned out pretty well. Both the boys love it which is all that matters I guess, as soon it will be Brandon's room too. (For those of you who haven't heard, we have another one on the way.)

Sorry my options seemed to be extreme glare or utter darkness, maybe I need a better camera, Or maybe I just need to learn how to use it!

Summer Fun

2009-08-23T21:35:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I have been able to go to a couple of sporting events "kid free" (thanks Jared and Paige!) with some friends. A Seattle Sounders vs. Barcelona game (our new seattle soccer team) and a Mariners game. We had a great time!

So I have recently decided that I can leave Carter and Brandon alone to play by themselves while I take a quick shower in the mornings, (with great emphasis on the work QUICK.) Most days everything goes fine, except for the other day I came downstairs to find this. Carter had written all over Brandon with a purple sharpie. Brandon apparently had no problem with this and was happy to let him use his stomach as a drawing board. Even after the bath it actually took a couple of days for it to fully come off.

Carter and Brandon love their little pool. They both run and shout cannonball! and then jump in. Brandon is fearless. Don't ask me what Carter is saying in this video, Something about 90 degrees I think. Degrees was a new word he had learned recently and whenever he hears a word he has never heard he repeats it over and over whether it makes sense in the situation or not.

Some Random Pics

2009-08-23T21:05:00.000-07:00

My handsome boys all ready for church.

This is an example of what Carter likes to do with his spare time!

Running through the sprinklers, they can't get enough of that.

Our Awesome Garden. Thanks to Ryan who did all the work. These are our peas when they were in their prime. Now we are getting some other things.. cucumbers and may even a tomatoe or two!

Carter and Brandon on one of our many hiking adventures this summer.

This is a game Carter and Brandon love to play, they affectionately call "Blanket Time" and we cannot try to fold a blanket in our house without one of them shouting Blanket Time! and piling on. Ryan is a good sport and does it with them often.

2009-07-12T21:55:00.000-07:00

This weekend we finally dusted off our tent and sleeping bags and went camping! It was our first experience camping as a family so we were a bit nervous about it, but every thing went pretty good.

Ryan did a great job managing the fire. The boys were always eager to "help"

Cater wanted to hold Brandon in this picture. He actually said "here mom let me hold him" even though Brandon is so big that people actually ask us if they are twins occasionally.

2009-07-12T21:54:00.001-07:00

Ryan and Carter in front of Mt. Ranier.

The mountain was beautiful.

It was crazy hiking where there was still snow in July

Myrtle falls

2009-07-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

Carter was getting pretty adventurous climbing the trees near our camp site.

Carter's favorite part was roasting marshmellows

2009-07-12T21:53:00.000-07:00

on one of the hikes a deer crossed right in front of our path.

We hiked on a trail to Carter Falls. Carter thought that was pretty cool. It was about a mile uphill but the boys did pretty good. We just kept feeding them vanilla wafers along the way. Nothing like a little sugar to keep them motivated! We kept on telling Carter we were going to Carter Falls and Brandon would say "Im going to see Brandon Falls"

After I took the picture of Carter above Brandon got right in fron of the sign and said "cheese" so of course I had to snap one of him too.

Here's Carter Falls.

2009-07-12T21:51:00.000-07:00

The boys stopping for a snack on the way up

Ryan was quite the trooper. He carried the pack plus Brandon on his shoulders most of the way!

The scariest part was crossing over this very narrow bridge. Even though the river below is small, the water was moving really fast.

Brandons favorite part was throwing rocks into the river

4th of July

2009-07-12T21:13:00.000-07:00

We didn't get a ton of pictures on the 4th, but here are a few. Every year Snoqualmie has a community 4th of July event with a bunch of bouncy houses, pony rides, face painting, train rides and other fun stuff for the kids that is all free. The kids love it. This is Brandon in one of the bouncy houses.

We decided to be in the parade this year. You can tell how much they loved it. It is just a short little walk around the block but they did have fun waving hello to people.

Brandon was tired right from the start.

This is how he looked by the end of the day. Too much fun!

A visit with Grandma

2009-05-30T22:31:00.000-07:00

We got to go to Spokane this past week and spend some time with cousins and stay with my Grandma. The boys thought that Grandma's house was great! She lives on 5 acres of land, has a goat and a lama, swings, and trains pass by all the time! We all had a good time.

The train (hard to see) is in the background

Swinging with cousin Annie

The Lama and the Goat

Catching up with Grandma

Running through the sprinkler!

Chillin' in the Grass

Our trip to Spokane

2009-05-30T22:15:00.000-07:00

Fun in the sun

Fun with cousins!

All wiped out after playing hard

Sports Sampler

2009-05-30T22:06:00.000-07:00

Carter has been in a little sports class the last few months. They learned the basic skills of soccer, baseball, and basketball. He had a fun time and even made two baskets in their little basketball game the last day of class. The pictures didn't turn out that great, but here are a few. Brandon had fun watching the class, and can't wait to get in and play himself!

Best Buds

2009-05-10T22:49:00.000-07:00

Carter and Brandon have really started playing together lately. Brandon absolutely adores Carter and follows him everywhere. The latest thing he has learned how to say is "come here" So now when Carter is out of sight Brandon will shout "Carter come here!" It's so cute to see them be friends!

Easter pics

2009-05-10T22:40:00.000-07:00

It was raining of course but the boys didn't seem to mind

The boys in their Church clothes. This was actually the best picture I could get. Brandon refused to pose while there was candy nearby.

Five Little Monkeys

2009-04-08T22:33:00.001-07:00

This is Brandon's favorite book right now.

Firestation

2009-04-08T22:28:00.000-07:00

Carter's preschool group did their unit on safety this month, so we took a tour of the fire station for our field trip. The boys loved it. This is the second time they have taken a tour and I have been so impressed both times. The fireman really go out of their way to show them everything and let them get a "hands on" experience. They even had one firman put on all his gear to show them how they look all dressed up!

Nothing is more fun then playing with all the buttons.

Rain Paint

2009-04-08T22:19:00.000-07:00

We have had our share of rainy days here in Snoqualmie so far this Spring, and we have to be pretty creative to keep ourselves entertained. We have done our share of puddle stomping and dancing in the rain. I ran across the idea for "Rain Paint" in a family fun magazine and we gave it a try. Basically you put food coloring on a paper plate and then walk around with it in the rain and let it make fun designs. The boys loved it. (although you can't really tell from the picture)

Finished Product!

2009-04-08T22:12:00.000-07:00

The boys definitely needed their haircut! And since our clippers are broken, they got their first "real" haircuts. They both did so good. Once the guy cutting Brandon's hair paused to comb it out and Brandon said "all done!" Unfortunately he wasn't all done, but after a few more "all done" pleas he was finally through! What a trooper.

A new reign

2009-03-24T23:52:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

Sadly after a few infrequent posts Ryan has decided to retire from the blogging world. We will all miss him, especially since this leaves our blogging duties up to me. Although our blog may not be quite as interesting from now on, hopefully you will at least be able to look forward to being updated a bit more frequently. So here we go.....

March in Seattle

2009-03-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

We have had a crazy March here in Seattle and have gotten quite a bit of snow. The boys took the opportunity to build a snowman with some friends!

Snow

2009-03-24T11:19:00.000-07:00

Brandon is learning new words everyday. The thing he says the most is "cars." Quite a few times I have gone to get him out of his crib in the morning, the first thing out of his mouth is Cars!

Brandon playing basketball

2009-03-24T00:21:00.000-07:00

Brandon loves playing basketball. This is just a short clip but he will entertain himself for quite a while just shooting hoops.

Hit!

2009-03-24T00:10:00.000-07:00

He is so excited to get a hit!

2009-03-23T23:30:00.000-07:00

I am aware that the point of a blog is to keep you all updated on recent events, but I was looking through our little video clips the other day and just couldn't help but share some of these of Carter. He was the funniest little happiest baby ever!

Easily Entertained

2009-03-23T23:05:00.000-07:00

2009-03-23T23:04:00.000-07:00

I love this one because he still has the same laugh!

Carter & the bottle

2009-03-23T22:51:00.000-07:00

Carter's sock

2009-03-23T22:31:00.000-07:00

2009-03-23T22:21:00.000-07:00

Carter Now

2009-03-23T22:15:00.000-07:00

I love this Kid!

"Your last post was in May?"

2009-01-11T21:07:00.000-08:00

Ok, so maybe we've slacked a little on our posting, but hey, it's been a busy year. Actually, the real problem has been that Emily has completely hogged the computer this entire year, but now that she has completed her degree, I can once again waste endless hours sitting in front of this monitor. And, hopefully, I can use a couple of those endless hours each week to update this wonderful and often-visited blog. Enjoy the past 8 months of our lives.

In June, we spent a week in Carmel, California with the Hastings family. One of the highlights was the day at the beach playing volleyball, exploring the rocks, and having a bonfire.

We also enjoyed the long and very tiring bike ride to the Lone Cypress. The boys had it easy in the back, although they really didn't enjoy the ride once they woke from their nap.

Our community hosts a pretty big party on July 4th each year. They bring in a bunch of blow-up toys, have pony rides, a hot-air baloon, and some free food. Carter had a great time, even though it was raining for most of the time, and of course, Brandon slept through most of it.

In July, we spent a week in McCall, Idaho with the King/Thomson family. We stayed in some nice condos, went rafting every day, and spent a couple of days at the lake. Brandon loved getting to know his cousins (especially Landon) and playing at the park and the beach.

It was great for Emily to be with her family, and Carter enjoyed playing frisbee with Grandpa.

On September 20th, Brandon turned one. He loved the baloons, which filled the entire living room, and the soccer ball cake Emily made him (really, though, was there any doubt?).

This fall, we signed Carter up for some swimming lessons. He started off quite slow and a little afraid of the water, but warmed up to it rather quickly. It was nice that their was one instructor per child in the class.

Halloween was quite fun for us this year, except for the candy that just wouldn't go away. Carter really got into it, Brandon surprisingly had a good time trick-or-treating.

We had a little pumpkin carving contest at the house, and I'm pretty sure I won, although I should probably lose points for the facial hair.

Ok, that gets us to December and I'm running into some technical issues. I'll post some pictures from Carter's birthday and Christmas next week, as well as some other pictures of our boys.

What did you say?

2008-05-25T22:27:00.000-07:00

As Carter is communicating more and more, he is saying a lot of funny things. I thought it a good idea to capture a few of those. I’ll try to give enough context so these make sense.

1. We have a puzzle of the United States of America that Carter loves. He knows every state and is now starting to learn the capitals. He knows Olympia, Salem, Sacramento, Boise, Helena, Cheyenne, Salt Lake City and Oklahoma City. Emily was trying to teach him the capital of Alaska the other day. Here’s an abbreviated version of that conversation:

Emily: Carter, what’s the capital of Alaska?
Carter: I don’t know.
Emily: It’s Juneau.
Carter: No, I don’t know.
Emily: No, Carter it’s Juneau.
Carter: But I don’t know Mom.

It took a little while for them both to understand the confusion. Now, if you ask Carter what the capital of Alaska is, he’ll respond, “Juneau, but sometimes I say I don’t know.”

2. Carter loves when I make him pancakes (or at least I pretend that he loves them). However, he doesn’t call them pancakes, but rather PanPakes. He also has a book of nursery rhymes that has the story Pat-a-Pake (not Pat-a-cake). It is too cute to correct.

3. I am a big fan of creating nicknames for our kids; I’m not sure I really ever refer to them by their given name. For example, Brandon is now affectionately known as The Little Buggy. If I call Carter by something other than his name, he will say, “No, I’m Chunky Monkey Carter.” That name has definitely stuck with him.

4. Carter has a couple of names for Brandon – The Little Buggy (not to be substituted with The Little Pookie as we quickly found out) and My Babe. It is fun to see him go up to Brandon and say, “Hey Babe, you doing ok?” or something similar.

5. Speaking of terms of endearment, Carter has occasionally referred to me as Hun. He has come to get me at times saying, “Hey hun, dinner is ready.”

6. We are working on potty training Carter (and yes, it is taking that long). He has mastered going #2 though, so that makes us happy. He does have the habit of examining the product after going on the potty chair and he will come running out telling us that his “poo made an H” or “an S.” A little gross, but quite funny.

7. Carter is pretty good with the alphabet and is learning the lower case letters. He was getting confused with the lower case L’s as they look like I’s. So, Emily had a good lesson with him the other day. That night, as she was putting him to bed, he told her to wait and said, “Mommy, the door has two L’s and two I’s.” Emily was quite confused, so she asked Carter to show her what he meant. He proceeded to point out that our six-panel doors had two rectangles on the bottom that didn’t have dots (small square panels) – these were the L’s – and two rectangles that did have the dots on top – those were the I’s. It’s amazing how kids see things. (hopefully you can visualize what the doors look like – otherwise, this probably doesn’t make sense.

8. Carter will now ask us almost on a daily basis, “What day is it?” If we don’t answer right away, he will follow up with, “Is it Saturday?” He knows that he gets to watch cartoons on Saturday, so if it is Saturday, he lights up and lists off the cartoons he wants to watch. His favorites are Cars, Pooh and Friends, Bob the Builder, and Thomas the Train. Thankfully, we are moving away from the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show – that has to be one of the most annoying shows out there – no offense to Barney or the Teletubbies.

9. In a couple of weeks, we are heading to Carmel, California with the Hastings family. We have told Carter of the trip and he is quite excited. So, every now and again, he will ask us if we are going to Carmel that day. When we say we aren’t going for a couple of weeks, he responds with, “I want to go to Carmel right now.”

10. I have a pretty cheap little studfinder I used to put up some shelves in our garage. Carter thinks that this is a phone he can use to call the Cars characters. If he finds the studfinder while we are in the garage, he’ll go and pick it up and say something like this, “Oh, hey Fillmore. I’m doing good. I’m helping my daddy. Ok. Bye.” He’ll then turn to me and say, “Sorry, daddy, I was talking to Fillmore.” He’ll then proceed to call the other Cars and have a similar conversation.

11. As most of you know, Carter seems to have gotten sick quite often. He seems to get a fever almost every other week. To show you how bad it has gotten, this past week when he was dealing with the latest ear infection, Emily took him to the Doctor and then to the pharmacy. Carter looked at her as she picked up the prescription and said, “Is that the Amoxicilin?” It’s sad when your two-year old knows the name of the drugs he is taking. He also knows Motrin by name. Each time we go to give him some Motrin or any other medication, he’ll ask us if it is the yummy kind. Like his mom, he can’t handle the cherry and loves the Bubble Gum flavor.

12. We have the tradition of singing a quick song (Let Us Gather in a Circle) before our Family Prayer each night, and now Carter wants to sing the song by himself each time before we sing the song as a family. He’ll sing the four-verse song and then we all fold our arms, and then he says, “We forgot to sing the song.” It goes that way every night.

13. Carter is now becoming very curious. He is constantly asking “Why” anytime we try to explain something to him. He also wants to make sure he understands what you are talking about whether or not you are talking to him. He will come up to Emily or me, grab our faces, turn them towards him, and ask, “What did you say?”

Photos of Carter

2008-05-16T08:24:00.000-07:00

A gal in our ward asked for some kids to help her with a photography project, so we volunteered Carter. She has posted a couple of the pictures on her Blog, so while they are still there, here's the link...

http://www.ravissantphotography.blogspot.com/

Note that the first two pictures are not of Carter; he is not a girl. But the next six are him. Enjoy.

Carter v. The Duck

2008-05-10T15:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, so Emily has asked that I upload this video to our Blog. I'm not sure how the quality will be, but we'll give it a try. This is Carter throwing dirt at and mocking a duck while at Camp White last summer (Is Camp White going to happen again this year?).

I'll answer a couple of questions I'm sure you'll have. No, Carter usually wears more than a diaper, but he was wanting to work on his tan that day. Yes, he does appear to have a pretty good arm; too bad he hasn't developed it at all since last summer. In fact I think he's even lost a little something.

Update on The Fam

2008-05-07T23:45:00.001-07:00

Aunt Leslie has asked for a quick update on our family, so here goes…

Brandon is 7 months old, but is the size of an 18-month old kid. At least that’s the size of clothes he is wearing. The clothes come right out of Carter’s dresser and into Brandon’s. He is at the stage where he’s trying to crawl, but still can’t quite get it. He ends up scooting backwards a bit, rolls around, and then starts crying because he’s too frustrated. It’s a little sad, but quite funny. He has always been a happy, smiley boy and continues that now.

Carter is 2 ½ and is growing up a ton every day. Unfortunately for his daddy, he hasn’t developed a love for sports quite yet (although we do play ‘kick’ every now and again). He has however developed a love for reading, doing puzzles, watching Cars, and building houses out of the couch cushions. We are working on potty training and he is doing quite well. He loves wearing underwear, especially his ‘Tow Truck Mater’ undies. As for the puzzles, his favorite one now is the ‘United States of America’ puzzle (not American Idol, as he’ll remind you). He knows every state and is working on the capitals.

Emily and I are doing quite well. Emily is still working one night a week and finishing up some school work via BYU-Idaho. This, and raising two youngens, keeps her quite busy. I’m still working for the same company, Vulcan, and am enjoying that quite a bit. The occasional trip down to Portland for Blazers games and other perks have made it even better. We love our ward and the neighborhood we live in, but have been quite frustrated with the weather this winter. Who would’ve thought it would rain this much here? And we miss being closer to family.

Our dog, Chica, has not been with us for 4 years now and is missed dearly.

Mueve el Ombligo?

2008-04-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, we all know that naming your Blog appropriately is instrumental to its success, so I thought long and hard about what to name it. I mean, its almost like naming a child or choosing the name of your Halo character. After at least 45 seconds of back and forth between Emily and me, we settled on naming the Blog "Mueve el Ombligo." For those of you unfortunate enough to not understand Spanish, this directly translates to "Move the Belly Button." The significance of this song in our life is paramount. When in Chile for our first wedding anniversary, this little girl's song, titled "Mueve el Ombligo," was being played on every radio station and morning program known to Chileans. Due to its prevalence while we were there, it has been permanently imprinted in our minds and has somewhat become our song (I guess every couple is supposed to have A song, right?). And by our song, I mean I will sing the chorus line every now and again and Emily will give me a courtesy laugh. Neither of us knows the rest of the words or the name of the singer; however, the song is still very important to us. I almost get choked up thinking about it.

Ok, I decided to find the song on YouTube. Apparently the singer is Chirstell (she seems to be a big enough star to only have one name). Here is the link if you'd like to share an important part of our life.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=FITjSfAUzlk&feature=related

Enjoy.

Reason for Blogging

2008-04-20T18:04:00.000-07:00

Well, up until now I have been set against starting a Blog despite Emily's repeated attempts to get me to do so. I don't know what it is, but I have just had something against blogging. Anyway, on Friday, Emily sent me the following email, essentially forcing me to start this Blog.

Top Ten Reasons You Should Start A Blog

1. Your parents would love to see the pictures
2. Not to mention your sisters too
3. You would be really great at blogging (quote from Deborah when I told her I wanted to start a blog: "oh why don't you have Ryan do it, he would be really good at it")
4. I've heard it is super easy, it wouldn't take up much time.
5. You haven't written a family letter in a while and it would be a good way to keep everybody up to date.
6. There are lots of cute videos I would like to share with the family
7. You would have fun
8. Everyone would see how cute our kids are
9. It a good way to save our memories of our boys
10. And Number ten: YOUR WIFE WOULD REALLY LOVE YOU FOR IT!

I replied back saying that my wife should love me irregardless of whether I start a Blog or not, but due to Emily's conditional love and my desire to save our marriage, I have thus decided to start this Blog. I hope you all get some benefit from the sacrifice I am making. Enjoy.