Puyallup Fair

We got to go to the Puyallup Fair again this year. Since Scott's family works the costume characters we got to go Friday afternoon for the character parade/tractor ride, Scott and I got to go again late Friday night after we put the kids to bed (thanks Mom and Dad for babysitting) and then as a family on Saturday.

above: Matthew and Grandpa

the tractor ride parade

Cameron had the same "scowl" look the whole time, but at the end when I asked him if he had fun, he told me he did. Matthew waved and smiled the entire time (and asked Grandma a million questions) as she walked beside the tractor.

with a giant pumpkin... not sure about Cameron's face?

Cameron found a really soft octopus that he wanted a picture with...

going on rides... I wonder if Cameron will ever be not such a scaredy cat... but he loved the rides he picked

Cameron has been looking forward to cotton candy for a whole year...

We saw there was going to be a pirate show, so not realizing what it was we sat down on the bleachers a little bit before the show was supposed to start (and Scott had finally gotten Brandon to fall asleep in the stroller--he was being rather grumpy). Well, apparently it was a show where kids dress up/participate, so our kids got costumes on and waited for their time to perform. Meanwhile, Brandon woke up after a very short nap (and was being very grumpy) and Cameron decided he was bored/his costume was itchy. So we couldn't wait for the show to be over... I think Matthew had fun? Let's just say what we thought would be a fun thing turned into a bit of a disaster.

Trying to figure out what to do with Brandon while we waited for the show to be over...

Poor Brandon's eyes are so puffy

And the fair wouldn't be complete without a yummy lunch

Poor Brandon is getting his back molars right now and was pretty miserable. 

Despite the few rough patches, we had a great time and and the kids are already talking about next year.

Looking back on last year's pictures, it is hard to believe how small Brandon was just a year ago. 

Cameron's 4th Birthday

Cameron turned four on Tuesday. It was a little quiet since Matthew had school in the morning. But Cameron and I still managed to have fun playing with play dough and coloring during Brandon's nap.

Some cousins, aunts and uncles and Grandma & Grandpa Crane came over in the evening to celebrate.

Happy Birthday Cameron!

Let the schedules begin!

Well, it is official. I am now a “school mom.” As excited as I have been about Matthew starting kindergarten, I have been a little weary of being tied down to a schedule. I have enjoyed my freedom and flexibility of a stay at home mom and am a little sad to give it up. (But I guess not sad enough to home school.) I hear half day kindergarten is the biggest hassle as far as schedules are concerned—but one definite plus to Washington is the free school buses. I never rode a bus to school, in California you had to pay extra, so my mom took us (or carpooled). In a way I have more flexibility-- I don’t have to load up all the kids two times a day to drop off Matthew and pick him up—and if ever I am out and want to pick him up I can just call the school. I don’t know, I guess I am warming up to the idea as Brandon is upstairs asleep and Cameron is at the kitchen table drawing pictures of dinosaurs.

When I met with Matthew’s teacher last week and mentioned he would be riding the bus to school she suggested that he start riding the bus on the first day to get used to the schedule. She said maybe I would like to drive behind the bus and then I could wave to him when he got off the bus. That seemed a bit silly to me, so I decided to do something else instead. On Friday morning I loaded up the kids in the car and we all followed the bus on the route (all but kindergarten started last week). After following the bus all the way to school and pointing out to Matthew where he would get off, etc. he seemed ready and excited to ride the bus to school on the first day.

This morning I pretty much had to force Matthew out of bed at 7:20am. I was hoping the excitement of the first day of school would make him not be such a sleepy head—no luck. I carried him down to the table and got him Rice Krispies which he took about 20 min. to eat. I think the excitement started to come because he was able to get dressed and brush his teeth by himself without getting distracted too many times. I got the other boys dressed and we headed over to the bus stop. Matthew pushed Brandon in the stroller and Cameron ran ahead crazy. Hopefully we didn’t wake up too many neighbors because I had to raise my voice a bit since Cameron was really out of control running all over the road—oh why are there no sidewalks?? When the bus came (at 8:20), Matthew climbed right on. And since he is the only kid at his stop the bus driver is going to stop in front of our court starting tomorrow—that will be nice!

Well, it is hard to believe Matthew is old enough to be in kindergarten… and that from now until my youngest graduates from high school I’ll be tied to the school schedule. Yikes! Let the schedules begin!

hiking in Capital State Forest

On Saturday morning we decided to take the kids for a hike in Capital State Forest. It was our first time exploring that area and the kids had a blast.

 We found some huckleberry bushes and the kids loved picking the berries and eating them. Brandon would pick a berry then walk to the bench, climb up next to Scott and eat it. Then he would climb down and go get another one and do it all again.