Show and Tell

Sam and Laura had show and tell in preschool this week. I stayed to take pictures (because I am a mom and baby is growing up too fast, so I have to document). It was so fun to see him playing with the other kids, going over the weather and day of the week, and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Sam made up his own clues for his show and tell and did a really good job talking to the class. He doesn't know all the kids by name yet, so it was funny to see him call on Laura, Aubrey May and Aubrey Nicole because he always talks about the two Aubreys in his class.

1. You can read it.

2. It tells a story.

Can you guess?

Sam shared his copy of Santa's Stowaway. He shared how his daddy wrote and illustrated the book. How the main elf was named after him and the book was dedicated to him. He did such a good job! What a big boy.

And it is still cooler than a toy dinosaur.

Gone Fishin'

Brandon brought home this beautiful salmon this morning. He looks so yummy! (clarification: the fish looks yummy)

Children's Museum

Nothing like a room full of toys and water to keep two boys entertained for hours.

Puyallup Fair 2009

We were able to go to the fair again, this time bringing Brandon and Grandpa and Grandma Dorman. We saw animals, went to rodeo races, got face painting, Sam rode some rides and preformed in a little play. Of course, we had to grab an elephant ear on the way out. And that was the cherry on top of my fair experience.

Canning

This year was my first time canning. And I kinda like it. Well at least I like looking at all the pretty jars sitting on my table when I am done. It is a lot of work and so time consuming, but look how pretty they are.

With the help of my mom, we were able to can peaches, pears, pickles, jam and salsa. Next on the list applesauce, possibly more pears and relish.

Mischief

Jackson has been the king of getting into trouble lately. Climbing on the table, getting in the bathtub fully dressed, throwing everything he can in the toilet, swimming in orange juice on the kitchen floor, and everything else in between. He is constantly keeping us smiling, busy and.... cleaning.

To Do:

If you didn't make it to the bookstore today, mark it on your to do list for tomorrow....

Check out/ Buy Brandon's book

This is Brandon's first book he has illustrated AND written. We are so proud of him! And Sam loves that the main character and book were dedicated to him. Even more than a toy dinosaur. It came out in bookstores today. I will even make it easy for you and you can order here.

Question

I am teaching a mini class on photography next week. I have about 15 minutes to do an overview on photography. Kinda hard to squeeze it all down. So my question to you is what would you want to learn about? What are your photography questions? Let me know, so I have an idea of what to share. Cause right now I am a little stumped at where to start.

Unattended

First Day of Preschool

Today was Sam's first day of preschool. He has been so excited and talking about it for months. He loves his Transformer backpack which he picked out himself and his teacher, Mrs. Bronson.

He asked if he gets to ride in a school bus. I answered, "Of course! It is blue."

Since when did he get so big?

Camping with the Forreys

We were able to go to Fort Stevens State Park and Seaside, OR for a weekend camping with the Forreys. We love getting together with the Forreys. The kids all loved playing games with Brandon and the "pow wow glove." He is a good sport for hanging out with the kids while we cleaned up or were getting ready for our next adventure.

The next afternoon we headed to Seaside. We hit up an antique car show and the beach. The weather was perfect. I am used to the Washington beaches where sweatshirts are always a good idea and this weekend we were shedding our layers.

Sam, Maci and Jacob were having fun running in the shallow water. I saw a wave take out Maci and then proceeded to knock over Sam and Jacob and roll them up the beach. The kids came out of the water looking like this...

They didn't really have any interest to go back into the water again. In fact, later a wave came up the beach surprisingly fast, getting a lot of people's stuff wet. It didn't reach where we were headquartered, but came up so fast and far that we were all talking about it. Sam freaked out, yelled he couldn't find his monster truck, grabbed whatever toys he could and took off up to the boardwalk. Can we say traumatized? Dramatic?

I love camping food. S'mores galore, sausage and bisquits on a stick, dutch oven chicken and rice and omelets in a bag. And for Jackson everything was seasoned with sand.

You know you are tuckered out when you can sleep through screaming kids, cars driving by and general commotion. Especially when your bed gets picked up and moved ten feet and you wake up one hour later.

Looking forward to next year.

Puyallup Fair

Bekah and I braved the crowds and took the kids to the opening (free) day of the Puyallup Fair. We had a chance to check out some booths, the giant vegetables, animals and a quick visit to Africa. All the fun wore them down as running slowed to pleas of being carried or jumping in the stroller. Ice cream bars and lemonade slushies gave us just enough energy to make it back to the car and home to head off camping. What a busy day. But oh so fun.

Labor Day Adventures

For Labor Day we wanted to take the boys on an "adventure." I had heard about some tide pools with lots of starfish and sea creatures not too far from our house. So we packed up for the day and headed to the beach. Unfortunately, we didn't see much more wildlife than dogs. But the boys enjoyed playing in the sand, throwing rocks, carving their names in the clay wall, exploring the beach, and Sam found a piece of kelp that he carried around the rest of the day as a snake.

Pirate ship in the park.

Goal accomplished when we headed down to the waterfront and saw a jellyfish, starfish and someone caught a crab. And Sam insists on seeing the firefighters and fireboat every time.

Cemeteries and Monuments

These are the last of and forgotten photos from Utah. We visited Grandpa and Grandma Koontz's gravestone. And got to see the rest of dad's family while we were there. Then a quick trip to "This is the Place." When I say quick I mean before we melted in the heat.

This one is for you Jilly....