Olympic Game Farm

Let the fun begin!!!


Think he's excited to see us??


I'm here for lunch!


So cute that the bears wave back at you


These little guys would come running from the far side of the field, and Connor just LOVED them. Can't tell you how many times I'd hear him hollering, "STOP STOP STOP!!! There's more coming!!!!!"






Be careful, they lick!




GROSS!!!!!


We ended the day at a restaurant at the John Wayne Marina. (Don't worry, we washed our hands first! *grin*)

Port Gamble

The kids and I went on a road trip last week with two other moms and 5 other kids, headed to Sequim to spend time at the Olympic Game Farm. We decided to make a very short detour into Port Gamble because we'd heard it's a neat little town. We parked at the General Store, whose entire upstairs was lined with diplays of shells, crabs, seastars, various fish, etc. The kids had a BLAST checking everything out!

They were pretty fascinated by the size of the crab on the wall behind them


Emily joked that the big brownish shell in the display case she's pointing to was big enough for Charlie (our 10lb Yorkie) to fit into


Connor pointed out that this crab's claw was way bigger than his hand (and those of you who know Connor well enough, know that his hands are pretty huge for a five year old!)


Connor and I both decided we'd probably freak out if we pulled up a crab pot and that lumpy white one was in there. LOL!


I thought these Maple Leaf shells were so pretty!! I'd never even heard of them before.


Back downstairs, the kids each got $1 to spend on candy (varying in price anywhere from 2 cents to 75 cents for the most part)


With the exception of Connor, we made all the kids keep track on their own of how much the candy they were putting into their bags was worth, so they didn't go over a dollar. They each stood in line and made their own purchases as well. KUDOS to the wonderfully patient cashier who had to total out $8 worth of candy when all was said and done, and did it with a smile on her face...


This house caught my eye as soon as we pulled down the street leading to the General Store, and when it caught my eye again as we were exiting the store, I decided to just go ahead and take a picture (this is a side view).


All the kids posing in front of the Port Gamble sign

Crochet projects

Along with my new crocheting skills comes a need to recreate the adorable animal hats I keep seeing on baby heads around town this winter...

Here's my first attempt at an owl hat:


And check out the adorable head it gets to be worn by (I worried from this picture that the hat was too small, but mom Kaci assures me it's just not pulled down all the way because she was in a hurry)


Big Sis, Elly, requested a monster hat


I was trying out a new stitch with some yarn scraps, so ended up making a small carseat blanket for Emmy (pictured above, and then a close-up view of the stitch below)

Father Daughter Ball 2012

Emily and Dan attended the Father Daughter Ball over the weekend. It was their 4th year in a row. Em looks forward to going all year long, and always has a very good time. We had a RUSHED RUSHED day leading up the Ball, so I only had time to snap one quick picture before they headed out the door...


Dan found a copycat... LOL!!


Emily Grace is already making hairstyle and dress plans for next year!

I always knew they were a bunch of clowns!

Swim junkies

Jared and Connor have REALLY taken to the water over the past 8 months. They both love their swim lessons classes, and they have really gotten into their water polo lessons as well. Connor is still working out some coordination issues (major breakthrough, though, this past weekend when he finally got a good crawl-stroke rhythm going!! WOO HOO!!), but is making progress in leaps and bounds. There's really no stopping him once he sets his mind to it, and he BEGS to be in the pool as often as possible! Jared has some technique to work on, but has major endurance and some pretty impressive speed (especially considering he couldn't swim at all back in June of last year!). It has been so amazing to watch their skills improve, the interest grow, and to really just see them ENJOYING what they're doing. Emily Grace figured out by the age of 2 that dance and music were her things, but we've struggled to find something the boys are excited about. Turns out, they like the water. I can't wait to see where these two adorable little men end up!!

Showing off their new Speedos (suggested attire for water polo so they aren't battling long baggy swim trunks while trying to tread water).

Bleach T-shirts

Yet another Pinterest project!!! I made this shirt for Emily Grace as part of her Valentine's Day gift from Dan and I. She absolutely loves it, and got TONS of comments on it.


The best part? It cost me $5 for the shirt from Target, and probably about five minutes (or less!) to cut the template (using my Cricut machine), lay it on the shirt, and spray the bleach on. The turquoise shirt bleached to a light greenish color, which are very "beachy" colors and perfectly suited to the seashell images I used!

There's room for improvement, having a better idea now what I'm doing (being a little less heavy-handed with the bleach, letting the bleach dry before rinsing/washing, etc), but I'm overall really pleased! I can't wait to hit up Target for more plain t-shirts, so I can make some more. Hurray for Pinterest!