Misc Fun Summer Pics

Kristjan dressed in his elephant costume

friends having a movie night

pete with nikki and clifford

kristjan and (sleeping) zach
kristjan in a tree (look closely-his face is super dirty!)

pizza night out: kristjan, nikki, and ellie (nikki and zach's sister)
pizza night out: nikki, clifford and zach

Uncle Matt Turns 18!!!

On Sunday, July 5th, the boys and I drove down to Yakima to visit my family and celebrate my baby brother matt's 18th birthday. The boys were super excited to see everyone. We went out to dinner at El Porton and then cake and presents back at the house. Our family friend, Maria, also stopped by to celebrate and visit. Matt loved the scrapbook I made him.

UPDATE: Clifford's Bike

We were outside talking to all the parents of the neighbor kids that our boys play with. One of the boys (he's about 10 years old), overheard us talking about how Clifford's bike was taken. He asked what color it was. I described it. Next thing I know this boy is coming around the corner with Clifford's bike!!! Turns out some of the neighbor girls (which I do not like at all; they are very disrespectful and rude) had taken it and then dumped it near the office building. I was so happy to have found it.

Fourth of July 2009

Fourth of July Weekend came and went way to quick. Pete had that Friday off and he really wanted us to go family camping. So we got ourselves packed up and headed to Snoqualmie Pass. Our destination was Snow Lake. The weather was super nice and hot out (i really wanted to just lay outside by the pool). The hike itself was fine and the boys did great. Once we got to the top where you then hike down to the lake, we found out that the lake was still frozen AND there's still snow everywhere. Well, for Pete, a little bit of snow wasn't going to stop him. So we hiked down the side of the mountain in the snow. I mostly fell on my butt and slid down for a majority of it. The boys thought that was hilarious. We found a good spot and camped out overnight. Sleeping at night sucked. Pete wanted me and him to sleep outside in our bags while the boys where in the tent. We weren't out there long when we decided to climb in the tent with the boys. It was an AWFUL night. It was cramped and cold in that small tent. Plus Kristjan ended up peeing in his sleeping bag. By the next morning, I was ready to get out of there. Luckily hiking back up the snowy mountain wasn't too bad. We made good time hiking out. By the time we made it home, i think it was after 4pm. We cleaned ourselves up and went swimming at the pool. Afterwards we went to the store to pick up some food to bbq. Clifford really wanted some crab, so Pete let him pick out the crab that he wanted to eat. So we got that and a few steaks and some awesome salads and headed home. We sat in front of the tv eating some scrumptious food when the fireworks started going off. We walked down to Martha Lake to watch the fireworks for a bit, but it was still a little too light out. On our walk back home, which by then it was dark enough to really see the fireworks, people were out in the middle of the street just shooting off the fireworks they bought. It was fun to watch.

Pretty Lousy

So this pic is Clifford on his first bike. I found it at goodwill for him. All we had to do was put on some training wheels. He was just getting pretty good at riding it when I noticed yesterday that someone stole it!!! Some time between 1pm and 4pm, someone took the bike while it was sitting right in front of our patio. We were home and you could see the bike through the sliding door. But sometime when our backs were turned, someone swiped it. It's stupid too because one of the training wheels had fallen off and is still sitting on the patio. Whatever. Hopefully here soon we can go and boy both boys a new bike. We'll just make sure to buy a lock for the bikes. And we only had this bike for about a few weeks.

Some Miscellaneous Pictures

Talapus Lake

Clifford and Pete went out on another backpacking trip. This time was to Talapus Lake up on Snoqualmie Pass. Pete said the road was washed out so they had to hike a few extra mile or two to reach the trailhead. Overall Pete was impressed with Clifford. They were both happy boys going out in the woods.

My Little Monkeys

So the boys have discovered a little tree outside in which they can climb (Clifford is actually the only one who can actually climb up it. Kristjan tries but doesn't make it very far).

Clifford's New Girlfriend

The boys have recently made some awesome new friends, Nikki and her little brother Zach. Nikki is five, very outgoing and talkative and loves to collect caterpillars. Zach is three, loves dinosaurs and is quieter than his sister. They are both super cute and super nice. Their mom is a single mom and her name is Sarah. Pete and I joke that Nikki is Clifford's new girlfriend. Other than a cousin, this is the only girl we have ever seen him drop everything for to go play with. And the first time they met, she was collecting caterpillars for her "jungle" she had created. The boys and her hit it off immediately.

Clifford's First Overnight BackPacking Trip

Pete took Clifford on his first ever overnight backpacking trip. They headed up to Mount Baker and did one of the trails off from there. Pete said Clifford did an excellent job hiking. His favorite part of the trip was after they made camp, Pete made some hot apple cider. When Clifford came home, that was the first thing he told me "mom, we had hot apple cider. it was yummy!"