Batting Practice

The boys had a little game of baseball one afternoon. Sam is surprisingly good at hitting the ball. I love to hear the crack of the bat and his laughter when he sees how high or far it went. Just not when he hits the ball into the gutter.

our little slugger

how can you not fall in love with this kid?

obviously not every ball is a hit...this one got him smack on the head

daddy all prepped to pitch

Superheroes

Always leaping into action

and we are head over heels in love with them!

Lolo Visits

We were so busy during the wedding we didn't really get any photos with Lolo and Lin. So we took advantage of Lolo's layover on his way home from the Philippines.

sam, lolo, emily, jackson

the girls and great grandsons with lolo

lola, sam, lolo, emily, jackson

Buckley Log Show

Even though my family has lived in Enumclaw for almost 15 years, this year was my first time really going to the Buckley Log Show. I thought the boys would enjoy all the log sawing and climbing competitions, semi trucks and booths. But really all they wanted to do was look at the trucks. And later when Grandpa was around, climb on the trucks. We did see some big tractors, loggers fall off the logs and into the water and enjoy the sun.

mom and me:: jillian, melissa and jackson

jackson and grandpa jan enjoying their tractors

sam in a semi go kart :: me and two very tired boys

Snacking

Jackson had been playing with some chap stick. I guess he was hungry. Yuck. I can't imagine that tasted good.

I wish I had a camera...

...when Sam and Jackson are laying in bed. Sam is telling Jackson stories and singing him songs to help Jackson fall asleep.

...when Sam jumps around the corner with an empty wrapping paper roll as a gun. Then Jackson mimics with two hangers and my cell phone.

...when I am ironing shirts, but don't have anywhere to hang them up, so I tell Brandon to smell the shirt and he ends up hanging them up. This continues for about ten shirts, with Brandon sniffing them all, before Brandon asks why he is supposed to be smelling them all... because I don't want to get out of my chair.

...when Sam and Jackson were whispering secrets and giggling in the corner.

Messy Fun

We have been working to get the backyard summer ready, which included moving the planter boxes and getting rid of all of the gravel I have HATED for the last three years. We finally have the plot sod ready. The boys love to help... and jump in the mud!

Congratulations Jillian!

Another gorgeous Koontz girl graduates from high school. The boys and I were able to go to graduation and then enjoy time with the family eating fried ice cream or "really cold meatballs" at Mazatlan. Congrats to our favorite aunt Jilly!

Tuckered Out

Happy Birthday Jackson

We celebrated Jackson and his turning two this week. He didn't realize that it was his special day, but by that evening whenever someone would say "Happy Birthday" he would finish with "to you!"

We had a little fish party with three of his friends. He has been obsessed with Finding Nemo lately. Even though we had a couple of games planned the biggest hit was the inflatable pool full of balloons, a homemade ball pit if you will. So we let the kids go to town. And they did.

The rest of the day was low key and we continued the celebrations the next day with more presents and cupcakes.

Pinewood Derby

Brandon and the Young Men held a "no rules" pinewood derby this week. My boys were so excited and since dad was in charge they were allowed to participate. Sam worked on his plans for his car for days. Brandon told him to think of something heavy to put on it. The next morning he came to me with scotch tape and a variety of toys. All the toys were things that in reality would have been heavy if they weren't a toy: a treasure chest, pirates, a canon, etc. Then he changed strategies and tried to tape on items that were really fast: a hot wheel car and a stuffed cheetah.

The night before all three boys decorated their cars.

Jackson's attention span quickly went from painting his car to giving himself a tattoo.

While Sam had great ideas about how to weigh down his car, Brandon helped him with the final product. Sam was so excited about racing his car with the big boys.

These are most of the cars that raced that night. There were a couple late comers that didn't make it in the photo.

Sam won the race and this smile was permanently on his face for the rest of the night. While Brandon ultimately took home first place for all the races.

He is already talking about what he is going to do for his next pinewood derby.

It is starting to look like summer

Someday the boys are going to kill me for putting this on here.

Stuck

I don't know how Jackson got himself in this rare predicament, but like any good mother I grabbed the camera to document it for history sake. We were able to get his free and he hasn't trapped himself in a chair since.