My Birthday Celebration!

It was a great birthday this year. It started with Mike getting up with the boys while I slept in until 9am! It was such a nice start to the day. We had lunch and then birthday cake before heading out to the water park.

Seven Peaks Water Park

Austin loved the water and was fascinated by the bubbles.

Dylan had a great time. However, he is more timid when it comes to water. He also seems to shiver constantly no matter what the water temp. It was a very hot day and the water was at least 80+ degrees and he still shivered! After only 30 minutes he took off his swim suit to get dry! Of course, he wanted right back in the water 10 minutes later. He also had a scare when he rode down the kiddie slide and briefly went under the 24 inches of water at the bottom. No more water slides after that!

Mike was the adventurer and braved the steepest slide. We had fun watching from a safe distance.

Unfortunately, I parked Austin a little too close and as you can see he was splashed pretty good by the slide. I didn't realize there was so much spray at the bottom! As usual, our little trooper took it in stride and never even fussed.

Here is Mike again. The big slides are thrilling, but they caused pain in his back. I don't think he will try this again until Dylan and Austin can go!

Dylan Says, "Happy Birthday Mommy!"

This is a short video testing out my new digital camcorder. Dylan is the star of the show. It was pretty late when we decided to test it so Austin was already in bed. Look for more videos now that I have a more user friendly camcorder!

A Day at Lagoon Amusement Park

The Naval Reserve Center hosted our annual family day at the local amusement park. We figured that Dylan was a little older this year and would at least try some of the kiddie rides. Boy were we wrong! For some reason our fearless scooter rider is scared of the miniature train, carousel and even the miniature cars! He was excited at first, but quickly changed his mind once he heard the loud noises coming from the rides. At least there was a water park area and he had fun in the kiddie section. Though it still took a long time before he would even go down one of the little water slides. Once he got the hang of it, he begged to go down the big tube water slides, but we had to explain he wasn't tall enough. Try explaining that! He cried and cried! Austin was a real trooper the whole day. He mostly just kicked back in the stroller and people watched. He is so much more relaxed than Dylan at this age. It is amazing how different siblings are!

Austin watching the action at the water park.



Kicking back!


Dylan crashing another Navy family's picnic lunch.




Little Austin gracing us with a sweet smile after a nap.


This is the first ride Dylan tried and he was totally excited at first and ran to jump in the car early. However, as soon as the car moved away he started freaking out and cried for the rest of the short trip.

Mike consoles Dylan after the traumatic car ride!



Dylan anxiously awaits the fun house ride with Mike.

Compare Dylan on the carousel last year to his adventure at the fun house this year. Not much has changed!

Dylan dying to get off after the ride!

He was quickly calmed once he had some ice cream!

Dylan proudly holds the first stuffed animal he won when he picked three ducks from a running stream of water.

Rub a Dub Dub...

Baby Austin and big brother Dylan shared their first bath, sort of. Mike was bathing Austin and Dylan just couldn't wait for his bath. He proceeded to tear off his clothes and jump into the empty portion of the tub! He loves watching Austin in the baby tub and even tried to get in with him. He also enjoyed blowing bubbles in the water with a straw. Austin did not seem to mind the disruption and is clearly comfortable with Dylan involved in almost every aspect of his life now. I can't wait for them to share a real bath. It's obvious that Dylan is just dying for a playmate!

Also, check out how big Austin looks compared to Dylan! Believe it or not, Dylan had a very similar body type at that age. He just slimmed down as he grew. I don't think he could keep much weight on him considering his HIGH activity level!

Summer Days

Today we all enjoyed a day in the backyard pool. It was Austin's first time in the pool and he really loved it. Although it is extremely hot here now, highs in the upper nineties, we used our hot tub water to fill the pool. It actually makes it quite nice and easy to sit in for long periods of time compared to the frigid water that comes from the tap.

4th of July

We enjoyed a wonderful 4th of July this year. We started out the day at the neighborhood/church breakfast and kids bike parade. The kids decorated their bikes and rode them around the church. It was very cute. Dylan is still a little young to participate in the parade, but he loved watching the other kids. At the breakfast, Mike and I met another couple who had a child with a cleft palate. It was nice to talk to a neighbor with some of the same experiences.

Later in the day we went to a neighbors house for a barbecue. They had a cool bouncer for the kids and Dylan had a great time. The little girl in the wagon with Dylan was quite the spitfire and loved grabbing and pinching Dylan's cheek. Dylan cried at first and then just learned to keep his distance. It is fun to watch him learn how to interact with other kids. He is also very resourceful and would ask older kids to help him pour his drink rather than ask us. Austin slept for the first part and then enjoyed watching the activities after we ate.

At the end of the day, we set off a few fireworks in our front yard. Be sure to watch the attached video. Dylan loved the fireworks, but was fairly cautious about getting too close. He was also nervous about holding the sparklers when they were being lit and when they were about to burn out. Austin was in the Baby Bjorn during the fireworks and was only scared of the loud noises. As long as Mike covered his ears he was OK. The kids were finally in bed around 9:30 pm. It was a very long day, but a lot of fun!










Here is the short video of our front yard fireworks. Enjoy!

Waterslide Adventures!

We just set up our new Little Tikes waterslide. Dylan and our neighbors had a great time! The mountain water is a little too cold so we added warm water from our hot tub and the kids loved it.

Annual Bob Lane Party

We had our annual "Bob Lane" party this week. All our neighbors gathered together for food and fun! There is usually a big water fight at the end of the meal, but the hosts this year removed the hoses from the backyard. It was a great time despite not getting soaked!

Father's Day

We enjoyed a wonderful Father's Day celebration at Boondocks Fun Center. Our boys are lucky to have you for their Dad! Thank you for all that you do. We love you!