Saltwater State Park

Sunday afternoon Keri and I loaded up the four kids and headed to Saltwater State Park in Des Moines. We had an awesome day full of outdoor fun. We started on the playground, but that didn't last long.

Four kids + four buckets = happiness
Beautiful view from the beach. I didn't catch it on film but you could see Mt. Constance peeking out over the clouds.

The sun was out and everyone got good and wet. I love that we live 10 minutes from salt water: how lucky are we!

Next we changed into tennis shoes and headed out for a hike. There is a great trail that circles all around the park, including some elevation gain. However, it was a lot muddier than we predicted, and by the end we were caked, yes CAKED in mud. It was awesome. The kids were troopers and hiked the whole way like champs.

Messy, Tidy

I know this is quite a boring post for the blog, but my "big spill" of the weekend was so impressive I thought it deserved a photo. Yes, that is an exploded can of Pepsi next to my grocery bags in the kitchen. I wasn't exactly planning to mop the kitchen floor on a Saturday night, but that's how it turned out.

However, in a cleaning victory: I FINALLY organized our gloves, hats, and scarves into boxes in our coat closet. It only took me six years to get to this project.

A day at Hec-Ed

We spent pretty much all of Saturday at Hec-Ed, starting with watching the alumni game for former Husky women's basketball players. Seeing players my age brick up 3's made me feel much better about my own athletic demise. Here's Monica ready for the day and armed with her pink basketball:

To kill time between the alumni game and the real game (Huskies vs.WSU), the kids and I explored the arena while Anton pulled out his books to study. We climbed to the very top row, which the kids thought was SO cool. Monica said, "I wish we could have seats up HERE!"

As one of several promos for the day, Monica got her face painted. They also had a poster-coloring station and free purple and gold pom-poms.

And BONUS: Monica met Governor Gregoire and posed for this photo. See? A reason to attend basketball games even if you're not a sports fan. At least if you're a Democrat.

Birthday Cupcakes

Here are a couple photos from the day that Monica and Eva brought cupcakes to class for their birthdays. Unfortunately my camera battery was dying but I did get a couple:

Ikea Trip

Several weeks ago we made an Ikea trip to look at some furniture and pick up a few smaller items. It was Jack's first time in the play area (the kids have to be at least 3 and fully potty trained). He LOVED the ball room, as you can tell:

Monica, however, decided she would rather stay with the girls and go shopping. I love Ikea for their low prices, family-friendliness, and the fact that you can stay for the whole day and no one gets bored!

Krazy Kids (and a kazoo)

Monica's 7th Birthday: Part 4

After the Locks, we headed to Red Robin for dinner with ALL of Monica's grandparents. She enjoyed opening gifts, eating cheese pizza, and finally: having the restaurant staff sing to her and deliver an ice cream sundae!

Monica's 7th Birthday: Part 3

Today (Monica's REAL birthday) we took advantage of the 60 degree sunny day and headed to the Locks with Nanie and Grandpa Gordon.

No fish on the fish ladder yet!

The boys getting wet on the footbridge:

Look at all the boats!

Nanie and Monica watching from above:

Monica's 7th Birthday: Part 2

After bowling we all walked across the street to Azteca for lunch. Almost all of the kids ordered grilled cheese or chicken strips, but at least Anton and I enjoyed some Mexican cuisine.

Monica opened her gifts and we had ice cream sundaes for dessert. Happy birthday, Monica!

Monica's 7th Birthday: Part 1

For her kids' birthday party, Monica wanted to go REAL bowling. So we took two carloads of kids over to Hi-Line lanes this morning.

Ready to bowl:
A little difficult to bowl in a dress: Kyle's got the form down:

Abigail shows her stuff (but thank goodness for the bumpers):

Alice scored the highest with an 88. Almost every kid got a spare at some point and one bowled a strike. It was fun to watch how each of them figured it out (pushing, rolling, slinging...)
They all had a great time. Anton and I pretty much got to sit back and watch the action. At one point I turned to him and said, "This must be what having septuplets is like!" He just glared at me.

Hooray for bowling!

Sunny Walk

The weather has been unusually warm for this time of year. Even one of the trees on our block is already in full bloom. One of the days I was home with Jack alone last week we went for a walk around the loop. Jack has several special spots he likes to be sure to visit on this walk.

Off we go:

Climbing up the rock wall:

Walking along the rock wall:

Playing on the BIG rock:

Dropping twigs in the storm drain:

And finally, getting the mail:

Busy little guy!

Sledding Part 2

After enough snowballs had been thrown, we found a couple great sledding runs perfect for young kids (and "big kids" too).

Monica and Kyle LOVED to wipe-out!

2.5 people on this sled:

Little man on little sled:

Sledding part 1

Yeterday we headed up to the pass with the Martins for some fun in the snow. We had the sleds all ready to go, but the kids were just as happy to start the dayout with a snowball fight and a few "sleds" on their bottoms!