Peninsula Camping trip August 2018

We wanted to do one last camping trip before school started and before my sister went back to
school.  We decided to go camping on the peninsula.  We drove down to Christopher's sister's house the night before to get an earlier start on the drive over since the campsites are first come first serve.
During our drive Christopher really had to go to the bathroom, Mason told him, "You better hold it like a big boy."  We don't tell him this, he came up with it all on his own, he is so funny sometimes.

After the couple hour drive we show up at the camp ground we were hoping to stay at, after we drive through a couple times and walk through the campground we confirm there are no open spots.  We head to another campground with the same result.  We get on the phone with my sister Wynne to try and find more campgrounds in the area with hopes of finding something.  After a few hours and multiple campgrounds we have no luck.  We decide to bag the camping trip but at least stop off at Ruby beach for food and to let the kids run around and play.

The beach was really cool, it was starting to get  a little cloudy and chilly but the kids had a great time in a big pool of water that wasn't too deep.  They found some big logs that they rode around like little boats.

 After a while the kids got cold so we changed their clothes and loaded back into the car with the intent to drive all the way back home.  After stopping for dinner on our way out, I was still hoping and checking with campgrounds further away if they has any spaces available.  Mason had said a prayer a little while earlier asking for us to be able to find a spot that we could camp.  Right before we passed the last of the campgrounds i called and they said they had one space available.  So we decided to chance it and hope that by the time we drove the few miles it would still be there.
Mason's prayer was answered and we did find the last spot, luckily we got there first because there was a car that followed us in that was also looking for a spot.

We quickly set up our tent and got the kids down for the night.  The next morning we were able to eat breakfast and drive over to Hurricane Ridge.

 It we walked along one of their hiking loops that was paved, easy and perfect for the kids.  It had really pretty views. For lunch we drove down to the waterfront and ate our lunch at a park by the ferry.  We went back to camp to relax for a little while before we went out to the Dungeness Spit. 

The kids had a great time throwing rocks into the water, and exploring drift wood forts.  Paige had to go potty so with Jack strapped to me I had to race her back up the trail to the road where they had bathrooms, luckily she barely made it.

We played games and the kids ran around the trees with sticks playing.

That night we had a campfire, the kids loved throwing small pieces of things into the fire and watching them burn.

On our way home we got to take a ferry over which the kids always love.  We had a fun camping trip even though it didn't go as planned and it was totally improvised.  It will always be one I remember.

Jack 5 month- Mom visit

Jack at 5 months

5 Month Comparison

Here are some things about Jack:

-Loves to eat and suck on his hands
-Rolls over his left shoulder to his stomach when he lies on the ground
-Likes to play with his feet
-Will grab toys and put them
-Will razz and makes sounds with his mouth
-Slaps his arms into his body
-Spits up a lot!
-Still loves to be held standing up and facing out
-Eats baby food like a champ
-Still won't take a binki
-Laughs when he gets wiped when I change his diaper; and sometimes when while I change his clothes
-Chokes on his spit/spit up a lot
-Likes to splash with his legs in the bath
-Makes a lot of grunting noises
-He is showing more and more personality

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We were one of the stops on my mom's month long vacation before she flies out to their new home in Hawaii.

While she was here we went hiking up to Fragrance Lake.  Paige had to go potty while we were there and I was feeding Jack so Christopher was the one to help her.  It was pretty hilarious watching him try to help position/hold her so she wouldn't pee on anything/anyone.

We had lot of time to relax and hang out, watch movies, and play some dominoes.  We also took a night to go out in the boat and drive down the lake.  Christopher and Zoe were brave enough to jump in the water even though it was a bit chilly outside.

We went on a lot of walks!
We played games, watched shows, made food, and had a great time!

Easter 2019 and other happenings

Easter this year was very low key.  The kids got baskets from the Easter Bunny and we did an egg hunt with cousins and one with some friends.  It was a nice relaxing time to think about Christ and his love for us and the joy of our family.

Also Mason got a new bike that fits him better and is very excited about going out and riding, even if he is still a little cautious after his big crash last year.  Love seeing him grow up and find new fun things to do.

My sister Zoe is staying with us again this summer and the kids and I are so happy she is here.  Hopefully the kids will ease up in a few days and not smother her to death.  

Paige was very disappointed that I had her arrival day wrong and that she wouldn't be here till the next day.  She was very sad in the grocery store. 

Work has officially begun on our fence. I am so excited and thrilled that the process is started and can't wait till it's done and we get our puppy.

Jack continues to be crazy, wild and totally amazing.  I love his endless energy and how he tries his hardest to keep up with the big kids and be like them.

Jack 4 months-M&P

Jack is 4 months old and super adorable.  He is all smiles and loves to laugh.

4 month comparison with Mason and Paige.

Here's a little about Jack at 4 months:

-he loves to eat his hands and anything else he can grab onto
-he has rolled over a few times but they were a fluke; he was on his tummy and would bobble his head and the momentum rolled him over
-sometimes after he just falls asleep he will laugh
-he loves to look at me while eating and smile or laugh
-he has started to do some louder talking and screaming noises
-he loves when Paige and Mason talk to him
-he is a great sleeper at night and will sleep from around 9:30 pm till around 4:30 or 5am; it's the best
-his naps in the daytime are usually shorter power naps around 25-30 minutes long; he wakes up from gas pains or loud noises from his siblings being crazy
-he still seems sensitive to dairy or something and will sometimes have loud painful cries, and he spits up a lot
-he is ticklish and will laugh if I tickle him under his armpits, on his belly or in his neck
-he loves his swing, it's his favorite napping place; he especially loves the music along with the swinging both of them can calm him down quick and help him fall asleep
-he does not like being held like a football, he prefers being held facing outward or standing up
-his bouncy chair animals are some of his best friends that he talks to and can grab and yell at
-we put him in the exersaucer for the first time and he liked it.  He can stand but can only keep his head stabilized for so long before he gets done.

Some fun stuff with Mason:
-He had a pretty nasty crash on his bike

It resulted in some stitches on his cheek, fat lips, and a really bloody face.  He was a champ the whole time from his crash on even when he was getting cleaned up and stitches.

Since his crash he has gotten back on his bike and continues to ask to ride; but says he won't ride on the hill he crashed on or any new gravel.

Here's his face's healing progression:

 

-I bought him new shorts for the summer and he loves them.  He was so excited to have new shorts I don't think he'll wear pants again till fall.  He must be like his dad where he wants to wear shorts and flip flops everyday
-on one of our walks to John and Debbie's there was a bunny on the trail and Mason got so excited screaming, "A bunny, I saw my first bunny!"
- He layed another year of tee ball and loved it.  Next year we need to do coaches pitch though

-he is getting close to the end of preschool, still loving school and getting to do fun things like field trips to fire stations; where he was trying to be a good big brother and keep track of Paige.  He would get frustrated when she would walk with the group of kids and not hold his hand he told me she was not being a good listener.

-He also had a little art show at his preschool to show some of the fun crafts they had made.

Paige:
-she was lucky enough to finally get to go on one of Mason's field trips and of course it was probably one of the more fun trips;  Paige loved the fire station and was brave enough to ride inside the truck with all the other kids

-she is a great big sister and always comes into our room in the morning asking about Jack if he's awake or still sleeping, and is a great car buddy talking to him or singing his songs if he's sad during our drives
-she is the biggest girly girl sometimes with dresses and pink and princeses then turn around and start fighting her princesses and growling like a tiger or dinosuar

-Paige loves to go to stores with me, and knows the stores not by their names but by what free food she can get or how big the carts are
-she is finally potty trained.  I tried back in early November and she had no grasp of the concept so we nixed it until after Jack was born then waited till we finished our traveling in March and family visits in April.  It worked out great that we started a couple days after my sister Zoe got here to stay with us for the summer, so she could help with the other kids so I could focus on Paige. It only took about a day and she got it down.  She has only had one accident since and loves being a big girl with all her princess and superhero underwear
-she loves to play in the dirt at Mason's tee ball, and build fairy houses(this is one of the cleanest she's been after his practice or a game)

Christoper is  still working hard at the Attorney General's office but is planning a transition into Labors and Industry division where hopefully the work will be more predictable and less emotionally taxing on him.  He is mountain biking as often as the weather permits and I can handle with him being gone; but of course he wishes it could be more.  He is prepping a to climb Mount Baker with the scouts in our church's young men's organization and is really excited to do that.
We are slowing making progress on our backyard, ripping out blackberry bushes, leveling ground, ripping out stumps and hoping to get it ready for the possibility of a fence for next year.