Halloween Festivities

First came the carving with friends:

 

Our friend Henry - his dad is famous for his witches brew.

Next came early week trick or treating at Gigi & Popi's:

Then came the actual DAY and pics:

Annamarie, Tyler, Carter

 

All silly

And a party with Enzo:



Carter, Enzo, Tyler

Ending with- of course - neighborhood trick or treating:

Meeting Leif

Travis and I took the boys up to Seattle a few weekends ago to meet our new cousin Leif.  What a treat!!  We love you little Leif!!

Carter with Leif and Aunt Janna



Happy Parents



Tyler & Ruby (their dog who "named him") and Travis and Leif



Carter and me on their porch overlooking the sound.  Beautiful!



Uncle Zan playing rock paper scissors with Carter for Fizzy Water.  Hysterical.





He then followed by building them a fort and telling them ghost stories about "Satachamow"- sorry if I botched the spelling Zan:)
Great uncle they have! Leif is in for some good times with his Dad.



Tyler (left in brown) and Carter checking out the ferries heading to Whidbey.



We then spent the day in Seattle with the boys hitting up the market and museum.

Carter (Red "Dragon") / Tyler (Green "Dragon")



Me- Riding the high bike & Tyler with the anemones



Carter and Tyler LOVED the butterfly room at the museum and they loved them.



 

Tyler & Daddy

 

Tyler vs. Carter

Well, today marks the day when I think Annamarie officially can tell the difference between her brothers- perhaps better than Tyler and Carter even can looking at pictures.  Travis had her on his lap this morning and called me in as he went down recent blog posts.  She got right all but one picture.  She would pause, look, and be quite certain.  And if she wasn't certain she whispered, still being correct.  Interesting after Tyler looked at 4 exact same pictures of himself and claimed two were Carter.  One very perceptive little girl.

Paddle Boarding

Uncle Michael giving Tyler, Carter & his dog Bartley a ride.

 Thank you Uffelman Cousins (especially Kylie for letting us use her board so much) for the day on the river.  First time Paddle boarding - SO FUN!  I just love being on the water.  And Camden and Holden were so good about sharing their boards too.  Thank you boys!  Your cousins love you.

Me and my Tyler

Tyler loved rowing.  The boys were finally got gutsy in the end and were able to stand.

preschool

The first day of preschool was a breeze.  The boys were so excited to see Mrs. Blair and even let me (somewhat) comb their hair.

Carter left, Tyler right



Carter & Tyler soooo excited

Carter & Tyler hitting the halls... you can see who wants to cause the trouble.

Mrs. Blair got her hands quickly on the boys... they love her... she loves them-  We are very lucky for such a great teacher.

Labor Day Hike

We went to Falls Creek in Carson, Washington for Labor Day with our cousins and Gigi & Popi.  A bit of a drive and trek, but oh my- just gorgeous.  The falls are quite the site.  Thanks Mike & Kylie for the hike!  Great pick.

 

Cousin boys:  Tyler, Carter, Camden, Holden



All giggles cousin girls Elena &Annamarie

 

picture doesn't capture the beauty- you have to hike it to see.

9 Fish

 

Carter (left) showing off a hard mornings work

 

We had a wonderful morning fishing last weekend and found a little hotspot on the island and Hornings Hideout.  Travis and I reminisced about the quiet date we had back in the days of dating when now it has become of the Disneyland of fishing in the area.  Much busier but very fun.  The boys got a ton of attention from the other fisherfams as they strutted out with their 9 fish.  The secret: the island... and a little whisper "here fishy fishy"...

the victory march (tyler)

tyler all smiles

Trainers are Off

I thought it would be this fun, monumental day of holding onto the seat, letting go, running along their side cheering, the immediate falls and "momma!!" cries, it all... instead they asked for their wheels off- I didn't even hesitate to wait for Travis cause I thought it wouldn't happen... and they rode off.  That was that.  My boys are growing up.
 

Tyler

Carter

 

 

Happy 60th Birthday Aunt Joanie!!!

Carter, Joan, Tyler, Camden

Wishing my very special, thoughtful, stylish, fun (the list goes on) aunt a very happy 60th birthday.  I have fond memories of the many outings Joan (always Joanie to me) has taken me on, starting from when I was very little.  A favorite: staying with her all by myself (yay no brothers!) as she took me shopping for my first ever (and only) charm necklace- which were VERY cool back in the day- all plastic with the cutest charms ever.  I adored it and we had so much fun spending time together.   I remember being all smiles and just a happy little girl. 
We all love you Aunt Joanie!

We had a big picnic celebration for her last weekend at my mom's family's ol' stomping grounds- Mt. Tabor Park. 

with the great-nephews and nieces

  I have always said in my next life I want to be Joan's dog.  Quite the life.  Had to sneak a shot when I caught her feeding Jack her cake :)

 

Joan and Jack

Annamarie and Lani helping her open up her gift

Neat quote... "To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time" - Clara Ortega

Whole bunch of aunts, uncles, cousin, dogs :)  and our Nana.

My dad, mom, Mike and Janet (in back), Joan, Mary Ann and Jim in front.

Nana with her kids

Popi love

Lani love

 

oh my- already trying to give me a pouty pose- funny this is all they could muster.  It's all laughs with these two around each other.

 

Case in point, trying to tackle Popi together

Fair Fun

So last year we went to the fair and it was all about the horses, goats, bunnies, etc.  This year the boys discovered the reptile tent, and oh my, did not want to leave.  A dream come true for Carter to see a REAL Gila Monster and of course his favorite: frogs.  And for Tyler, he got to pet a crocodile.  Doesn't get any better than that.

Carter and the Gila

petting the croc

waiting to go on the rollercoaster with momma.  we got the front!  so fun.

And of course they sweet-faced their way into getting in a cage to pet a pig.  This one only SIX MONTHS OLD!  Can't tell by the pic but it was seriously HUGE.