Wildwood

Every summer when we go to the shore we always make a point to head to Wildwood for an evening.  Evan loves the ride, and the food is an attraction in and of itself!  Alexis was too little for most rides but she did get to ride on a few like this train.

All three of us got in the flying elephant ride.

One of the hi-lights of the evening for Evan (besides riding on the tram car) was seeing Mr. Frosty. He recognized the song for the ice cream place from all the watching of ice cream truck videos he'd done on youtube. He was one happy guy (of course the ice cream didn't hurt).

I'd say another year, another successful trip to Wildwood.

Sesame Place

Next stop on our journey was Sesame Place.  When we were here last it was miserably hot and crowded.  This time it was only just hot and there were way less people around.  We got a cabana to serve as our home base -- and that really helped.  First up was the water rides.

Evan loved going down all the water slides. Next it was off to the parade where we got a meet and greet with the characters. Elmo was mobbed at first but we eventually caught up with the fuzzy red guy.

We also saw a few more of his friends. Alexis didn't seem phased by the big characters like some kids are. Evan loved it too. We had a good time watching the parade but after it was over we headed over to some of the dry rides. Evan got Jill to go on the bouncer.

We rode tons more rides - the carousel, the super grover roller coaster, the swings, and more.  We wound up staying real late because everyone was having such a great time.

To top it all off, we hit the Cracker Barrel restaurant for dinner (first time for any of us at one of these).  We returned home tired, but having had a fantastic day.

Uncle Jeff's

Since we were in Philly we had to check out Uncle Jeff's new apartment in the city.  Evan kept looking around for candy, which he eventually found.  Then we headed out for a fun family dinner.  It was great to see Jeff in his new place.

Chocolate world

We all headed out to Philadelphia to celebrate Aunt Jennifer's wedding and extended it into a fantastic vacation.  We headed to chocolate world to check out the wonderful world of Hershey.  Needless to say it was a hit and lots of chocolate was consumed.

Evan wanted to eat the big peanut butter cup - but this was just the precursor to make your own chocolate bar.  We all suited up in our aprons.

and waited in line. We each got to choose toppings for our bar on a computer screen.  Then a robot ran our chocolate bar down an assembly that deposited the toppings of our choice, enrobed the whole thing in chocolate and cooled it.

Next we designed packaging on a computer which was printed on the boxes after the bars were all finished.

it was quite an amazing experience. Next it was on to the trolly ride around the city of Hershey, learning about its history. Last, we went on the chocolate ride (twice, by popular demand). Alexis loved the singing cows..

All in all it was a fantastic trip!

Alexis Loves Smoothies

I should have figured but two trips to Jamba Juice in the past week have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that Alexis loves a smoothie.  I present to you the following cute evidence:

Father's Day

For Father's day this year we all got dressed up and went to brunch at the Space Needle.

After living in Seattle his entire life this was Evan (and Alexis') first trip up to the top.  After a tasty brunch we went outside and played I Spy with all the Seattle landmarks.  Evan of course was looking for (and found) the streetcar.

Then we went home and I opened my fantastic presents (my favorite beef jerky and a haircut from my favorite barber) and looked at my cards.  I had a great, relaxing day with everyone.  Thanks so much.

Mariners Game

Jill, Evan and I went to a Mariners game (we figured Alexis was a bit too young and that it would be a special event for Evan to go by himself).  For Father's day Evan got us matching Mariners shirts.  The game was against Philadelphia and Jill wore her Phillies shirt.  First, we suited up for the game.

When we got there we found our seats and began to watch the game.

But it wasn't too long until I was sent for a lemonade and some hotdogs.  Evan saw and really wanted cotton candy but we resisted.  Evan didn't really get the game - I guess we're going to have to watch some baseball at home and do more explaining.  He did enjoy himself though.  We took a break part way through the game at the in stadium playground.  We also found time to meet up with the Mariner Moose.

On the way back to our seats Evan finally got that cotton candy he wanted so bad.

We stayed for the entire and Seattle won!  Evan's already asking to go back, but we're pretty sure it's for the food.  Maybe next summer in DC!

Evan's swim lessons

The past few weeks Evan has gone to swim lessons every day.  I've taken him a few times and let me be the first to say wow - he's gotten so much better!  He can go under water and pick up toys, he kicks and even swims with his arms.

When he does a great job his teacher lets him go down the water slide -- which he loves.

I'm very proud of the progress he's made. We may have a little swimmer on our hands!

Oh Alexis!

One morning I came into Alexis's room to find her completely naked.  She had taken off her PJs and her diaper.  Very funny.  It happened again a few days later.  This time it wasn't so funny and lead to this (figure it out yourself):

Ever since then we've been putting her to bed in a onesie and pants.  So far it's stymied her, though she has taken off her pants a few times.

Riding Bikes

It's summer time now and Seattle has actually been quite nice.  Jill and I decided it was time for Evan to get a "big boy bike".  I took him to the bike shop a few weeks ago and got him a bike with training wheels.  We got home and he could barely make it down the alley.  Lucky for us he's loving it and riding every day.  Believe it or not he's way way better already!  He's working on building up his stamina but he can ride quite some way now and he's good at steering and using the breaks.  I bring Alexis along on Evan's old tricycle and she loves it.  She's just riding now but I'm sure it won't be long until she wants to pedal.

Pudding Painting

I took Alexis to Sweet Pea this Friday and we were both in for a surprise.  Instead of our regular craft time the teacher decided that the kids would "paint with pudding".  Alexis was real tentative at first but she got into it after a while and was up to her elbows in it.  Eventually some got into her mouth and form that point on she decided the best plan of attach was to shovel as much as she could into her mouth.  Cleanup was a blast.  Loads of fun.

A sunny summer Saturday

It was a fantastic day today in Seattle so we huddled on the porch to take this picture:

It's so clear you can even see Mt. Rainier (or as Evan calls it Mountain Reindeer) in the background. From there it was off to gassworks park for a picnic. Here are Jill and Evan out by the water:

Alexis joined shortly after to take a peek.

Then it was time for lunch. After lunch everyone took a little run (actually they were both chasing Jill around).

That was enough to tire the two of them out (and this is after Evan's soccer practice earlier in the morning).

Jumping the log

At the end of every year Evan's preschool has a picnic and the older kids who are leaving the school "jump the log" to signify they're moving on to the next part of their education.  Evan actually would have been at this preschool for another year had we not been moving to Virginia, but given he'd been there three years and this was his last year he jumped the log.  Here he is with his classmates singing some songs:

Before each student jumped over the log, their teacher said something to the class and their parents about them.  For Evan, Teacher Jennifer said he was passionate, energetic, and a good loyal friend -- who once he made friends with someone kept with them.  She also said he's very affectionate and is always one to give hugs and kisses to the teachers.

Here he is after jumping the log:

It was a real sweet ceremony and had some real meaning for Evan and his classmates.  We'll miss them all!

Copy Cat

I wasn't home for this but here's how it was told to me.  Jill was with Alexis and Evan came in looking like this:

When Jill gave Evan a bath shortly there after, Alexis showed up looking like this:

Copy cat! It's so cute how observent she is and how much she wants to be like Evan.