Living with the Voss Family...

This blog is not dead!!!

2013-05-27T14:42:00.002-07:00

What can I say? After a dead computer, broken camera, and new baby, this blog was definitely put on the back burner. But for those faithful few who follow it, I'm honestly going to try and do a better job of updating it.

I had so many pictures of the kids I wanted to put up that I figured the best way to do it was to do a separate post for each kid. Sooooooooo, here goes. Just scroll down and you'll see them. Oh, and if it looks like they are organized in no particular order, it's because they are. I was too lazy to get them sorted by date. I'll get to that next time!

Introducing Regan Dare!!!

2013-05-27T14:42:00.000-07:00

Enter the third Voss kiddo: Regan Dare. Named after two of the most fantastic men I've ever known. This little guy looks shockingly like his big brother but, so far at least, isn't exhibiting the same crazy colic that both Timmy and Gemma endured for their first 9 months. He's a snuggly little guy and loves napping in the Ergo. No joke, I'm wearing him about 10 hours a day. Between that and the nursing, I've got a great 24/7 workout going on. Feeling pretty darn tired though.

Just born!

With Dr. Daniel and the L&D nurse, Jan, at Swedish. She was such an amazing OB over the last 5 years.

Timmy and Gemma meet their baby brother! Instant love. Timmy especially, is infatuated with Regan...showering him with hugs and attention. Melts my heart.

Regan's first visit to Morgan's pool

Yup, Regan's got the same eyebrows as Timmy!

There may have been some cookie bribes involved to get this picture...

You forget how small they really are when they're born!

3 for 3! The Voss kiddos love bathtime.

Future Beaver...if Daddy has anything to say about it.

Regan's birth announcement. I'll admit it, I get lazier with each kid about how many I send out. SO happy with how it turned out though!!! If you read my blog, please don't be upset with me if I didn't mail one to you, or take it personally. Between picture posts on Facebook and this blog, you've already seen these pictures anyway. They mainly went to just family.

Gemma update!

2013-05-27T14:41:00.003-07:00

At just past 2 years old, Gemma is, BY FAR, the most verbal kid ever. And not just saying that because she's my daughter. Since she was around 18 months, she was talking in complete sentences. Best guess, she has a vocab of well over 500 words. I know, I sound really braggy here. Sorry. She's got nearly every Disney, Berenstein Bears, and (most of the) Dr. Seuss books we own memorized...to the point where she can recite them nearly verbatim and knows when to turn the page if someone is reading them to her. She can nearly count to 20, loves to sing a wide variety of songs...Rocket Man by Elton John being her long standing favorite. She literally talks ALL.DAY.LONG.

She's also a little comedian and perfect imitator of her brother. She can already tell the butt/fart/stink, etc. jokes just as well as Timmy (the teacher!) and has no problems holding her own when they rough house. But wow can she whip out the whining. Is this a girl thing? Or just because she's 2? No freaking clue, but it's pretty annoying.

She loves dirt, dinosaurs, Cinderella, Legos, building forts, coloring, stuffed animals, bath time, swings, and anything with sparkles. Her favorite colors are pink and purple. She likes ponytails, hair clips, dresses, and her pink sparkly boots. Wowza, does she hate worms and spiders though. Never heard her scream so loud in my life than when I placed the tiniest of worms on her hand! She's got the same crazy blue eyes as Timmy (which I think Regan is going to have too!) but she's got gorgeous curly hair. She calls it her "curlies".

Gemma desperately wants to do anything Timmy does, which lately means going to preschool and taking swim lessons with "Miss Marilyn". But she also wants to take gymnastics. She loves to twirl. Totally signing her up for ballet when she's a bit older. Have got a sneaky feeling she'll freak out over the pink tights and tutus...

Am I bummed that she'll never have a sister? Yes. But, she loves her brothers, and I'd be lying if I didn't say I hope she'll someday share the same relationship with me as the one I have with her Grandma Nikki. Mommy's special little girl.

Gemma's 2nd birthday

Getting to meet her baby brother, Regan, for the first time.

One of Gemma's favorite activities is to remove nearly every book off the shelf and pretend to read them. She calls them "her projects". Reading naked is apparently an added bonus for her.

Grandpa Rob, this one's for you! Already raiding Mommy's wallet...

Gemma calls the pool rings her "princess crowns"

Timmy update!

2013-05-27T14:41:00.002-07:00

At 4.5 years old, Timmy's days are filled with preschool, swim lessons, t-ball, bike riding, tree climbing, fort building, Legos, and covering himself in dirt. This dude of mine is 100% boy. If I had to guess, swimming is probably his favorite activity. Obviously I couldn't be happier! Timmy can swim basic freestyle, backstroke, and is learning to dive. His instructor Marilyn, is nothing short of amazing.

About 2 months ago, Timmy finally dropped his training wheels! Nothing like a little jealousy of our 5 year old neighbor riding without trainers to get him motivated. It's not like he hasn't been racing up and down the street on his Strider bike since he was 2 years old (something Gemma has absolutely no interest in...). But I think the height of his new big kid bike was a little scary at first. He's totally got it down though, and he's so proud of himself!

This weekend he'll finish his first season of t-ball. He's had a total blast. I think it helped that his 2 best pals, Rudy and Samuel are on the team. He's not exactly the best hitter (it would probably help if we practiced at home even a little bit!), but he loves catching the ball and going for the grounders. Well, when he's paying attention at least. He and Rudy look like Pig Pen from The Peanuts as they goof off on the field trying to kick up as much dirt as possible.

Timmy and Rudy

Timmy and Gemma trying to convince Mommy they could fit in Regan's infant car seat...

When he's not constructing with his Legos, building elaborate tracks with Daddy is a close second.

Timmy and Blake at their preschool "half birthday" party celebration.

No trainers!!!!!!

To say Timmy loves his baby brother Regan would be a total understatement. Since the moment he saw him at the hospital, he has showered him with love. He so desperately wanted a brother.

We've been blessed with a warm spring so Morgan's pool is already open! Many an afternoon will be spent here...

...and we've spent just as many hours in the dirt pit in the front yard.

Ski lessons at Snoqualmie! Total success...the dude loved it.

Weekend visit from his Poppy and cousin Matty.

Definitely one of my all time favorite pics of Timmy

Climbing trees with our neighbors

Bath time has always been a favorite for Timmy

T-ball!!!!

Halloween (...and some other fun catchup!)

2012-11-08T15:03:00.002-08:00

It's been a busy couple months and I'll readily admit I got a wee bit lazy with this blog of mine. Getting back into the preschool routine, swim lessons, and the sudden (and hated) cold/rainy weather of Seattle always takes a while for me to adjust. I try not to look at the weather back home in the Bay Area right now because it depresses me just a smidge.

We made our annual pumpkin patch visit to the Suyematsu Farms, always a big hit with Timmy and Gemma. Nearly a torrential downpour the entire weekend, we managed to find the one small break in weather for mad dash to find the perfect pumpkins. We kind of prefer the odd shaped, colored, you name it...they seem to look better after Jim works his magic with them.

Major tears from Gemma when I wouldn't let her run off with all those mini pumpkins

Timmy cheats his way through the kids hay bale maze and, shockingly, Gemma doesn't follow suit

Seriously, the skies unleashed the fury as soon as we were back in the car. Thank goodness!

No joke, Jim is an amazing pumpkin carver. Pre-kids, and with hours of uninterrupted time, the masterpieces he'd place on our doorstep were out of this world. Funny how a 4 year old and 20 month old changes things. I know how much Timmy and Gemma LOVE to play in the pumpkin goop but I made the executive decision to gut the pumpkins during preschool & nap times. Gemma's quick on her feet and I just wasn't in the mood to chase her around the house at night while she left a trail of orange mush behind her.

Timmy's first masterpiece. He had help with the eyebrows but did everything else himself.

I knew our luck with the Halloween weather had to run out sooner or later. The last 3 years we've been blessed with a rain-free, sometimes even sunny (gasp!), Halloween. Not so much this year. We took the kids downtown, just like always, where it seems as though the entirety of Bainbridge shows up for trick or treating. Gemma loved every second of it. I felt like a wet dog by the time we made it back to our car. Whatever. The kids had a great time and that's all I really care about. Our costumes were a total hit too. My sewing master mom made Timmy and Gemma's as usual (well, Gemma wore Timmy's costume from 3 years ago) but she also made mine. We were all characters from the Wizard of Oz!

(our fancy pants camera decided to no longer function in auto focus mode, so some of these pictures are blurry and you cannot imagine how angry I am!!! Usually I have such fantastic pictures from Halloween...)

Grandma Nikki (Wicked Witch of the West with the Cowardly Lion (Gemma) & Tin Man (Timmy)

The Great Oz (Grandpa Rob) brought along a special oil can to keep the Tin Man from rusting in the rain...

Timmy insisted on carrying Gemma's trick or treating bag

Daddy the Scarecrow. Gemma refused to let anybody but me hold her that afternoon. Super fun...

Me (Dorothy) and Gemma. I've had better hair days...Gemma looked beyond adorable as the lion. And no joke, a woman later in the afternoon who was taking a family picture of us asked me to "hold in my belly"!!! Wow did she look embarrassed when I informed her I was nearly 17 weeks pregnant.

Family picture. I'm convicing myself that Gemma is laughing at not crying here. And Timmy, as usual, refused to look at the camera...

Trick or treating with our wonderful neighbors

All in all, another great Halloween. Gemma definitely enjoyed the trick or treating downtown more than Timmy did. I'm ashamed to admit how much candy she consumed in the span of less than 4 hours. Timmy had a lot more fun going door to door in our neighborhood after an early dinner with our neighbor kids. Am already pondering costumes for next year:)

Timmy is back in his swimming lessons again. Here he is with his pals Blake and Cole in their Kinder 4 class. He insists on making this goofy face when he has his picture taken now. You should see his preschool pictures. Not exactly stellar. (He has since gotten a much needed haircut) My swimming boy can do basic freestyle and backstroke now, and is working on side breathing and diving. Obviously I couldn't be more thrilled. Timmy's swim instructor, Marilyn Belieu, has a new website for her swim school (www.swimmingwithmarilyn.info). I seem to get at least a couple hits on my blog each week of people looking for her contact information. I can say nothing but positive things about his lessons with her. She is well worth the $$$. Here's a video I caught earlier this week:

Another bragging moment for this mommy - Gemma is in the midst of a vocabulary explosion. I kid you not, that girl is stringing together up to 6 words at a time. Proud mommy, yes. Is it annoying though, that I get to listen to (in a whiny voice) "Mommy, Timmy whacked me on the head"...YES. I'll take it though. She's a tough little cookie. Last week she pushed Timmy off a pile of boxes they had built (nearly 4 feet high) as they were playing king of the mountain. Yes, my now 20 month old beat the crap out of her 4 year old brother. And gave him a nice little gash in the eye too. Little tyrant! She's super excited about being a big sister this spring and constantly tells me how she's going to hold the baby and give the baby hugs and kisses. And NO, we are not finding out the sex. Didn't do it for Timmy and Gemma so I just can't see the point of doing it now.

Guess that's it. Hopefully it won't be another 2 months before I update the blog again...

How to make a Death Star pinata

2012-08-31T07:27:00.001-07:00

When Jim and I first decided to do an R2D2 birthday cake for Timmy's big FOUR, it was almost immediately that I practically shouted out "and I can totally make a Death Star pinata and the kids can whack the crap out of it with a light saber!!!" A bold statement from someone who hasn't done paper mache since grade school and is only moderately crafty. Turns out, not only is making the paper mache glue practically stupid person proof, but doing the actual mache-ing is too.

Just do a google search on paper mache and you will get an overload of sites telling you different ways to make glue, techniques, what have you. I stuck with the old tried and true method: pour some flour in a bowl, slowly add water, and stir until you have a consistency that works for you. I wanted mine super strong so I made sure mine was thick and creamy. And I added just a smidge of salt to each batch of glue...a trick I saw on multiple crafty sides to ward off any mold that might grow if you live in a particularly humid or damp place. Some people will say to add some cinnamon to make it smell better but I don't find the smell of the glue to be all that horrible so I didn't bother.

Turns out my (what I thought was an original) idea of doing a Death Star pinata and hitting with a light saber was absolutely unoriginal!!! I must have seen hundreds of google images of people doing this before me. Some impressive, some, well, not so much. Come on people, you cannot use a regular old balloon, which is oblong, to represent an object which is clearly a sphere!

Anyway, here was how we made Timmy's Death Star pinata. A super fun, incredibly messy, major hit of his party, project!

Supplies:

Newspaper strips...mine were about 1.5 inches wide. And in total I think I used about a full Seattle Times daily paper
Paper Mache glue
Beach ball...I bought one for $3 with an 18" diameter
Paint/decor, etc.
Candy to fill
Small rope for hanging

Day 1: my first batch of newspaper goes on. Timmy helped quite a bit with this first layer so let's just say the strips weren't all lined up and pretty like they were with the next layers.

Make sure you let each layer dry completely prior to beginning the next one. If not, you risk mold. Yuck. In total, I did 5 layers because I was so scared these kids were going to whack it to pieces in the first couple hits. I left small area at the opening of the beach ball so I could deflate it a little bit before pulling it out.

Jim traced a circle where we knew the laser needed to be, cut the paper mache with a razor blade, and very slowly pulled out the beach ball, deflating it as I went.

Nice, pretty insides of the Death Star!

Our house is dark grey so we just used some old house paint to paint the Death Star. 2 coats of paint was good for us...

Jim begins the decor, not my area of expertise. Plotting out grid lines with a pencil...

This is the support we made to actually hold up the pinata. 3 increasingly larger pieces of fairly thick cardboard, further supported by a pen, with the string (which truly was more like thin, super strong rope we had) to hang it. Totally necessary considering the pinata, when fully stuffed with candy, weighed about 10 pounds.

Putting the support in through the area we had saved for the laser. The string comes through the small hole on the top.

CANDY!!!

Invert the circular piece cut to make the laser shield and tape it back onto the pinata. Then I did a quick 2 layers of mache to hide the tape. We also made 3 holes for where the actual laser beams were going to go. Lastly, paper mache around the small hole at the top where the string/rope is.

My sister Lindsay, painting darker grey squares on the Death Star. This was definitely a family project...

And...Lindsay and Tim using silver, and a little bit of yellow and red, dots from a Sharpie market to resemble the small lights on the Death Star.

Finished product!!!

I could not have been happier with how this pinata turned out. Timmy's buddies had so much fun whacking it down with the light saber too. (Just the handle from a broom that Jim spray painted neon yellow and put black electrical tape at the bottom). We had about 16 kids there in total and each got about 5 hits before it finally split open. I know you can buy Death Star pinatas online but isn't it more fun to make something at home with your kids? Timmy had a blast...a messy, messy, blast...helping us make this!

Camping Fort Stevens!

2012-08-21T20:58:00.003-07:00

Hard to say which camping trip I enjoyed more...Ohanapecosh or Fort Stevens. Such uniquely different campgrounds (one mountains, one beach), both incredibly fun, especially for the kiddos. Jim would say For Stevens for sure. Lots of family trips there when he was a wee one. Either way, it was another successful camping trip, even if the weather was a little crappy the first day. As far as I'm concerned, it should be against the law for it to rain in August.

Fort Stevens is located about 7 miles north of Astoria, Oregon. Those of you born in the 70's (like yours truly) would know Astoria because more than a couple movies from my childhood (Goonies and Kindergarten Cop) were filmed there. I'm fairly certain it's the largest campground in the state, with well over 500 camp sites. Tons of bike trails, underground battery tours, and the Peter Iredale shipwreck!

Battery Russell. The kids loved running like crazy through all the empty rooms, shouting, giggling, and listening to the echos. If it wasn't that the underground rooms smell like pee, it would be way cooler.

Jim and Gemma at Battery Russell.

Amazing how much fun kids can have in an empty warehouse!

Timmy informing me this must be where Santa comes down the chimney at Battery Russell

Gemma in front of the Peter Iredale

Timmy and Oliver. I know I took this picture in August but somehow I think November. It was a cold day on the beach!

Family picture in the Peter Iredale shipwreck

Apparently there was a recumbent bike convention at Fort Stevens the weekend we were there. Recumbent bikes EVERYWHERE!!!

Roastin' hot dogs...

Timmy and Gemma wave as the nightly procession of WW2 Army trucks drive through the Fort Stevens campground

Gemma, much happier the next day was nicer!

...she even let me take her picture:) (and no, I didn't pose her! She's just a cutie pie!)

Daddy and Timmy

the beach at Fort Stevens

It was shortly after this picture that Timmy began (slowly) shedding clothing as they got too wet...

At least it was a warm 65 degrees! Nothing keeps my kids out of the water:)

And now we're down to undies...

Goonies beach race scene anybody???

Car all packed up and ready to head back home

I thought the name was too funny not to take a picture. Dismal Nitch? Sounds like something out of a Lemony Snickett book. Timmy is HUGE into those right now. We're on book #6. Count Olaf is a constant topic of discussion in our house lately.

Wish I could say she happily slept (wearing Timmy's bike helmet backwards of course) for the entire ride. I can't complain though. She only whipped out the scream for the last hour or so. Major improvement for her.

I feel the need to vent about the douchebag campers across the street from us who almost ruined our trip. When they pulled up blasting their annoying country music (NOT a country fan) I had that awful gut feeling. Hearing the father (yes, father) telling one of the other women there that he couldn't have a beer yet because (direct quote) he was going to get "F'd up tonight" confirmed my fear. His gang was up until nearly 2:00 the first night, partying the night away in their campsite, pissing the hell out of everybody else in earshot. I think my favorite part of the evening was laying awake in our tent, praying Timmy and Gemma would sleep through the noise, and listening to the father, yet again, shouting to one of the other girls to "get the F over here" again, and again, and...again. Oh, and letting his children watch Batman (the Heath Ledger one) at top volume in their car at midnight. Their children are already masters at beer pong (minus the beverages) as we witnessed the following day. And...playing Russian Roulette with nerf guns. I feel for these kids. With what appeared to me an absolute loss of any role models, these kids don't stand a chance.

Okay, got that off my chest. Other than that, fantastic weekend, even though the drive is nearly on the verge of too long for just a weekend. Kellie, I love our camping trips!!!

Next up, Erin and Sean's wedding this weekend in San Luis Obispo!

Riding without trainers...

2012-08-15T21:00:00.003-07:00

You would think with how long Timmy has been sailing up and down the street on his Strider bike, that he would have taken to his new big kid bike immediately. Seriously. The kid has been able to balance on 2 wheels since nearly his 2nd birthday. I guess what I failed to consider was how much larger...and heavier, his new bike is. The first few days he could barely pedal up the hill. Fast forward a couple weeks and he's zooming up and down the street, our sloped driveway, you name it. But, with his trainers on.  He refused to take them off. Honestly, I'm not sure if it's just a confidence issue, or that he's just still a wee bit too short for the seat heighth...which he have at the lowest possible setting. Whatever the reason, the trainers stayed on. Until last week when he met our new neighbors.

Ahhhh, nothing like a little peer pressure from the (incredibly nice) family that just moved in 2 houses down from us on our small culdesac. (YES, I'll admit to being a fan of peer pressure in certain situations) 3 kids ages 9, 7, and 5.  The 5 year old still has her trainers on as well. But let's just say a certain kid was amazed at some of the tricks the older kids could do on their bikes. In less than an hour Timmy was, no joke, begging for the trainers to come off.

As soon as Jim came home from work, he removed them.   I left for a quick workout, which in hindsight for the dumbest idea ever, because I totally missed watching Timmy ride for the first time without training wheels. UGH!!!! Seriously, I'm home with the kids 24/7 (apparently 23/7) and I miss this???? Thankfully the moment was captured on the iPhone.

This kid is growing up way so fast:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ2Z2jrnu74

Timmy's 4th Birthday

2012-08-15T07:07:00.001-07:00

I still can't get used to saying it, or writing it for that matter. My little dude is FOUR???!!! I swear just yesterday we were celebrating his third birthday, I was freaking out over making his dump truck birthday cake, and he was set to start preschool in a couple weeks. In a flash, a year has gone by. Timmy can swim the length of the pool on his back, still has an undying love for dirt and Legos, loves to play with his best friend Samuel, and starts his 2nd year of preschool in a few short weeks. He's an absolutely comedian with (seriously) the most contagious belly laugh in the world. And he still has a heart of gold.

I think Timmy would agree with me when I say he had a blast at his birthday party. When Jim and I initially began our planning of his party, we didn't intend on it being a Star Wars theme. It started out with me viewing images of R2D2 cakes online and thinking, "hey, I can totally do that!" (this ended up being the most difficult cake I have ever tackled, and one I'm not entirely proud of). That morphed into, "wouldn't it be cool to make our own Death Star pinata and let the kids whack it down with a light saber?" And of course I thought I was being oh so original with this idea. Not even close! Google death star pinata and you'll see at least a hundred links to other blogs, etc. that have done this already. Either way, it ended up being an incredibly fun project and the kids had a blast hitting it to pieces and scrambling to pick up candy. I'm sure I made a lot of friends with the moms that day when they saw how much sugar their kids were coming home with.

The absolute icing on the cake was the surprise visit Timmy received from a Storm Trooper and Obe Wan Kenobi at the party...aka Auntie Lindsay and Uncle Tim. Timmy's facial expression when he first saw them sneak around the back yard was priceless. The kid was stunned, a little scared at first, and then beyond excited. Almost wish I had been in on the surprise because I was unprepared and failed to whip out my camera in time.

Storm Trooper Timmy

Too slow with my camera to capture Timmy's shocked facial expression when his surprise visitors made their grand entrance!

Death Star pinata. This was a huge hit with the kids...will post a tutorial (hopefully) soon.

Uncle Tim, Auntie Lindsay, and Grandma with the birthday boy

Gemma and Nanni. My little lady had such a fun afternoon getting to play with all the "big kids".

Whacking down the Death Star. Jim made the light saber from an old plastic broom handle, fluorescent spray paint and some electricians tape.

Yay for pinata candy!

Getting a lift from Daddy to blow out his candle...

The destroyed pinata...

Let's just say Timmy really cleanup up in the gift department.

Fantastic girl friends:)

My birthday boy. FOUR YEARS OLD!

Another camping trip this weekend (to add to our whirlwind summer) to Fort Stevens. My sister's wedding in San Luis Obispo the following weekend, and then it's Labor Day. Where did this summer go?

Timmy SWIMS!!!...(sometimes)

2012-08-02T20:06:00.005-07:00

Although Timmy's ear piercing screams during his swimming lesson today would beg to differ, the dude loves water. Loves. Loves. LOVES.

Yes, we wear our goggles around the house too. And (un)shockingly, one of Gemma's first words was "goggo"...

During the school year he takes lessons at Marilyn Belieu's private pool (if you live on BI, she is amazing!!!) but she only does lessons to kiddos 7 and older during the summer. So we tried our luck with the lessons through parks and rec at our local pool. I don't mean to slam the program, because the vast majority of the children there look like they are having a blast. But, it's clearly not been a good fit for Timmy. I'm not sure if it's that the water is colder, it's louder, and Timmy gets a new instructor every 2 weeks...whatever the reason, he whipped out the death rattle scream about 5 minutes into today's lesson. I'm not one to normally let him quit something part way through but I'm not about to have any offspring of mine hating the water. So we've been actual lessons on hold until this fall. With our almost daily late afternoon trips to our friend Morgan's pool in her condo complex, Timmy is getting plenty of quality time in the water. His absolute favorite activity is swimming at her pool.

I don't expect anybody besides my immediate family will actually view these videos I uploaded to YouTube, but here they are anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLwnOgyfXBg&feature=plcp
(about 1 minute)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy8Vqv3qW9k&feature=plcp
(about 6 minutes)

Camping Ohanapecosh!

2012-07-24T21:30:00.001-07:00

OHANAPECOSH...my favorite campground in Washington. (Huge thanks to Bethany for suggesting it years ago!) Want to know why I love this place so much?

Because this is the gorgeous Ohanapecosh River that goes right through the middle of the campground! It's an absolutely stunning, clear, turquoise-blue river.

Apparently, Ohanapecosh is the only river on Mt. Rainier that is not laden with minerals (which produces that milky white appearance in a river) because it is formed entirely by snow runoff on the eastern side of the mountain. All other rivers on Rainier are formed by glaciers. Trust me when I say my pictures do not do justice to how beautiful it is up there.

So just like last year, we met up with one of my favorite people, Kellie, and her family. Timmy and Riley have been pals since they were just 8 months old. Even though they live in Portland now, we still try to get together for playdates and our now annual camping trips (next month: Fort Stevens!!!) as much as we can.

The kids had a great time, even hiking most of the way (well, Riley and Timmy at least) up to Silver Falls! And shockingly, we were blessed with great weather...such a bonus considering we drove through a thunderstorm on our way to the campground. As usual, Gemma was a horrible sleeper but I figure anybody who goes camping with kiddos isn't exactly planning on restful sleep.

Night one: kiddos feasting on their hamburgers

Getting ready to play with the Stomp Rocket. Endless entertainment!

On the edge of our tent site. Apparently in 2006 there was a huge (and I mean HUGE) flood resulting from over 18 inches of rain on Rainier over a 36 hour period. The overwhelming amount of water rushing down the various rivers, streams, creeks, etc. was devastating. If you look on the right side of the picture, you can see how high the river rose during the flood. Amazing!

Roasting smores:)

Oliver, getting ready for a serious sugar high!

Gemma was mesmorized by the fire...

Screw the old fashioned graham crackers! Have you ever tried the Trader Joe's Butter Waffle Cookies with your smores? Wowza!!! Kellie, you've got me hooked.

Riley and Timmy, burning off some energy after a few too many marshmallows

My cutie pie!

Riley finds a slug. I find it incredibly amusing that my outdoorsy, dirt loving boy (who is not afraid of bugs of any kind) does NOT do anything slimy. So not only would he not get anywhere close to this slug, the dude won't even touch a frog. Such a weird kid.

Hiking to Silver Falls

I love how magical this forest looks!

Impossible for Riley and Timmy to have enough sticks...

3 out of 4 smiling? Not half bad:)

Silver Falls. I wish my pictures could truly portray how gorgeous it is!

Crazy month ahead for us. A trip to Portland, a certain boy's 4th birthday, another camping trip, and then my sister's wedding in San Luis Obispo. I'll blink and it'll be September. What a fun summer we're having!

Two glorious weeks!

2012-07-17T20:02:00.001-07:00

I look forward to our summer trip to our family cabin on the Trinity River more than anything. Up until a couple years ago, there was no phone, internet, market, restaurant, gas station, you name it. We've got a phone now...and somewhat sketchy internet access, but not much else has changed over the years. Just 10 cabins along a beautiful dirt road and gorgeous river. I think all but one of them are still owned by the family that initially built them. Our cabin holds more sentimental value to me than nearly anything else. It's my favorite place in the entire world.

Once again, we did the looooong drive from Seattle...with an overnight stop at Jim's parents house in Portland. Timmy is such a trooper on car rides! No whining, no "are we there yet?", just a happy little dude who looks out the window for construction sites, big rig trucks, and anything else he finds interesting. Gemma more than makes up for his easy going nature though. She is NOT a car sleeper! She gets bored easily and (as we learned a mere 12 miles from our final stopping point) also gets carsick. Yuck.

And even though Gemma got sick the first few days we were there (which resulted in an unexpected trip to the dr), we all had a fantastic time - floating on the river, rock jumping, catching turtles, frogs, snakes, lizards, eating the best pancakes in the world, enjoying the SUN, and spending quality time with family. I'm always sad when this trip ends. Am already looking forward to next year.

Be prepared for some picture overload!

Jim, Tim, Lindsay, and Timmy getting ready for a float down the river

Me and the kids in front of our cabin

Timmy was less than thrilled with the lizard Uncle Tim caught

On the Glen Creek bridge leading to the cabins. Although to this day, Lindsay and I still refer to it as the "8 Ton Bridge".

Gemma LOVED the river...

...so did Timmy!

Daddy and Timmy

Daddy, Timmy, and some crack:)

Glen Creek

Gemma and Timmy, taking a bath in the same tub Lindsay and I did over 30 years ago

Every summer my mom marks the kids height on the wall inside the shed

Gemma loved her popsicles!

Mischievous little gleam in his eyes...

Last year Timmy learned to 'whiz off the deck'...this summer he learned the art of the wet willy:)

Getting ready to put up the 4th of July flags with Betty

Rock jumping!

Turtles sunning along the river

Lindsay, I cannot believe you are afraid of these snakes! We both know they DO NOT HAVE FANGS!!! And thank you for convincing Timmy there's lobsters in the river...

Happy little guy with his Daddy and Uncle Tim

I could not get enough of the rock jumping...

Timmy loves to blow bubbles

Gemma and her dirty feet! My barefoot girl...

Feasting on Grandma Nikki's pancakes in the morning

Family picture

Auntie Lindsay, Uncle Tim, and Jim on "taco night", our annual 4th of July feast.

Glow sticks (aka Timmy's Star Wars light sabers) courtesy of Joanne

Gemma loves her Grandma

Timmy fit in some good construction time at a friend's place across the river

Gemma Lindsay - 16 months

My FAVORITE place in the world

Raining in June = Fingerpaint and splashing!

2012-06-20T21:22:00.001-07:00

My kiddos don't exactly gravitate towards art/crafty projects the way others do. But what they ALWAYS enjoy is any opportunity to make a mess...or take a bath. So with this rainy week we've had, I whipped out the finger paint. It was Gemma's first time and she had a blast. Although truly, I know if she was able to tell me she'd still say she enjoyed her bath afterwards more. Water baby...that's my girl!

Of course the first thing Gemma does it try to eat the paint and put a nice little spot right on the center of her nose...

...and Timmy's idea of painting is to mix together as many colors as he can, as quickly as possible!

After a whopping 10 minutes of finger paints (seemingly as much craft time as my kiddos can handle) we had a nearly hour long bath. These kids LOVE the water.

I cringe thinking about how much bath water Gemma ingested. Yuck.

Tomorrow? Back to the dirt pile (aka "construction site") in the front yard...

World's Best DADDY

2012-06-17T06:55:00.000-07:00

Timmy and Gemma are so unbelievably fortunate to have the devoted Daddy that they do. These kiddos always come first with him...

Thought I'd share some of my favorite pictures of Jim over the last year. And no, they are in no particular order...yes, I got lazy uploading them on Blogger!

Love you Jim. HAPPY FATHER'S DAY.

Is open play time a thing of the past?

2012-06-15T07:12:00.001-07:00

A certain conversation I readily admit to eavesdropping on still results in my jaw dropping every time I think about it...a fellow mom seriously bragging that she had spent over $1,000 (that's right ONE THOUSAND BIG ONES) on summer activities for her...wait for it...3 year old. Spanish camp, tennis camp, (my personal fav) pirate camp, music camp, soccer lessons, and I can't even remember what else. Is it just me or is that absolutely insane??!! Whatever happened to letting kids just PLAY???

I hope I don't come off sounding all high and mighty here. I'm FAR from a perfect parent. But, I do make a conscious effort to have as little structured play time as possible for my kids. And for us that means playing outside, rain or shine, walking to the park, building forts in the family room, playing Legos, dress-up, tea parties (yes, Timmy loves a good tea party!), finger paint, baking cookies, play dates, reading, reading, and more reading, multiple camping trips, digging in the dirt, boredom (YES, I think kids need a certain amount of boredom!), and basically doing whatever silly little games my kiddos make up. Obviously at this age, Gemma's idea of fun is largely following around big brother. But let me tell you, Timmy's imagination is impressive. I catch him all the time holding these crazy conversations with his Legos, dinosaurs, and trucks. LOVE it.

Timmy does have one structured activity lined up for the summer: swim lessons. The dude loves his swimming.

What our days won't include is every summer camp available, Spanish/French lessons, sports camps, and television. (I readily admit this is all easier when one parent is a stay at home...having worked outside the home myself until Timmy was 2) Is it horrible that I actually feel sorry for this lady's daughter?

Someone has his little sister trained!

2012-06-12T21:05:00.004-07:00

Of course I mean this facetiously. Usually it's the other way around! Gemma can be quite tyrant and dictator to Timmy, when she feels like it. I'm already dreading those teen years.

But this afternoon, Timmy somehow had Gemma convinced it's WAY cooler to be the pusher of the truck, rather than the rider.

No joke, Gemma must have pushed Timmy up and down our street for a good 15 minutes. Wish that would result in a better nap. Not even close.

And in other news, a certain big brother is "helping" his little sister with her vocab...teaching her the all important words like burp, butt, and fart. She already laughs when she lets a loud one rip. Such a little lady...

Does it get any better than this?

2012-06-10T18:55:00.004-07:00

It's been a rough week. Gemma has been nothing short of a total tyrant, giving me an all too vivid reminder of the colic she (and her tired mommy!) endured for 7 months. She's not sleeping...again...and on another food strike, unless it's cheese or spaghetti. Timmy, usually such an angel, decided to entirely disassemble his Lego Star Wars "Endor Base" and pour it down the air vent in his bedroom on Friday afternoon. Our house is an absolute disaster and for someone as OCD as I am, it's nearly unbearable. Just been one of those off weeks for our house.

But just when I think I can't handle it any longer, and wonder if I'm insane for wanting a 3rd baby, I see my 2 kiddos, shrieking with laughter on the tire swing in the back yard:)

I would do absolutely anything in the world for these kids. The smiles and laughter make it so easy to forget all the bad "stuff"...

Gemma & Luke...

2012-06-08T21:43:00.000-07:00

Timmy and Samuel have been pals since the ripe old age of 10 months. Today, they are the bestest of buddies...thick as thieves. Sooooo, of course Gemma and Luke (Samuel's little brother) are going to be pals too!

YES, of course they're empty...

Super bummed we got rained out of our first camping trip of the season:( And believe me, when I say rain, I'm not talking about a couple showers here and there. I'm talking a full on soaker scheduled for the coast this weekend. And even then, if it was just Timmy, we still might have gone. But there is absolutely NOTHING appealing about taking a 15 month old along for the ride, who just so happens to have a nasty temper at the moment. Not to worry, we've already rescheduled so our original goal of 4 camping trips for the summer is still on!

My little swimmer

2012-06-08T07:18:00.000-07:00

I took these pictures on Timmy's last day of his spring swim session last week and am finally uploading them now. I could not be more impressed with how my mini-Michael Phelps is doing! He's now able to float on his back and kick (without assistance) all the way across the pool. He bobs up and down like a cork doing bubbles in the water, and has no issues jumping off the pool deck into the deep end. Where we've reverted a bit is in swimming on his stomach. He's trying to use both arms and legs now and he hasn't quite got that down so he'll swim for about 5 feet, freak out, and stand up. We're getting there though!

Timmy will do 3, 2-week summer swim camps this summer starting in mid-July. So needless to say, I've got a little guy who is already counting down the days to more lessons:)

Timmy's last day of preschool

2012-06-05T19:38:00.001-07:00

(...okay, okay, so it was really last Friday...)
I know I'm not alone when I say this year has flown by!

Can this be the same boy who started preschool in the fall?

Such a big kid, on his last day of preschool!

With his favorite teacher, Ms. Judi

I could not have hoped for a more positive experience for Timmy. With an August birthday, he barely made the age cutoff for registration. Jim and I waffled back and forth over whether enrolling Timmy was a good idea, knowing he would be the youngest kid in his class. Best decision we made was to enroll him at BCNS. My little boy has grown up so much this year. He's still as goofy as ever, but he has a new confidence now. He's more willing to try new things and talk to new people. He still has yet to meet a construction tool or dirt pile he doesn't like! Nope, still not much of an interest at all in art projects or anything crafty. But, the kid is a huge music lover. And he's made some really great pals in his class. That being said, I'm still pretty set on holding him back for kindergarten...he'll have 2 more years of preschool instead of just 1. Timmy is wee sized, and is intimidated easily. Somehow I think it's a mistake to have him as the youngest, smallest, boy in a grade school classroom. As far as I'm concerned, there's no big rush for him to grow up!

How to make Rainbow Frosting!!!

2012-06-01T20:43:00.001-07:00

I readily admit I am a total sucker for anything "rainbow". Gemma better be too because I have an entire Pinterest board devoted to cute rainbow foods/treats...in the hopes I can do a rainbow themed birthday party when she's a little older.

My rainbow baking craze all started with a video I saw on YouTube about how to make rainbow cupcakes. Here's a link to my post on how to make them in case you're curious. But it got me thinking, rainbow cupcakes would be WAY cooler with rainbow frosting. So of course I began scouring the web for any tutorial on how to do it. How bummed was I to find there weren't really any great tutorials on how to make it. The best one I found was on a blog called Chica&Jo. I found the instructions okay, but a little vague in parts...I found myself improvising quite a bit.

Making rainbow frosting is actually pretty easy, it's just labor intensive, and NOT something you want to try when you've got kiddos running around your ankles. (My maiden attempt was after bedtime last night!) Sooooooo, here's how to make rainbow frosting.

What you'll need:
1. batch of butter cream frosting (here's my favorite recipe...I use butter instead of shortening though)
2. pastry bag and a larger frosting tip. (I used the Ateco #846 1/2" tip)
3. food coloring GEL. Must. be. gel. (I like Americolor)
4. a tall glass of some kind.
5. small, narrow spatula and butter knife.
6. a small paint brush

Begin by making your butter cream frosting.

Take your pastry bag and place it, tip down, on a tall glass. Fold over the bag until only 3 inches or so remain, to form a cuff, so that you can paint your "stripes".

Using your paint brush, carefully paint stripes with the gel. One of each color, to where the bag folds over. (Be sure not to let the colors touch, or you'll end up with an ugly brownish frosting.)

Next, slowly place small amounts of frosting in the pastry bag. Try not to touch the color stripes too much. And don't worry if the frosting doesn't look like it's down far enough. The idea is to just get it in there without causing the colors to bleed. Trust me. You'll squeeze the frosting down after you unfold the cuff.

When you have a nice heaping of frosting, undo the fold. It usually takes me 4 or 5 small scoops of frosting with the spatula, scraped off with my butter knife, to get to this point.

Throw another 2 or 3 good sized scoops of frosting with your spatula in the bag. You don't want to fill too much because the colors will start to fade by the 8th cupcake or so...and you'll need to start the whole process over again...in a clean pastry bag.

Decorate your cupcakes! A very important note, make sure you have either some cupcakes you plan to save for later, or some graham crackers, etc. to decorate with the first couple squeezes of frosting...as you're waiting for the color to come through. The first time I attempted this, I had a mini freak out when the color didn't come through right away.

Finished product. YAY!!!

I had leftover frosting, so I broke graham crackers into quarters and made little rainbow stars as treats for Timmy. I put them in the freezer right away. Some of them mysteriously disappeared tonight. I am placing blame on a certain husband...

One final note, once you've used all the frosting in your pastry bag, you need to start the entire process over. You CANNOT just add more frosting to the same bag. Wasn't kidding when I said this was a bit labor intensive. But, they look super cool and are a huge hit with the kiddos. I made 2 dozen for Timmy's end of year preschool picnic and they flew off the table in under a minute.

PLEASE, if you try this, let me know if these instructions worked well. I'm open to any suggestions:)

Instagram...what an addicting app!

2012-05-30T10:47:00.001-07:00

I've finally joined the world of Instagram. What an amazingly addictive app for my iPhone! My poor kiddos, I'll be snapping even more pictures of them than I already do now.

Gemma the dirt lover:)

A little girl who is very fascinated with her belly button lately!

What a fantastic weekend we had! Took the kiddos to Seattle...Timmy loves going to the donut hole guy inside the Pike Market, hit up no less than 4 different parks on Bainbridge, fun BBQ with friends, and enjoyed some quiet time in the back yard. This sunny weather is SO overdue.

Next up? Timmy's end of preschool picnic party. I can't believe my little guy has already finished his first year of preschool. I'm making rainbow cupcakes again but this time trying my hand at rainbow frosting. We'll see. Then it's camping at Cape Disappointment with Timmy's best pal, Samuel! Our first of FOUR camping trips we have lined up this summer.

iPhone picture dump...

2012-05-25T11:18:00.000-07:00

I got this idea from one of the blogs I follow...our life the last couple weeks, according to my iPhone:

Strawberry Hill Park has the best quasi-jungle gym climbing structure!

Gemma looks like such a big girl here. A little bittersweet for this mommy.

Like brother, like sister. Definitely a dirt lover!

Because every little girl wears mommy's swim cap and chugs an (empty) bottle of beer...

Ah, Timmy...I love your "funny" faces:)

Loving the rope swing at Grandpa Rick & Grandma Joan's

Me and the kiddos with my Dad and Joan

LOTS going on this weekend! Taking the kiddos into Seattle, trying out some recipes (sauteed apricot ice cream, cinnamon pullapart bread, and fruit "soup"...), gardening, dinner with some great friends, and hopefully a hike at Lake Crescent. Crossing my fingers Gemma starts sleeping better because all the progress she's made in the last month has been obliterated in the last week. I feel like a zombie:(

What's in a shoe???

2012-05-24T10:51:00.002-07:00

Well...if you go to Timmy's preschool, it's FLOWERS! My mom can set the record straight on this one but, I seriously do not remember doing as many crafty things as I see Timmy bringing home from his preschool. Last month he was sent home with a short letter instructing parents to drop off an old shoe, any shoe, with the kiddos for a "special project".

Is this not the BEST flower pot EVER??!!!!

So last week I got to volunteer in Timmy's classroom for the morning, helping the kiddos repurpose their shoes into beautiful flower pots. We covered the shoes in plaster fabric wrap (Timmy wanted to make an "elf shoe"), and left them to dry for a couple days. The kids got to paint them and then plant their flowers. So much fun!

I guess what I found most interesting was watching which kids (both girls and boys) really got into the whole mess making aspect (with the plaster, paint, and dirt) and which kids really balked at getting dirty. Obviously Timmy was NOT one who shied away from making a colossal mess. This kind of project is right up his alley:)

Timmy's birthday is still a couple months out but I'm definitely getting excited to now to make our Death Star pinata together!

I got perfect chomps!

2012-05-21T20:12:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's just me but there's something I find incredibly amusing about taking a toddler to see the dentist. Am I the only one who feels this way?
I took Timmy for his first visit, which apparently is called a "happy visit", a year ago. Timmy allowed the dentist to count his teeth. That's it. He took one look at all the bizarre looking cleaning instruments and gave me the look of "oh, hell no". Then when he did a face plant in the street a couple months afterwards (I swear he gives accident prone an entirely new meaning) and his right front tooth turned an almost immediate shade of brown, I hauled him in for x-rays. Thankfully for him, his tooth wasn't too damaged because wow did I learn a factoid that day: if a child's baby tooth falls out (like we feared would happen to Timmy's) most dentists will do NOTHING (yes, nothing) after the tooth falls out. No tooth implant or anything, and instead just wait for the adult tooth to come in. Okay, so the dude is THREE!!! I had visions of him walking around Bainbridge with a huge gaping hole where his front tooth used to be, for 3 or 4 years, until the adult tooth came in!!! Thankfully though, the tooth remained a nasty brown (or according to Timmy, "poop color, Mommy!") for a couple months, before gradually lightening again. Whew!

Little dude insisted on bringing his toy dinosaur with him:)

Well at last week's visit Timmy decided it was okay to have his teeth cleaned. He informed me afterwards it was funny because it tickled...oh, and that he liked the bubblegum fluoride too. Anything to keep that kid from fearing the dentist. And according to Dr. Russell, the dude has great chomps! Thank goodness because I'm a psycho about brushing...