Swimming Lessons

Cameron and Julia have been taking swimming lessons this past month on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They love them! Natalie is a hand full to keep happy for the longest 1/2 hour of my
life but I do enjoy watching them.




Cameron was put in a class that had older kids in it and the first few sessions I thought he might drowned (I am a paranoid mother). He drinks half the pool each time. His teacher hasn't been the most attentive but Cam has grown more independent because of it, which is a good thing for him. I don't know how much he has learned but he loves it and isn't afraid to try.



Julia loves the fact that she isn't having to watch in the stands and is old enough to have her own class. She makes friends with everyone and is so fun to watch. The last two times she has decided that she is too scared to jump to her teacher at the end of class. Man, she can be stubborn! No bribery or convincing will work. Last time I asked her what the problem was and she told me "Her fingernails were too long and bothering her" What?

Cameron is in need of a pet!

Unfortunately his parents have not given him one. Last week he caught his first frog and was so proud. He had it sitting on his shoulder talking to it at one point. This past week he has found one about everyday and then brings them into the house to show me. Yikes!


(The picture quality is terrible--sorry)


What he would really like is a dog or a cat. Anytime we see one he says things like this to me "I sure would love to have a yellow dog like that" or the other day driving in the car we saw a dog in a car and he said "I think they are bring that dog home from the pet store. I sure would like to go to that pet store and see them there." It ALMOST makes me want to get a pet then I remember that animals poop and that is enough to bring me back to reality.

Unattended Artist

Natalie has become quite the artist of late. I swear she waits until I leave the room and then makes a mad dash to where ever she has stashed multiple markers, crayons, pencils and other art mediums to color on EVERYTHING! When I walk in the room where she has colored she gives me a sheepish smile and runs. Today she did this about 3 times (one might think I would learn, but no) the last time she went and got her own washcloth and started cleaning up her work. Thank heavens for Mr. Clean Magic Erasers, Comet, and washable markers! If not, my house would now be a rainbow of color.

Birthday Pictures

One of my LEAST favorite things of the year to do is to get the kids pictures taken. The day always starts with promise and ends with pushy sales people, long waits, picture people with little to no idea how to interact with children, non-cooperative children and my very favorite- kids who have forgotten how to smile and are suddenly afraid of the camera. Most my kids pictures turn out with maybe one picture I want to buy and more often not even one that I would like to buy but I do because I am not going back! I guess when my kids are older they will look back and see that their mom really did try but more often than not failed to get cute pictures of them.

After all that being said: I took Julia the other day to get her birthday pictures taken and they turned out so cute! I had a hard time deciding which ones to choose. Here are a few of my favorites:

Mariners game and the pirates

Last Tuesday we took the kids (minus "the Nat") to their very 1st Mariner's game. It was a lot of fun! It was LDS night so we got a free hat or t-shirt. Cam had to have both- so dad gave him his t-shirt and all night Cameron called himself Mr. Mariner. The kids enjoyed the food, the hat trick, the hydroplane race (Cam and dad won) and occasionally watching the game. After the game was over walking out of the stadium there were some drunk homeless people on the street. Cameron said to Mitch as we walked past them "Dad, was that a pirate?" Mitch said "You know Cam I think it was." The next day I asked the kids if they had fun at the game and Julia told me she did but "those pirates were a little scary." We had a good laugh.



Mr. Mariner











Cameron wanted to know if the moose gave hugs. I thought it was a slim chance that we were even going to find it in the stadium but he showed up in the section next to ours in the 7th!



Griff cheering in his own seat for Griffey!

4th of July

The 4th of July was a hot day, it must have been in the high 80's. Were we really in Seattle? Usually on the 4th of July it is cold/rainy. It was a nice day! Mitch spent the day before pressure washing the house getting it ready to paint in a few weeks. Hooray! So on Saturday we were ready to relax.

Our ward has an annual 4th of July breakfast/bike rodeo. Cameron and Julia were excited to decorated their bikes and ride in the bike parade. It was massive kids on bikes~good times...

Later on in the day we had promised the kids to take them to the Rain Forest Cafe for their birthdays. They see the commercials for that place on PBS every morning. Nice.

It was a good lunch and the kids really behaved themselves well in the restaurant. I guess Mitch and I don't have too much faith in them normally. Cameron and Julia loved the whole experience. Cam was in awe that they gave him his own ice cubes in his drink and wanted to know if he could keep his glass. Julia liked that they gave her crayons to color with.

Nat wasn't too sure about the fake moving animals, but loved the gift shop. (Who doesn't?)

At the restaurant they have a person dressed up like a green tree frog named: Cha Cha. Cameron and Julia loved him! I don't know why but Cameron LOVED him. He kept coming up to the frog giving it a high five, then a hug, then a handshake probably 12 times. It was really cute. Natalie on the other hand screamed anytime it got close.

Of course the gift shop is bigger than the actual restaurant and everything is so cute in it. We let the kids pick out a gift. Cameron picked the loudest shirt possible. Julia and Natalie got stuffed animals.

Later that night we watched the fireworks on the next street over with a couple of friends from the ward. I can't remember the last 4th of July that I didn't need a jacket. It was wonderful.

Happy Birthday Julia!

Julia turned 4 on the June 30th with her birthday buddy Laura. Everyone we see or meet can't believe that she is only 4. She is getting so tall she looks like she is 7. At times Mitch and I have to remind ourselves that she is really still so small because she acts just like Cameron. Julia has a long list of things she says she now will do that she is 4: play soccer, go to preschool, swim lessons, she also tells me that 4 year olds don't need naps so on her birthday she was done. I'm not so sure but we will see.



Julia picked a Cinderella party and wanted a lady bug cake. She was positive that she was getting a "Flying Barbie" and a "barbie with a horse." When I asked why she thought she was getting them she told me "because some people know what 4 year old girls want!" Good thing thing I was clued in.











We are so glad that our sweet Juls is in our family. We sure love her!!