Camping

It has been nearly a whole month since I have blogged, so finally this week I plan to catch up on a few things we have done during that month.

One of the best (and most totally exhausting) was taking Max and Zoe on their inaugural camping trip.  It took a while to get kitted out for car camping (thank you REI) and even longer to muster up the courage to venture into 'the wilderness' with 2 three year olds.

For our first trip we aimed low, just one night and not too far from a town (read hotel) in case it all went to hell in a hand basket.  We camped over on the East side of the mountains, as that area is pretty much guaranteed sunny and dry.  It was a proper wilderness camp though, just up from Beverly Creek, there was no piped water and Max and Zoe had to get used to the porta potty.

After an easy drive we (Scott and I, with NO help whatsoever from M and Z) set up the massive tent and got out everyones sleeping pads and bags.  Then we hung out and the kids ran around and were shortly called over by our "neighbors' to see a deer that had wandered into camp.  I was quickly acquainted with 'Crazy Joe' aged five, whom informed me that his dad was 'gonna shoot the head offa that deer.'  His dad came over to say hi, with his gun firmly attached to his hip.  The deer was off sharpish, which left the children plenty of time to run wild Crazy Joe and his dirt bike posse.  I was fine with it until the toy guns came out and it became a full on war game.  Then we left on a walk to explore the river, which the kids loved.

We made it through a spaghetti dinner then lit the fire to make smores, which were yummy, then we got the munchkins into bed.  Max was out cold in about 5 minutes, but it took Zoe a long time to settle down.  We'd finished off the wine before she was even asleep.(Note to self-more wine next time).  Anyway we all mostly slept, and M woke us all up at 6 the next day raring to go.

 

It took a week to recover from the trip, but we have agreed to do one more in September. So it can't have been that bad.

Weird Science

I am not much for messy projects, but Shannon found this on pinterest and it sounded like fun.  Basically, you add food coloring to vinegar and then drop it onto baking soda to watch it fizz.  This proved to be a big hit, and they loved watching the colors blend.

A Shoreline kind of day.

A couple of weeks ago we headed out with the BFF's to check out some of shoreline's attractions.  We first went to garden tots at a small Botanical garden called Krakenburg (or something like that) gardens.  They had a little activity going on and the kids had to look out for lichens and moss, and also got to explore the garden.  After they were done exploring they concluded the visit with a little model making and had their pictures taken.

We then headed on to marina beach in Edmonds to explore the low tides.  They have a nice waterfront there and we spent a really long time in the sand pit outside anthony's restaurant, just relaxing in the sunshine.  After lunch we rode down to the beach to  investigate the tide pools, and hang out with the dogs at the off leash area.  Great end to a great day:)

Look Dad no hands!

It's funny but when Scott does this at the playground, I have no desire to do it too.  On the other hand Max and Zoe think it is the best idea ever.

Too Much

The last few weeks Shannon and I have been off on some  'field trips.'  We had a great day out at Alki and then Lincoln park in West Seattle, and we've been to St. Edwards park exploring the trails and biking.

Last week we took the ferry over to Bainbridge island for a fantastic day out that included Kidimu, the small but very nice children's museum over there.  After that we had lunch at a little mexican restaurant, then on to Battle point park.  The weather was warmer and drier than forecast, so it all went to plan except in the end it didn't.

It was mostly my fault as this excursion came at the end of a very busy week, in which Max and Zoe had pretty much zero down time and about a million adventures.  It started out well enough with us making the ferry in ample time and then the kids played beautifully with their trains and princesses for the 30 minute ride.  They enjoyed playing at the children's museum and there were no melt downs that I recall.

It all started to fall apart over lunch.  Between Max climbing under the table all the time and Miles really not liking what he chose, Shannon and I just took turns taking out kids.  Moods were not good by the time we left, but the park that Shannon found looked great so we carried on.  The park was awesome but Max and Zoe were not.  Max had about a meltdown a minute and Zoe whined continuously, except for when she was full on crying.   So eventually we gave up and headed back to the boat.  We'd been on there about 5 minutes when I had another run in with Zoe, so she spent the entire ride back in the car, while Shannon watched the sane children on the passenger deck.

In the end I felt bad because after we got home she asked could she go "nigh night" and it was only 6 o'clock.  Finally I had broken them, their kryptonite was extinguished and they were at last worn out.  That is until 6 a.m. the following day when Max came in and said "It's morning time mummy and what are we going to do today:)"

    

dress for the weather

It has been a while since I have posted anything.  We have been busy and out most days but for some reason I haven't been much in the mood for photographs.

Anyway here are a few recent pictures.  The first couple are from the hurricane machine that Max and Zoe have come to love.  They have been in it a bunch of times now and it supposed to simulate a 70 mile per hour wind.  There is no way that it does.  I have been in a 50 mile per hour wind on Mt. Rainer, and I had to crawl with my ice axe dug in, lest I be blown off the mountain.  It probably closer to 25, but for whatever reason they think being a wind machine is awesome, so I let them do it.  Most other parents of 3 year olds do not seem to think this is a good idea, but whatever, each to their own.

The last few pics are from this week when the kids were playing outside and decided to strip naked, which is actually a common occurrence. When they came in I told them that it was like winter out and they needed to get dressed.  So they went in to their room and emerged in these outfits.  Hats and boots, shorts and t-shirts, perfect for winter.

Strike!

Last week Shannon had the great idea to take the kids bowling.  We invited a few other twin moms and it turned sort of into an impromptu pizza/bowling party.  We were very relaxed about the taking turns and keeping score and all that until the jobs worth guy behind the desk came to spoil our fun.  However we didn't let him get us down and came up with a sort of turn taking system.

The highlight though according to my friend Jamie was me trying to move a bowling ball that got stuck in a lane.  Bowling lanes are REALLY, REALLY slippery that is all I am going to say:)