Cousins

One of the things Nicole and I try to do when ever we get the kids together is to get a photo of all of them together.  Here is the latest one of all seven together.  Nicole has all girls and I have all boys.  So here is the run down for left to right:

Seth 1, Jillian 2, Noah 4, Taylor 4, Kate 7, Joshua 7, and Andrew 8.  

Build A Bear Birthday Party

For Noah and Seth's birthday we had a cousin's Build A Bear Birthday party with the Scott girls.  Andrew and Joshua had been to a Build A Bear store when they were around 2 years old.  Those stuffed pets are well loved in our house so Noah and Seth need some too.  We thought we would share the love with the Scott girls too.   I was a bit crazy with the seven kids so excited to make their new friends.  We did have a wonderful party helper plus Baron, myself and Nicole (Scott girls mom and my sister).   All the kids pick a empty stuffed body and then we got the party started.  The kids played a kind of hot potato game while one was stuffing their pet.  Then it was on to hearts and wishes.  Each kid put a heart with a wish in Noah and Seth's pet and then one in their own.    Then it was on to grooming and clothing.  Once they were set they got to put on ribbons and bows.  Noah's kitty was covered in ribbons!  They got a birth certificate and house ( a box to take it home in) for their pets.  The kids really loved this party.  The adults loved watching them but were tired out after it was over!

Noah stuffing his kitty.

Seth trying to push the pedal to stuff his doggie

Jillian pushing the pedal with some help from her mom.

 Grooming with Kate and Noah

 Waiting to go to the next step.

The kids and their new friends!  So much fun.

EMP museum

After our morning in Port Orchard and Bremerton with my sister and her family we headed up to Seattle. We went to Pike's Market place to see the Pike's Fish Market where they throw the fish. We also picked up some chocolate pasta for dessert. We then took the monorail over to the Seattle City Center to see the Space Needle and museums. The Scott Family did the Space Needle tour while our family went to the Experience the Music Project museum. The EMP is a museum filled with things relating to Music, Sci-Fi, and Pop culture. They had a exhibit on Avatar and Battle Star Galactica. The kids really like the area where we could play instruments and sing. After all the sight seeing we headed home for dinner and a special desert of chocolate pasta ice cream sundaes. The dessert consisted of chocolate pasta noodles, vanilla ice cream, strawberries, chocolate and caramel sauce, and whipped cream. It was interesting and novel. This was a fun filled day for both families.

At the Avatar part of the museum

Andrew compared to a Na'vi
Noah versus a Na'vi
Joshua in the Na'vi shoes
Andrew playing the guitar
Joshua and Noah on the mixing board
This was a cool table that you could tap or pound to make many different drum sounds
Baron and the boys getting ready to sing
Battlestar Galatica ships

a guitar sculpture

Foot Ferry and USS Turner Joy

My sister and her family drove from California to visit us! Mike, my brother in law, was only going to be here for one day and then flying back to California for work. We decided to pack a lot of sight seeing for him. First we took the Port Orchard foot ferry over to Bremerton to tour the USS Turner Joy battle ship and play in the water fountains. We had to skip the fountains due to the drizzle. The USS Turner Joy was very interesting but not really little kid friendly. The big kids enjoy it but it was hard for Seth and Jillian. It was also drizzling a lot. We found somewhere to grab a bite to eat and then took the foot ferry back to Port Orchard.

On the foot ferry. Everyone but Baron who took the photo

The USS Turner Joy






We saw this while waiting to take the foot ferry back to Port Orchard

San Juan Island day two

Our second day on San Juan Island was spent exploring the island. I spent some of the time sitting in the car with Seth while he napped some of the day so Dad and the three big boys did the exploring. We went to a spot that had a lighthouse we could walk to. Dad and the big boys enjoyed this spot. Then we went to the American Camp. We had a picnic lunch here and then hiked down to a spot called Grandma's cove. We also went to the English Camp and the three big boys got to become Junior Rangers. We also drove all the way around the island. We saw a Camel and its baby in some ones pasture. It was a fun day exploring. We will be up early the next day to catch the ferry and head home. This was a fun mini vacation for our family filled with some great memories!

Exploring at Grandma's cove. Love this family photo!
Part of what is left of the American camp
At the English camp
Junior Rangers!

Camel and it's baby. The baby is white.

San Juan Island

This summer we planned a mini vacation to visit San Juan Island, WA for some Orca Whale watching. This is a area in North Western Washington right along the border of Canada. There are some resident orca whale pods that live up here and the summer is the time to go see them. We had to take a hour long ferry to the island. This was the first ferry trip for our family together. The boys were super excited for this little trip. The ferry was fun and we saw some seals while on it! The boys loved that we drove our car on to it and then could get out and walk around the large boat. We had a lovely apartment/suite to stay in on the island. Once we got check in and settle we head out to a local market to get some food for our meals since we had a kitchen. Our first day was about Whales! This was really the first time the kids had been on a boat and they were super excited! I must admit I was excited about the whales but super nervous about the boat ride since I have been sea sick before. So everyone got some Dramamine for the ride. There was about 2o people on our tour plus some naturalist to share lots of information on the area and the animals we would see. The boat ride out to where the whales were was smooth and fun. We saw some seals and cool stuff about the surrounding area. We actually ended up in Canadian waters to see the whales! We saw lots of whales too. There are 3 pods in the area and we saw J pod which also had a baby whale with it. It was just amazing to see. We watch them for about a hour. I will admit the boys thought the whales were so cool, but lost interest after a short time. We also saw a small island of seals and some bald eagles feasting near by on a seal carcass. The way back was a bit wet! There is a small cabin on the ship which is were everyone on the tour ended up due to the spray off the boat soaking the back side of the boat. Once back at our suite we all feel asleep due to the Dramamine! We had a fabulous time! I am so glad we got to share this trip as a family!We were packing a life jacket for Noah to wear on the boat and also found some swim caps. Had to snap a photo of his outfit!
waiting in line to get on the ferry. You have to get in line about a hour before you board. Glad we had movies and DSi's in the car!
Dad and the boys on the ferry.
The big boys room of our apartment/suite
Baron, Seth and I slept here. We did have the pack n play for Seth too.
The Kitchen area. Next to this area is a sofa with a pull out bed where Noah slept.
Somebody cute checking out the drawers
This is the boat we went whale watching on
Whales!
Lots of Whales!
More Whales!

hard to see but lots of seals sun bathing here.