Walkers Visit

We had our first visitors - and hopefully not our last ;-)  My sister, Katie, her husband, Aaron, and their cute little guy, Dylan came to visit us at the beginning of September.  The weather was a bit warm still (especially since we don't have A/C).  But, they were troopers.  It cooled down at night, which made it bearable, but some of the afternoons were brutal.  They didn't know they'd be coming all this way just to sweat!   Hopefully it was still worth the drive... :-)

We had many FUN filled days.  We got to drive up to Everett and cheer Aaron on as he participated in a triathlon. Unfortunately for him, it ended up being one of the hottest days of the summer that day. But he did a great job and finished 2nd for his division. Woo-hoo!

Later that same afternoon, we decided to cool off at the beach. - Katie and I (and Aaron) swam out into the dark lake to the last set of ropes.  It was pretty far out and Katie and I made Aaron swim out there with us since it was dark, dark, cold water.  Once we made it out there, we realized it wasn't AS scary as it first seemed.  And it was fun to swim back to shore and swim out to do it again.. 

We also took a trip into Seattle to see the aquarium.  It was fun to touch and see many creatures that live in the Puget Sound area.  Another adventure we got to have was going for a ride on a boat tour on the Puget Sound.  It was cold and overcast the day we went and once out on the water - it was VERY cold.  Dylan had been dying to ride a boat, but decided it was too cold to ride a boat (of course we were already on it, and couldn't do much about it :0),

The next day we visited the Woodland Zoo in Seattle - which was Really cool.  We will be going there again!  I think its one of my favorite zoo's I've been to.  First of all, you feel like you are in the jungle and rain forest in parts of it.  They had some really cool animal exhibits.  The animals were so close and right there for us to see.  It held our attention and made us want to see more -  Complete opposite from the Phoenix zoo.  Tangent- I actually do not like to go to the Phoenix Zoo.  I feel like all I do is walk up hill in any direction and see an animal from a far distance.  Then walk FOREVER to the next far away animal.   We only had about an hour and a half before it closed, but we were able to see everything we wanted to see, and the kids got to run around and get out some energy. 

While the Walkers were here we ate and ate and ATE.  Everything from fresh Salmon and shrimp from Pikes Place Market, to Beecher's famous Mac-n-cheese, to Thai food, freshly picked blackberries, various delicious cuisine at the Issaquah Farmers Market, to Dan's famous popcorn almost every night, and an entire bag of carmel popcorn, to sweets and treats, and ice cream, to an entire bag of Belly Flops from the Jelly Belly factory (thanks again AJ!)  Dan and Aaron spent an evening trying to get rid of the horrific flavor in their mouths from tasting all the gross flavors that Jelly Belly makes (like skunk and smelly cheese).  I think we all gained a few pounds that week.
Parks and scooters were also a fun part of our week.  We even saw a nudist at the Lake park :-) (Okay, so it was a child from our group, but he didn't seem to mind that he was naked playing on the park).

Drew went with the Walkers to the Space Needle.  He had a blast and continues to slightly rub it in to Allie that he has been there and she hasn't.  He thought it was so cool to be so high up and to take the elevator all the way up to the top.

We had stake conference while they were here, so we were able to roam the Temple grounds afterwards and take some fun pictures of the kids.  Owen was NOT cooperating and i couldn't get any good shots of him.   The kids had so much fun with Dylan and were so sad to see him go. 

Drew and Dylan played and played and played. 

Katie and I got to spend many evenings playing speed and various card games.  Dan's not a huge card games fan - so I don't get to play them as much as I'd like to.  That's why I'm teaching my kids while their young how to play (and like ) UNO  :-)  Dan and Aaron humored us and played a SUPER long card game (it goes 12 rounds) - we stopped on the 11th round to go to bed, and never got around to finishing it.  But just to let the Walkers know, "It's not over till the Kings go Wild!!!"  I'm bringing to AZ to finish our game ;)

After Dan left on his trip, we toured a Chocolate factory here in Issaquah and brought home some delicious chocolates (and some MESSY chocolate covered bananas), I'm sure I'm missing some others things we did, but it was a SO MUCH FUN to have them here!!!   

Everett - Race

Outdoor fun

Space Needle

Sunday - Temple pics

Beach

Aquarium

Woodland Zoo

Chocolate Factory in Issaquah

Shoreline Ocean Beach

On Labor Day, we headed North to an Ocean beach in Shoreline.  It was only about 45 minutes away, but this beach was salt water and had a normal sandy beach vs. the rocky beach at the Lake beach we usually visit.  The water was absolutely FREEZING!  But, It was a perfect warm day to play in the sand at the beach. 

This beach had these huge logs all along the shoreline that were perfect for building forts and hours of imaginary play.  Our kids had a blast!  Picnic, treats, good company, warm sunny day, not a care in the world - what more could you ask for?!?

Owen didn't nap in the car like I was hoping he would, so he started getting sleepy around 1:00.  He laid down with me on the blanket and relaxed under the umbrella and enjoyed the ocean breeze.  Drew thought we looked so comfortable, he came to join us too. 

We barely saw Allie - she was too busy digging, building, exploring, creating, playing with friends, etc.  This was her "perfect day".   

Every now and then, a train would pass by on the railroad tracks.  The kids would run up to the bridge to watch the train pass by below.  It was a fun day hanging out with our dad and with our friends and with the sun...  It won't be long until we don't see it for months.  I'm not looking forward to winter.   

He's too cute to stay angry at...

Soooo, EVERY time I turn around, Owen has drawn on something new...  I have about 6 walls that I have scrubbed my heart out to remove Owen's markings.  He's also left his mark on an ottoman, table, counter, desk, kid table, and the wood floor.  He LOVES to color and write in notebooks, like mom and the older kids, but after he doodles in his notebook , he then draws on his skin, couch, wall, phone, anything that is around him. 

I've moved all markers, crayons, color pencils, any coloring object up high in our craft closet.  And all pens and pencils were moved up into a cupboard.  Allie has to wait for me to get a pencil so she can do her homework...   But that doesn't seem to stop Owen.  He saw me get Allie  a pencil one day, so he dragged a stool over and climbed up onto the counter and helped himself to the pencils. 

He finds writing objects in my purse, backpacks, church bags, etc. I'll tell him "we write only on paper".  He'll draw carefully on his paper until I am not looking anymore...  He loves to draw his "Blues Clues" clues. 

 He'll talk to himself and say "hmmm  puppy, circle, colors".  (It's from one of his favorite Blues Clues book).  If I find a spot where he's drawn on something and I have him come help clean it up - he'll pat me on the head (his way he say's sorry) and gives me a hug. 

 It's hard to get angry at him when he's so sweet, but this is getting ridiculous.  What makes it even worse is we have flat paint.   I don't know if it looks better before I try to clean it or after...  I guess I'm gonna need to bust out my paint brush here soon!