August and September iphone recap

We have yet to unpack our camera, but I've been catching some of our fun on the iphone. We moved into our new place the second weekend of September, but then Cas, Collin and I have all been sharing a bad cold that has zapped our motivation to unpack and fully settle into our new home . . . maybe this weekend! 

We were so grateful to my Aunt Debbie for offering us a place to stay while our remodel ran 5 weeks over schedule. Collin made himself at home in cousin Bryce's room, cuddling up with a new stuffed monkey that Bryce and Radscha gave him -

And he misses Bryce's drum set that he jammed out to almost daily. We selflessly let him wear the noise-reducing head phones, enabling the rest of the home to enjoy the energetic clashes.

We have Great Grandma B over to our house throughout the week, often keeping me company for a meal when Cas is traveling.  While we were at Aunt Debbie's, we went to her.  Rather than knocking, Collin always opens the mail slot and yells for his great grandma.

One night we made it to B's house to play with cousin Edie, who is 6 months older than Collin.  Collin was shy for a minute or two, and then they were running laps around the house, deconstructing sofa cushions, and  having a great time with one another.

Collin's favorite color is blue, so at Marble Slab, of course he requests blue ice cream (cotton candy).  Then not only does he get blue ice cream, but he gets a blue face and shirt as well.

Since they don't sell blue ice cream at the store, we settle for green (pistachio-almond).  It gets a big grin of approval -

The last weekend in August, we attended the birthday party of my best friend's oldest son.  Collin pretty much sat in my lap the entire party, intimidated by the rambunctious 6-year-olds.  But he thoroughly enjoyed the party favor - inflatable swords to battle with Brownie.

We continued our almost weekly visits to the Children's Museum, each time hitting a new area.  It was lovely when the kids went back to school and the crowds disappeared.

Collin decided to give himself a blue mustache during one of our visits, which got him some attention as he explored the museum.  The water section is much more fun this year because Collin understands it more and he can reach everything.  I was able to relax in a bench while he explored for almost an hour!

We made some trips to the park, starting out in shoes but abandoning them after they filled with pebbles somewhere along the way - 

While we moved in, Collin spent the weekend with Grammy and Brownie, waking up for some fun time with lizards.  When I picked him up, their front porch was filled with drawings of T-Rexes and Anklosauruses, so he kept Grammy busy fulfilling his specific chalk artwork requests while he searched for lizards and frogs with Brownie!

Bruno and Fergie LOVE the new home.  At one point Cas joked that we were buying a home for the dogs, and the yard size is one of our favorite parts of the new place (better schools being a bigger driver).  Bruno takes multiple daily lap swims, and now even Collin knows to pet his fur to check for dampness before letting him in our house.  The best part is our active dogs come inside and collapse from exhaustion, happy from a day of swimming and squirrel chasing.  

Collin's favorite part about the new house may be the road construction, started 2 weeks after we moved.  They're putting new water pipes and sidewalks on our street.  For the adults, it means a hassle during the 4 month construction.  For our son, it means walks down the street to watch the bulldozers and excavators in action.

Collin continues to entertain us, now telling "once upon a time" stories normally involving a Tyrannosaurus Rex.  When we're putting him to bed, his creativity kicks into high gear, as he's learned that having his stuffed animals act out dialogue often buys him a few extra minutes at bedtime.

We took him to the pediatrician last week to check his ear for an infection (which had already run its course), and our doctor gave him a sticker and lollipop as we left.  Since then, his ear has hurt multiple times, as well as his stomach, always with a request to see his doctor and get a "polliwop"!  Quite the manipulator, our delightful son!

Final installment of Seattle pictures

On our last full day in the Pacific Northwest, we took a tour of Lake Quinault in the afternoon.  Sebastian and Sapphire enjoyed the views in reverse.  

 Alex and Coady posed as newlyweds -

And Sapphire took a group photo - my brother and sister-in-law, our family of 3, my parents, Sebastian and Jan -

Two blue-eyed beauties, my mom and Jan, friends since college -

Alex and I with one of the many waterfalls along the lake loop as our backdrop - 

 We stopped to have lunch at Quinault Lodge, with a sailboat race as our entertainment -

 Alex and Coady, a smiling photo after Alex hammed up two outtakes -

Half our gang headed home for a nap after lunch and ice cream, while my parents, Jan, Sebastian and I went on a short hike.  Here's Sebastian and I posing by tree roots to show their scale.  This pictures makes me smile remembering the slightly awkwardness of the pose.  I'm used to posing with family or close friends, arms around each other.  Sebastian and I didn't really know what to do with each other, so we just stood there, he looking even less thrilled than me to be taking this photo!

 Some of the views from the lovely little hike -

When we returned, we took a swim in the lake.  Collin hadn't intended to swim, but he ended up further in the icy water than me when wading in the shallow, rocky water led to a misstep and chilly plunge. Unfazed, he enjoyed being stripped out of his wet clothes and gazing out at the views au naturel.

Good-bye Lake Quinault, we had an amazing time!  Over 6 weeks later, Collin is still asking to return to the lake house!

Many thanks to Jan, Sebastian and Sapphire for hosting us at your wonderful vacation home.  And thanks to my family for giving Cas and me plenty of relaxing time as you played with and spoiled our very happy two-year-old.

First family hike in Olympic National Park

We woke up to another glorious morning our final day at Lake Quinault - 

Collin wrestled with Uncle Alex and Aunt Coady as we waited for breakfast -

And Coady took in the scenery as she sipped the freshly ground and brewed coffee (like it had foam on top which I learned meant it was a good cup of coffee - a far cry from my automatic drip coffee maker at home).

Collin watched from the back deck as Coady kayaked by -

The white dog I accidently cut out of the picture is one of the three Italian greyhounds that Collin was obsessed with and who humored him as he followed them throughout the house -

Alex and Coady kayaking together successfully.  Apparently on the first day, Alex somehow tipped in like 12 inches of water.  And he told me it was from the wake of a speed boat.  So then when Cas and I went kayaking and a boat went by (and boats on this lake are not allowed to exceed 15 mph), I was panicked that the waves were going to knock me over into the icy lake.  Found out after my fearful kayak that he had flipped due to balance, with no boats in sight.

After breakfast, Cas, Collin and I went on the "hike" the group had done on the first day, although we drove to the campsite rather than carrying Collin all the way.  The bald eagle's nest from the road -

Wielding a walking stick for our 1/10th of a mile trek  -

The trail through the forest

Father and tall son on their first hike together -

The magnificent trees -

Our little boy -

Tree climbing and posing -

The lake from the hike -

Nice views from Daddy's shoulders -

Sweet helping hand -

Our happy hiker with a more appropriate sized stick -

It's a good thing we didn't try any real hikes on this trip, as we moved at a snail's pace because Collin would find "his favorite rock" or want to climb "all by himself" or stop to inspect each leaf.  But we had a great first family hike!

Collin Kayaks by Himself

After the beach, Cas was ready for a family kayak adventure.  He suited up (in a kid's life jacket) -

But no amount of love and reassurance could get Collin excited about joining us in the kayak.  He just was not in the mood.

Instead, he wanted to go in the green one all by himself, thank you very much.

And so he did.  With a little help from Brownie.

Floating like a big guy in about 3 inches of water (with my dad and Alex and arm's length away) -

While Cas and I ventured into deeper waters -

This is a posing smile.  I like kayaking like this, in a lake when I can determine the length of time I'm paddling.  Alex and I shared a kayak in Hawaii 3 years ago where we kayaked to this snorkeling spot that you couldn't reach on the road.  We were glad we did it, but it was one of those experiences where I realized 15 minutes in that I didn't really LOVE kayaking, and we still had about a 30-minute one-way trek ahead of us!

Collin and Uncle Walter, basking in the beauty of the Pacific Northwest from the incredible lake house porch

Playing with Mommy before bedtime -

Some scenes from the "fishing cottage" to show how spoiled we were -

Looking from the front door through the living room to the back porch, overlooking Lake Quinault -

Dusk -

Alex and Coady relaxing on the downstairs porch

After dinner, we had s'mores in the outdoor fireplace - I was as happy as can be!  Then we watched the moon rise over the mountains, trying silly poses on the porch.  See Cas' Cars band-aid.  Photographer failure and success, though the failed attempt is a crisper photo.

The moon & lake reflections -

We ended the night with a moonlit kayak ride - an incredible day - though I'll admit the s'mores played a pretty big role in my total elation!