(Pre)school's Out for Summer

I didn't know what to do with myself today.  It was Monday and usually on Monday's I stay home and clean the house while my friend drives the carpool to preschool.  But preschool is out for the summer and both Trevor and I miss it.

Trevor did not like yoga day with the Big Kids.

Green River Marathon

Somewhere on my husband's bucket list it reads, "Run a Marathon" and as of today that item is crossed off his list.  Supporting him training for this huge accomplishment was not always easy and I complained about him being gone a lot, but I am so proud of him!

Here are some pictures before, during, and after the race.

7.4 miles in and looking good!

He's even still smiling!

Austin and I went to Alki to see Darren finish.  I pointed him out to Austin as he was coming in and Austin wanted to get down and "go get Daddy".  So I set Austin down and he took off running.  It was quite possibly the sweetest moment I have had as a mother (besides of course meeting each of my boys for the first time).

I know I wasn't the only one with tears in my eyes when Austin and Darren caught up to each other.

Darren carried Austin for the last bit of the race, so I guess in a way you can say that Austin finished a marathon today too.

Way to go Darren!  We're so proud of you.

By the way, he finished in 3:27:48, just under his personal goal of 3 1/2 hrs.

Gender Surprise Baby Shower Cake

I thought this was such an adorable way to tell your friends and family if you are having a boy or a girl and it was a super fun cake to make.

In case you wanted to know...the inside was pink!

Dr. Seuss Cake-Amazing!

**I need to preface this post by saying that from the time my children could walk I have told them (and any neighborhood friends who happen to be over at the time) that if they ever, EVER, touch my cake I will spank them.  Well, during the making of this cake, which was more stressful than usual due to family stress, I opened the fridge to find that Trevor had poked two holes in my cake.

**When the time came to make good on my promise all I could do was cry.  In fact, I sobbed like a little child and sent Trevor to his room.  After a pep talk, I got back to work and figured out a way to cover the holes.  In the end, it turned out even better than I had originally planned.

Unfortunately, this cake didn't taste very good, in my opinion, but what it lacked in taste it made up for in looks and I couldn't have been more pleased with how it looked.

There was one person who didn't seem to mind that the cake was dry, and that was the birthday boy!

Happy Birthday Sweet, 

Smiley Boy!

Des Moines Marina

The Des Moines marina is a place very near and dear to our hearts.  It is where Darren and I had our first date 10 years ago on a beautiful Sunday afternoon where we watched the sunset.

Ten months later it was where we went to take our engagement pictures.

We took Trevor there when he was 6 months old.

And it is where we went last night as a family to enjoy some quality time together.  I remember taking this photo years ago of a family at the marina throwing rocks into the water together.  I hoped that one day I could have a family to do those kinds of things with.

Fast forward 13 years and I have that family I always dreamed of.  Our boys played in the water while Darren and I watched, happy to have our children with us in this special place.

**It was amazing that Austin didn't fall in the water and get soaked sooner than he did.  Unfortunately, we didn't have a change of clothes for him, so he wore Darren's t-shirt into the restaurant for dinner. It was so large on him I had to use the flower pin off my purse to prevent it from falling off his shoulders.  We got lots of strange looks, but it was worth it because we had a fun night as a family.**

Wallace Falls State Park

When a friend of ours was unable to use the cabin she had booked, she offered it out and we jumped at the chance to have a night alone with just the two of us.  We sent the boys to Granny and Grandpa's house and made the drive to Gold Bar, WA off Highway 2.

Our cabin at Wallace Falls State Park was so cozy and we enjoyed a relaxing night in.

 In the morning we went on a 2.7 mile hike to the top of Wallace Falls.  I don't really like hiking, but the scenery was AMAZING!

See what I mean about the scenery...Amazing!

 

When we finally made it to the Lower Falls lookout I was tired, but it was beautiful.

I love that Darren captured this picture of me.  It looks like I was deep in thought, and I was.  I was thinking, "maybe if I hold really still Darren will forget I am here and continue hiking and pick me up on the way back down."

The Middle Falls were very impressive and by this time I had resigned myself to the hiking experience.

Next up was the Valley Overlook.  It was a cloudy and slightly rainy day, so we couldn't see a whole lot, but it was still very beautiful.

It was here at the Valley Overlook that I decided to take a rest and read a book.  The best part about having a Kindle is that I can read from a 800-page book at the top of 2+ mile hike without carrying an 800-page book up the mountain.

While I had a peaceful moment to myself, Darren continued the hike another half mile or so to the Upper Falls and here is what he saw.

Darren and I had such a wonderful time together.  When you have young kids you are so busy you sometimes forget why you fell in love in the first place.  It's nice to have weekends like this to remind you.

Springbrook Trout Farm

Today Trevor's preschool class took a field trip to the Springbrook Trout Farm.  I have wonderful memories of my dad taking us here when we were little.  Trevor borrowed Grandpa's fishing hat for good luck catching a big one.

He started out very excited to hold the pole and catch a really big fish.

It didn't take long for him to realize that fishing can sometimes be boring.  The fish in larger pond weren't tricked by our hook and wanted nothing to do with the food we were offering.

We decided to move to a smaller pond and those fish were starving!  It didn't take long for us to catch this beauty.

Although he got bored, didn't like the smell of the bait, and he didn't want to touch the fish, he still thought fishing was fun.  But the best part of all was eating the fish.  Yum, yum!