Jason Turns Two

Yesterday was our little guy’s 2nd birthday. To celebrate we invited Justin’s family over for dinner and dessert. Jason woke up just as the party started and wasn’t happy that I wouldn’t go outside with him and push him on the swing. (Yes, I realize it was his birthday, but we’re having a big of a heat wave here and it was 90+ degrees outside!). So as a distraction Grandma Fletcher let him open one of his presents early. As it’s been previously mentioned, Jason has a fixation with toys that have wheels (cars, trains, fire engines, etc…) so of course Jason loved his new car toy from Grandma and Grandpa.

(if you look closely you can still see a huge crocodile tear on his cheek)

Abigail and Carly are at the age now where they really wanted to get something for Jason so we went to through the toy aisle and they picked out some Hotwheels and bubbles. The bubbles go perfectly with the bubble machine my Mom sent (which we’ll try out as soon as it cools down enough for me to join the kids outside).


more fun toys from cousins and grandparents


I decided not to decorate a big cake for Jason this year (selfishly, I think it’s too much work for an egg-less cake). Instead we had simple egg-less cupcakes and nut-free four layer dessert.

Jason thought his cupcake was delicious

and didn’t let a morsel go to waste

Annual Neighborhood Picnic

Yesterday was the annual summer social for our neighborhood and since our HOA dues pay for it, we try to attend each year. I think this year the heat may have kept the numbers down. It’s been in the high 80’s and low 90’s here (threatening to reach near 100 in the next few days)!!!

It sure doesn’t look like we live in the evergreen state

The low turnout meant there was plenty of food and treats to enjoy.

Jason enjoying a yummy popsicle…

(it got a little messy there after a while)

another popsicle for J

again Jason was well taken care of by his little friends

okay, so I noticed all the pictures were of Jason, but even mid-blink he’s just so darn cute!

Pioneer Day

We’ve been looking forward to our ward Pioneer Day activity for several weeks now. July 24th is the day the pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake valley in 1847. It’s an official holiday in Utah and since Utah was settled by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is a great opportunity for us to remember the sacrifices of the early pioneers. The evening was filled with good friends, great food, fun and games. Justin and the girls rode their bikes to the activity. We live on a very steep hill so I was nervous about them biking down it, but apparently they did a great job and they all arrived at the park safely.

We decorated the girls bikes for the children’s parade (which they ended up not participating in… how is riding your bike in a circle with dozens of other kids something to be shy about?)

Some friends of ours fashioned their wagon into a covered wagon. Jason couldn’t get enough of it and had several different people giving him rides throughout the evening, including the little wagon owner.


There was a Dutch oven cook-off for dinner – seriously, not much better outdoor cooking than from a Dutch oven – yummy!

Abigail had a little part in the program and was assigned to read the story of a pioneer girl named Alma Elizabeth Mineer. It was neat to find out that Abigail is actually related to the Mineer family. Abigail read her part so many times over the past week that she had it completely memorized. She did such a great job that I’m hoping she might gain enough confidence to participate in future school plays and programs.

Jason walked right up to Abigail while she was speaking and gave her a big hug. Abigail acted completely unfazed by it and thankfully Jason didn’t cause any further disturbance.

H2O

Have I mentioned how much my kids LOVE the water? Water activities this week included…

Playing in the neighbors pool last Saturday afternoon

Playing at the local spray ground Monday night

Playing at Wild Waves (equivalent of Lagoon for you Utahans) all day Wednesday. I took my camera, but left the battery charging at home. We took this picture of Jason enjoying the kiddy car ride using Justin’s phone.

Playing on a friend’s gigantic inflatable pool/slide on Friday afternoon

Running through the sprinklers at another neighbors yesterday afternoon

Dance Camp

This week the girls participated in a Sleeping Beauty dance camp. Abigail took the same dance class 3 years ago with a friend.

The class is geared for kids ages 4-7 so I was concerned about Abigail feeling uncomfortable being the oldest girl in the class. But because the girls were taking it with a friend, Abigail was all for it.

This afternoon was the parent’s opportunity to watch the “performance” they had been working on all week. Here are a few clips:

Summer Flyin' By

How can it already be mid-July? Didn’t we just start summer? While we’ve definitely stayed busier than I prefer there are still so many things we want to do this summer and I’m feeling the pressure to fit it all in. Scheduling around three kids, even at their young age, is already proving to be difficult. Especially with a little guy who sleeps most of the afternoon. While Jason naps, the girls have spent nearly every afternoon outside with neighborhood kids. They are already sporting sweet summer tans.

One of the few occasions the girls are playing in the backyard instead of the front yard

Jason also loves to swing; too bad he can’t push himself yet

Of course the girls have their “jobs” they need to do each day. On this particular day they were asked to trim the grass around the playset. It sure took them awhile using their little scissors.

Otter-pops are a daily treat around here.

As if Jason’s helpless without his sisters

Jason upon rediscovering his abandoned otter-pop


What better way to cool off than to play in the sprinklers

Victoria, BC

As a result of the I-5 adventure my Mom and I experienced last summer, I was issued a credit on the Clipper ferry. Justin and I decided we would take advantage of the opportunity and go to Canada for an overnighter on Monday. We stayed at a great hotel right in the harbor near the famous Empress Hotel.

Legislative building (by day)

(and by night)

A huge portion of any outing for us is the food. We decided we wouldn’t eat anywhere we’ve been to before and found some amazing restaurants. Our favorite was The Tapa Bar where we both tried a cubanette… seriously, one of the best meals I’ve had. Unique and incredibly flavorful.

When we started planning our little trip and I found out Victoria had a zipline course I knew I wanted to try it. The idea of soaring through the air sounded wonderful to me even though I am somewhat scared of heights. It was awesome! Definitely a little unnerving to step off the edge of the platform. And feeling the tree you’re standing on (150 feet in the air) swaying in the wind was slightly worrisome, but sooo worth it!

We went on eight different ziplines. Here’s Justin on the longest zipline at 1000 feet and the highest at 150 feet off the ground.

To make the following zipline a little more exciting (it wasn’t very high or fast) we were given the challenge to make two 360’s before reaching the other end. Much harder to do than you would think.

After a fabulous and very filling breakfast at the Blue Fox Café we headed over to the Butchart Gardens.

This is my favorite view – the Sunken Garden… very Garden of Edenish. Justin and I enjoyed listening to the ooh’s and aah’s of people as they walked onto the overlook.


The Rose Garden was in full-bloom

Even the trash cans were lovely


Thanks for watching the kids Grandma Fletcher, they had a great time!

Happy 4th of July!

We celebrated the 4th of July a little early by watching the firework show at the horse racing track last night. We found a little gravel spot nearby nestled between a busy street and the railroad tracks. Not the most comfortable location, but it provided a descent view of the show.

Summer Adventure

Every summer Justin and his Dad tube down the river that runs behind his parent’s house. Because I’m not a good swimmer (and because in the eight years we’ve lived here I’ve usually been pregnant or had a young baby) I never joined them. It was in the 90’s yesterday so we got a babysitter, found me a life jacket to ease my mind and spent the afternoon on the river.

All these years Justin’s been telling me how safe the river is, that he’s never fallen off, and that in most parts you can touch the river bottom if you stand up. Wouldn’t you know it, the current pushed Justin into a rock wall and he flipped off his tube – in water he couldn’t stand in.

Because of all the flooding this year there was quite a bit of fallen trees to maneuver around. While Justin was asking someone where we were he punctured his tube on a tree limb sticking out of the water. That put an immediate end to our tubing trip but thankfully, we within 20 feet of our ending destination.

I was surprised how beautiful it was (unfortunately, I left the water camera in the car so no pictures.) For the most part it was peaceful and serine. I did learn that it’s better to not speak with anyone you run across along the river as they are either completely wasted or have indecent propositions to make. Aside from that it really was a great afternoon and I’m hoping we can find time to go down again sometime this summer.

Treasure Hunts

So I know it’s time for an update and although last week was busy, it was a normal everyday non-thrilling busy and the week ended completely pictureless. This week we are commitment free… no classes or speech therapy for J, no summer camps or swim lessons. Although I love the option of staying home (which we did most of today) we have lots of fun options for the rest of the week.

Yesterday we got together with the Fletcher family to visit with three of Justin’s Aunts who are in town for the HUGE quilt hop in western WA… I believe it’s becoming an annual tradition for the sisters. And once again his Aunt Joann organized a treasure hunt for the kids to enjoy. Clues were hidden all over the yard and each kid had their own clues to follow with lots of fun prizes, treats, and even a personalized goodie-bag. I hope she knows that since she’s done it two years in a row that the kids are already looking forward to the great treasure hunt of 2010.

These two are becoming great little buddies – they also participated in the treasure hunt, but were much more interested on eating the prizes and running around

School's Out for Summer!

Yesterday marked the 29th consecutive day that Seattle has not received any precipitation, tying the record for the driest May-June ever. It’s been an absolutely beautiful spring… ironically until today when school lets out for the summer and we had plans to spend the afternoon playing in the sunshine.

Today was the last day of school (if you can call 2 hours of school an actual day… which, according to our school district you can). We spent the morning at the end of year assembly where Abigail was recognized with an academic honors award. I received a letter from the principal earlier in the week notifying me she would be recognized in the assembly, but I didn’t know what the award would be. Apparently each teacher is allowed to choose two students from their class to present honors to. We are so proud of Abigail and all her hard work. Abigail was born with a desire to learn and she is always striving to be better. I couldn’t be happier with her achievements. Her teacher wrote a note which I’m hesitant to share for fear of being “one of those Moms”, however since I already shared Carly’s sweet note from her pre-school teacher I feel like I shouldn’t leave out Abigail’s note.

“I have really enjoyed having Abby in my class this year. She is extremely smart, caring, and has a sweet personality. She has continued to make tremendous social and academic gains this trimester due to her good working habits and determination to be successful. She has become an amazing reader, writer, and mathematician. Way to go! Abby is always pushing herself to a higher level. She is a special person and should experience lots of success in the second grade. Her teacher is going to be so lucky to have her next year. Thank you for sharing her with me!"

Abigail and her awesome teacher

Our Graduate

It’s official, I have a kindergartener. Carly’s last day of pre-school was today and her teacher had both her morning and afternoon classes meet at a local bouncy house to celebrate.

Carly and her fabulous teacher

Carly had lots of fun climbing, sliding, and bouncing with her friends. Jason thoroughly enjoyed himself as well and I was surprised that he was able to climb up all the toys by himself… before I know it I’ll be sending him off to school too. {sniff sniff}

While I wasn’t looking Jason climbed up this steep slide completely on his own.

Miss C and Miss C – these girls played non-stop (well, except to eat pizza and cake)


Carly’s teacher wrote each of the kids a special little note:

“Carly is awesome! I enjoy her serious nature with her bright, beautiful smile. She is so incredibly smart, well advanced of the rest of the class. She is good at everything, always gets right to work, and is one of the first ones finished with her table work. She is a great example for everyone. Carly is one of the kids whom I use as a leader for others to follow and as a helper. I love Carly’s questions about things that are going on. It’s been fun to see her love of babies earlier in the year… I will seriously miss her next year while her Kindergarten teacher will be lucky to have her in class!! I love you Carly!!”

It’s always wonderful to hear how much people love your kids. I completely agree. Carly is bright, inquisitive, and so full of personality. She is a friend to everyone – younger, older – boy, girl, it doesn’t matter. She’s such a joy to have in our family! Congratulations my sweet girl!

There wasn’t an official graduation ceremony so I pulled out Abigail’s pre-school graduation cap and bribed Carly into letting me take her picture.

the only Fletcher men

Three generations
and my favorite shot

Family Pictures

Justin’s sister’s sister-in-law (which I suppose could be me, but it’s not – maybe it’s better to say our brother-in-law’s sister) was visiting over the weekend and took pictures of us and the extended family on Saturday. She’s posted a small sample on her blog with more to come. Here’s some of our favorites so far:

She asked him to “blow” which Jason interpreted to mean “eat”

We went with a totally casual look - so I told the girls to wear their flip-flops. It wasn’t until we got to the photo location that I noticed Abigail was wearing her big ole clunky black shoes… oh, well.

As I was saying...

Can’t turn your back on this guy
Looks like we’ll be having a wet summer