Christmas in WA - 2011

We went up to Washington for Christmas this year. It was great! I didn't take very many pictures though, so I'm stealing all of these from Michael and Steph, who took some great pics. Thanks, guys! Here is just a glimpse into the awesomeness. Enjoy!

(So, because I'm lazy I didn't resize any of the pictures, so that is why you can't see all of them. Click on them and you will see the whole thing. Sorry, but it's taken me this long, if I wait to fix it it'll never happen.)



Ben and Sam watching Uncle Michael play on his computer



Charlotte on our Winter Walk. She wasn't nearly bundled up enough and she got pretty cold by the end. But, isn't she a cutie?



Aunt Steph and Charlotte playing on the playground.



Sam running on the playground.



Sweet Charlotte



Charlotte looking cute and festive





Ben and Sam opening up their stockings! Hurray!



Ben playing with one of his new toys (I think it's a Ninjago?)



Zach and the boys putting together their new lego cars. This is Zach's favorite part of Christmas, by the way.



Sam got so excited every time he opened up a Ninjago.



Every time he said, "This is what I've always wanted!" Here he is saying that.



The Cousins. These photos are really hard to get. But there wasn't nearly as much complaining as when we took...



...this one. On a side note, the boys took to wearing their pajamas as shirts while we were in Washington. I'm not sure why. They've stopped now.



The day after Christmas/Steph's b-day we went up to see Granpa Great a.k.a. Zach's Grandpa. Zach and the boys shot guns. Charlotte and I stayed inside where it was warm.



Ben showing a leaf with a hole shot in it.

9 Months

- Charlotte is crawling around like a crazy woman. And she's fast.
- She has four teeth up top and four on the bottom
- Currently her eyes are green (like her Daddy's). They may still change, but I hope not because they are so pretty
- She is trying to stand by herself. She keeps letting go and standing for a moment or two, then plopping on her bottom.
- She is an amazing eater. She'll try just about anything. Currently the only thing she has completely rejected is baked squash. She was even gnawing on some lemon peel earlier today.
- Her favorite foods are yogurt, applesauce, chicken, Cheerios, and beans. But like I said, she'll pretty much eat everything.
- She isn't sleeping through the night. Boo.
- She loves drinking water. Especially with a little lemon in it.
- Charlotte loves her big brothers. She thinks they are hilarious and fascinating. (Caveat: unless they picking her up. Not cool.)









P.S. These photo shoots are getting increasingly difficult. Sitting still for a photo is not Charlotte's idea of fun.

Summer 2011: Maine

We got to go and visit my family up in Maine this September. It was a great time! We played around in the woods and wild, played in the ocean, roasted s'mores and had boatloads of fun!



The Fam and the Atlantic



Zach and Charlotte at beautiful Popham Beach



Ben wading into Knickerbocker Lake



Charlotte at Knickerbocker She really didn't like sitting in the sand. At all. And didn't like the cold water. At all. But she did manage smiles under these specific conditions.



The boys and I on Mom and Dad's sailboat. My, she is yar. It was loads of fun. Even when the boat keeled and the boys almost slid right into the water. Good times. We also all slept out on the boat one night. Slightly less good, but still good times. It was so beautiful out there on the water. We kept seeing all these monarch butterflies flying over the water. It was lovely.

We also got to go to the Common Ground Fair. It's brilliant. I was a little overwhelmed by the whole thing though. There was so much to see and so much information, I couldn't take it all in.



The boys spent all kinds of time watching the blacksmith work. They really enjoyed it. Then they all went to learn how to make fire. They used string and sticks. Zach was the first one to actually make fire and everyone clapped. The boys thought it was great.



Ben eating organic pizza and listening to a performer



Jen and Chris at Popham Beach. It was great to see them!



Charlotte taking a bath in my parent's sink. And being off the charts cute.

It was so much fun visiting. Thanks, guys! We loved it.

Oh, and here are some quotes from our time up there:

Before a game of chess:
Sam: Let's have a fair game, Ben.

Ben: Lobsterman almost always wear shoes!

While playing at Grimes Cove:
Ben: Mom, come in the water with me!
Katie: Oh no, Ben. It's too cold.
Ben: It's not cold! It's refreshing!

Summer 2011: Washington

We got to go up and see Zach's family in Washington this summer! It was great fun. We got to have fun with Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and cousins.


Cousins: Lydia and Charlotte


Aunt Emma in Leavenworth

We had a fun time up in Leavenworth. The boys loved playing in the river with their cousins.








Aunt Vanessa and Lydia in the Icicle River


The Boys watching some telly


Aunt Emma and a sleepy Charlotte


All the grandkids.

It was so much fun. We also went up to Quincy and played on the farm. The boys became one with the dirt and the gravel and grass. And the dirt. Did I mention the dirt? I also got the feed the cows corn husks, which I found unbelievably enjoyable. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of this because our camera was still mad at me about dropping it at the beach during Zach's marathon and wouldn't work at the time. Super sad. But, all the same, it was great fun.

Thanks guys! It was wonderful!

Summer 2011: Ben and Sam's Birthday

My little baby boys turned five this year! It is mind boggling. We had a lot of fun celebrating this year. We played in our (very) little pool, because it was a scorcher and went to McDonald's in classic birthday celebration fashion. Then came home for some cake and presents.



I'm pretty terrible at decorating cakes, but Ben liked the icing robot so much that he cut him out all for himself.



The party really got started when we went on our camping trip. The boys picked camping over a friend party. We went to a little state park in the middle of farming country. We woke up to a cow mooing quite loudly across the river.



We swam, splashed and played in the river. We had s'mores and burgers for dinner. The boys loved it. And Charlotte did well, too.



When we woke up and got packed up we went on a completely annoying hike. The "lake" we were heading to was more of an algae covered puddle, it was extremely hot, and the boys got worn out pretty quickly. The highlight was finding a dead possum on the trail.



But at least Charlotte looked cute.



Afterwards we went to the river's beach and let the boys fish for a while. They did great, but sadly didn't catch anything. They did completely drench their pants though, so not a total loss.



It was a most splendid birthday.