Having Lots of Fun

The kids had a great time today.  First Rielee got to visit in the morning and then Jillian went to Rielee's place.  Then Rielee and her came back with Ava and Harper.  This ride on the hammock with Tierney pushing them high, was fun, scary, and exciting.  I watched Tor while Tierney played games with all the others.  They got along great together.

Cheese

Little Tor at 15 months is always amazing me at what he does sometimes.  He was chewing on this toy when I pointed the camera at him to take a picture.  He took the toy out of his mouth and said "Cheese",  a little ham already.

Summer Beach Vacation

School was out, so we headed to the beach for some fun and relaxation. Sunday was the nicest day, so we got a chance to spend some time on the sand. The girls went briefly into the ocean for some wave jumping, but it didn't last long because the water was freezing. Still, this was the first time that Bridget was really into jumping the waves. Tor had never really seen the ocean much, so he made a bee-line for the waves. He thought it was fun until he got knocked over twice and went under ... Bridget also got knocked over, and she was done, so we headed for warm sand. The girls enjoyed building sandcastles and running in the dunes, while Tor tried eating sand.

Much of the rest of the trip was spent indoors because of the weather. We spent 2 hours at the Astoria Pool, made a trip to Fun Land, had coffee and hot chocolate often at Adelaide's, watched all five of the Barbie movies, played some Hello Kitty Uno, rode bikes outside, and went to the playround. All in all, a very nice time.

Summer Fun

Jillian devised this game for Bridget.  She would put the tunnel in a challenging position and then see if Bridget could crawl through it.  Sometimes it looked like so much fun that Jillian or Sophie would also go through it.

The girls love to have Tierney come with them to play at the Play Fort.  They also like that she pushes them on the swing pretty high.  They decided here to try doubles on the swing.  I guess it worked pretty well.

The big hit of the day was a fishing pole that we got at a garage sale.  Papa put a plastic fish on the end and it didn't take long before Jillian had casting figured out.  They would be on top of the hill and she could cast it all the way to Robin and Dan's driveway.  Of course, it got caught in things several times.  I was impressed that they played with it together without bickering.  Tierney would count how many casts and then Bridget would get a turn.  This was an all day fun activity.  At the end Jillian lost the fish and Papa had to find a new one to put on.

Building with Brock

Jillian loves it when Brock comes.  This day they built a block house and Jillian this year even understood the mechanics of how to put it together so she helped Brock the whole time.  Also she kept telling him exactly how she wanted it.  After it was together, Jillian and Bridget had snacks and drinks inside.  Then when Tierney came she joined them inside their house.

Kindergarten Program

The kindergarteners at Jillian's school had a music program.  All four classes sang a song together then did individual programs.  Jillian's class had sea animals and told what they were.  Jillian had kelp. Then they played the xylophone and read music.  Then the children all sang another song together.  It was fun to watch.

Tor and Books

Just recently Tor has been bringing us books and wanting to sit in our laps and have us read to him.  He actually pays pretty good attention to the story and has tried to say a couple animal sounds in one book.  The problem is that he doesn't want to stop.  It's read it over and over and then he gets unhappy if you stop.  This day he actually carried the book outside and would sit down and read it himself.

Sleepover with Tierney

Jillian and Bridget got to have a sleepover on Friday night with cousin Tierney (while Tor stayed with Grannie and Papa). Here's a couple photos.

Party Time

It was Mommy's 10-year service recognition for PeaceHealth SW. We went to the Red Lion in Vancouver and enjoyed a nice dinner with some of her co-workers, and she even won a gift card to Outback Steakhouse. We also took a quick pic of ourselves. The kids, meanwhile, were having a sleepover with cousin Tierney.

Quad Rider

Last week I put Tor on the Quad and after showing him how to push the pedal he was off and riding.  The Quad is super slow and I walked with him for awhile but he got the hang of it easily.  If he stopped I would tell him to push his foot and he was off again.  I set it to go in big circles as he doesn't know how to steer yet.  As this picture shows, he was super serious the whole time and didn't want to stop.

Smoothie

Tor slept through the first round of smoothies so when Tierney came Papa made another batch and Tor got one.  Here is Papa having Tor drink it out of a straw.  He finished it in no time, making sure Papa didn't take it away between sips.

Messy Play Toy

I haven't had this out for awhile so it was a new messy novelty.  One side has sand and the other side has water. They had a ball mixing the sand in the water side and water in the sand side to make a big mess which Tor found delightful.  Bridget held back for awhile since she didn't want her hands sandy then joined right in.

Playtime with Meagan

Last night was a BBQ dinner at Papa Ken and Bev's house with the rest of the local Peterson clan, for a sendoff for Meagan who was heading back to North Dakota to work her new job. The kids got lots of quality time with Meagan, usually involving tackling and tickling.

Tor the Builder

Tor has shown some signs that he can build things ... we already knew he was pretty good at tearing things down (just ask Bridget, who has seen many of her block creations destroyed by Tor). He actually has a pretty steady hand, and can stack quite a few blocks.