Brian's Parents Visit!

Brian's parents have been coming monthly to work at the Seattle Temple for quite a while now. We had been wanting to let the boys go up and see them in their Temple clothes and have them tell them why they go to the Temple when they're here and what they do to help there. We cut it close on time, so they only got to see Brian's Mom, but since it was their last time there before their mission (they leave for Chile next month) we took advantage of the opportunity! The boys really enjoyed going there, seeing Grammy, and seeing the grounds. It was a beautiful fall Seattle day!

On Saturday Brian's parents got to go to Matthew and Adam's soccer games! Soccer has been a big part of our fall! Brian is coaching Matthew's team, which Matt loves! Adam has been playing on the select soccer team for Maple Valley and he loves it, but does practice twice a week, he has to be at his games 45 minutes early, and his games are all a 1/2 hour away - he absolutely loves it! It was fun to cheer them on!

After the soccer games we went to a nearby Pumpkin Patch! The boys loved the corn maze and picking out their pumpkins! I think they really just loved riding around in the wheelbarrows!

On Sunday the kids went on a nice walk with their grandparents, played some croquet in the backyard, and then Grandpa made caramel apples with the boys! What a fun weekend!

Mom's visit!

It was so fun to have my Mom come visit at the end of September! We had such a great time! The boys loved having her here - Matthew read his books to her, Adam loved telling her all about his school and Thomas Edison, and Nathan just wanted to hug her all the time!

We went downtown Seattle one day while she was here - we had a wonderful lunch at Anthonys, and went to Pike's Place. I still can't believe the beautiful flowers you can get for $10.00!

We also got to eat out at lots of fun restaurants! We went to the Cheesecake Factory right before taking her to the airport. Sometimes you just need your Mom - it was so good for me to have her here. She is so wonderful to us!

Matthew's First Day of Kindergarten!

Matthew was so excited to start Kindergarten! He has been asking all summer when it would start and his big day finally came! Kindergarten starts the week after the rest of the school and during that time he got to go in an meet with his teacher, Mrs. Blevins! We were pleasantly surprised to learn when he got her that she lives on our street! She is so nice and Matthew is really excited to be in her class!

Waiting for the bus!

Matthew was so excited to ride the bus! He is actually my first Kindergartener, since Adam went straight to P1 (Primary 1) in Scotland - they don't have kindergarten there. I followed the bus to the school and met him out in line as his teacher greeted them. I was doing great until he broke out of the line to give me a big hug right before going into the school! My little guy is growing up so fast! He'll do great and love school, but I'm sure going to miss him!

Adam's First Day of 3rd Grade!

Adam was really excited to start 3rd grade! He was a little nervous because he decided to go to a new school and be a part of the Discovery Program offered by the district at Shadow Lake school. The Discovery Program is for accelerated learners and after testing in May he was accepted to the program and decided to give it a try!

He was mostly sad about not going to the same school as Matthew, since this would be their first year together! This quickly became okay when he learned that they would still get to ride the bus with Matthew and his friends and then Adam takes a transfer bus to Shadow Lake. We are very excited for him and know that he'll really enjoy the new school and program!

Camping with the Mitchells!

For our Christmas present the Mitchells gave us a weekend campout and we have been looking forward to it all year! We went to Fort Williams - mostly because Brian wanted to camp on the coast. I guess since this was our second time camping in the rain on the coast this year that next year we will be trying camping inland! Since Brian had been in Japan I picked him up at the airport on the way down and we didn't get there until late. The bonus was that the rain had settled to a drizzle by that point! Lucky for us the Mitchells had a canopy - much more fun than hanging out in the tent! We got to celebrate Joshes birthday with cupcakes and then roasted some marshmallows while Brian entertained the group with some stories. He's becoming famous for his stories!

The next day was still rainy at times so after a picnic at Cannon Beach we headed south for a tour of the Tillamook Cheese factory! It was fun to show the kids how the cheese is made and packaged and they loved the samples after! The ice cream was a hit too! It was a really fun day and we were so glad we got to get together again before the end of the summer!

Cali Trip Part 2 - Monterey Beach

Hit the beach! It was so fun to be back at the beach! We had so much fun playing in the waves and the sand - and only wish that it would have been warmer! The temperature in the morning was low 60's and overcast and generally around 2:00 it would burn off and warm up to the low 70's! We still managed to have a wonderful time though!

The boys loved jumping the waves (no matter the size)!

One of the days we headed up to Santa Cruz and met up with our good friends the Wirthlins (minus Spencer and Brian). Cheri and I and the kids had a great time! The kids got to go on a couple of rides, we had lunch, and then went to the beach! Cheri brought their boogie boards and the boys loved trying them out! It was so fun to see them again!

Monterey was a lot of fun! We hit the shops on Cannery row and we went to their famous aquarium! It was absolutely amazing! The boys especially loved all of the opportunities to touch the starfish, hermit crabs, sea cucumbers, and urchins. The big tanks were just amazing though and we luckily hit all of the feedings, which made it even more fun!

After a very long day at the aquarium the boys wanted to rest at the hotel, but I wouldn't let them. It was our last day and the weather was beautiful and I made them go to the beach! :) I did tell them they could just rest on the towel if they wanted, but I just couldn't go inside! Happily Brian met us shortly after he finished work. After the beach we had to drive 30 minutes to the nearest In n' Out - even with all the great restaurants in Monterey we just couldn't resist!

After a wonderful three days at the beach we headed back up north - Brian had some meetings in San Jose and then we went to help Eric and Sandy (Brian's brother's family) move into their new place - he will be going to Stanford in the fall and we happened to be there the same weekend they were moving in. It was fun to see them! Then we stayed at the Wirthlins and had a great visit with them and the next day had a great dinner with Cam (my brother) and Lori! So fun to have so many loved ones in the same area - hopefully we'll be going back soon! What a great way to end the summer!