Weekend-O-Fun

Check out the size of this bad boy!

"Difficult?" I think not! There were times, however, where it felt as though we were almost perpendicular to the ground. I HAVE been known to exaggerate from time to time, however.

Boys will be boys! This is the Lewis and Clark Interpretive museum "hands-on" section for kiddos. Each animal had the number of people it would feed. Joseph fed 27 people with his victory over a Grizzly Bear.

Reading time with Nana.

This weekend, we went camping at Cape Disappointment. It is a 5-star camp ground and my expectations couldn't have been higher. The weather was suppose to kick start a toasty summer; operative word being 'supposed.' In true Washington fashion, however, we are sustaining a detour from the norm in terms of weather (greatest period of time not reaching 75 degrees). With this past winter being unseasonably warm, I should have suspected that summer would be unseasonably cold. We had two days of nice weather but Sunday, fathers day, took an unfortunate turn.

We went hiking and saw two lighthouses and visited the Lewis & Clark Interpretive museum which I love, love, LOVED! We walked on the beach and saw a sea lion pup. We also sat in on a camp talk hosted by the Washington State Park Foundation. This one was about the history of weapons used by the Chinooks. I love the educational component of these parks.

Birthday Stress

Birthday bag favors

I used blue and green- Joseph's FAVORITE colors. I made the kids luggage tags which was a great idea that I "borrowed" from the QUEEN of great ideas, Shawna.

These are reusable sandwich bags that I ordered from Etsy. Her name is Jo Anna Costa-Hants and she searched high and low all over San Francisco for the perfect material: sea life (pool party, get it?) and that's right... SUBMARINES!!! How cool!?

Here are the bags completed. I put Joseph's ABSOLUTE favorite snacks in the bags. M&Ms, granola bars, fortune cookies, Starbursts, a Hershey bar, Tootsie Rolls, and a Lolipop. There was also a bubble wand, Scrabble Cheese crackers, and a beach towel. Girls got pink polka dots and boys got the green and blue polka dots. Super cute!

Joseph wanted a Turtle Crown and while I made one for him, he made one for his turtle. He's such a crafty little man! Although you can't see it, Joey, Joseph and I are wearing matching aloha attire. I purchased matching outfits from Manuheali`i before we left Hawaii last year thinking I'd use them for Christmas pictures. Little did I know you can't go around Washington wearing spaghetti-strap dresses during winter without people pointing and laughing. They came in handy and at least we got to sport them before Joseph grew out of his shirt.

Cutie-pie Levi, Kate, and Lizzy grinding on the pizza and fruit.

Jacks and Claires giving me the cheese!

Ava and Joseph lovin' the camera!

Emma and Camden being absolutely adorable as usual. You can check out their pictures of Joseph's party here.

Chase and his siblings enjoying their lunch.

Joseph and Kenny playing with their squirt toys.

Of course, as with all birthday parties, I never have enough pictures because I'm too busy having a great time. I contemplated hiring a photographer but the one I had in mind was already booked this weekend. Boo. Hopefully Joseph will need only these pictures to remind him of the special day we planned for him.

Joseph Turns 5!

Birthday love from Miss Betty.

Joseph licked the icing off and that was it. He doesn't care much for cake. He's more of an ice cream man.

We're both wearing green to celebrate Joseph's birthday.

Dad made it to that classroom to celebrate Joseph's big day!

This is what I've been staring at for a month as I've been preparing for Joseph's party.

Camp Penrose

Grandma, Dad, and Joseph relaxing at the picnic table.

Joseph on the beach collecting shells and rocks.

We went on a spur of the moment camping trip to Camp Penrose which is a mere 30 minutes from our home. This time we invited Grandma and her little dog, Tora. Joseph absolutely positively loves loves LOVES his Grandma and camping with her was joyful and satisfying.

We had a great time in the woods riding bikes, hiking the trails, eating yummy food, and playing games. Joey and I re-learned cribbage... The first game I smoked him. Subsequent games he proceeded to completely annihilate me.

Rodeo Drive-In

Joseph, Joey, and I went to the Drive-In theater in Bremerton. The movies in the double feature were Shrek 4 and How to Train Your Dragon. It was so cool! Joseph met a four year old girl named Kayla. They played together for an hour and when it turned dark, we headed to the snack bar, then into our truck. The movie was hilarious. Incredibly, it dawned on me that the very first Shrek came out when Joey and I were about to celebrate our 1 year dating anniversary! We've been together for such a long time! In any case, Joey used to make fun of me for loving cotton candy but sure enough, he was lugging a big old bag for me! Joseph and Joey shared a tub of popcorn. I fell asleep during the second movie and when I woke up, we were home and ready to hit the sack.