The Boy Loves His Legos

I don't know what would happen if Legos had not been discovered around here.

So many hours have been spent building and breaking, and re-building.

Massive amounts of hand-eye coordination have been discovered.

The creativity and imagination have been worked and re-worked, and continue to develop daily.

Ty, can literally put a 700 piece lego set together in an hour.

He is amazingly fast...

And then he is so proud!

He has been trying to get into the lego magazine since his last birthday.

You build sets, and then take pictures, and send them in, and if you are lucky get featured...

It hasn't happened yet, but I can tell you how many Lego pictures I have taken...

Of

My son.....

AND his Legos.

Loves...

These kind of pictures....

Just make me smile.

Tyler can read now, like no other.

I don't even know how it happened. I blinked...and he got big. FAST.

How is my little boy, my baby boy, able to read. And do math. And function as a logical problem-solving little person.

He is smart.

SMART

And it is rubbing off.

Makylie is Smart too! In a way that just blows me away all of the time.

I am certain she will pick up reading in kindergarten. She knows all of her alphabet, she can count to about 130, and she processes logic in at least a first grade manner.

This little girl who almost literally didn't talk until she was three...is certainly making up for it now.

Mariners...

We went to our first Mariners game since Tyler was born. It was a lot of fun.
We went with our friends and watched as they lost.
Still, it was fun!

The game was fast. Inning after inning...no edge of your seat action...
because well....they lost.

The kids had a great time though.
It was just HUGE to them.
We have gone to minor league games...and of course it is nothing in comparison to this...


Everyone laughed and smiled...
And had fun.

Tyler was amazed at the lines on the field
He couldn't stop talking about them...

(I kinda like him)
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The little kids brought their Build a Bears.

We used baby clothes to dress Makylie's in Mariner gear!

And Makylie too of course....

Ty's Build a Bear actually has Mariner clothes because that is what he picked when he made it.

The kids ate hot dogs, and licorice ropes!

Karman has been to games when she was younger...but it has been a long time.

Max was one of the CUTEST cheerleaders!

Ty would have liked to go down and play with them.

The field really is gorgeous. We were lucky enough to get a beautifully perfect warm and sunny day, so the roof was open...that was to be able to enjoy.

This was on our way out.

I came home and uploaded my favorite pictures here...waiting to have time to write on the blog, I simply saved my pictures. I was so glad I did...because my SD card for my camera decided it was going to freeze up on me, and as far as anyone can tell...the pictures are not retrievable.

So these are the only picture memories of that day. I had saved most of what was on that disc, but not this game or anything after....

So, I was very happy when I remembered that I had already uploaded these to the blog!
I did lose a couple of Ty with his friend Sean....but at least I have some!!

After the game we all headed over to Dicks.

We got dinner.....

And....well...

Ice cream!!!

Karman got maple nut, Ty got mint chocolate chip, and Max got chocolate.

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Good Day

Good Friends

Good Times!

What?????!!!!

So, I took Karman shopping for school clothes.

While we were gone, I got a text.

It was from Kevin and it said simply this...

"Makylie says it smells like kangaroo in here."

Ummmm....WHAT?????
He said she was COMPLETELY matter-of-fact about it too....and it was completely out of NOWHERE!

We are wondering when the last time she smelled a Kangaroo was...
We are still laughing everytime we talk about it!

Just a day...

Monday, August 30th, we were on our way to the Evergreen Fair.

We were discussing whether to stop and get pre-paid tickets, or to use a coupon that we had and which would be the better deal...

I turned to Kevin and said, "well at least Makylie is free..."

She then said...VERY matter-of-factly, and little bit irritated....

"I am not "free", I am FOUR!!!"
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That little girl...
She is so smart and opinionated!
She is such a sasser!
She is such a thinker! She spends her time processing things all of the time, and then says something...and you just wonder, WHERE it came from! Then you realize she is putting her thoughts on a conversation that finished an hour before. She just spent all of that time thinking about the whole thing. Usually, her comments are really smart too. Things that actually took that processing time to come up with.

This was the same day that she told us that it would be scary to die.
WHAT???? Where did that come from?
We still don't really know...but it was a complicated thought for a four year old, in my opinion.

Her mind is funny. Her little thoughts and opinions that are making her such a whole person.
It amazes us every single day.

We laugh and marvel about who she is evolving into.

She keeps us guessing.
She certainly keeps us smiling!

Kids...
They are a phenomenon...
How they make their mark on us, long before we ever meet them...
How they surprise us with their remarkable way of growing into functioning little people.
How, even in their worst moments, you just simply, IN NO WAY, can imagine your life without them.
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I wouldn't trade FOUR for anything!!!!

Happy Friday!

My Little Entrepreneur

Seriously cute!

We had a garage sale, and Makylie decided she should work too.

Kevin was in Bellevue helping his parents with a project, and Tyler went with him, so it was all Makylie.

At first she was so quite and wouldn't talk to anyone...but once she warmed up, and realized people were actually going to GIVE her money....she opened like a little blossoming flower!

She helped make the sign, and wrote lemonade all by herself...

Lemonade was 25 cents. Most people gave her more.

Some older couples just wanted to talk to her, and make jokes with her, and then gave her money...but didn't want lemonade.

She loved that because it reminded her of her grandpa.

She looked so cute.

She was so hot, and tired, and actually pretty bored in between customers, but she kept at it.

She did most things alone, but isn't quite big enough to handle the lemonade, so I helped her pour.

Seems that I should have put out a whole bake sale for her because people were just buying left and right. We went through almost all of the lemonade that we had.

Everytime she got another quarter, or dollar or anything...she would whisper to me...

Mommy, how much does that make do you think?

She just melts me.

All told, she made $14.83. (We don't quite know how that happened)

She shared a little with her brother, which was adorable...

and then stuffed the rest in her piggy bank!

Love my little Entrepreneur!

One Gigantic Cookie

I made this AMAZING....GINORMOUS COOKIE

It was as big as a pizza! It cooks perfectly!
I have tried to make big cookie before...and they are always over done on the edges and undone in the middle. But this recipe....let me just tell you...sooooooo good! So perfect!

I made them as gifts...and they were so perfect and LOVED by everyone!
They fit perfectly on 12" cake rounds that you can buy at Michaels...and then you wrap them up. I am telling you...I will make these every single year for teachers and if there is an event where I need to bring an item!
It is the talk of the table if you do.
***Add a pizza cutter and you just have an AMAZING gift for someone!
Plus, it really is easy to make!
Try it out....you won't be disappointed!!!

This is the recipe that I found HERE

Recipe makes one Giant Cookie

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter (melted and then cooled)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
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1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 butterscotch chips (optional)
You could also add nuts, or m&ms, or anything else you wanted
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, cream together the sugars and the butter. Add the egg and vanilla and cream again. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Line a large baking pan with foil and press the cookie into about a 9 inch circle...it will spread to 12 inches as it bakes.

Bake for 13-16 until the cookie is lightly golden brown. The trick is to NOT overbake.
Let the cookie cool completely on the baking pan so it can have time to stabilize and set up.
Once cool, gently use the foil to lift off of the pan.


Raelyn

Introspection...

I have been re-evaluating things lately.
More then I think anyone around me realizes.

I have been in kind of a "funk" and have been trying to figure out what is wrong, or what needs to be fixed in order to come out of it.
I still don't think I really know...but one thing is for sure today, as it has been for years...I am not happy with my body.
I worked so hard, for so long and did really well. I had great results.
THEN...I started losing very little if any and it got very self-defeating. So I slowly started moving back toward my old ways, my bad habits...and
it seems that now...those old habits, have become new again.

So I am getting back on the horse.
I am setting some new goals.
I am quite mad at myself, because now I have to RE-lose some of what I already lost..
but I am going to do it!




It is funny...with the few pounds that I have put back on...how different I feel. Mentally, and physically.
Before, I felt like I could take on the world...

Now I have lost confidence again, I feel like everyone is staring at me, and mentally, that I am starting from absolute scratch.
And, it is literally a few pounds.

Definately a big part of my "funk" that I know I am in.

Just summer....

Ahhhhh....summer.
It is a beautiful thing.

As much as I am actually NOT a fan of the heat...and not a sun lover (because it does contribute to my migraines)....when summer does finally hit the Seattle area, it really is nice.

There is a different feeling when the sun wakes you in the morning.
I have a bit more energy...I am happier...I am eager to get outside with the kids.

But seriously...
if there were NOTHING else...

Summer would thrill me for this reason alone....

HANDS DOWN.....
This says summer to me!

Just so you know....best cantaloupe EVER!

Some thoughts.

So....
I seem to have developed a bit of a love/hate relationship with blogging.

I love...and mean a lot...having a memoir, if you will. Having a physical journal to look back on. The idea of getting my years published and being able to look at them forever.
Having a place that my kids can see the funny things they said or did, and remember milestones....forever.

I also love, having an outlet.
Back in the day, I used to write. I used to write A LOT!
I have MANY journals from when I was young.
I was in every AP English class I could take.
I have notebook after notebook of poems that I created, or stories that I wrote.
Then I had kids.
Everything changed. It seemed as though I couldn't put two intellectual thoughts together anymore, let alone get it on paper for preservation purposes.
I quit writing. Almost completely.

Over time, I turned to scrapbooking...that became my outlet.
HOWEVER,
Over time, it also became too time consuming and exhausting, and it too, took a backseat to life.
As much as I want too, I still can't even figure out digital scrapbooking, so I was at a loss.

So, I came upon blogging because of a friend.
I love it!
I love the idea of it.
I love the reality of it.
I love to write. I love to contemplate. I love to compose thoughts into a working process.
Somedays, as a mom and a wife...I just feel so underappreciated, so undervalued...but doing this kind of makes me feel like I am contributing something into the adult world. It makes my mind "work", and forces me to have to churn the often, mumbles in my head into something a bit more pliable.

And again, I love having this "scrapbook".

However, a few months ago I started another blog. An outlet for my crafts, recipes and ideas which are the other half of the mess that is going on in my head.

Now starts the hate part.

It takes up so much time.
I don't even mean the physical time it takes...I think about it constantly.
Lately, I have been thinking that I really need to catch up on BOTH blogs...but then...I just don't.
It seems like I am not, on purpose. Like a rebelious teenager. It is daunting, and frustrating, and time consuming...so I just don't.

I kept thinking and saying, that come summer, with the lack of routine, I could catch up on everything in blogland.
I haven't.

I could give all of my excuses....
Sports and swim lessons.
My mom was in town, staying with us.
My sister and nephew were in town for two weeks staying with us.
We did a little "staycation".
We went camping.
My niece stayed with us.
etc...etc...

Yes, life has been trucking along around here....and instead of documenting any of it, with the MILLION pictures that I take...I have just watched the clock tick by, saying that I should.

I have seen a lot of talk about being present in the day and soaking every minute of the summer as the bonding time that it is meant to be. Spending days blissfully routineless, counting smiles instead of minutes....making memories instead of order. Taking in the saturation of innocent love that kids have to offer...Letting time be a part of lives instead of dictating our lives.
I agree.
Fully.
At this moment, now, today...My kids deserve to have me...in the present...doting on their every word.

I do however, get very sad...when I have done all of these super cute, and fun things with the kids, and our little trips, and my family's visits...and there is absolutely NO written memory of it. I want to preserve it because unfortunately...memories, that we think will always be as sharp as they are now, do fade...

I want to remember how I feel today...
Why things made me laugh...who the kids are...who I am...
I really don't know how I got so lucky, to get all that I have. I do the best that I can...I do the best that I know. And I sure have gotten smarter over the years! But in no way do I think I have it all together and figured out. Most days...I just try to put one foot in front of the other like everyone else. I know I am a good mom! I do my best to be a good wife. I just sometimes get caught in the feeling that I need to be more. I don't really know what that means....but it is how I sometimes feel.

So, for our family...I am going to be catching up. I will have to back pedal, but that is OK. I have to be OK with that. That is where I tend to end up where I am...I get too overwhelmed with all that needs to be done, so I end up doing NOTHING!
I am going to post about my sisters visit...and camping...and our "staycation"...and berry picking...and....
I will post currently, but in the post put the actual timeline.
I will try to do most all of this, at night, when my kids are in bed, so that I don't feel guilty.

I also have a lot to do on my other blog. I don't so much need to catch up as allow myself to move forward.
With missing so much time on that site, which I designed to get other people to read it...I kept feeling like I should go backward and fill in the dates...that is too overwhelming...
So, I will just move forward.

So there it is.
I am hoping for a love/love relationship again.

My goal is to order my first book in December for this year and last year....sooooooooooooo!!!!!!

Super duper sorry for the VERY wordy post!
Sweet hubby took the kiddos on a bike ride, and I am alone...and once I started...it just FLOODED!!!

Camping...the Goodtimes way

As Every year...this one was no different.
Camp Goodtimes commenced and we ferried over to Vashon.
This year had a little bit of a different feel for us. It would be Karman's last year at her cancer camp.
She has gone, every single year, since she was 9.
It was kind of a strange feeling knowing that we wouldn't be heading back the next year.

But we did. We trekked along the path just like the nine years before.

Loving the ferry ride...and enjoying the crisp but beautiful air.

The little kids have never NOT gone on this trip. Every year that they have been alive we have headed to the island. In fact, Tyler's first trip he was only 3 days old...

The camp atmosphere is something I could never truly convey to people.
It is happy and loud and obnoxious in a way that leaves you feeling so completely lost in the magic that you almost forget you are leaving your kids there. Those who are, forget they are sick. They are able to put chemo and hospitals behind them...and for one week...live like they should be able to. Parents walk away feeling OK about those kids. Knowing that for this week, they can act like little kids, and laugh and sing and dance without a care in the the world. They are taken care of, and and completely accepted, no matter what!

It is a place that is surrounded by cancer...and/or the idea of cancer and yet it is a place for kids and parents alike, to just forget all about it.

This years theme was MYSTERY.....
So her cabin's name was the Whoodunits.
Cute.

Setting up her Bunk...

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One of the really fun things for both Karman and us is that halfway through their week at camp they get to go on an Argosy Cruise.
While on their trip, every single year, they pull into the Red Robin on the water in Seattle. They park the boat and SING VERY LOUDLY...and make a bunch of noise...and try to temp the diners to throw french fries at them.

Again, I truly can not explain the situation. You would need to hear the noise level.
Over the years, people have learned of this tradition and they come to the docks of Red Robin to meet the boat.
Us included.
Every year we are out there...waiting to hear the impending sound of 300 kids singing YMCA. I don't know why that is always the song of choice...but it is.

All of the kids are on the front of the boat just waiting for the audience to get involved...and every year they do.
I take a good hundred pictures...and with my fancy zoom lens I can actually get up close and personal with Karman...even though she is quite far away.
Here she just after catching a french fry that was thrown at them.

It is a fun memory to have every year.
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Inevitably...camp comes to a close.
On the last day there is always a show. Each cabin puts on a little skit for the parent program.

This was something that was kind of cool...and new this year. It is a sail that has all of the kids pictures on it. Karman is down on the bottom left.

So Karman's last year was a good year. I think there was a little teenage drama involved...but bottom line is...that the week ends, and you come back to the "real world"...so you may as well have a good time while you are there.

In all of the years that we have attended Camp Goodtimes...the thing I've gathered that is so amazing about it, is that for 5 days...these kids are enveloped in a love, and a camaraderie that is so unique that they are able to float on a level of magic that the real world could never provide.
Considering some of their stories...they deserve a week like that!