Cole turns 5!

I can't believe my oldest son is now 5! He has been such a wonderful blessing in our lives. Cole is a great big brother to Mason and Hunter. He has a very kind heart and loves to snuggle with me, and work with Rusty. Cole is obsessed with Zorro and "saving the day" (it's nice having a super hero around!). He also loves racecars, trucks, tractors, and tools. He is such a joy to our family. Here is a look back to the August 11th(s) of the past 5 years.

Aug. 11, 2005 (Day he was born)

Aug. 11, 2006 (1st b-day)

Aug. 11, 2007 (spent his 2nd b-day at the zoo)

Aug. 11, 2008 (3rd b-day at the zoo, too)

Aug. 11, 2009 (4th b-day hunt with Daddy)

Aug. 11, 2010 (turning 5, blowing out candles in his waffles, and showing his new zorro boots and a racecar toy from Grandma Cherie Ann)

And just so you know, "Zorro" is really the one who blew out the candles on the b-day brownies...

Adventures in Climbing

I'm still deciding if I feel more sorry for the child about to fall or the dishwasher he's about to break?

And here's another-- climbing onto the table to spill some cups of water to splash around in = a lot of dangerous sliding, wet floor, wet table, wet baby.

Air Show 2010

We went to the Air Show 2 years ago...

My brother Toby serves in the Air Force, and even though he is now away on deployment, we still were all excited to be a part of the Fort Lewis/McChord Airshow this year. We had fun there (despite the hours it took to get there with crazy traffic and the 1 mile run I made back to the car with our diaper bag of snacks cuz I was told they'd throw out our food, and dang it-- I'd rather bring the goldfish crackers 1 mile back to the car than have them throw 'em into the trash. I mean who knows, I guess they could have been wired with explosives?? Oh, and the little part where I didn't have my ID to show at security so 'someone' (um, my dad) had the bright idea of trying to use my mom's instead. Do I look like I was born in 1949 and have short, curly hair?? Oh, let's not mention the shame I felt when the officer looked at me and said "Do you think I'm crazy?" And then continued with phrases like "falsely impersonating" and "lying to a federal officer". Yeah, I felt mortified! Fortunately, I wasn't punished and the guy let me through to "enjoy the day with [my] kids" and to recover from my shame. He must have felt sorry for me. In my defense-- Rusty drove that day and when Rusty drives, I try not to bring my purse (which has my ID). Having a diaper bag is enough baggage for me, and there was never any information around that said ID was required for admittance to the event.

Anyways, moving on..... we did have a great time. See for yourself:

When stuck in traffic-- powdered donuts are wonderful for ansy kids! / Toby's plane-- C-17

Tank sitting with cousins / My dad got to be the Hunter-holder for much of the day

We enjoyed the stealth bomber the best (probably cuz it was the quietest)/ Boys and Toys

Family Fun

My sister Koriane and her family drove up mid-July from Arizona for a visit. It was nice to have them come, and have an excuse for a few photos during out get-togethers:

With my sisters-- Koriane, Alissa, and our Mom

Rusty and I

Cole and Mason, and Hunter's sad-faced contribution (Rusty imitates him well)

Hunter is finally walking...

(Just not in this picture) 'Bout time, huh??

Is the table really that comfortable??

Camping at Soda Lake

Sometimes last minute trips are the best-- such was this one. We woke up to a dreary Saturday morning (July 3rd) and decided to get out of the gloom and go to the other side of the state in search of the sun. A few hours later, we'd packed up and headed out of town, intending to stay in Moses Lake/Pot holes (but everyone else must have had the same idea, and our hopes of getting away didn't include a crowd). Amazingly on our way out of town, we happened to turn onto a deserted, dusty road and found this place-- Soda Lake. So perfect; we set up camp overlooking the lake, and loved the fishing, the dirt, and the escape to nowhere!
We only stayed for 1 night (lots of wind and noisy coyotes convinced us to move on). We drove down to Pasco on the night of the 4th (where Rusty and I lived when we first got married), and enjoyed the firework show as we drove into town. We crashed in a hotel for the night, and visited old friends and old haunts the next day. We really miss that area! It was beautiful weather and though we were sad to end our last minute trip, it's always good to get home. Only bad part about the trip-- some of the things I forgot to pack in my haste (um, hair brush or comb-- let me tell you about wind-blown hair!, toothbrushes for the kids, and a few other things we survived without), and we were sad to lose Cole's glasses on our way out of town. He's been struggling a bit this last week without them, but we have ordered 2 more pairs and he is excited about new glasses.

Really, the kids are happy to be home (can't you tell by their faces?)

Can you believe it's been 7 years?

July 12, 2003

Hail the Preschool Graduate

Cole completed his first year of Preschool (June 2010)

This was Cole on his first day of Preschool (Oct. 2009)

It seems like he's changed so much!

May 2010

Mixture of things- from the month of May

I'm finally getting our photos loaded to the computer, and it seems that we've been busy this last month. Here's a look at us in picture form:
Rusty's swollen jaw. He had to have a root canal, poor guy. His tooth had been in pain for quite a while-- And when dad ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!

And the climbing for Hunter continues; he is non-stop and as you can see, into everything:

And this is just a sample of where he's been!

Cole has become quite the photographer lately-- he's always grabbing the camera and taking photos (it's an interesting surprise to upload photos and find where he's been with the camera) His photos are mostly the self-portrait kind, but often of his brothers too. And he always gets them to smile perfectly, while I struggle to even get them to look in the camera's general direction, let alone smile. Here's proof of his work:


We made cookies, and boy is the waiting tough for these yummy treats! Good thing we didn't stray far from the oven! This first picture is so funny to me because of the tight grip Hunter has on Cole's hair on the left and on Mason's shoulder on the right. He always wants to be right where they are!

Peering in the oven; And even more waiting

And here are a few more cute photos from the month of May (ya know, in case I didn't share enough!)
Love these boys!


And ending this with some good 'ol fashioned brotherly love!