At the Park

Here's some more pictures my Brother took while he was here.

Too close for comfort

This squirrel had no fear, and of course Eli wanted to pet it.
Usually animals run away from a charging toddler which makes my job, keeping Eli from getting bit, easy. This squirrel was a different story, he was not just curious, but a little hostile. The squirrel finally made some angry noises and charged Eli, at which point I screamed and pulled Eli out of the way. I really think there was something wrong with this guy, needless to say we were done with the squirrel encounter.

More from Halloween

Just like Daddy

Cordless headphones are amazing, Ben can watch TV while I talk on the phone, do the dishes or vacuum and everyone can hear only what they want to hear! We seriously use them daily.

Lakeview Farms Pumpkin Patch

A special thanks to "Papa" for the beautiful pictures!

Uncle Chris

My Brother Chris came to visit last week. No mater how many times we told Eli his name is "Uncle Chris", he kept calling him "Papa". He would even repeat "Chris" after us, but then say "Papa's guitar" or "Papa's shirt". It's been a few days since Chris left, but Eli is still asking for Papa!

Trunk or Treat

Ben and I dressed up as Farmers and Eli was a Cow.
Eli didn't know what to do at the first couple of cars, but he caught on quick. He couldn't get from one car to the next fast enough, he just kept yelling "Trick a Treat".

The Smiths made home made root beer, it was delicious.

Eli and Kylie
Eli kept saying "Kyie Pumpon" which means Kylie is a Pumpkin!

Happy Halloween

The cold and wet weather has been keeping us indoors more than usual. As time goes on we'll get desperate and go out anyways, but I haven't quite gotten to that stage yet. This morning I decided to tackle Eli's closet, and of course he "helped".

He kept saying "Bee, Bee, Mama", but I didn't pay attention because he calls all bugs bees and he always thinks lint, spots, and small holes are bees. Eventually I looked down and he's holding a spider as big as his palm in one hand and attempting to pet it in the other hand. This wasn't a Daddy Longlegs either it was fat and hairy, maybe I'm just imagining, but I swear it had fangs! Of course I freaked out screamed, grabbed his arm and flung the spider on the floor.

By this time Eli is in hysterics, because of my reaction, and is clinging to my leg for dear life. The spider landed on it's back with all the legs up in the air, and didn't move. I felt some relief and thought maybe it was dead, we were calming down and I hoped it had been dead all along. It didn't seem so bad to think of Eli holding a dead spider, dead spiders don't bite.

Unfortunately we had no such luck, it turned over and started running, causing fresh hysterics for both of us. Finally I grabbed the lid to a Rubbermaid tub, scooped it up and flushed it down the toilet. Normally I don't flush live spiders for fear they'll come back up, but I couldn't squish something that big and I had to think fast. By the time we were done shaking and the nausea passed I thought it would have been good to get a picture.

Day 1 Tacoma Trip

The first day was mostly getting to Tacoma and checking into our hotel.
We did get out to the "Tot Lot" though.

Day 2 Tacoma Trip

We spent the entire day at Point Defiance Park. First we went to the zoo, they had a really cool kids zone with small exhibits and a playground. We saw the sharks being fed, we fed and brushed the goats, and Eli's favorite we watched them mow the lawn. It's a nice zoo, but a little smaller than what we're used to.

Eli loved the Beluga Whales.
We sing the song and have a book about them at home, so Eli got to finally see them live.

Eli had his first ride on the Carousel

We visited the Botanical Gardens

Eli wanted to get in the duck pond

Day 3 Tacoma Trip

We went to Odyssy 1 indoor play place in the morning. It's like a McDonald's play structure on steroids. It was only $2 for Eli to pay and we didn't have to pay to supervise (play).

We spent the evening downtown. We walked around the Museum of Glass
and had dinner.

This cone is the Museum

Ben loved all the unique bridges of Tacoma

Rock Candy glass sculptures

Part of the display on the Bridge of Glass

We didn't actually go inside the museum, a toddler and a museum full of glass doesn't sound like it would mix well.

We got a treat at Hello Cupcake!
They taste delicious, but were a little rich. We paid for it with stomachaches all night.

Day 4 Tacoma Trip

We started the day at NW Trek
We almost didn't get in because they weren't accepting credit cards due to a power outage (who carries cash anymore?) I guess a watermelon truck had hit a power line in the middle of the night and the surrounding area was without power. They took our credit card and we ran to catch the 10 am tram.
The tram ride was fun and we saw Moose, Elk, Bison, Deer and Mountain Goats up close and in their natural habitat. Everything was great until the hour long ride ended up being 15 min too long for Eli. We had a baby melt down on a scenic nature tram, not too fun.
We thought after we got off of the train he'd be more interested in seeing the other animals. The electric fence was up and running by this time, so they had let out the bears and big cats out.
Eli was unable to recover and we had to flee the park.
We did get to see the watermelon wreckage on the way out.

Later that evening we went to Salter's Point beach and Eli got to throw some more rocks in the water. There were railroad tracks close by and we got to see a huge freight train barrel through going top speed.

Day 5 Tacoma Trip

We started the day at Wapato Park, but it just wasn't too fun. So, we packed up and headed to the next park on the list where we found a lot to do.

McKinley Playfield

Eli getting dizzy in the spinning bucket

Ben wants to be like Eli

Eli wants to be like Ben

The spray ground looked cool, but the weather wasn't warm enough for us to get wet

Just for Chris

Thanks Uncle Chris for the cute Hawaiian outfit! He'll need it to help him stay cool this summer.
Eli says "hdxnHBIU FRFJFCJINRFE L;,W2Xn"

New Duds

I bought Eli his first dress shirt and tie yesterday. I waited until now because he's been growing out of things so fast I didn't think it was worth it. He looks so cute (and he thinks the tie is hilarious) I wish I had splurged earlier!

The Coast

We went to the Oregon Coast today!
We checked the weather before we left and it said 85 and sunny.
We didn't bring jackets, and regretted it. Ben had to wear a towel, but it wasn't like we were going to be using it for anything else on a day like today.
We visited the Cape Mears lighthouse, and a giant Sitka Spruce tree.
We headed to the Tillamook Cheese Factory for lunch. Eli was fascinated with the cheese assembly line, and of course who doesn't love German Chocolate Cake ice cream?
We had fun, just not the kind of fun we envisioned when we left the house. Maybe we'll use the pail and shovel next time.

Timothy Lake

We went camping again this weekend!
We stayed at Gone Creek Campground on Mount Hood, which is possibly the most beautiful place I've ever camped. The water was clear, the trees were green and the mountain was majestic. Our site felt private, our neighbors were quiet, and they have bathrooms.
What more could we ask for?
Eli slept better this time with the pack-and-play set up in the tent. I was impressed with how quickly he fell asleep, and he still slept 12 hours on both nights. That's right, we didn't have to come home early this time! It was pretty warm the first night, but last night was freezing.
Eli spent a good amount of time chasing chipmunks around our campsite. He kept holding out his hand and saying "nice"(which means he wants to pet it). The rest of the time he played at the edge of the river, what more could a little boy want than water and rocks?
We hiked a little bit around the lake, but Eli gets tired after a short distance and the umbrella stroller isn't all terrain. The Kelty Backpack won't fit in our tiny car with all the camping gear, I think we need a rooftop carrier for our next adventure.