Breaking Records

This Morning's Headline

There it is, rearing it's hot head at 6 AM

104 degrees? Is this Washington State or Arizona? We went from record breaking snowfall last winter to a record breaking heat wave. Global warming indeed. What happened to the lovely, mild weather of the great northwest? Holy crap, I'm sweating just sitting here writing this. My kids have been running around in just underwear & diapers the last few days, bathing in the pool & washing with sunblock. And my poor dog is about to pass out. Who turned on the heat?!?! I had to roll back and re-read my blogs from last winter when I was disgusted with all the snow, to help me appreciate this weather a little more. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the sun. I love summer. But 104 is insane. I guess I'm just never satisfied....I complain about the snow, I complain about the heat. I was thanking God last night for the electricity it was taking to run all the fans in our house. AC is a luxury I never fully appreciated until now.....

Mustang Club

Obsessed is a strong word to use, especially when referring to a four year old child....but for some reason that is the only word that comes to mind when I think of Scotty and his love of trucks & cars. Particularly, Mustangs and Corvettes. He figured out on his own that Corvettes have trademark dual tail-lights and Mustangs have the horse emblem on the front or back. He will spot them a mile away, so its a constant game of "I spy" when we're driving along. Sometimes his excitement is enough to drive us off the road. When we went on our road trip down to Oregon last weekend, we passed a "Corvette Club" on the freeway. There were about 16 corvettes in a row and I thought Scotty was going to jump right out of his window. Sadly, Jay and I find that we play the I Spy game even when Scotty isn't in the car! Thus, there was no question in my mind whether or not I would take him to downtown Port Orchard when I learned they would be hosting the annual "Mustangs on the Waterfront" car show. I knew he would be excited, but I didn't know exactly how much until we got there. I barely had Zac out of his car seat by the time Scotty was admiring the first Mustang in the line; "Hurry Up Mom" he was yelling. He could hardly contain himself. I think he looked at every single vehicle in the show, about 200 in all from 1964 to present day models. There was a line of models, 1979-1993, that didn't have the horse emblem on the front, only the Ford logo.

Scotty was quite disinterested in those, insisting that they were not mustangs...and what's with this Ford logo anyway? So I had to explain the whole bit about make and model. He was still not completely convinced, so he now refers to those models as the "Ford" Mustangs, as if to discredit them in some way. OY! Our only regret is that Jay was not there to enjoy it with us. Scotty brings out Jay's inner child and I know they would've had a blast. So, does this "obsession" mean my son is going to be a mechanic? A car collector? A race car driver? Well, as Jay and I always say, let's just hope he graduates high school....

This First One...

The first section we came upon

Impressed with the "colored" emblem

The Mustang "with Wings"

Checking for that horse emblem

A Mustang in Scotty's size

Bree's Dream Car....keep dreamin' honey...

8 TRACK! That was probably SO COOL back then...

They Can't Be Babies Forever....

Eventually we'd like the boys to share a room as little boys do, with bunk beds and the whole bit. But for training purposes, I set up Zachary's new bed in his own room. I was going to leave the crib in the room just in case, but then decided at the last minute to take it apart and get it out of there so that he doesn't think there's an option. That was hard emotionally, but I did it. When it was time for bed, he did give me a bit of grief, which was to be expected. But he finally laid down and was out quick. Didn't realize how it would affect me, but when I came out into the living room and the crib was in pieces, I felt my heart sink and my eyes got teary. I can't believe my baby isn't a baby anymore. Granted, he won't be two for another couple months, but he's pretty eager to learn. Of course, I've got to give credit where it's due and that's to big brother, Scotty....he's been the best example for Z and seems to take pride in teaching him new things. The potty was the latest thing (who needs to aim for cheerios when you've got a big brother to show you the ropes?). And now he's sleeping in a real bed. I just can't believe how easy it's been, but that ease is coming at a bittersweet pace...

Coburg Golden Years

Yesterday Scotty and I took a road trip down to Oregon to a little town just north of Eugene/Springfield called Coburg, to visit with my friend Brandy and meet her new baby, Savannah. As well as see other friends, too.

Since I didn't want to leave Zac overnight with his grandma, I decided to make the 4.5 hour drive twice in one day. We left by 6 AM and came home by 930 PM. Not bad. We had a great time with our friends and had quality mommy-Scotty time. It just so happened to be Coburg's Golden Years festival and we made it just in time for the parade. Brandy's husband, Erik, is a firefighter and he was driving one of the vintage fire trucks in the parade, so Scotty and I were invited to sit on the top with everyone to throw candy and wave to the bystanders. It was a pretty fantastic experience for Scotty, as he is fascinated by fire trucks.

Our view from the top

After the parade, we watched the annual Waterball competition between fire fighter teams from over 20 districts. It was entertaining and refreshing when the mist from the hoses would hit the crowd in the 90 degree weather.

Scotty played mini-golf, sprayed hoses in the kids water games and even got a temp. tattoo. It was a fun day and totally worth the long drive.

Getting ready to shoot the water hose at the target with the help of friend, Jenn.

The Block Comes Back......Again

WE ARE SO COOL

Representing the "new generation" NKOTB fans

Bree and Me

Our Feet (a signature thing Nikki and I do)

A pic of our shirts up on the big screen

Here they come - AHHHHHHH!!!

Mmm Hmm

The Platform

Oh So Close....just the wrong guy....

So Nikki and I learned that New Kids on the Block were coming back to town. Still not sure of why they returned just seven months after their last concert (yeah, yeah they need the money...whatever...) but you won't hear us ever complaining! We bought tickets as soon as they went on sale and last night we attended the concert. This time it was at the amphitheater in Auburn, a pretty sweet venue. We also decided to bring my nieces, Bree and Makayla, along since they have now embraced this beloved boy band. Not to mention, the opening acts cater to their age group.....JABBAWOCKEEZ (I had no idea who these guys were, but for those of you 'America's Got Talent' fans....) and Jesse McCartney, yet another teeny-bopper type musical wonder. I don't think the producers realize that most of the audience is in the "30-something" age range.....but it was entertaining nonetheless. We had the front row of the section we were in and we were ecstatic (understatement) when we noticed five strategically placed platforms in the aisle in front of us. Just as we suspected, the guys appeared mid-show on those platforms!! Unfortunately, Donnie and Joey, both our favorite guys, were on platforms further away from us, but Jordan appeared directly in front of our seats. Bree was wearing a shirt that said "Before Justin (Timberlake), there was Jordan"....well, Jordan took note of that, grabbed her hand & intertwined their fingers. AWWWWW, she got to touch him! Needless to say, Bree was flying high and vows never to wash her hand again. Nikki and I figured later that it was probably in everyone's best interest that Donnie or Joey were not the ones on the platform in front of us.....I may not be here today to write this blog if Donnie were that close. (sigh).....we may get older, but they will never get old to us :)

A Happy 4th

Shon & neighbor Stephanie

The Volleyball Games

Our live entertainment, neighbor Brian & his high school buddies

Our Neighborhood Watch; Jay, Matt & Josh

Slip N Slidn'

Cousins

Nikki's Jello Shots (OY!)

Shon & Nik

We celebrated the holiday BBQ'ing with family and friends on the 3rd, at our friends house that overlooks the bay and enjoyed the annual 3rd of July fireworks display. Then on the 4th, most all of our closest neighbors joined in a block party where we played volleyball, listened to live music and indulged in lots of great food, topping it off with our own fireworks right here in the comfort of our own cul de sac. It was the best 4th we've had in a long time. Just a year ago we were new to the neighborhood and didn't know a soul, so to be partying with them this year was super cool. We are so blessed to be living in this country, the greatest land of all, and so fortunate to have the freedom to celebrate it! God Bless America!!

Scotty's Birthday

Zac trying his hand at the Razor, who needs a tri-scooter?

The kids: Trenton, Sarah, Robert, Zac, Jacy, Scotty, Hailey, Cody

The Bungee

The Rings

One half of the Gym

The Mariners Cake (I swear this was not my idea! He saw it at the store and had been asking for it ever since!)

Can't believe he's FOUR!! Wasn't I just planning his first birthday?!?! Time really flies when they are little. We celebrated with pizza and cake last night where he opened our gift of his very first scooter and helmet, which he loved. My dad and Vicky also gave him a Razor scooter, but he has to work on his skills a bit before graduating to the two-wheel option. We actually had his birthday party last Saturday with 6 of his friends, a few Coastie friends, and our family at a gymnastics center. Scotty has never done gymnastics, so we weren't sure how it was going to go over, but I thought it was a great idea for kids to play and have fun. Never knowing what the weather is going to do around here, an indoor option was best. Scotty really surprised us at how eager he was to jump right in and do everything the instructor lead him through. Since he was the birthday boy, he was first to start everything and at the end of the hour, he was the only one they allowed in the "bungee", the contraption gymnasts use to help with their flips. Didn't think he'd get in it, but he did - briefly - before he started to freak out when he bounced just a little too high (I took video, but the file is too big to upload onto the blog). Apparently, with a cooperating child, they can really launch them in it. But Scotty is no daredevil. All in all, a good time was had by all the kids and it was entertaining for the adults as well.