Down on the Farm

Today was a nice enough day that we headed over to the farm.  Sharon's friend, Joyce has a farm called Ode to Joy Farm.  She does some CSA farm shares and since Dustin and I are big fans of CSA's - if you're in the Enumclaw, WA area get one of her farm shares!
We spent the morning at the farm helping Joyce do some work and learned how she runs her farm.  David and Matthew got to see the ducks, help fee the chickens and sheep and collect eggs.  We didn't get to do anything with the cows.  We ate some fresh peas straight from the plant and picked a few strawberries to snack on.  We even looked for the fish in the pond - I saw them, but the boys didn't.  The boys did have a great time!

The ducks wanted NOTHING to do with us and so we just watched 

 David collected the eggs from the chickens and thought is was cool

 Matthew enjoyed petting the chickens

 David enjoyed feeding the chickens

 Matthew tried joining the chickens.  When we wouldn't open the door to their mobile coop he decided to try the chicken door.

 David likes sheep - Matthew does NOT like sheep!

 Matthew did like pulling out the grass and throwing it in the air with Joyce.

 Climbing on stuff while David looks at snakes

 This is how Matthew does prayer

 The strawberries were yummy but David liked the peas better.

 Boys looking for the fish.  I could see them, but they couldn't.  There were two really nice lotus flowers in the pod!

There's a fish everyone could see!

We had so much fun on the farm and getting to know Joyce.  Hopefully we can go back another time when we are here for a visit.

Wet, Wet, Washington

Under the circumstances this is the best picture I could get of the boys.

Of all the summers I have been here in Washington this one seems to be the coldest and the wettest.  Last week to boys both got up early on the same day.  It was of course raining, which it has done half of the days we have been here!  The boys were going to go with Grandma out to the garage to spend some time with Midnight, the other cat.  No one got dressed and to keep everyone dry we cut holes in trash bags and covered the boys' clothes.  I was able to get all of our laundry done so when the kids came in they had clean dry clothes to put on and those jammies went to the dirty clothes.

Summer of Fun: City Creek Trail

I like doing Summer of Fun with David.  I got the idea a couple of years ago when we lived in Alamosa.  My friend Ashley does great summer activities with her boys (who I will probably copy next summer) and since Matthew is older this year David and I had a plan.

I made a calendar which includes our special Book Wagon/School Lunch Programs in the park and it has a day each week in which we do a special activity (usually at our house) and invite David's friends.  I got the calendar ready for the entire summer - June, July and August.  We made lots of copies and sent them out ti a few if David's friends and saved some to give to our near by friends - new friends in our new ward, neighbors, etc.  We don't expect all our friends to join us every week although that would be really cool but it is fun to have activities with our friends.  We only had a couple of activities before we left for a few weeks and so here you go.

Our special activity day is Thursday; June 2 was our first activity day.  Summer of Fun Activity #1 was to go hiking on the City Creek Trails.  We met with Mason and Sharla over at Centennial Park and just walked up the trail.  I chose a trail that was close to the little creek so the boys could play in the water.  This hike was not about distance or speed.  We just walked at a good pace for the boys and gave them plenty of opportunities to explore the little creek.  We had lots of little bridges to cross and shade to stay cool in.

*Please note that my sweater pockets are stuffed with Kleenexs, my phone, crackers and most of the time my camera.

We had a great time and I'm so glad the Pettingill's could join us for a fun morning hike and quick lunch in the park.

Date Night: Shop 'Til You Drop

Our 33rd Date

June 25, 2011

Dustin was in charge

Dustin and I both had gift cards.  I had a couple cards to H&M from my birthday and our anniversary.  Dustin had a card to REI from his birthday.  We decided to take time to be together and to do some shopping for ourselves without the kids.  Our plan was to hit up the mall and then head on over to REI.  We spent a little longer at the mall than expected but we were both able to get some new clothes.  When we headed over to REI it had already closed - apparently an entire hour earlier than when we got there.

It was nice to be able to spend some time together and pick up new clothes for eachother.  It's not often that Dustin and I are able to be without the kids in a retail store.  It was nice to not feel rushed or to chase kids around the store while we take turns trying on clothes.  We were only gone a couple of hours but it was nice.

Date Night: Anniversary Part II

Our thirty-second date

June 18, 2011

Dustin was in charge

After our sealing in the Denver Temple we had lunch with our family and friends at a lovely restaurant called Maggiano's Little Italy.  We decided to go back to the restaurant for the first time since we were married.  We were so pleased with our food and the service.  It was really nice to be able to eat there together.

Dustin and I were also able to go to a movie yesterday.  We went to go see Midnight in Paris.  It was a really nice movie to go see.  It wasn't what we expected it to be but we really liked it!  If you want to go see a good movie - see Midnight in Paris!

It was a very nice anniversary part II date.  Seven years of marriage has done us good and we took extra time to celebrate.  Here's to many more years of marriage!