Halloween 2009

In past years Aidan and Alan have never really been into picking out their Halloween costumes - this year was a different story. They absolutely insisted on picking what they wanted - not what Mama wanted :)

Alan wanted to be a race car driver, which suits him considering his obsession with the Disney movie Cars. It took Aidan a lot longer to decide. I think he pondered over several costumes until he finally decided on Dash from The Incredibles. They looked soooo cute!

Their cousin Rylie went trick-or-treating with us...she was the Little Mermaid.

And of course Grandma Ensley had to dress up...

Donald & Jeanette's Wedding

The whole family made a trip to the East coast for Donald & Jeanette's wedding. When they first announced their wedding date and that it would be in Connecticut in the fall, Rob and I seriously debated whether or not to bring the kiddo's. On one hand, it would be nice to have a week-long vacation away from the kids to relax, focus on each other and to see as much as we could of the East coast. On the other hand, having our boys with us and the rest of the family during such a wonderful occasion would mean so much to everyone. Plus, Donald and Jeanette really wanted the boys to be part of their special day. So we decided to make a family vacation out of it...and I'm so glad we did!

This was the boys' first time on an airplane, and I was soooooo nervous! My kids are not the type to sit in one spot for very long, let alone for 5+ hours! But they pleasantly surprised me and were absolute angels the whole time! We brought the portable DVD player, so Alan was entertained with his favorite movie (Cars) and Aidan completed every single page of his HUGE activity book. Christie brought along some Tangrams from her classroom, which also kept Aidan busy during our layover in Newark.

We shared a minivan with Dan, Laura and their son Dean - it was a cozy fit, but it worked :) Our two little families stuck together during the whole trip, knowing that our plans would be pretty much the same since we wanted to make it fun for the kids.

We stayed in Boston for two nights. The boys got to ride on the subway, where we met the nicest operator who let the boys "drive" the train! We then visited the park where the book Make Way for Ducklings was based. Christie really wanted to get a picture of all of the boys on the duck statues for books she bought for all of them. Alan absolutely refused - not just to sit on the duck statue, but to be in any pictures at all! He was being such a brat! I'm not one for bribing my children, but this was one of those times where I just gave in. So I bought a chocolate doughnut from the Starbucks across the street, and that did the trick.

The next day we drove from Boston to New Haven, where Donald and Jeanette live. On the way, we stopped in Hartford at Dinosaur State Park. The boys got to see some really cool fossilized dinosaur tracks, and of course pose in some silly pictures.

That night we went out to pizza in downtown New Haven at a place called Bar, which is apparently famous for their mashed potato pizza. I was skeptical at first, but I'm so glad I tried it - seriously the best pizza ever! Afterwards, the kids wanted some ice cream. Donald told us their favorite place, Ashley's, was "only a couple of blocks away". Right. We all started walking (in the snow, by the way) and realized that Donald's perception of a couple blocks was actually 3/4 of a mile! It was freezing cold and we all wondered why we were going for ice cream when it was snowing outside, but the kids were happy.

The next day we made the trip to the Mystic Aquarium - outrageously priced, but soooo worth it! They had a pool filled with bat rays that you could actually touch! Aidan was in heaven - Alan wasn't so sure what to think. They loved the beluga whales and the African penguins, as well as the upside-down jellyfish and a touch pool with sea urchins, starfish, crabs and even a blue lobster!

The next couple of days were devoted to wedding activities. We had the rehearsal and dinner, which were an absolute blast. Donald and Jeanette went out of their way to make sure every activity was kid friendly! We didn't have to worry about our kids making noise or sitting still for long periods of time...they were simply expected to be children! They got to run around, eat cupcakes and dance and crazy as they wanted...

The wedding was at the Heritage Trail Vineyard in Lisbon, CT on October 17, 2009. The ceremony was outside, even though it was a crisp 34 degrees outside :) The forecast was calling for rain, but it held out and everything went perfectly. Aidan, Alan and Jeanette's nephew Isaiah even walked down the aisle together with interlocked arms - so cute! The reception was at the vineyard's restaurant with tables set up inside as well an outdoor dance floor and fireplaces to keep us warm! It was so much fun, and the food and wine were absolutely amazing. We were honored to be a part of Donald and Jeanette's special day!
The day after the wedding it rained, so we headed indoors to the Yale Peabody Museum. What a fantastic place! They had all kinds of dinosaur skeletons on display, which made the boys extremely happy. Rob and I have read them all kinds of books about dinosaurs, but now they could see how big the dinosaurs actually were!

On our last night Robert's parents watched the boys so we could have a night out. We received a gift certificate from Donald and Jeanette the previous Christmas to one of their favorite restaurants - a Malaysian restaurant called Bentara. It was soooo yummy and was a perfect way to end our trip. We were able to have a relaxing (and very quiet) dinner where we could talk about and reflect upon all of the fun experiences we had on our family vacation.

We had such a wonderful time and can't wait to visit our family on the East Coast again!

Labor Day

Despite the dreary forecast of torrential downpours all over the state, we made the 5+ hour trip to the Skagit River where we go camping with my family every year. This year the Miller family joined us, even though they're not big on camping. We each had our SUV's packed to the max and started our journey up I-5. With four kids all under the age of 5 between our two families, we expected to make several stops along the way - most of them being bathroom stops :)

We finally made it by 9pm or so, but it wasn't raining so we were able to set up our stuff without getting everything drenched. That was about the last time it was dry the entire weekend. My dad had gotten there the day before and had all of the quick shades and tarps set up around the campfire - except there was no campfire. Even though the campground was drenched all the way to the core of the earth, there was a freaking burn ban!!! So there we sat in the pouring down rain with no campfire. We had to be really creative with our meals now that we didn't have a fire to cook over, but we made it work.

The rain didn't bother the kids in the least. In fact, I think they would prefer to camp in the rain. They loved stomping in the puddles and filling up buckets and bottles with water and dumping it out. Their favorite activity of the weekend was slug hunting. Yes - I said slugs. They each found a stick and by the end of their "hunting" trip they had come back with what looked like slug skewers! Nice...

The first day, the Miller family had an issue at nap time and ended up at the laundromat for the majority of the day trying to get their sleeping bags clean. Then Sunday morning Rob and I woke up to pool of water taking over our tent. I have been a camper my entire life, and rain at the Skagit River on Labor Day is pretty much a guarantee. Rob, on the other hand, had pretty much had it by this point and declared to everyone that we were going home. I think the rest of our group was glad that someone else gave in first, because everyone else followed suit and packed up their stuff as well - even my dad!

Can't wait until next year!!!

Randi's 21st Birthday

Rob and I decided to take my sister Randi and her boyfriend Chris to Vegas for their 21st birthday's! Randi had been a few times but was never able to really "experience" it and I think this was Chris' first time there. We all got a suite at the Mirage and had a blast!

Randi's first pull on a slot machine...
We went to an all-you-can-drink champagne buffet...I'd say we consumed more than our money's worth!

We had fun playing several games of War in our suite...

Randi and Chris posing for the camera!

Alan's 3rd Birthday

Yes, Alan's birthday is June 17th and I am fully aware that today's date is December 10th :) Needless to say, I have a lot of catching up to do on our family blog!

So we had Alan's birthday party at Papa's Ice Cream in downtown Washougal, a place that quickly became a family favorite since they opened the summer of 2008. All of Alan's favorite things were present - a Disney Car's themed party with the movie playing in the background, cupcakes from Saint Cupcake, hot dogs, ice cream and of course his family and friends!

Happy birthday baby boy!

Happy Birthday Grandma Ensley!

My mom's birthday was on June 9th but we celebrated last night because we wanted to wait until my sister Jona was back from college. It was a really nice night and was perfect for hanging out on the deck in the back yard. We had my dad's famous spaghetti followed by the BEST cake ever - the fresh banana and whipped cream cake from Larson's Bakery!

There was time enough after cake and presents to test out my mom's new croquet set...Aidan and Alan had a blast and Rob provided the entertainment with his take on the rules.

The huge wooden mallets didn't make the most ideal toys and someone ended up in time out...

Alan soon got tired of hauling his mallet around and decided that digging in the dirt with Grumpa was a much better idea...

After his time out, Aidan talked Auntie Randi into jumping on the trampoline with him and it wasn't long before Alan joined in...poor Randi!

It was a great night for family...I love you mom and I hope you had a wonderful birthday!

Alan's Catch

Last Saturday afternoon we took the boys on Grandpa Cox's fishing boat on the Columbia River. Rob had been saying how great the shad fishing would be and how it would be a great chance to stock up on the bait for our crabbing trip in July. Also, the boys LOVE going fishing - especially on Grandpa's boat. I had plans to go shopping that afternoon but somehow got talked into coming along. Rob's mom and dad also joined us. We loaded up the boys and all of our gear (including a bottle of wine for Christie and I to share), found a spot and anchored down. We hadn't been out long and the boys were already getting restless. Aidan was getting into everything and couldn't sit still, and all Alan wanted to do was eat the cookies Grandma brought. Pretty soon Alan's fishing pole started to dance, but Rob was convinced it had just snagged the bottom. He reeled the pole in anyway and on its way up Rob said, "well if there was one on here, we lost it". Alan didn't like what he heard and started to whine...but all that whining turned to shrieks of excitement when he saw that there actually was a fish on his line! Now it's not much of a fish, but you can tell by the look on Alan's face that he didn't care what size it was. He was absolutely elated to have caught a fish! Turns out the shad fishing wasn't that great after all...but Alan caught himself a baby salmon and couldn't have been happier.