Pool, Big Boy Bed and a Castle

The Pool:

Last Tuesday we spent our first afternoon of the summer at the little wading pool at the park. I took the kids, just me - I usually try to get a friend to go with me, but I wanted to get some reading done while the kids played. But alas, I forgot to bring my sunglasses and my eyes couldn't stare at a white page with he sun blaring on it for too long *headache* so I took pictures and just enjoyed the sun instead. It was a beautiful day and the kids had a GREAT time!

Big Boy Bed:

In other news: We have officially moved Corbin into his big-boy bed. If you remember a couple months ago we talked about moving him because he was climbing out of the crib, but we found his escape route and eliminated it *bwahaha* But his crib was starting to wear down so we took the leap.
He loves his new bed - although bedtime has definitely become more of a challenge. But there are days (like today) when he surprises me and there is no struggle at nap time - perhaps because Jenalyn isn't there to play with him.

The Castle:

On Saturday Jason's family from Colorado was in town. We had a picnic at the park. It was excruciatingly HOT - but we still had a GREAT time! As always, they spoiled my children :) This time with water guns, a badmitten set, bouncy balls and sweet little Furr Real pets. And if that wasn't enough...dun dun dun dun: the Zolli Castle! WOW! Jason and I set it up while the kids were in bed last night so they would wake up to it this morning:

And here it is after the kids moved in. Notice the guards placed on the towers and the two chairs that served as thrones for the king & queen :)

Jenalyn tied this blanket around Corbin's neck while prouncing him the King *lol*

Ah - this seriously is the coolest castle! As you can see, you can color it too. When I got home from work Jenalyn had a blanket draped over the top and it was the coolest fort (I wish I fit inside *pout*)! They literally played in it ALL day long! I only wish our house was bigger! It's only a matter of time before Jason gets tired of the clutter and and turns into a big ogre and tears down the walls. We need a play room!

My Lazy day.

I was such a sloth today! Thanks to Jaime, I started the Twilight series *wow* Okay, I know I'm one of the last people on earth to become obsessed with these books, but I'm usually a very casual reader! It takes a lot for a book to really grab me! I started this book Friday night about 11 p.m. and I'm on page 376 already! That is so not like me! I'm neither a fast reader nor a committed reader. I usually read on my 15 minute breaks at work and...well...other than that, only when I'm really bored! It's not uncommon for me to take up to 6 months to finish a book! But I've been glued to this book all weekend! Only managing to pry myself away for absolute necessities like feeding my family, using the bathroom and sleeping! *lol* I'm exaggerating of course! I did do other things this weekend: we had dinner with friends both Friday and Saturday night, I went to a baby shower, went to church and we took the kids to the park.

Enough about me, lets talk about the kids!

I don't know if they are getting cuter (if that's even possible) or if I'm just emotional and feeling especially gushy over every little thing lately, but they amaze me! So here are a couple pictures I took over the weekend. Just simple things that made me smile.

Today while I was slothing on the couch with my nose in that book Jenalyn wanted me to play with her so I slyly suggested that we play library *heehee* so she brought out some books, set them up, and even made a sign. She explained that the sign says, "Don't be loud!" "Be Quiet!" and "Don't rip the books!" ...and after daddy came and decided to do a little teasing, it also said, "No stealing books!" *lol*

Corbin LOVES his blankie! He can't sleep without it. It will be interesting this summer to see how he does in the yucky, sticky heat with his blankie wrapped around his head and shoulders (like he normally sleeps)! I don't normally let him drag it around the house because it just kinda grosses me out to have blankets drug over the dirty floor and then snuggled...but today...like I said before, I'm a little mushy...I got him up from his nap and he wouldn't let got of it! He kept saying, "blankie come too!" *lol* so I let him drag it around the house! He's my little Linus! He has always loved his blankie! Here's some pictures from today:
I love that he's holding his sippy cup without dropping the blanket! When I handed it to him I was wondering if he would choose his beloved milk over his beloved blankie! I guess not!

This is a picture I took a couple days ago during his nap:
Seriously - how cute is that? Oh my gosh!

A couple more things that made me melt this weekend: We had dinner with our friends, Keith & Marlo on Saturday night. After dinner we decided to go for a walk to the park. Soon after we set out, Keith let out a deep, heavy sigh. Corbin looked up to him and, so clearly and so grown up, said, "Are you tired?" Okay...maybe you had to be there! But it just sounded so attentive and concerned for a 2-year-old *awe* it was just so sweet!

Yesterday we were having scrambled eggs for lunch after church. Jason sneezed and in the midst of Corbin shoveling food into his mouth - using both hands and NO FORK - he mumbled, "Bless you, Daddy!"

Okay, I think I just confirmed for everyone that I'm just being emotional and extra gushy over my kids lately. Those were extremely simple things that made my heart melt. But it amazes me how caring and loving my Corbin is! I hope he never grows out of that!

I feel like a professional...

Photographer! Check out this cool picture I took *beaming with pride*


Okay, so it was entirely luck and no skill - whatsoever - that I captured such a cool shot - and the effects are compliments of Photobucket...but still...

Children's Carnival

Yesterday they had a children's carnival at the park. We had SO much fun :) All the activities were just $.25! The kids bounced in the bounce house, got their faces painted, made paper masks and wands, won a prize at the fishing activity, got candy for playing tic-tac-toe, saw a lot of friends and got to spend a beautiful afternoon at the park. It was such a pleasant day! Apparently they do this every year and I had no idea! I feel a new family tradition coming on!

I had a hard time taking a picture for this post. Corbin missed his nap and wasn't very cooperative. Anyhow, that's a turtle on his face and Jenalyn is a bunny.

Father's Day

We had a good Father's Day, I think. Nothing too special. But it was low-key and enjoyable. We got up and went to church in the morning. Jason got a can of Dad's Root Beer and a cookie, which he didn't share with any of us *pfft* *lol* After church we had lunch and then we all took a nap: After naps we played with daddy:
Then after dinner we went to some friends' house for birthday cake and ice cream. That was a lot of fun! Gooooooood cake, good conversation and good friends :) Plus, they had a big, beautiful back yard for the kids to run wild (especially after eating the gooooooooood cake).

Thank You Mr ?

We went to dinner last night at Johnny Ocean's. When we got there and were getting our seats I noticed a man dressed in a suit who was paying his bill and getting ready to leave. I noticed him watching us with a smile. I didn't think this was too strange...after all, we have two beautiful children *lol* Anyway he left and I didn't think anything else about it...

...until we got settled and ordered our food, and then the waitress brought us two $10.00 gift cards for Johnny Oceans. She explained that there was a man in there earlier and he wanted to pay for some of our meal because "he's a big fan of families" *awe* isn't that the sweetest thing you've ever heard?

WOW! I was stunned! I wish I could thank him! But the waitress said he preferred to remain anonymous and asked her to wait to give it to us until after he left.

What a nice guy. Really, that was sweet! So, we treated ourselves to dessert after our dinner :) Caramel creme brulee *yummmmm*

I wish I could post a link for Johnny Oceans. If you haven't been there, it's at Oakway Mall. We LOVE that place! Their food is delicious and the atmosphere is just fun!

Horsies...real and fake

What is it with kids and horses? Do all kids love them? Personally, they freak me out! I've had a couple scary experiences with horses and I don't care to get close to them! They are just so big and powerful! They could do a lot of damage in just a split second, with no warning at all!

(nice rear shot of the horse, huh? That umbrella shot might have been frame-worthy if that was the horse's head instead of his tail *lol*)

On Thursday we watched my cousin Anika play her last soccer game of the season (*woot* they WON!) and after it was over we walked across the field to see this horse. Jenalyn loves horses! I, on the other hand, was happy to watch him from the other side of the field! I was freaking out on the inside the whole time she was petting him! He easily could have been spooked and started kicking wildly! *shudder* they're just so big and massive! At least I wasn't paralyzed by fear so I could still snap some pictures :)

This is more my style:
Hooray for grocery store rodeos *lol* I don't know if you can see it, but that's not a genuine smile on Corbin's face. Can you see the nervousness behind it? Yeah, he didn't even last 8 seconds *lol*

I remember seeing these little rides in the store when I was little. I always begged my mom to let me ride one. I don't remember ever getting to. The kids were so good for me at the store today so I fished in the ol'purse for a couple of quarters! Best $.50 I spent all day...even if Corbin didn't finish his ride!

Memorial Day Weekend *woot*

We had a fabulous Memorial Day weekend! It started Friday night. We drove out to the coast to stay at my grandma's time-share house in Depoe Bay. We were greeted by my grandma and my cousin and his family. It was such a beautiful house! Took our breath away when we walked in the door! We had dinner and hung out that night. The next day we drove in to Newport for farmer's market. Then back to the house to take the kids swimming.
Jenalyn had such a great time with her cousins! Before too long they all left us and we waited for our friends, Jen & Tim to arrive with their little family.

Saturday night we drove back to Newport for dinner and picked up a movie. Then we put the kids to bed and watched P.S. I Love You on the big 60" Plasma TV :) It was pretty awesome!

We spent most of the day Sunday on the beach with the kids. They were so funny! Corbin got down and dirty and was covered in sand and soaked to the bone within minutes...and Jenalyn was tip-toeing around the tide pools and saying we needed to get out of there because the beach was too dirty *ack* what a girly-girl! So anyway, here are a couple of my fav pics from our weekend at the coast:
(gearing up for a puddle jump - I love this picture!)

You really gotta click on this picture to see it bigger :) It's too cute!

Notice the cringe on Jenalyn's face. I had to reassure that that her feet wouldn't get wet because of her beach boots!Click on this one too - that's fist-fulls of sand he's about ready to chuck! He's such a boy!

The kids were the only ones who took advantage of the beautiful jacuzzi tub! All these suds came from the baby soap we used to wash them...combined with the jets.Oh man I wish they had Picasa for the Mac - that would make sharing my pictures much easier! I hope you didn't get a cramp in your finger from scrolling! I take too many pictures and then I can't narrow down my favorites! SORRY!