Cousins come to town!

So begins Christmas 2014! Shannon, Dave, Noah and Lily arrived and everyone is having a blast!

Preschool Picture day

Hey grammas and grampas, it’s preschool picture day!

Birthday weekend

Hello all! Yup. It’s that magical time of year where I get a year older. What better way to celebrate than with my boys, parents, and Lisa.

On Saturday we went to go see Planes 2. The boys really enjoyed it and we found out that both William and Grandpa love popcorn. 🙂

Today we got up and opened my gifts. The boys gave me two airplanes to fly, Lisa gave me an iPad mini, and my parents got me a great case. How lucky am I?

We then headed to Portage Bay for breakfast. The guys got to choose their own toppings. 🙂

We then headed to Discovery Park to try out the airplanes. They flew great!

Back at Lisa’s we had dinner and cheesecake. The boys wanted to make a star ship Discovery cake for me (our story we tell at night) and grandma gave us the tools to deliver on that goal.

Thank you to everyone who made this birthday memorable.

Captain Out

Nerdfest 2014, play date, Econ 101

What a big week. The boys have been working hard on helping around the house. Two days in a row Oliver did the laundry while William made their lunches from school (I helped a tiny bit only).

Oliver drew a bunny for me one night:

This weekend Mike is in town for our yearly Nerdfest. Lots of great movies and games have been played. On Saturday we met up with Lisa and the boys for donuts!

Their weekend has been awesome as mell. Most of their outdoor activities have kept them barely dressed but all happy. 🙂

The guys also learned that doing your chores is a way to make money. Lisa sat them down and taught them about saving money.

Counting.

Working.

Paying.

Getting.

They also had a play date with Oliver’s best buddy at school, Conley. Lots of playing together. Really great fun. 🙂

And finally, haircut time again.

Captain Out

Explorations

This week William got a follow up eye check up, he did a masterful job. 🙂

They also had a field trip to the locks in the rain. Better come prepared!

This weekend the boys and I went to Discovery Park to try out more random trails in an effort to navigate the whole place some day. We had maps and compasses. They were excellent at saying, “good morning,” to everyone we passed. 🙂 They even came up with names for two places we found, “grasshopper field” and “the mouth” (of the trail).

Today, after the park, we went to their first comic book store!!! So much fun!

After more playing, we went to a really great birthday party. They had the best time!

Finally, we had dinner in Lisa’s back yard, which was filled with more shenanigans. 🙂

Captain Out

Another quiet week here in lake Wobegone

Literally a very regular week!

At school the boys had a Doctor Seuss week. They read his books, made artwork about the stories, and even went to a library on a bus! I heard all about that adventure. 🙂 Apparently they both got the coveted “window seats”.

As for Saturday, they went to get a tire changed first before getting donuts at Top Pot!

Later they met up with Bridget, AJ, Ruby, and Harper at Remlinger farms! An obvious blast was had. 🙂

Obviously, a fun and busy weekend. Turtle needed a nap after all of that:

Captain Out

Science and exploration weekend

This weekend the boys and I decided to continue their science experiments they were doing in school through the weekend. Including body wellness, fossils, space, physics, and chemistry.

On Saturday morning we got up early and headed out to Discovery Park to go to their play structure. Along the way we stopped and watched each bird we came across. The most interesting was the woodpecker. We watched it for a while before heading on to get some wiggles out before it got too hot.

While we were there Oliver overcame two fears he had at that play structure. Climbing an odd ladder and sliding down a pole!

We then headed downtown to the Pacific Science Center where we went through and learned all about dinosaurs, body wellness, some chemistry, and physics. We discussed the different types of dinosaurs they had there and the theory that some of them evolved into birds.

Lunch came early as we had a 3D IMAX movie to catch about the cosmos. Several times William and I would look at each other with our mouths open, so surprised about what we learned. It was a great way to spend the day.

And as an added bonus (what kind of daddy day would it be without something odd to report) we got to see two knights dueling on our way to our car. 🙂

Today started the same as yesterday, we got out to Discovery Park to get our wiggles out while it was still cool. This time, however, I let them lead the way. Allowing us to explore places I had never been before and somehow finding the quickest route from the parking lot we were at to the sand dunes. (Still quite a trek)

Once we had finished playing in the dune for a while, we headed back. But again, I let them lead the way. Trying to help them learn about direction sense and remembering land marks.

Four hours after getting their we finally headed home. It was time for lunch and then, as we promised Oliver earlier today, playing with Legos.

The afternoon sped by and out of nowhere it was time for dinner. Lisa had made a wonderful dinner for us to eat outside. It was a wonderful weekend all around.

Captain Out

Taurean’s last day

This Monday was Taurean’s last day with the boys. What an incredible journey she’s been on with us. For four years she’s been apart of their lives and ours. We’ll miss seeing her every week but we’ll still ask her to babysit from time to time. 🙂

Some pics from our days with Taurean:

The next day William wasn’t feeling so well, I had to drop Oliver off at school then stop by work for a bit before we headed back home.

This Friday was the forth of July! Lisa had the great idea for us all to go to Remlinger Farms. As always, it was a lot of fun!

Afterwards Lisa and the boys headed over to hang out with Bridget, AJ, Ruby, and Harper for dinner and fireworks!

That evening, the boys wanted to sleep in the same bed. It’s as cute as you can imagine. 🙂

This weekend, Lisa got Oliver new Superman pajamas. Now he has the whole outfit. You can not be any more over the moon as he is in this picture.

On Saturday, Lisa and the boys hung out with Great Grandma Gwen. They got some pretty cool spinning toys and even had ice cream!

As for today, Lisa cut down an old tree branch… With some help. Safety first!

Then, this evening, Lisa and the boys went to go bowling with Katie and Dylan. So fun!

Captain Out

Tucker’s birthday surprise

This weekend was Tucker’s birthday. And what better gift to give him than the gift of friendship? So, Lisa and Matt secretly planned for her to fly out and surprise him. This was the result:

They have had lots of great adventures out there! Looks like so much fun. 🙂

Back in Seattle we were also having fun. The boys are both really close to making their breakfast all by themselves! And making coffee for me! (All part of my master plan. Muwahahahaha!)

The next morning William woke up first and asked if he could snuggle Oliver awake. How could I say no?!

When Oliver woke up he wasn’t feeling so well and still had some coughs from the last evening. William offered to make him a drawing to help him feel better. After he organized his crayons:

He made this (a robot making French toast):

Giving it to Oliver then giving him a hug to help him feel better:

This week we had surprise guests for the boys, grandma and grandpa Schlichting were staying with us! There was a car show, lots of parks with swings, some restaurants, ice cream, it was pretty great! The boys sure do love when grandma and grandpa are in town. 🙂

Once again, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TUCKER!”

Captain Out

Sort of Pre-School graduation

As many of you know, the boys will be doing another year of preschool. At the end of the school year the preschool staff always does a “congratulations” ceremony to celebrate those who are matriculating into kindergarten. To make it easier, all the kids get to perform and get their own little roll of paper. It’s pretty cute. 🙂

The boys, having a “super” day! 😉

At the ceremony, they started with their yoga song:

They then prepared to do their rendition of “Mr. Sun.”

Finally, the graduation ceremony!

Oliver inspects his degree:

Now it’s William’s turn:

And as you can imagine, after the teacher calls out, “William Schlichting!” William walks over, takes his paper, then corrects the teacher on her performance, “You were supposed to say ‘William DANIEL Schlichting’.” 🙂

This weekend Lisa and the boys kept pretty busy and stayed outside as much as they could! They walked to Top Banana to get some fruit for Lisa’s crisps in a jar she’s making. Yum! Oliver helped with the taste testing. 🙂

After that they walked all the way to Salmon Bay for some more outside fun.

The next day they also spent the day outside. This time at a park in Magnolia with their bikes. When they got home William was so tired he took a nap, while Oliver played in the pool and carved pumpkins. 🙂

When William woke up he had some nails to paint! It’s flip-flop season after all!

At least we can say that he didn’t miss any spots! 🙂

Captain out