Sunny CA

This past weekend we headed down to sunny CA to visit Grammy Carol and Grandpa Charlie in Tiburon. We couldn't have asked for a nicer time!

The boys loved walking around downtown Tiburon with Grammy to see the boats on SF bay.

Daddy and Dylan looking for boats.

The boys did their part to help keep Grammy and Grandpa's house clean. They would go out side on a regular basis to sweep all the leaves off the deck.

Grammy and the boys checking out pictures on the computer.

The boys...Daddy, Dylan, Cole and Grandpa Charlie.

Dylan was excited to see that Grammy also had a piano for him to play! He played a few tunes and pressed on the pedals.

The boys (and Mama) were so excited when Grammy took us all out for a gelato treat. We all shared a cup with raspberry, mango and pear gelato! We had spoon wars with all five of us trying to eat out of the same cup! Cole was scraping the bottom of the cup and was asking for more, more, more!

Who is watching who?
We checked out a small petting zoo at a park and Dylan was enamored with the chicken and duck that kept watching him.

Auntie Lesley came up for a break from law school to play with the boys. They were so amazed that she could throw bread up in the air and sea gulls would catch it in their mouths.
That is why everyone is looking up in this photo!

The boys are pointing to a boat they see on a walk we took along the bay. Nice views!

The boys got a kick out of sitting on Grandpa Charlie's massaging chair. They liked that it had a remote and that it made loud vibrating sounds! They couldn't stop giggling.

Thank you so much Grammy and Grandpa for a wonderful visit! The boys (and us too!) miss you already. And 'Chili dog' is still the first thing they talk about when they wake up in the morning!

This and That and Hats

We are trying to squeeze in as much fun as we can during these nice late summer weeks we are having here in Oregon.

One of the guys' daily routines is to 'fix' the dinning room table with their tools. They exclaim to each other 'tool!'...run to their tool boxes...grab screwdrivers, hammers and wretches and head under the table to get to work. They also like fixing their trucks, their cribs, the kitchen cabinets, and their stroller...really anything that they can see a screw or some kind of hardware.
They are boys...so they also have 'tool' sound effects.

We headed to the beach again...this time it was sunny but still VERY windy and cold!

So we quickly headed to the bay to see the boats and sea lions. The boys truly enjoy seeing and talking about boats.

Cole is taking time out of our busy schedule to practice his ballet and piano...already learning to multitask!

It has been warm here this week so we have spent some time playing in the big fountain in downtown Corvallis. During this trip Dylan kept going up to this tree and giving it hugs. While hugging the tree he would say 'hug' very seriously, like the tree really needed all these hugs and he was just doing what he could to help.

Last weekend we went up to Portland to help Auntie Julie, Uncle Todd, and cousins Miles and Brooke get their yard ready for a fabulously huge play structure. The boys' cousin Brooke has been diagnosed with a terrible disease called Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis, and has been going through treatment this past year. Her treatment has included a year of chemotherapy and is similar to cancer treatment. She is receiving this fabulously huge play structure through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Here Uncle Todd is getting some direction and assistance from Cole on how best to proceed with the digging project.

Notice that Cole is wearing the same hat in almost every picture??? We can't get the kid to take that hat off! He would even wear it in the bath and to bed if he could! I think because Cole is so attached to that hat Dylan also constantly wears his ball cap...to do what his brother is doing! But he doesn't scream quite as loud as Cole does when we try to take it off.

End of summer fun and Daddy's shoes

We are all enjoying the last weeks of summer weather.
The guys love going to the garden to pick baby green beans. They can munch on them all afternoon. For some reason they are not as excited about green beans once they are served 'in' the house...so we make sure to spend 'munching' time in the garden everyday.
Here Dylan is showing off his bean.

We are also spending the warm afternoons on the deck playing with water...one of their most favorite things to do!

While Cole is filling the cups and bowls I tell Dylan to smile for the camera...and here is what I got!

The boys love to wear Daddy's shoes!

Weekend Fun

We had a fun weekend around the ranch.

We did a bit of gardening. The guys love digging in the dirt...which is the reason there are only about 5 beets in the middle of this garden bed!

We did a bit of painting...in the diapered nude (easy clean up!).

We went to an air show and the guys got to sit in a medic helicopter. They were so excited!

Dylan is so thrilled to be this close to a helicopter...AND they got helicopter stamps on their hand.

The guys checking out a plane taking off on the runway.


All the guys (including Grandpa Fiegener!) checking out the inside of a small plane.

We also spent some time at a new local river hangout that we found.
Here, Cole is telling Daddy that he is dirty after dumping a bucket of rocks on Daddy's shoulder.

Dylan is getting down and enjoying the cool waters of Marys River.

Sand, Soup, and Camping

Over the last week we have had several adventures...we went to the beach to escape a heat wave...and FROZE our buns off. But the boys still had so much fun playing in the sand. Their favorite activity was to bury their feet.

Cole enjoying the view.

We have started giving the guys real genuine soup...and they are doing great with it. Here Dylan is maneuvering the spoon just about right...

...in his mouth! He did it! Don't look at all the soup on his bib...and I won't mention all the soup 'in' the pocket of his bib and on the floor.

We also tried our very first camping trip with the guys. And can you say 'little boys heaven??' We camped at a great spot in the coast range within a beautiful forest alongside a creek.

We camped with some friends and were able to use the group camp site. There was so much room for the guys to run around and climb and play in the forest.

Mama and Cole getting ready to enter the tent. We brought a porta-crib for each of the boys and all slept in a huge tent. The guys went to sleep surprisingly well...after about 30-45 minutes of hysterical laughter they were tired enough to sleep. I think they were making funny faces at each other through the cribs...but who knows for sure?!

Morning hike.

Rob testing out his extended arm photo taking skills, manages to get all 6 of us in the photo!

Our guys

The boys have discovered their pockets. The other day they both were quiet in their room...which usually means trouble. So I called out to them and they walked into the living room all nonchalant with all 4 hands in pockets! Like 'Hey, how's it going?'. They are also making exclamations now...Dylan's favorite is 'whoa baby!' and Cole's is 'cool!'.

They sure do look like boys now...no more babies here!

Adventures with Nana Suzanna!

We all had a great week while Nana Suzanna came to visit! We decided to spend the weekend in Portland before picking Nana up from the airport...and visited the Portland Zoo.

Mama and her boys walking around the zoo.

The family. And a giraffe in the background which was probably the boys favorite animal...or maybe it was the monkeys...or actually it might have been the HUGE sea lions.

The boys Auntie Julie and Uncle Todd let us take over their home and stay over night in Portland...unfortunately they were not there. But we managed to have a good time despite missing our auntie/uncle and cousins! Cole threw off his shirt and was ready to party!

Once Nana arrived we all headed over to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry for some serious playtime. Here Cole is all suited up to play in the water tables...he's helping the salmon swim downstream.

Dylan was so funny in this 'play' grocery store at the museum. He would just stand behind the register until someone came up to buy food. He would look like ''ho-hum' I'm just standing here waiting to do my job'. Here he is adding up all of Nana's purchases.

Dylan is getting pointers on proper brushing technique from his Nana.

We did so many fun activities while Nana was here...but we also had time to just 'chill out'. Nana and Cole are coming in from a little morning sun session on the front stoop.

We took Nana to our favorite spot to play in a local river. Here they get to be boys. They dig in the sand and throw rocks and get wet and get naked!

Thanks for such a fun visit Nana!!! We can't wait for you to come back and paint with us! Maybe we won't try and drink the paint the next time you come!