Time with the Fam

We spent last weekend with the McTaggart fam!

Rooke is in love with his Aunty Auby.

We spent most of Saturday in Vancouver! The weather was wonderful and we enjoyed a picnic at Stanley Park. I'm not sure why Ryan was running, but I think their faces are pretty funny-looking.

Smelling the "flowers" (seaweed) . . .

"I told you not to touch that!"

Sweet Evelynn

Going for the good stuff . . .

Back in Seattle - Rooke's first time "swimming"! It didn't last very long. The water was too cold for both of us.

Carkeek Park

We enjoyed the weather and some family time at one of our favorite parks. First a picnic lunch and then some play time on the beach.

Good Daddy, Bad Daddy, Good Daddy (yes that is a Top Pot donut)

A morning with my son without Mom around:

The Zoo . . . with Daddy!!

Ryan finished his second year of law school on Thursday!!!!!!!! I couldn't be more proud of him and how hard he has worked to get this far. And for the first time since we started this journey, Ryan won't be taking any classes this summer. Wow! Rooke and I waited at his school to surprise him after his last final and the fun hasn't stopped since then. Our family has literally been doing nothing more than eating, playing and sleeping, so here is the start of lots of pictures from this super fun weekend!

Rooke had fun in the morning with Ryan's study stickers (that he won't be needing for the next three months - yay!)

Rooke and I took Ryan to one of our favorite places - the zoo! First a picnic lunch . . .

Checking out the monkeys.

Rooke's lion sound is one of our favorites: "raaaaaar" - with a little rasp in his voice

"Where is Daddy's nose?!"

Auby & Evi

Rooke and I met Aubyn and Evelynn for a half-way-day last week. It's absolutely wonderful to live so close that we can do that! We had a great time together, and Rooke was definitely excited to see Aunty Auby and Evi.

We started the day at a coffee shop. Rooke loved this window and was fascinated by the massive amount of wheels he could view at one time.

We also spent some time in the kid's reading section of a bookstore. Evelynn, who should have been taking a nap, was quite awake and cracking up at Rooke plopping on the bean bags. He wasn't aware of his humoring her, but Aubyn and I got a kick out of it!

Rooke is smart, but not this smart.

I love my sister!

Another awkward sleeping position after a long day of fun.

Just a couple more I wanted to throw in of my boys reading the Sunday paper!

Football and Body Parts

Rooke still loves to read books. The first video is us reading a book about football. I sound too much like a cheerleader, but listen close to Rooke trying to repeat the words. He's all about repeating sounds these days. The second video is showing off his body part knowledge.

Morning at the Zoo

Rooke and I met up with Averie and Jaime for some zoo fun today. The weather was absolutely perfect and the penguin exhibit had its grand opening!

Checking out the miniature horses

I love my son!

Driving the "wheel, wheel, wheel"

And we finally made it to see the penguins! Surprisingly, Rooke aggresively pushed his way through the crowd to get up close.

And back home for a nap. Doesn't look very comfortable to me, but he was out!

Playing at Home

How great is my husband?! Well, aside from the surprise post he left me on the blog a couple days ago, he recently provided our family with fantastic new toys. Here is how it went down:

I came home from teaching piano lessons, walked into the living room and saw these cars scattered on our coffee table.
Me: Where did these cars come from?
Great Husband: I bought them.
Me: You bought these? Why? They are trashy looking.
Great Husband: Our old neighbor, Dave, came by.
Me: Dave came by to sell you these cars? How much did you spend?!
Great Husband: I just gave him five bucks.
Me: Five bucks for these trashy things?! Seriously?
Great Husband: proceeds to explain why they are cool and how he talked with Dave for thirty minutes (an act of kindness all by itself) and how he was trying to help the guy out. They are from England, after all, and are so old and authentic that they probably have lead paint on them. Great. Just great.

Turns out Rooke LOVES them. Loves them. He woke up the next morning and they were still on the coffee table. Total time spent playing with them that day: probably 2 hours.

What a great daddy! He knew all along.

We also played with playdough last week. It was a hit. I'll share the recipe I used below.

2 cups flour
2 tablespoons of cream of tartar
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
1 cup salt
2 cups boiling water
food coloring

Mix together the first four ingredients in a bowl. Pour in boiling water over it and stir with the strong wooden spoon. Once cool enough to handle, knead well. You can add a few drops of food coloring if you want .