Tarando, Dallin, & Keegan!: July 2008

Monday, July 28, 2008

Year One Week Thirteen

Here I am at the zoo for the second week in a row, this time with the Pedersens in tow! Yippee!!

My aunt Angie flew in with her two kids, Lydia and Ali on Tuesday. So the Kellys and Pedersens took me to the zoo with them on Thursday.

Petting the goats is always a favorite for us kids.

Wednesday the Kellys and Pedersens took me along to the Renton River Days, a city festival with all sorts of fun things to do. Mom came over after work (she conveniently works in Renton) and we watched a Youth Circus. We had so much fun that we unfortunately didn't think to take pictures of this spectacular day.

I love Fridays because I get to spend the whole day with my Dad and half a day with my Mom. This Friday was especially great because Mom took the entire day off. We all went to West Fenwick Park in the morning where we crossed bridges with monsters under them...

spun around on flying saucers...

escaped via rocket ships...

and created traffic jams on the turbo slides.

Ali and Shayla were quite the precious pair. Except for the occasional "mine" squabble, they got along just splendidly.

All the little ones getting ready to go down the slide. Lydia prefered the bigger kids' slides.

After naps we went to the pool at Aunt Missy's old apartment. It was only in the mid-70s, so most everyone's time was spent in the hot tub instead of the pool.

Friday night was a slumber party at the Kellys. Everyone stayed the night so that our parents could visit and play Acquire. Aunt Missy completely dominated the game but Aunt Angie's sound effects were to die for.

Saturday we went to North West Trek. It was a hoot! There we saw all kinds of birds and owls...

an ancient tree that was fun to run around...

a mountain lion, a lynx, bobcats...

bears, wolves, badgers, wolverines, beavers, raccoons, and much more. We enjoyed the tram ride, but sadly, none of the pictures turned out very satisfactory. We packed in so many activities there and kept going and going until all us kids got tired (and cranky). I decided to help out by pushing Vincent. He was so cute that I kept stopping and going to kiss his check and then returning to push him again. The rest of us kids took our naps on the way back home to Aunt Missy's house.

We were impressed to find some home improvement projects completed by Uncle Shawn and my Dad including fixing a dining room chair, installing a new showerhead, and repairing the screen door. These restored items function better than when the Kellys moved in!
The fun continued as we enjoyed each other playing outside with bubbles...

taking turns as a monster, or being spun dizzy by Aunt Tara.

Aunt Angie, we were so lucky to have you and your kids visit us. We had a blast and miss you already! We Love You!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

One Year Week Twelve

As promised, here are the pictures from our zoo trip with the Chans and Kellys. It was a beautiful day for the zoo too.

Here we are sporting our Mariner hats at the Marine exhibits. That beluga whale fascinates me.

My first time petting a goat. I was a little skeptical. In fact I was a little skeptical of all the animals. At home I've mastered my fair share of animal sounds, including the goat, but when seeing them in person, all I could do was stare. With the exceptions of the birds and fish, I LOVE the birds and fish and am not afraid to talk to them in their own language.

I'm not so sure about this thing.

Unless it's black like my cat there the fun is where it's at! Pat, pat, pat!

Shayla loved to feed the goats. I had more fun washing my hands though.

No Kangaroo debut at the zoo but plenty of bamboo for me and you to go through.

Whoa, now that's a big kitty!

Say cheese, Ms. Tiger!
Did you know Tigers sleep 18 hours a day? So we lucked out seeing her awake, we need to be there right at closing time more often. She kept looking at me and licking her lips, I wonder what that means.

Shayla not exactly keeping quiet but still just too adorable.

Since I did such a good job pushing Sugar in the stroller, (see previous post), I figured that I could push Mason along too!

Dallin: Yea! Here we go!
Mason: Dude, we're going the wrong way! The exit is the other way.

I pushed Mason all the way to the car, (albeit, with help), but stopped a few times to admire the animals along the way like this peacock.

Splish-splash we're taking a bath!

See you next week when Aunt Angie, Lydia, and Ali come to visit!! I can't wait!!

Friday, July 18, 2008

One Year Week Eleven

I seem pretty happy, eh? That's because I love bagels! My Dad let me take a bite and I ended up eating half of it!

We celebrated Aunt Celeste's 20th Birthday at my grandparent's house. We had a delicious dinner, opened gifts, walked to the tennis courts, and had a splendid time running around the courts the rest of the evening. It was a hoot! Check it out!

My Grandpa is such a fun-gi!

No pockets? No problem! Introducing the revolutionary headband ball holder from Celeste enterprises. *Shades not included.

I'm a great ball boy.

I kept going into the court they were playing in, so grandma had the brilliant idea of entertaining me by putting Sugar in the stroller. And boy did it do the trick!

Sugar, you are so funny!

Mom and Dad went out looking for yard sale bargains but I fell asleep, Mom got sunburned, and all we found was a booster seat. We're more optimistic about our neighborhood's huge yard sale in two weeks.

Alyssa stayed with the Kellys this week and she gave me a few pointers on the piano.

Check out our human pyramid!

The weather here has been a little too hot for my Dad's taste so we've been enjoying our outdoor dining experiences.

See you next week when we go to the Zoo with the Kellys and the Chans!

Friday, July 4, 2008

One Year Week Ten

This week started off with a bang (pun intended) with my Dad's Godmother, Lori, flying in to see us. Mom and Dad were super excited to see her again and I was glad to finally meet her in person. Our visit was shorter than I liked because we wanted to get ahead of the holiday traffic as we journeyed to Moses Lake. But we'll get to see her again soon when she drives back from Alaska later in the month!

The trip wasn't too bad but after driving in the car for three hours in the summertime, it was imperative to go to the pool. Everybody enjoyed the pool except for Mom and me because I went to bed early.

I also missed seeing my Dad chicken fight with my other cousins and uncles. Dad and I are going to be a fearsome team when I'm older.

Everybody loves to spend time with Grandma on her swing and watch the gorgeous sunsets.

Vincent's swing is more my size. We both thought it was funny when I pushed him in it.

Alyssa came back from flag camp and entertained us with her finessed flag skills.

The Magnificent Ladies of Moses Lake.

We sure missed you Aunt Angie!

What is the best thing about holidays? Spending time with Family!

It was such fun to visit and play with everyone. My cousins loved to play sheep-in-my-pen, Uncle Ryan dominated Acquire, and Aunt Shannon pummeled my Dad in tennis (6-3, 7-5).

July 4th, Independence Day

Happy Fourth of July! We went to McCosh Park to listen to some music, play games, and enjoy complimentary food. Too bad everyone was full from Grandma's superior apple pies. I also got this fabulous flag that I wouldn't let go of.