Gavin's swimming party

We celebrated Gavin's fourth birthday at the Federal Way Community Center. I kept hearing people say how great this pool was, so we decided to rent it out for his party. :) It definitely was a lot of fun. There were little waterslides and sprinklers for the little kids ~ a big waterslide and tube whirlpool for the big kids. For days and days Gavin was talking about his swimming party... so when the day finally came, he was really excited!

Since the smaller waterslide was just his size, Gavin pretty much stuck with that side of the pool. :)


Casey did too... until Daddy brought him over to try out the innertubes. He clung onto that tube with all of his little might. :)

Jacob was happy that even though he was only 47 inches, (the height requirement was 48) they let him go down the big waterslide.

After swimming, we got to have a little party in the party room. Gavin blew out his four candles...


We ate some cupcakes...


Opened some presents... (Almost every single one was Toy Story themed! :)


Most of the kids were running around with the blow up sea animals... I bet they slept well on the way home. ;)



Another birthday highlight was the Ultimate Buzz Lightyear we got for Gavin. My friend found him on clearance for me (thank goodness, because he is usually $120!) It is so much fun to see Gavin's eyes light up as he uses the remote control to have Buzz walk, turn, talk, and give high fives!

In case you are wondering, there are definitely not a lack of Buzz Lightyears at this house! :)

Spring is here!

It's been so much fun to dream about spring with the nice weather we have been having! Yesterday, the boys got to play in the sun with their daddy. It was so cute to watch Adam teach Jacob to drive our go-cart for the first time!

While I took Casey home for a nap, Adam took the older boys on an "adventure". That's what he called it anyway. ;) I'm not sure what they did, but I fell in love with the picture Adam came home with...

On Thursdays, my friend and I take turns watching our little ones so we can volunteer in our kindergartner's classes. For the first time in months, we were able to go in the backyard and play!




There are never a lack of puzzles at our house...

...but if I take my eyes off my 18 month old for a second, this is what I will find. :)

Gavin's birthday

My mom was here for Gavin's actual birthday, since his daddy was on a trip. She watched Casey so I could volunteer in Gavin's classroom that morning. He was pretty excited to sit in the "special" chair and have cupcakes with his friends!

I love capturing this picture of their prayer before eating the cupcakes...
Later that day, we took the boys to the Point Defiance Zoo. It was COLD, but we bundled up and had a great time. :) Gavin said his favorite parts were the feeding the goats, hot chocolate, riding the horsie (carousel), and pushing the LL button (lower level) on the elevator.


We kept telling Gavin that all of these animals were coming super close to wish him a happy birthday!

The goats were practically leaping over the edge to get some food! I think they are more desperate in the cold weather when not as many people are there to feed them. :)





We ended the day at Red Robin for dinner. Gavin was pretty excited that the actual Red Robin bird was there to give him a birthday high five. Casey wasn't so sure though!


We were waiting for Adam to get home for his party with family and friends, so we finally get to do that this Saturday!

Four years old

There is something about Gavin turning four that is bittersweet. I think it's because the "baby" is disappearing in my baby. They still seem to have that sweet baby look when they are three... then all of sudden they turn four and you realize they are all grown up. (Especially when their two front teeth are missing ;) Here is a look back on four precious years with Gavin...


ONE
TWO
THREE

FOUR
Gavin,

I hope you have the most special day in the world... because the day you were born was one of the most special days in my world. It snowed on our drive to the hospital, it was snowing outside when you blew out three candles last year, and it is supposed to snow tomorrow on your birthday. God must think you are pretty special too. :) I love how you pat me on the back when we hug, I love how you are always willing to share your treats, I love how you want to cuddle with me every morning, I love how your front teeth are missing, I love everything about you. You are mommy's bestest boy and you make me sooo proud.

Mommy

Nowhere to be Found

It's funny how when you are really prepared for something... it doesn't happen. Last year, it snowed at least seven different times. I know this because I helped the boys make at least seven different snowmen. It even snowed on Gavin's birthday in March! Last year, I wasn't prepared. I was one of those moms who ran to the store only to find that the shelves were wiped clean of everything related to snow. So this year I was ready. In October, I had snowsuits, boots, hats, and gloves for all three boys. The only problem? Snow has been nowhere to be found.

So we drove to the snow. Oh yes. I was going to get at least one use out of all this snow gear before they outgrow it next year. *Sigh* At least the benefit of having three boys is that they will all become brand new hand-me-downs.

They have a really fun tubing hill on Snoqualmie Pass that we decided to try out. I was shocked to see that Jacob (with extra encouragement from his Daddy) was brave enough to go down the hill by himself! (Seriously, I was scared of going down that hill all by myself!) This made it a lot easier because we could take Gavin and Casey on our laps at the same time. I wish I had thought to take some pictures with my cell phone, especially of the boys all being towed up the hill together. :) I got some before and after shots though.