Woodland Park Zoo

I was so excited to go to the Woodland Park Zoo with my mom!  We haven't been there since last summer, but I think it just makes the boys all the more in awe and enthralled with each animal.  Casey especially made the trip so memorable because he just couldn't believe all the animals we read about in books were around every corner.  I had to peel him away from each animal and he would say, "Let's see that animal again!!"  I don't think he was old enough to remember going last year, so it was as if he was seeing them all for the first time... so magical.  :)

I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story...

Spouse flight

I got to go on a C-17 (the plane my husband flies for the military) spouse flight last weekend!  Even better, I got to watch the scenery from the cockpit with him!  The best way to describe it is a beautiful panoramic 180 degree view of the sky and I was in awe the entire time.  I can't believe my husband does this for a living... makes me want to get my pilot's license!!

I am so proud of my man and what he does!

Although I have seen beautiful views of Mount Rainier from my little window in coach before,  I can say without hesitation that it was nothing compared to this.  Instead of merely being in the background, we flew directly over Mount Saint Helens!  With the widespread view, at times we could see two, even three mountains simultaneously!

"I see skies of blue... clouds of white.  Bright blessed days... dark sacred nights.  And I think to myself... what a wonderful world" kept coming to my mind as I watched the handcrafted work of our Creator pass by!  Amazing.

I got to hear everything the pilots were saying, which gave me even more respect for the amazing work my husband does!  It was almost like a foreign language, so Adam was whispering in my ear exactly what everything meant and what they were doing.  He had this sparkle in his eyes, like he was so excited to share this part of his life with me.

Taking us down for a soft landing...

The pilot told me this was his favorite part... peeking just under the clouds.

Doesn't she look deep in thought?

Our first view of the landing strip at McChord

Touching down

My hubby in his element!

Isn't this plane just massive and amazing?!

Adam told me, "So now you know what I did when I had to spend so much time away from you..."  And what an incredible experience it was to see a piece of that.

National Night Out!

Our neighborhood had their annual night out last week!  This has become one of my favorite events of the summer.  It's free and so much fun!

Jacob just loooooves climbing.  After making it up the pole in Leavenworth, this seemed like a piece of cake!

He made it to the top so fast that they let him do it again.  ;)

Gavin tried with all of his little might...

but he only made it a few feet.

He had fun trying though!

It's hard to tell from the picture, but the name of this inflatable was totally accurate!  Kids were hanging by their fingers at the top, only to drop down almost in a free fall!

The line took forever because so many brave little souls would climb to the top, take one look, and immediately scurry back down the stairs.  Jacob was a little frightened at the top as well, but after an encouraging cheer from his mommy, he let go!

Casey is obsessed with helicopters, so watching this one land a few feet away was amazing!

Checking out the rig with daddy!

Jacob testing out the seat

Free hotdogs, chips, drinks, cotton candy, snocones, balloons, tattoos, samples... a child's dream!

The little choo choo train that picks everyone up around the neighborhood to bring them here!

What a fun evening!

A little update...

So it turns out we won't be traveling to Russia as soon as we thought.  Of course, as soon as I start to plan for our trip and where the boys will be while we're gone, everything changes!  I am just such a planner because I feel so much more at ease when everything is under control.  :)  The thing is though, everything is under control... it's just God's control and not mine.  All along, I have been worried that I would miss the boys' first day of school.  Because typically, I would think their first day (of Kindergarten especially) was one of the most important things in the world.  I have to realize even that will be okay though.  Bringing this little girl home from a life in an orphanage without a mommy or a daddy, that's pretty important too.  ;)  I can always have a do-over on Jacob and Gavin's first day of school.  After all, it will be my first day experiencing everything with them at least!

I have a feeling everything will work out though.  When you know with certainty you are doing something God cares so much about, you know He is going orchestrate everything way better than you could ever have planned.  :)  We are just along for the ride (and the paperwork ;).  Even though we so badly want to meet our little girl, we take comfort in the fact that He is watching over her for us right now.  When I look at it that way, she couldn't be in better hands.

We covet your prayers as we embark on this journey though.  I know three trips to Russia in a matter of months won't be easy.  Leaving our three little boys at home for any extended period of time won't be easy.  Flying standby for twelve different flights won't be easy.  A fifteen hour airplane ride home with a baby we are just getting to know won't be easy.  Transitioning her into our time zone (which is 11 hours earlier than what she is used to) won't be easy.  Getting adjusted to life with four kids won't be easy.  God never promised us an easy life though.  All we can do is live for Him to the best of our ability with the time that we have... and we feel honored that we get to change a little girl's life forever in the process.

Little boys sayings and stories...

Jacob

Jacob always refers to Gavin and Casey as his two boys.  For example, when we are ordering ice cream he will say, "All of my two boys love chocolate."  Cracks me up.

We were at Winco last week and Jacob noticed that it said 24 hours.  He immediately exclaimed, "They have nocturnal people there mommy?!?!"  I told him that they weren't really nocturnal, they just have to get used to a different schedule when they are working.  To which responded, "That's not going to be good mommy.  When customers come they will say, 'I just can't help you.  I'm... too... tired!'"

When we go through the McDonald's drive-thru and Jacob doesn't get a happy meal (aka... anything without a toy), he immediately calls it a sad meal.  :)  So now everytime we go through the drive-thru, he asks if we are getting a happy meal or a sad meal.

Gavin

When Gavin was whining the other day, I was experimenting with some Love and Logic by telling him that he was draining my energy.  (Then supposedly if your energy is drained, they have to help you get your energy back by helping with the dishes, cleaning up toys, etc.  Or you can go the other route and say that you don't have enough energy to make cookies, drive to the park, etc.)  So later that night, I was talking to Gavin and he said, "Momma, if you keep talking, I'm gonna lose my energy."  Ha!

Gavin was looking for something the other day and I told him to look under his bed.  He responded with confusion, "But I'm not strong enough to lift up my bed!!"

A few minutes after going upstairs to play wii, Gavin came back downstairs.  I asked him why he came back downstairs so quickly, he sighed and said, "The screen said 'Better Luck Next Time', so I'll just play next time..."

After we went to the Peter Pan play a few weeks ago, Gavin pointed to the map in his bedroom and asked me to show him where Never Never Land is.  :)

Now that he can read, Gavin wants to call everything by its actual name.  He corrects Casey each time that circle crackers are called Ritz, square crackers are called Wheat Thins, and rectangle crackers are called Honey Maids.  ;)

We were shopping for Gavin's kindergarten school supplies, and he lit up in excitement when he found a Toy Story backpack.  I said, "Wow, Gavin wants that Toy Story backpack really badly!"  He immediately replied, "No,  I want that backpack really GOODLY!"

Jacob is really into Magic Treehouse Books so we take turns reading a chapter before bed every night.  We are about halfway through the series and I love that each book has teachable moments inside.  (With the exception of a few that encounter ghosts and mummies, which I'm not a fan of...)  However, Jack and Annie have gone to the moon, the rainforest, the North Pole, Ancient Greece, the Titanic... all which have led to really interesting conversations.  Gavin cracks me up because after reading about a volcanic eruption in Pompeii, he said, "Mommy, I never want to go there."  Next was about some vikings in Ireland and he said, "Mommy, I never want to go to Ireland."  Then we read about a dragon king in China and he said, "I never want to go to China either."  Hmmm... so maybe these teachable moments aren't necessarily inspiring him to be a world traveler.  ;)  The one we are reading right now though is about the Civil War.  So as I'm explaining the Civil War in the most simplistic kid language possible, Gavin said, "Mommy, I don't want to live in the United States anymore because there is too much slaves!"

Casey


When we were grocery shopping a few weeks ago, Casey was sitting in the cart.  He usually picks his favorite thing to hold, which this day happened to be a can of whip cream.  I didn't see him shaking it or anything but he clutched onto that can of whip cream until it was time to check out.  When I lifted him from the cart, he accidentally dropped the can, and it exploded everywhere.  When I say everywhere, I mean all over the floor, Casey's hair, Casey's face, my clothes, the rest of the groceries...  It also exploded with an ear-shrilling BOOM, which completely scared Casey.  So there he was with whip cream all over his face, crying huge crocodile tears.  The checker felt horrible that he was so frightened and I just found the entire situation hilarious and couldn't stop laughing!  Anyway, so the next time we went grocery shopping and I went to put whip cream in the cart, Casey shouted, "NO!  I TOO SCARED!!!"  Which, after all that, I can't really blame him.  ;)

We let each of the boys choose a donut from Krispy Kreme, and as we got settled in our booth and opened the box, Casey said, "It too big Daddy.  Too big.  Put dat back."  I have never heard my boys say that a donut (or any treat for that matter) is too big!  So funny!

Casey has been having growing pains at night lately, so if Adam is home, he always goes upstairs to console him.  As soon as he gives him a hug and explains that he is just getting bigger, Casey seems to feel better.  A few weeks ago, Casey's tummy was really hurting.  (X-rays would later show us that he was really constipated.)  As he keeled over in pain, he looked up at me with big eyes and said, "Casey tummy hurt.  I getting bigger mommy."  So cute but it broke my heart!