Halloween Fun!

Halloween sure is fun with little kids to celebrate with! First we went to Jubilee Farm for a fantastic pumpkin patch outing.  The boys were most enamored with the tractor rides to and from the field.  In fact most of the pictures we have of Odin from that day are of him pointing at tractors.

Odin digging the tractor ride to the pumpkin field at Jubilee Farm.

Lars in his Viking hat from previous Halloween costumes.

Odin cutting a pumpkin from the vine.

Lars helping Mama harvest her pumpkin

Okay, I've got a pumpkin.  Time to get back on the tractor!

Except my boot keeps coming off!  "Boot too big!"

Look a tractor!

Getting busy carving those pumpkins

This is super fun!

So pretty!

One of Odin and Lars' favorite activities right now is to cook in their play kitchen and make "soup" to share with us.  Some of the combinations they come up with are downright interesting...lemon, pear, carrot and cucumber or orange, apple, zucchini and mushroom.  Today Lars even started experimenting with enology and I sipped many different wines...the pear and apple seemed most appealing, but I swear the cucumber and tomato flavored wines were worth a try!  They also combine their love of cooking with their love of trucks and play "food truck" all the time.  I guess they have jumped with both (all four?) feet into the food truck trend.

All of this food and cooking play inspired me for their Halloween costumes, and I got busy making chef hats and aprons.  I figured they would go over great and be really popular.  Guess again Mama...you've got 2 year olds!  Fortunately I was able to convince them to wear their costumes long enough for some photos.  

Aren't I cute?

This happy face was directly following the most amazing fast feet dancing in front of the stove!

Now we're getting serious!  Can you hear us pushing the pretend buttons on the microwave?  "beep beep"

"Say cheese!" says Mama

"Yeah 'kay" says Lars

Odin thinks, but there isn't any cheese in our play kitchen set!

Lars says "food truck!"  Odin says "mine food truck!"

Restocking for hungry customers

On Halloween night we lucked out to have other 2 1/2 year old twin boys visiting who dressed in their costumes and provided peer pressure and we were able to take our Swedish chefs trick or treating.  All in all, Halloween was fantastic for us!

Heading up to the first house

I guess all of our work with the concept of trading has paid off.  When they were given their treat, they gave back what was in their bag from previous houses.

By the last house they were starting to get it, though they still didn't know what these little packages they were getting were.  Ahh, good thing Mama and Papa know what to do with those little packages (burp!)

Just as we were taking some last pictures at our house with our jack o lanterns, the rain started.  It was a highly successful night!

Blueberry Picking!

Last weekend we packed into the car and headed over to Bellevue to pick blueberries at Mercer Slough.  We had a blast and came home with about 9 pounds of berries...in our buckets.  Good thing they don't weigh people before and after!  We easily could have gotten more if we'd had an earlier start to the day and weren't running into lunch and nap time. Lars was very methodical in his picking and eating, staying at one bush until the berries he could reach were gone, Odin flitted around from bush to bush picking and eating as he went.  We had a great time!  

Odin picking...

...then tasting!

Lars picking...

...then showing the results.

Goofy walk

We needed to get in the car so we put the boys in the carriers...but we just couldn't drag ourselves away.  We all enjoyed picking them!

Odin snatching a few more while on Papa's back.

Summer Vacation: Sailing with two year olds

Well, there wasn't any sailing.  We found that it was easiest to move while the boys were napping and they nap SO well when the engine is on, besides that, we were in South Puget Sound in the middle of the summer...and there just isn't much wind.  Travelling with the boys on the boat was sure different than last year's trip to Alaska.  Last summer the boys weren't walking yet and didn't need as much exercise so we could spend long days underway, this summer we spent a lot of time ashore playing on the beach.  South Sound is a great place to visit, because even though it is close to Seattle, it is quite empty since most people head north to the San Juan Islands.  South Sound also has a lot of marine state parks and we took full advantage of them.  The weather was fantastic, Lars and Odin adjusted well to being on the boat again, and we had a great trip all in all.

This time, instead of a long written description, we will let the images show that the whole family had a good time and returned well rested and happy to Seattle.

Day one:  Lunch underway

Fountain Park in Bremerton, so much fun!

Fountain plus wading, perfect for a hot day!

One of the fountains going off

Father and son looking at boats in Gig Harbor

Happy 12th Anniversary to us!

Mama and her boys underway

Throwing rocks at Penrose Point State Park

Is the bucket empty?

King of the rock!

Climbing into the dinghy to find a seat for lunch!

3 cool dudes in their sunglasses!

This is the only time we got Lars to wear his sunglasses

Odin was a little more interested in his sunglasses

"See?"  This was the favorite place to be when below decks

Happy Papa, Happy Lars

Sunglasses belong on top of your head, don't you know that? (Cutts Island in the back ground)

"Hello?" Anyone down there? (Jarrell Cove State Park)

McMicken Island State Park, we were planning on going for a walk in the woods but were scared off by the poison oak infestation

Reading kid books

Reading Mama's books

Reading is fun!

Yes it is!

Hot day in Olympia, perfect for playing in the fountain

Well...the fountain is a little scary, so playing in the perimeter will have to do

The only sand beach we played at on the whole trip, Eagle Island State Park

Yep, we're relaxed!

Mama, you're driving!

"Peek!"