Nolan Goes to School

Nolan started school today, second grade already! He got the teacher he wanted, his friend Madi's mom and was so excited although rather sleepy this morning. 

He came home with a nurses note saying he bonked his head on a friend and received ice, which must make it some kind of record! Last year he came home with at least 10 of these but on the first day is impressive. 

We of course did our questionnaire today and documented the occasion with lots of front yard pictures. 

And of course the out takes. This was a close second though.

Miles turns 4!

Miles turned 4 with a Roaring Dino Jungle theme. Miles is obsessed with all things dino so this was his dream come true. 

All his toy dinosaurs dressed up for the occasion.

And a giant Pteranadon kept an eye over the festivities.

All his dinosaur friends came.

And he even got to pick out a special volcano cake.

On his actual birthday we had his second cake (thanks jodi!) and vanilla ice cream he made with Yaya.

He declared both days the best day ever!

Cousin Camp: Northwest Trek

Cousin camp 2016 was cut a little short this year with preparations for Miles Bday party but we made the most of our time with a special outing to Northwest Trek. I hadn't been there since I was about Nolan's age but i had heard it had some major renovations since then. One new area is this awesome habitat play area where kids can build climb, slide and splash in different play land habitats. The kids liked the driftwood dam the best. 

Next up the interactive exhibits, this one had a lot of "stuffed" animals like the wolf here. This is the kids looking "normal".

And here they are acting "crazy" because there's a wolf next to them.

On the train the kids sat together for a little bit.

But Miles got squeezed out and got a window to himself.

On the train we got to see the new moose baby. This nobbie kneed dude is already 6 weeks old!

Time for some cuddles!

I forgot how pretty the grounds are here. The trees are HUGE!

 Clementine took this picture of the bob cat.

 It was one of the hottest days of the summer but we survived!

Travels

I'm going to do a quick catch up since I've been slacking on the blog updates. Try to keep up! ;) 

Camping trip #1: This first trip was to Penrose Point State Park with Jake and Katherine plus crew. The weather was perfect and it turned out to be a great getaway. It was our first time tent camping with all the family (Ruby and Miles included) and they did a fantastic job. 

I love this beach because it's covered in tiny crabs and sand dollars that kept the kids busy for quite a while!

Tee hee, Nolan is going to hate me for this one! His fault for peeing on the beach though!

Next up was cabin camping at Hood Canal. Different spot, same crew of people. This time the weather wasn't quite as nice but we had a great weekend regardless.

 Miles has hijacked this shirt from Nolan. I keep putting it in Nolan's room but it magically appears back in his drawer, weird how that keeps happening.

This beach was covered in oyster shells and we even found a few that were still alive.

It was a great summer of travel and I can't wait to make more plans for next year!