Jumpin' at Jumpin' Beans!

After we rested for a while, Granddaddy & Grandma told us about a local play place called, "Jumpin' Beans!" It is a cafe' that has huge inflatables for kids to play in while you just sit & watch.

Here is Josiah climbing.

Here he is following 2 other boys down the slide.

He jumped for about 2 hours & had so much fun! He was covered in sweat by the time he was done.

He had so much fun jumpin' at "Jumpin' Beans."

There's nothing quite like your morning reading!

After a very busy day at Pullen Park, we all decided to rest a little this morning. I got up, got showered & came downstairs to this sight.

Both of my guys sitting in Granddaddy's recliner...reading!

It doesn't get any cuter than this!!!

I guess it really is true when they say, "There's nothing quite like your morning reading!"

A Wonderful Day at Pullen Park!

Our visit to North Carolina has been great so far! Today, however, was a WONDERFUL day! We woke up this morning with an adventure in mind. We loaded up the van & went to Pullen Park in Raleigh, NC. Going to a park may not be a big deal to you, but it was for us. My parents, Edward & India, played at this park when they were young. Me & my brother, Chris, played at this park as children as well. I even had my Sweet 16 birthday party at this park. Well, today we took Josiah to Pullen Park for the 1st time.

As soon as we got to the park Josiah headed for the playground. He knew what time it was..."Game Time." (That's what is written on the bottom of his swing).

He played on the swings, the slides,

& he even played in the caboose. This caboose was there when I was little & when my parents were children. We've all played in it.

After playing for a few minutes on the playground, we went to buy tickets for the fun rides. Josiah rode on the boats & rang his bell the entire time. He kept saying, "I'm Captain Jo & this is MY pirate ship!" How cute!

The main attraction for the day (the big reason we brought Josiah to this park) was the choo-choo train!

Three generations aboard the train!

We are all so excited & ready to go!

The train then blows his whistle & heads out on the tracks. As you can see by the picture, Josiah is just in awe of being on a real train. He just kept looking around at all the sights.

After the train ride was over, the conductor allowed Josiah to come to the front of the train & sit in the conductor's seat. WOW! What a treat for a little boy. He then let Josiah blow the whistle all by himself. How exciting!

After riding for a while, we walked around the beautiful park. We found a statue of Andy & Opie Griffith from "The Andy Griffith Show." They were holding fishing poles. So, our little guy looked around, found a "fishing pole" (stick) of his own & posed for a picture. Funny kid!

We also spotted some HUGE goldfish in a pond while we were walking. So, we fed them some lunch. Josiah thinks they enjoyed it.

Feeding the fish also made us hungry, so we headed to the pavilion where I had my 16th birthday party for a picnic. Grandma had packed up a yummy picnic lunch of sandwiches, chips, grapes, drinks & cookies. YUM!

Here is Grandma, Dustin, Josiah & Granddaddy all posing in front of the 1911 carousel at Pullen Park. Again, all three generations have enjoyed this as well.

Here is our sweet little family ready to ride!

The 1st time riding the carousel, Josiah chose a rabbit. This is the first time Josiah rode on a carousel without Daddy or Mommy standing beside him. All 5 of us rode on our own animal. Josiah loved being Mr. Independent.

The 2nd time around, Josiah chose to ride on an ostrich. Here are my guys posing for the camera.

Yes, we did ride the carousel twice. Actually, we rode the carousel, the train & the boats twice. We couldn't just stop with one time. We were having too much fun to stop.

After 5 hours at Pullen Park, we said it was time to go home, but not before we all cooled off with a great snow cone. Delicious!

What a wonderful day at Pullen Park!

Josiah's 1st Bookbag!

We are in North Carolina visiting my parents & today we went to Target for a very important reason. It was time to buy Josiah his very 1st bookbag. He will be starting preschool in September. Granddaddy & Grandma Moody were so excited that they decided to buy the bookbag for Josiah. So, we took him to Target & he headed right for the bookbags.

He debated for a while between a Diego bookbag & a "Cars" bookbag. We knew what he would finally decide & he did...a "Lightning McQueen" bookbag. He wore that bookbag all around the store & didn't want to hand it over to the lady at the checkout counter. He finally gave it to her long enough for her to scan it & then took it right back & walked towards the exit without us. He wore it around all day. I think he likes his 1st bookbag!

Goin' to Carolina!

Our family is so excited to be heading to North Carolina today. We haven't seen my family since Christmas & we can't wait.

Here are some pictures of us playing around at the Minneapolis Airport while waiting for our 2nd airplane.

Dustin & Josiah posing as Minnesota Vikings!

Josiah & Carla pretending to be super-athletic.

Oh the things you'll do while goin' to Carolina!

One Last Time!

Almost two years ago, Josiah & I started going to the Lynnwood Library for Storytime. We were hoping to have quality time together & possibly make some new friends. Little did we know that we would meet our new best friends on the 1st day.

We sat down & listened to everyone singing songs & joining in on rhymes. Josiah & I did not know these songs, so we just listened & tried to join in as well. I noticed a woman sitting next to us with her son who seemed to be just as lost as we were. I asked her, "Is this your first time?" She replied, "Yes." Josiah & I introduced ourselves to Amanda & Grady that day. After a few visits with general chit-chat, we exchanged phone numbers.

After our 1st phone call of over an hour, we knew we would be good friends. We began meeting each other at Storytime every week.

Josiah & Grady now do almost everything together. They love each other so much. Amanda & I have really hit it off, too. We even like to get together for some girl time without our boys being with us.

I know I am setting up this blog as though they are moving away...they are not. We have just come to a new part of this journey. Today marked our last Storytime together. In September, Josiah & Grady will be in preschool. Josiah will be starting preschool for the very first time. He will be attending on Tuesdays & Thursdays. Grady will be going for his 2nd year...on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. Preschool Storytime is held on Wednesdays at our local library. So, Josiah & I still plan to attend, but Grady will be in preschool on Wednesdays.

As you can see, our lives are going to be busier than normal & at different times. So, it will be harder for our two little guys to see each other. In the past we scheduled play dates outside of Storytime & we still can in the future. It was just nice to know that even if we didn't make a special plan to meet, we always had Storytime.

Amanda & I have already decided to get together once a week with the boys to have lunch & some playtime after preschool has dismissed. That will always give us something to look forward to.

Yes, I'm sure there will come a day when Grady may not have preschool or summer rolls around & there isn't preschool. Storytime is just going to seem a little lonely without them.

So, this picture was taken today at Storytime. Gabe (Grady's older brother) has been coming this summer since he is out of school. We just wanted a picture of all of us together at Storytime...one last time!

Fun in Yakima!

This weekend we drove to Yakima, WA to spend some quality time with Dustin's family. It seems like every time we go to Yakima it is a holiday or some one's birthday & there isn't much time for quality time. We were all looking forward to this trip just to relax & enjoy family.

Here is Meme (Janet--Dustin's Mom) & Josiah doing one of their favorite things...swinging together. Josiah usually tries to pile as many of us on that swing as he can. One day we are afraid it is going to break with all of us on it.

After spending a day of just catching up on what's going on with one another, we headed to the movies. We went to see "Up." We thought it looked cute & the fact that it was a cartoon made by Pixar would mean it would be kid friendly.

"Up" was Josiah's very first 3D movie. He wasn't so sure about those BIG glasses at first, but once he heard they were "magic glasses" he was all for them.

Papa (Larry--Dustin's Dad), on the other hand, couldn't seem to get his "magic glasses" to work. It wasn't until the end of the movie that he realized his sunglasses don't work at 3D movies. He needs to wear his 3D glasses instead! HA! I think we laughed the rest of the movie because of that!

We had a good time at the movie. I thought it was really cute. Some parts were too mature for Josiah, but he didn't seem to mind...other than the bad guy. He didn't like him very much.

Friday night we all headed over to Todd, Shelly, Justin & Cody's house for some pizza & swim time.

We hadn't even been there 10 minutes when I noticed both of my guys were already changed & in the pool. They are both like fish...they LOVE being in the water.

After dinner, I had to hop in to enjoy the fun, too.

Josiah really got into swimming this time. We worked on his swimming without any flotation devices for a while. Then, he & us wanted some freedom, so we put on his floatie suit. I know he looks silly, but this thing works really well.

Dustin has always been an adrenaline junky. So, he feels the need to pass that on to Josiah. He encouraged Josiah for a while to jump off of the deck into the pool. At first, he was very hesitant & wanted Dustin to catch him.

By the end of the night he was getting Cody to jump in with him. With no exaggeration, we think he probably jumped into the pool from the deck at least 50 times that night.

We also had fun jumping on their trampoline. Justin & Cody both showed us their great trampoline skills & I talked about the days I used to be really good at it before I got so old. The highlights of trampoline time were when Josiah decided to get on & when Meme did. Josiah was all over the place...it was hilarious. Then, it was also funny to see Meme get on there & barely move because she didn't want to be all over the place.

Once we were back in the pool after dessert, we all decided to make a whirlpool by running laps around the edge of the pool. It was so much fun once the water started moving fast. Josiah just got into his boat float & sailed around the whirlpool. Dustin & Papa were soon hanging on to float with him.

Josiah said it all when we got into the van to leave...

"A movie, pizza, dessert & swim time...this is the best day!"

Thanks to Larry & Janet for having us for the weekend & for the rest of the family for helping us to have a fun & relaxing time away from home. We truly had fun in Yakima!

My Big Helper!

Josiah & I have been attending Storytime for almost 2 years now. It is held at the public library here in Lynnwood. It has become one of our favorite things to do together. We look forward to the storytime portion, meeting friends, playing with toys, playing on computer, playing with puzzles & checking out books every week.

We really enjoy the teacher, Mr. Brian. He is very animated & talented. He reads books & sings songs with such enthusiasm that it is hard not to enjoy!

We also sing & dance along with the music Mr. Brian plays & sings. Josiah has always enjoyed going.

Today was extra special. Mr. Brian was asking for volunteers. Usually he chooses the adults to help him with anything since you never know what the children are going to do. This time he asked for the children to volunteer. I was so proud of Josiah. His hand shot straight in the air while other children were either hiding or having to be coaxed by their parents.

Once he was called on, he walked right up to the front & then Mr. Brian arranged them all in a line. He just stood there singing the song waiting for his turn to do his task. (Josiah is in the green shirt).

We sang a song about children falling out of bed. At the end of each verse a child falls out of bed & makes a loud boom. Mr. Brian brought his large drum for our kids to make the loud boom with. Each child in line got a turn & hit the drum at the end of a verse. Josiah, who by the way has his Dad's wonderful rhythm, was listening for the right moment & boomed EXACTLY on the beat.

I was so proud of him!!! I know this doesn't sound like much to some of you, but having been a teacher for so long, I know how hard it is for children to volunteer for something in front of their peers. Then, it is even harder for them to do it right because of their nerves. Well, Josiah not only volunteered, but did well under pressure.

I am so proud of my big helper!

Family Fun Friday!

Dustin works all day on Saturdays & Sundays for church, so he takes Fridays off. So, each Friday our family has "Family Fun Friday!" Some days we just stay at home & hang out, but some days we hit the road for another adventure.

Today we headed to Green Lake Park in Seattle. Josiah & I went with some friends last week, but Dustin has never been. Josiah was very eager to get back to that cool park, so that's exactly where we went.

We began our day by playing at the huge playground!

Then, stopped to have a picnic lunch!

Josiah enjoys having picnic lunches.

We then headed for our van & got out the bicycles. Oh boy...what fun!

Look at what a gorgeous day it was on the lake today. Beautiful!

We rode our bikes about 1/4 mile to the wading pool...Josiah's favorite part.

As soon as we got him changed, he ran right for the water. In this picture, he is turned around looking at us saying, "Come on guys!"

The entire time he was in the water, all he wanted to do was jump into the air & land on his bottom. It was so funny!

After getting changed back into our regular clothes, we hopped back on our bikes for another 1/4 mile ride. Dustin chose to take his bike on the trail all the way around the 2.8 mile lake. Josiah & I went the short way back.

After loading up the van, Josiah said, "Whew...what a wonderful day!"