Experience Music Project & Science Fiction Museum

Thanks to my friend, Shannon, my kids and I got to visit a couple of great museums in Seattle for free and tell you about them. Shannon has an amazing review and giveaway blog called "The Mommy Files" that you can visit here. I was so excited to visit the EMP/SFM because although I've lived in Seattle for four years now, I didn't think there was much for my kids to enjoy at these museums (both museums are housed in the same building). But I was proved wrong! First we went to the Experience Music Project side of the museum and no, my boys didn't care to look at all of the paraphernalia of Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, or Pearl Jam, but they LOVED the Music Lab. That's where they could get their hands on the instruments and play with them. Listening stations,keyboards,the mixing board and of course, the drums.Then we were on to the Science Fiction Museum where they don't let you take any pictures of the cool things they have there. Joseph was excited to name the Star Wars characters we saw, including a life size R2D2. And I found my own excitement in explaining to Joseph who the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and E.T. are. They have life-size models of them too. But the best part of the museum, I thought, was the Jim Henson exhibition currently on display. Justin thought it was hilarious to pretend to be Bert at the puppet theater. It was great that they had that place for kids to play and touch the puppets because you can't touch any of the others on display. Check out the video to see how you can be in the Muppet's Band. I have a whole new appreciation for puppeteers. Those puppets are heavy! The exhibition was done very well. I studied art history in college and took a class I loved about museum curatorship so I'm a nerd about noticing the presentation like that. What I thought was really great was that they covered several whole walls from floor to ceiling in fuzzy muppet material in really bright colors. Here's my boys in front of the green fuzzy wall at the end of our fun morning. You can tell Justin is really worn out when he has to hold his thumb in this mouth like that!

Good times with Grandma

We had a few fun days with my Mom last week. Too few if you ask me. She spoils us and we have missed her! We played at the park...went swimming...went to the Pacific Science Center...saw some beautiful butterflies at the butterfly house...and played hard at home too! Thanks so much for coming, Mom! Now we can last until Christmas. It's as if Joseph and Justin understand that they have to pack as much Grandma as possible into her visits. They both demand her attention at her every waking moment. It was adorably sad to hear Justin's little voice plead "Gammah, I go with you?" when we dropped her off at the airport. Grandmas are the best.

Guess what!

Darren and I are now the proud owners of this home......yellow grass and all. The greatest part is, we don't even have to move because we already live there! Yep, we purchased the house we've been renting for 3 years. It was meant to be, really. We'd been toying with the idea of buying a house and casually looking around the area. We knew we wanted to stay in West Seattle and stay in the ward we love. Then in May, our landlady called to tell us she was getting married, moving out of state, and putting the house up for sale in June. Now we really started looking hard, got ourselves an agent and saw a lot of houses. I thought I'd fall in love with one for sure. But instead, we just kept comparing them to where we were and realizing we wanted our house! And we got it!

I am so happy to think that we don't have to move for quite a long time, and that we can really start to make this home the way we like it now. We already love it, despite its quirks, its age and its junkiness, now we can slowly make it ours. Where to start? The bathroom is getting ripped out ASAP! Actually, the tub, toilet and sink are staying, but it's gonna be fun to change the shower, the floor and the paint. I can't wait to show you the before and after pics.

Here is my little Batman showing off our silly sold sign. Since the house was never listed with a sign out front, this was our agent's idea when I told her I was sad I wouldn't have a picture of a sign for my blog! (It's stapled to the tree out front.)

Playing Catch Up

We've been busy! Here's a few of the adventures we've been on lately:

The Pirates landing on Alki Beach for Sea Fair in Seattle. We've been meaning to do this for a long time now. A bunch of guys dressed as pirates jump off this boat and run around on the beach. Actually, we didn't get to find out what they do once they get to the beach. Their boat was way late and then couldn't get close enough to the shore and we were taking off as they were wading to shore. But hey, now we've done it!And check out how cool some of the other boats out there in the Sound were!A day out with Thomas the Train! Check him out! Of course, they were charging for pictures with Thomas, so we took one outside the fence as we were leaving. Lame.We went with my friend Anna and her two cute boys. It was a fun little train ride and the boys loved it.

Then Darren and Joseph took off on a Father and Son campout and had a blast with all these cute boys from our ward. And I had a fun little chick flick night with Justin and a few girlfriends.
Fun stuff! Summer is officially half way over and we're making the most of it!

Independence Day

We had a very fun and relaxing holiday with a ward breakfast, a family BBQ and our own little firework show in our backyard. If you know my Joseph, you know he is very sensitive to loud sounds and he spent the last Fourth of July with his hands over his ears. This year he was so excited about doing fireworks and he told me over and over again that he wasn't afraid of fireworks anymore. We picked out the obligatory pop-its and sparklers and also a couple of non-screaming fountains and one where a parachuting army guy is launched into the sky. The pop-its were a HUGE hit with both the boys, and then we started on the fountains. Justin was in a trance as he watched the fountains. They both just loved it and I was so happy to see that it seemed Joseph was going to be OK. Then the army guy firework made a huge booming sound that made everybody jump and Joseph lost it:He was consoled after a good hard cry but was now determined NOT to do any sparklers. So being the mean mom I am, I coerced him into standing next to me while I held the sparklers. But you can see how much fun he's having.So what is Justin doing during this time? Totally showing up Joseph with the sparklers and having the time of his life! Darren couldn't get them lit fast enough for him.My little pyromaniac! As soon as it burned out, he'd say, "One more, ok, Daddy?"And then, SUCCESS! Joseph decided he would hold a sparkler after all and loved it, for about 20 seconds. He handed it off to me pretty quick. But check out the happy face! And how far he's holding it from his body.I am so very grateful for this beautiful country where I can do fireworks in my backyard if I want. I am proud to be an American!

Family Fun for Father's Day

We had such a fun Father's Day weekend! My adorable nephew, Kellen came from Portland to visit for two days and two nights. Joseph was so excited to have 2 sleepovers! These boys are best buds despite their geographic distance. It was so fun to listen to them get reacquainted and play together. There was a lot of wrestling, monster hunting and bike riding going on. We met his parents halfway in Centralia to make the switch both times. Grandma Jolley even came with them on one of the trips. What a treat! It worked out so great, we'll definitely be making this a new summertime tradition!We played at the beach and rode the water taxi across the bay just for fun. The other great thing about this weekend is that my cousin, Melinda was also up from Portland with her family and we picnicked at the beach together on Friday. It was so great to see her and her three kids. I haven't seen her for five years because they've lived out east since just recently. It'll be great to have them living so much closer now!Justin also fell in love with Kellen on his trip. He tried his hardest to keep up with the big boys on all their adventures. And they were so good to include him in their playing. I took this picture because Justin was snuggling up to Kellen and saying, "I wuv you Kewen!" So cute! And a very happy late Father's Day to the wonderful father of my children! My goodness I love this man. We learned this weekend that Darren passed the first of the four CPA exams he is working on taking. Way to go, babe! Not only is he excruciatingly handsome, he's brilliant too!

2 big!

Happy birthday to Justin! 2 years old just seems like full blown toddlerhood and I hardly ever see a trace of my little baby anymore. Justin is becoming very outgoing and independent and wants to do everything on his own. He says, "by self, Mommy" all day long. When he gets frustrated because he's not getting what he wants, he plops himself down on the ground to pout and won't move. Can you say, "terrible twos?" He also loves to copy everything we say. The other night he opened the bathroom door where Joseph was taking his bath and said, "Shuhshuf, 3 minutes OK?" He was giving Joseph his countdown like he hears me say. Joseph thought it was hilarious and it turned into quite a giggle-fest.He loved opening his presents. And he loves birthday cake. Everytime someone mentions the word birthday, he asks for cake. Smart boy.My attempt at a cute and crafty cake turned out pretty good, I have to say. It was fun to make.Love you, Justin! And thanks to all our family for the calls and the presents! We love you!