Fun in the sun!

I can't believe we busted out the kiddie pool in May...but we did!! The weather has been incredible since we've been home. I picked up a pool yesterday for the kids to play in - they spent a good two hours splashing around this afternoon. Love it!!

Memorial Day

Memorial Day was kind of a downer at our house. The day began with an early morning trip to the airport to send Mike back to San Diego. The kids were sooo sad to see him go. This was the first time they've been so upset which makes it so much harder on Mike. Usually, when Mike asks if the kids are going to miss him, they nonchalantly answer, "No, I'm not going to miss you." This time was a different story - probably because we've gotten to see so much of him these past five months.

After getting home from the airport, I realized we needed to get out and do something, so we headed to Mill Creek's 1st Annual Memorial Day Parade. Because of our connection with the military - and the fact that we've lost friends in battle - I really want the kids to know and understand what Memorial Day is and why we celebrate the sacrifice others (including their dad) have made for our freedom. The parade was lots of fun and gave me the opportunity to explain to the kids why we were honoring all of the military personnel that were marching in the parade. I hope to make this parade - or something similar - an annual tradition for our family.

Ryan in his Navy gear, sipping on a Jamba Juice.

Caitlin in her new patriotic t-shirt. What a beautiful day for a parade.

GO NAVY!

Caitlin eagerly anticipating the horses.

The Snohomish High School Marine Corps ROTC program on horseback.

Princess Caitlin

Caitlin is totally into princesses. Here's what she's been wearing around the house lately. Her crown and her Cinderella princess dress.

One more last hurrah!

We had one more day to spend at Legoland, so we went on Mother's Day. I was feeling pretty good (I've been very sick lately), so we went for it! The day was so much fun. I felt good (until I tried to go watch a 4-D movie. ugh!).

Ryan absolutely loves Legos. He spends at least two hours a day building things. Right now, he's getting into Star Wars and enjoys building space ships and robots. His favorite part of the day was when he was able to build his own race car and race it on a track. I think he could have spent the whole day there and bypassed most of the rides!

We feel so blessed that we were able to share all of these fun theme parks with the kids while we were in San Diego! Now, the fun is coming to an end and we really need to start packing!

Farewell Disneyland!

Over the course of our time in San Diego, we spent four days at Disneyland. The kids are at such a fun age to enjoy all that the park has to offer. They rode on their first roller coaster, met princesses, fairies, and all the Disney favorites, and thoroughly enjoyed the magic of Disney. We're so sad that we're moving away from the park. We promised the kids we'd take them back in a few years. Here are some pictures from our most recent trip:

Caitlin's new pastime

I think she takes after her daddy!

Offroading with Ryan

About six weeks ago, Mike took the training wheels off of Ryan's bike. He has slowly made progress and about a week ago, it finally clicked and now he's a bike riding machine. He can start all by himself, break, turn, etc. It's so fun to watch him ride.

Behind our house, there is a bike path - complete with some dirt "jumps." Ryan has been spending time there most afternoons going over the jumps. Hopefully he doesn't enjoy it too much...I don't really want to have future BMX-er on my hands!

And always one to keep up with her big brother, here's Caitlin riding her new scooter. One of our neighbors was taking it out to the trash and offered it to Mike. Caitlin LOVES it and insists on doing it, "all by myself."

Blogging burnout

Wow! Has it really been over two months since I posted?! I've been in vacation mode and have let lots of things go...I'm going to try and get back in the swing of things, especially since we're moving away from Mike in a week and a half. I'll try and do some "retrospective" posts of some of the fun things we've done in San Diego. Stay tuned!