We love the library!!!

We have the funnest libraries in Kennewick. They always have a fun activity to do, be it story time, arts & crafts, or a program/concert type thing.

Last week we went to a concert called Casper Babypants. It was a concert of children's music, and it was very fun. Today when I was at the library, I went to the desk to ask the librarian a question. She stopped, looked at me, and said, "take off your hat, and let me....yes, it is you. I have been looking for you everywhere!!" The photographer at the concert took this picture of us. The librarian just loved it and kept telling me that I need to print it and frame it because it was so beautiful.

Last Monday they had the firefighters come for family storytime in the evening. It was fun to have our Daddy there. We got to hear 2 stories, then we got a tour of the firetruck. Braden is fascinated with firetrucks, so this was right up his alley. It was fun.
Then we went to the Reptile Man. It was so cool to see the snakes. We talked about what reptiles are, and after all was said and done, Tanner was disappointed that there was no dinosaur. We enjoyed lizards, an alligator, a tortoise, a cobra, a rattle snake, and an albino python.
When we walked in Colty said something about him not bringing a rattlesnake because they are too dangerous, so when he pulled out the diamond back rattler, boy was Colty surprised and nervous!
But, the Reptile Man removes the poison from his reptiles when he gets them, so there was nothing to worry about.

Today we saw the WSU Raptors. It was awesome. We saw some little hawks, then a big hawk, and a barn owl and a great horned owl. These are animals that come to the vet clinic at WSC, and if they can't be released back to the wild, then the Raptor's Club uses them for educational purposes. It was fun to learn about these amazing birds.One of the small hawks we saw loves grasshoppers. This type of bird has been know to eat so many grasshoppers that it is too heavy to fly.
Did you know that on a good night, if there are lots of mice, a barn owl can catch approximately 100 mice to feed himself and his family. And, their hearing is so keen that they can hunt in the complete dark.
The great horned owl is so strong that if this owl didn't have brain damage, you couldn't hold him. They can crush a human arm with their feet.

We love visitors

Grandpa and Grandma Mills are here for the weekend. They got here on Thursday, and will leave in the morning. They were smart enough to enjoy the trip, so they got a hotel so they could relax too. Here are some of the fun things we have done while they have been here...

We sat around and visited. They brought Colty his birthday present, and there has been a whole lot of farming going on.We went to dinner at Famous Dave's. We were told it was a 30 minute wait, and after an hour we finally got in. It took a long time, and Braden made lots of new friends, and the boys got out a lot of energy running around.We went to Daddy's farm to check out the whole thing. It was fun to drive around and see how the crops are growing. I think Grandpa was impressed with the whole operation.Of course, we had to sit in a tractor. That is the highlight of the trip for Braden.
And, this is Control.
Then we went for a drive. We stopped at McNary Dam and had a picnic, then looked at the visitor's center and the fish viewing area. Then we drove to Dayton, WA, one of our favorite little towns. The drive is beautiful and the town is so quaint and enjoyable. Grandpa bought us ice cream at this cutest little country shop and it was delicious.Then home for dinner and swimming. Tanner and Colty are little water ducks, and they are loving the swimming pool at the hotel. It is COLD water, but they don't care. Tanner's teeth just chatter and chatter as he swims, but they love it. They loved throwing floaty toys off the side and then jumping in and swimming after it. Colty and Grandpa liked to race for the toys. Grandpa had an unfair advantage because he has long arms.Today we enjoyed church, lunch, and will go to the fireworks tonight. Oh, and don't forget our Flag Cake!!

Swimming Lessons

We have had such a fine time taking swimming lessons the last 2 weeks, and we are signed up to go for another session starting Monday. Tanner and Colty are in "polywogs" and have fun teachers that are helping them feel more confident about swimming.They were very nervous about back floating and getting in with teachers they didn't know, but they have done great. I am so grateful to have good boys that listen to the teachers and do what they are told. There is a little boy that is always sitting on the side because he isn't doing what he is supposed to.Tanner told me today that he likes to back float as long as he doesn't get his ears wet. It looks like Colty agrees. Braden and I have been taking parent child, and after the first day I wasn't sure it was worth my money, but then I decided that it is fun to have one-on-one time with him, and being in the water beats chasing him around the park while the big boys swim. It has been fun. Yesterday he finally figured out just how to blow bubbles, and now he is really good at it. Maybe next session we can work on "alligator arms" and "turtle arms". He can kick to, but only does it when he wants to, not so much on demand. It has been a weird month of weather, and we have had some days that weren't especially warm. Today for example, it was like 75ish and overcast. We were only ones in our class. Grandma Mills is here visiting, so she jumped into the pool with us and it was fun to just float around together.
Hopefully next week will be fun and warmer.

Our Middle boy is 4!!!

Today we celebrated Colty's birthday with cake and ice cream. The boys were so excited to get the transformers off the cake they could hardly handle it. Tanner kept telling me he just couldn't wait. We invited our friends the Webb's over, and then we went bowling. (I took my camera, but accidentally left it in the car.) We signed our kids up for kidsbowlfree.com and so all we paid for was shoes. It was fun, but I think next time we will leave the babies home, or at least not go at bedtime.

Colty has been talking about all the things he will do now that he is 4. Mostly things he will eat now - strawberries, grapes, corn, apples, watermelon, oranges - but he will not eat jam until he is 5. I sure hope he sticks to it - it would be nice if he would try a few new foods!

Happy birthday big boy! We love having you in our family.