Caleb is 7!

Today is our nephew Caleb's 7th birthday. I can't believe how big he is or that 7 years have really gone by since this day:

Or that this is him now:

{drayson, parker, kearyn, caleb--may 2011}




This last picture is from Parker's 2nd birthday {October 2010} but I just love it so much and it perfectly shows what an amazing cousin Caleb is to Parker. He is so sweet with him and always looking out for him. Caleb plays so well with Parker and is always teaching him something new!


Happy Birthday Caleb Michael! We love and miss you so much and hope you have the most amazing birthday. I can't believe that you are 7 and in the 1st Grade now! So glad that God chose to bless me with a nephew like you...we are so lucky to have you.

SPRING...oh how we love you!

Playing in SPRINKLERS & BUCKETS!
The first couple pictures were from last weekend. It was my aunt's 50th birthday party so there had been sodas and ice in the bucket you see Parker standing in...he first climbed into it when it was still full of ice and soda. He stood in there for so long that you could tell the exact moment that his feet got so cold that they started to HURT! Parker started crying and was so cold by that point that he had forgotten how to just climb out! Once we realized that even this wasn't going to stop him from climbing in we stripped off his clothes, put him in a Little Swimmer, and filled the bucket with water from the hot tub! He was still finding pieces of ice in the grass and bringing them into the bucket with him.

A couple days ago Caleb, Drayson, and Parker wanted to bring out the sprinkler...it was about 10 a.m.--perfect sprinkler running weather, RIGHT?

I am really not sure what to say about this picture!!! Parker is walking like he's been riding a horse for a month straight...and Drayson is looking like he is about to beat Parker over the head with the ball-popper!

New Toys!
While we were at Target and Costco yesterday my mom and I stumbled across a couple new toys for the boys. One is supposed to be a sand and water table...but in the interest of keeping the mess to a minimum, we decided to fill the whole thing with water for now! Parker and Drayson had so much fun playing with it (especially with Nonni Donna). The second toy is basically a hamster wheel for children. Caleb had the most fun with it! Drayson even learned how to crawl in it (like a hamster) while Parks was totally unsure of it!

Like father--Like son!
For Trav's birthday his brothers got him the shirt he is wearing in these pictures. They also happened to find one in Parker's size! How cute are my boys in their head-to-toe matching outfits. The one stipulation to Parker's uncles buying him this shirt was that I take pictures of the two of them wearing them together. No problem there!!! Here you go Uncle Ty & Uncle Shane!

Hiking up Badger Mountain!

Last weekend Travis and I decided to take our fabulous nephews Caleb and Drayson on a hike up Badger Mountain. Of course Parker came along for the ride too! We were more than thrilled to hang on to them for most of the day and let my adorable pregnant sister go shopping and run errands for the day all by herself! All of you moms/parents out there know how difficult it can be trying to run errands with your kiddos...and that having a blissful several hours of peace and quite can really bring your long-lost sanity back!!! Any-who...Travis loves to be outdoors and thought that hiking up Badger Mountain sounded like a great idea...he goes stir crazy being at home all the time (while he is waiting for his June 8th deployment to A.F. Basic Training) and so I agreed to go along. Travis and I each carried one of the "babies" that aren't really babies anymore in the hiking packs. Nothin' like adding an extra 25 lbs. to my already out-of-shape self!!! Caleb was such a superstar and did the whole hike by himself! We also each had one of the dogs (Deacon...our dog, and Gus...my parent's dog). Another joy for our hike was that my best friend Ashley was able to come from Yakima and spend most of the day with us too. It was so great to get to see her and spend time with her (I have really missed her and she makes me laugh so hard!).

our proof:

drayson

caleb

drays and parks checkin' out their legs

drays-bug and me

parks and daddy

ashley and caleb

caleb munchin' on beef jerky at the top

drays bothered by the wind

parker trying to get out of the wind

me and my hubby

caleb and the boys





This is a video of Parker from last night. I was washing dishes and his new favorite thing to do is sit on the kitchen counter while Travis and I are cooking or doing dishes. The sink had a ton of bubbles in it and he laughs so hard I think he is going to ruin his vocal chords when you blow a pile of bubbles off your hand. I made more bubbles and let him put them all over his hands and feet. He was hilarious! So in this video you will get a little glimpse of the maniacal little man we live with!!! He sounds like he is screaming but he is really laughing! He can say bubbles now too...