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!

Boy Meets Hose...

A couple days ago my dad (Papa Kev-O) was draining the water out of the hot tub...our curious little guy happened to come across the hose and puddle! He was especially thrilled with the hose once he realized that the water coming out of it was Super Warm!

First he had all of his clothes, socks, and shoes on:

Next, the shirt had to go! It was really weighing this active boy down. His pants were so wet by this point that I'm sure they were adding a couple pounds at least!

Travis kept telling him to put the hose on his belly!

Boy meets worm:

Parker had soaked the grass so much that all the worms started coming out on the the pavement. He was totally fascinated by them, and nicely picked them up and put them back into the grass after we showed him how. It was hilarious.

See ya' later pants:

His diaper was so full and huge after all the water...I can't believe it hadn't just fallen off from over-flowing!

It wasn't long before even the diaper was off and he was basking in his naked-in-the-warm-water- glory! Travis got some hilarious pictures of him in all his "nakedness" walking around with his "walking stick." Too funny!!! By the end of it all he was hauled straight to the tub to wash off all that chlorine water!!! He was a little prune by the end of the afternoon.

A Long Time Coming...

Once again I have fallen down on my blog-writing-duties! Sometimes you just get caught up in all that is going on and forget that other people want to know what you have been up to! Parker is getting so big and he is in this stage right now that is wonderful, heart-warming, frustrating, drive you up a wall-pull your hair out-GREAT! All you parents out there totally understand what I am talking about! He is about 18 months now and is getting into everything. He totally understands what you are saying (even though sometimes he pretends that he doesn't). He can do so many things by himself and has been so cuddly lately. One minute he is being so sweet and I want him to stay at this stage forever...and then the next minute comes and I feel like my stress level is through the roof! Parker does really well with "time-out" and will stay there until his time is up and then come and give "I'm Sorry" hugs and kisses. It is too sweet!

Here are pictures showing what we have been up to lately:

parks & drays hangin' out on the bench

playing with their super-annoying poppers

My parents have a little dirt bike that they bought for the grandsons. Parker LOVES to ride on it with Daddy around the backyard:

Here are some pictures of Parks having a blast playing in Great Gma & Gpa McCue's closet:

drays and parks had so much fun playing with cousin marika

Easter Sunday:

check out drays giving the all-too-famous "stank eye" (he is famous for it!)

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...