Memorial Day Weekend

With this many adorable pictures of the boys, I HAD to do a Memorial Day weekend recap. Last year Memorial Day weekend we were in Hawaii, so we had to make the best out of this year's long weekend. Otherwise we'd just be depressed. We ended up having a lot of fun and it didn't hurt that the weather was near perfect here in Oregon!

Saturday we went to the gym and then spent three hours at the pool. It was our first trip to the pool this season, so we were anxious to see if Sambo loves the water as much as he did last year -- and as much as he enjoys his baths. Enjoying himself was an understatement.

Since Saturday, we keep talking about that experience at the pool and have determined that controlling him and containing him in the pool was like containing a cat in a paper bag. I have never seen that child so happy. He kept dunking himself, squealing with delight, and running around like a crazy baby in the super shallow area. G got a few pics on his phone, but one of these days we'll have to take some better pictures. I'm not exactly sure how easy that will be considering how wiggly he is. He turns into a totally different person in the water! Of course Buddy had fun too -- but we already knew he is right at home in the pool. I was concerned that maybe his 8 months of swimming lessons this fall and winter were a waste, but I changed my mind as soon as I saw him in the water. Thank goodness I only have one un-tamed child to worry about this summer.

After the pool, we came home and washed the cars and worked on some painting projects. We had smores with friends later that night.

Sunday was church and we had naps mostly all around. Monday was the big holiday. G helped a family with some yardwork then we met my parents in Portland at a state park. We took a gorgeous walk and enjoyed being outside. Of course we looked for birds and other wildlife. Unfortunately, we only found a snail. We pushed Sambo half the time in the stroller, but let him out when we got to the creek so he could play.

Sambo is notorious for throwing things (balls, rocks, trucks down the stairs onto the hardwood floors) so he was super excited to throw rocks into the water. Sambo was happy to walk the rest of the way like a big boy. We just couldn't stop remarking how quickly he's grown up and how happy he is when he's outside doing things right along side his big brother.


We headed over to an ice cream shop and treated ourselves and the kids. I feel sorry for you if you haven't ever enjoyed Tillamook ice cream. Mmmm.... We ate our cones next to the water while Buddy gave grandpa a steady stream of comments about all the ducks in the lake. And Sambo chased a pigeon for a solid ten minutes. We weren't exactly sure why the poor bird didn't fly away.

I love the admiration on Sambo's face watching his brother climb. It was the very next day he learned to scale the kitchen table. Which has been so awesome, let me tell you.

That evening we had friends and my brother and wife over for a BBQ and a kid game of baseball in the field.

It was a sunny weekend with lots of time together as a family. Hawaii, not so much, but still it was just what I needed.