Summer of Fun 2011

This is the first summer in our family's history that all three of us are planning to be (mostly) home through August! I will be teaching summer school for most of July but Cam and Clem are home, having a blast. We decided to make this once in a lifetime opportunity the Summer of FUN!
We kicked things off just like we do each year with a trip to the Woodland Park Zoo. On this beautiful sunshine-y day I met up with Sissy and Nolan, my friend Erin and her 2.5 year old triplets and my friend Danielle and her almost two year old twins! Altogether, we had 7 toddlers with us! It was such a blast!!
We saw all the critters in the place throughout the day. On special exhibit are animatronic Dinosaurs which I thought Clem would love. All through the park are these big blue Dinosaur footprints, leading the way to the separated area; she loved hopping from one to the next.

But when we got to the exhibit, the first thing we saw was this angry looking guy who spit water and roared. Nolan ran shrieking away while Clementine stood frozen in place, terrified.

Here's a face I have rarely seen on my fearless explorer: the look of true fear!
She was a trooper, of course, but often wanted me to hold her as we walked past the growling, roaring, angry ones.
Until we found the "babies" hatching from their eggs. This was a display she could really get behind. She watched the babies hatch over and over again, cooing and pointing to these little critters.
By the end, she was less scared and she even went to sit on the last dinosaur in the exhibit. We walked through the gift shop and got her a T-Rex chomper.
When she went to see the penguins, she held the T-Rex up to the glass and the penguins swam right on up to check it out. It was really funny to see them so interested in the chomper. Clem loved teasing them with it.


Fast forward a week or so. Next adventure was to the Everett Children's Museum for a play date with Nolan! We've seen our share of Children's Museums but this one is, hands down, the best. This one has three stories inside where kids can play on the farm, climb a tree house, pretend to fly a Boeing 747 and squirt stuff in the water room.
What sets this place apart is the rooftop deck. I had no idea what to expect up there, but I was truly blown away. There is a Dino Dig mock archeological site, some steel drums and the mother of all big toys. They have a three story big toy with slides, bridges, monkey bars, you name it.
We spent 2 hours there before going to get lunch with the fam. Then I forced Cam to take us back and we spent another 2 hours there! We really could have stayed all day long, it was that fun.


Fast forward another week or so and we went to Annabelle's 2nd birthday. Clementine had so much fun playing with "the baby" and checking out a whole new toy bin! (I loved scoping out Jen's beautiful, DIY home and landscaping projects!!)

But the hit of the party was, of course, the home-made barnyard cake! After polishing off her first slice, Clem literally dove into the cake with both hands, shoveling more chocolate-y goodness into her mouth. I'm so thankful for other moms who understand impulsive three year olds!

Summer of 2011 has already been such a blast. We have so many more fun weeks planned. I am so grateful for this time that we all get to spend together.