9/8/09 - PAINT EATER

PREVIOUS
RETURN TO ORION'S BLOG
I am always reluctant to bring out paints, glue, glitter or anything of the sort that might make a mess. It seems like I have to constantly monitor those activities to prevent them from "redecorating" the couch. I caved in today and let Ollie paint with water colors. Then the phone rang and I stepped out of the room for about 20 seconds. When I returned, Ollie had devoured a chunk of the blue paint. Why would anyone eat paint? Who knows the mind of a 2 year old?! He had very interesting diapers for the next few days. Suffice to say, the art projects will stay locked up for a while for Ollie.

7/28/09 - ESCAPE TO LONG BEACH

PREVIOUS
NEXT
RETURN TO ORION'S BLOG
A heat wave has hit Western Washington and Grandma decided she was renting a place on the WA coast to avoid the heat inland. She invited us to come so the boys and I packed up and left poor John and Baxter back in the heat. I think it maxed out at about 108 degrees in Olympia.

But in Long Beach, the weather was perfect. It was even a bit chilly out at the beach once the wind kicked in.

We had our own condo and Grandma and Grandpa had one down the hall. Orion slept at Grandma's condo and thought that was a treat.

Both boys really enjoyed swimming in the pool too. Orion liked that it was shallow enough for him to stand up in. When we returned home, the heat had subsided. It was a very nice escape. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

7/24/09 - A BIG CATCH

PREVIOUS
NEXT
RETURN TO ORION'S BLOG
We went to Benson Lake for a visit and to celebrate Grandpa Gadget's Birthday and try our hand at fishing. The boys had toy fishing poles but they didn't mind. They thought it was a blast. Grandpa Gadget even caught a fish that we cooked that night. The weather was good and we had a great time swimming, wii-ing, etc. And as you can see, Daddy caught the biggest fish of all!

7/19/09 - CAMANO ISLAND GATHERING

PREVIOUS
NEXT
RETURN TO ORION'S BLOG
The Jenkins' clan was having a gathering at Camano Island so we made a day of it. Orion hadn't been there since he was a toddler and Oliver had never been there. It was fun to see all the kids interact.

Behind the house, Uncle Ken had a kid's playhouse built. Orion absolutely loved playing in it with Jolene (and Sydney and Kayla). The little kids had fun riding toys around the pickle ball court. And Ollie, being the ball boy that he is, loved hitting the pickle ball around.

But once Ollie discovered some water toys on the beach it was all over. He wanted to fill up cups of water and dump them on people's toes. Uncle Seong Yoon tolerated this very well so he became Ollie's main victim.

And speaking of victims, I guess little Logan (cousin Kristin's son) has a bit of a strong personality and at one point started beating up Orion when he wanted to ride on the toy Orion was on. Orion somehow knew that Logan was much younger and that he shouldn't hit back. So he just took the beating. Kind of amusing. Not to fear, adults eventually intervened.

7/17/09 - OLLIE'S FIRST SNOW CONE

PREVIOUS
NEXT
RETURN TO ORION'S BLOG
It was Daddy's day off and we decided to take the boys down to the rides at Capital Lake Fair. It was very hot, sweaty, and slightly on the miserable side. This caused us to make our visit brief.

The sad thing was that, to get on most of the rides you had to be taller than a certain height line. Oliver was too short and sadly watched his brother have all the fun on the rides. He was able to play a few games and even won a bouncy ball at the fishing game. But still, he was disappointed. So to cheer Ollie up, we bought him his first snow cone. He loved it and seemed much happier as we departed.

5/26/09 - TOO EARLY FOR THE PARK

PREVIOUS
NEXT
RETURN TO ORION'S BLOG
Some days the boys are up very early and full of energy. It's usually the same days that I have absolutely NO energy. Go figure. This morning they were both up and ready to go. At 8:00AM, just after breakfast, they wanted to know if we could go to the park. I was groggy and still sipping on my first cup of morning tea. But I was also overwhelmed with the concept of trying to entertain them at home so I agreed.

It was a bit cold out at that hour so we put on jackets and long pants, even though lately it's been in the 80's. We arrived at Pioneer Park and they were ready for fun. But, much to their chagrin, they were going to be playing by themselves.

No other parents in their right minds would be at a park at that hour. So, I jumped in and chased them around. Ollie liked when he would hide in the tunnel and I'd pop in and scare him. Finally I grew tired and we loaded up to go home...just as car loads of kids started to arrive! Figures again!!! The boys were sad temporarily but then were happy to be bribed with "ooft lover" in the car (that's what Ollie calls fruit leather).

5/21/09 - HOT DAYS IN MAY

PREVIOUS
NEXT
RETURN TO ORION'S BLOG
We've hit some oddly hot days in May. It feels like the middle of August. It's been in the 80's. The boys are lovin' it and every day they want to get in the pool. Especially Ollie.

He's currently obsessed with water play. If he's not in the pool playing, he wants to be indoors "washing da dishes" or "wash hands in da sink". Both are code for making a huge water mess indoors but not actually accomplishing anything. I think Orion went through this phase at about age 3 so I guess it's expected.

And Ollie's newest thing is climbing to high heights. He climbs to the very top of the play toy but then he can't get down again and screams for help. At least he's aware of his limitations and doesn't just leap down and break bones. (Not yet!)

4/28/09 - ASLEEP AT THE CAKE

PREVIOUS
NEXT
RETURN TO ORION'S BLOG
This past weekend we had a family gathering at Benson Lake with Grandpa Gadget, Grandma Nancy, Aunt Kathy, Uncle Seong Yoon (Ollie calls him Uncle Onion) and us.

It was fun to hang with everyone and stay up late playing Pictionary. We had a mini birthday celebration for me and Kathy baked me a cake. It was very pretty and yummy.

We have some left over cake and Ollie keeps requesting to have some "havvy birfday cake?". So, I let him have some today and went into the other room to check my email. When I returned I found Ollie completely zonked out in front of his piece of cake. Now that is one tired boy!!!

4/20/09 - SIDEWALK WARS

PREVIOUS
NEXT
RETURN TO ORION'S BLOG
It was a perfectly beautiful day today. We started out the day playing in the sandbox in the backyard. The boys got sand wedged everywhere so they quickly had a bath before lunch and the school bus arrival.

While waiting for the bus, they had "sidewalk wars" on their wheeled toys. Ollie in his retro-rocket and Orion on a big wheel/trike. They would back up from each other and then head full speed ahead until they crashed into one another. There was a bit of fighting and tears but most of the time they laughed it off. Boys!

4/9/09 - ADVENTURES WITH GRANDPA GEORGE

PREVIOUS
NEXT
RETURN TO ORION'S BLOG
After a lovely night at Mama J's cabins, we headed to meet up with Grandpa George, Aunt Oneida, Uncle Matt, and Cousin Hannah. Then we all went on a road trip. Now these road trips are usually the way we visit with Grandpa George. We explore the area looking for new growth, trees, and anything interesting to look at. This time we headed down the Natchez Trace.

The Natchez Trace was a traditional Native American trail and was later also used by early European explorers as both a trade and transit route in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Today, the trail has been commemorated by the 444-mile-long Natchez Trace Parkway, which follows the approximate path of the trace.

We stopped just outside of Iuka, Mississippi and walked along a natural spring/creek. The boys and Hannah loved digging through the leaves for the perfect stick. Orion pretended to be fishing in the creek with his stick. Ollie just liked throwing them and watching them float down stream. We continued to drive around and ended up passing through 3 states in our travels; Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. Then we returned back to Lawrenceburg, TN. We then spent a few hours visiting with some more family friends and finally headed back to our little cabin way past bed time. Sleep is limited on this trip but family time is plentiful and worth the sacrifice.