Ethan's Birthday

Ethan turned 12!  Woot! Woot!  This kid has been waiting a long time for this big day because now he is no longer going to his church Primary class and he's joined the rest of his friends in the Young Men's program and he has the priesthood.  Ethan is kind, considerate, funny, smart, and athletic.  Most of all, he has a good heart.  He does what's right, even when it isn't easy and I love that about him.  Besides getting a new church suit {which he wasn't thrilled about} he got a penny board and skateboard ramp which has gotten hours of use already.  Randy spoiled him with a big Star Wars Lego set to add to his collection.  Pretty sure that will be Ethan's last Lego set as he's crossing that line from childhood to teenager and is more interested in clothes.

Because we have super supportive parents, both Randy's parents and my dad came up to celebrate.  My dad's flight got in earlier than expected so I took the boys with me to pick him up from the airport and do a little sightseeing.  We went to Alki Beach in west Seattle for lunch and to explore the beach before heading home for the birthday festivities.  It was partly cloudy but still warm so we enjoyed being outside, eating good burgers and fries, and reconnecting.  My dad is the greatest.  I love talking with him and I love that my boys think he's great too. 

Blue Moon Burger didn't disappoint!  I'm proud to say that all my boys like onion rings

Henry warmed right up to my dad.  Cutest thing ever.

Low tide at the beach and no one got wet.  Win! 

Classic Bean, always climbing or hanging from something

Parker's smile cracks me up.  I have no idea how he does it.  It must come from the Balls side :)

Not sure how I feel about my "astronaut shoes."  I bought them online and they are pretty flashy.  But they were cheap so I'll keep wearing them and cringing.

We found this great spot to get a shot of the Seattle skyline while waiting for our shaved ice.

The shaved ice didn't disappoint!  See that big slab of ice cream in Landon's bowl.  Be still my heart!  We will be going back here again.  

Bean's birthday dinner request was breakfast for dinner.  We had breakfast hash and French toast and it was easy and delicious!

Ethan's "fun" presents didn't arrive until the next day.  He was excited to have something to play with!

Saturday was a day full of yard work and sports.  Since Randy took the day off, he got to take all the grandparents with him to watch all the boys' games.  I came and went but they stuck it out from beginning to end.  Poor grandparents.  Way to take one for the team!  I didn't get any pictures of all the action except this one of sweaty Marcus with the grandparents.  He smelled so bad!

We had gorgeous weather on Sunday so after church and quiet time {nap time for me} we went on walks and played in the driveway.  It is beautiful here in the spring and I'm glad our parents got to see that.

Party with the Grandparents

My dad and Kathy came to visit for a few days before Marcus received the priesthood and we played hard while they were here.  We lucked out with gorgeous weather so we made the most of it.  The boys had been saving up all sorts of things to show them.  Landon wrote stories to read to them, Parker took them to our new park, Ethan took their fingerprints with his forensic stuff from a Cub Scout activity, and Marcus introduced them to lacrosse.  Grandparents are pretty fun, especially when we get them all to ourselves!

Landon reading his story

Landon beating Gramps at foosball

Ethan dusting for fingerprints

My dad treated us to lunch at Duke's Chowder House on Lake Union

Parker runs with his hands like this.  He thinks it makes him fast.  It doesn't but it sure is cute!

After lunch we went to the city center and the boys finally got to play on the awesome playground for the first time

No one got hurt and everyone had fun!

I don't know how this park is considered legal but I'm sure glad it's there.  Playgrounds in the USA are LAME compared to Okinawa

After the playground we checked out the huge fountain

Parker watched for a few minutes until he built up his courage to check it out

It was only 65 degrees but I knew it would come to this.  They got soaked!

We took advantage of Bring Your Own Cup Day at 7-11. 

Can you say brain freeze?

Randy made our busy weekend even busier by volunteering us to help feed men at a homeless shelter.  Our ward helped supply the food and we delivered and served it up.  It was actually a pretty cool thing to do!

I loved that my boys got to help

Notice Parker in the background eating their food.  In his defense it was 7pm and he hadn't had dinner yet so I don't feel too bad

Mid-Winter Break

We just got back from a week-long trip to Utah.  While most of our friends took off to sunny/tropical destinations we road-tripped to the barren wasteland of Utah so we could ski.  A few noteworthy things happened on this trip:
Landon learned to ski.  He conquered his fear of the ski lift and morphed into a fearless speed demon who zooms down blue runs, leaving his mom in the dust.
I, Mel, the non-skier among the bunch has improved quite a bit.  Unfortunately that's not saying much.
We crammed in as much as we possibly could in such a short amount of time that I barely saw my sisters.  'Le weep' as Linz would say.
On our way home from Park City we were caught in an awful snow/wind storm resulting in 3 1/2 hours spent in the car the day before my poor boys and I had to make the long drive home.  Not good.  But we are glad we are alive
Also, my boys rock at road trips.  We made the drive in a record breaking 12 hours (it usually takes 13) to beat the blizzard in Snoqualmie Pass.  Yes, that's the same pass we were stuck in for 6 hours on our last trip.  We didn't beat the blizzard but we made it through soon enough that we didn't have to chain up.  Hallelujah!
We arrived home to discover evidence of mice throughout our kitchen.  They played hard while we were away.  Now I've had the pleasure of unpacking from a ski trip while simultaneously washing/sanitizing every dish, cupboard, and drawer without setting off the plethora of mouse traps scattered throughout the kitchen.  It's like a war zone.  The pest guy comes today and I just might greet him with a big hug and kiss.

my boys know how to have fun in a pool

the hotel offered complimentary bacon, errrrr, I mean breakfast

skiing at Alta on a windy snowy day

Marcus pretending he's a pair of skis?  or maybe that he's the dying mountain climber on top of Everest (what a great movie by the way)

The first run of the day

The lift broke just as we were nearing the top.  So frustrating wasting perfect ski conditions just sitting there. But at least Uncle Toby and Megan made for good company

Eating lunch outside.  It really was the perfect day!

Landon at the top of the mountain before he cruised down it.  This kid can shred!

Randy's parents and brother skied along with us

We squeezed in a trip to the Provo temple open house

Grandpa treated us to ice cream at the BYU creamery

Playing the awesome top spinning game with cousins

more games with cousins

Parker got to hang out with Grandma Balls while we skied

more fun with grandmas

Rock climbing in Heber

Parker managed to sleep while I risked our lives trying to drive back to grandpa's in a horrible blizzard

every kitchen cupboard and drawer has been emptied out, wiped down, and it's contents washed, dried, and stacked on the tables.  what a way to end a vacation!