May ended in Republic, Washington. Where the hell is Republic? Exactly what I wondered when we decided to take the kiddos on a fossil digging adventure. It’s in northeastern Washington, close to the Canadian border. About a five hour drive from our house. All about Republic here. It was the first of four trips we have planned this summer. Next up, an RV trip to Yellowstone, followed by a trip to Oregon to see the Solar Eclipse and then on to California to visit our families, and ending our mini-vacations will be a weekend away with friends on the Washington coast, staying in a yurt.
May was a busy blur, like every month. And I say busy blur because the second night in Republic, Saige woke Baby up and she would not stop crying. I sat on the cabin porch and put headphones on while Brian dealt with her. We didn’t have cell service or wifi in the cabin, so I was stuck listening to the few songs I have on my iPhone. Christmas Wrapping was on there; one of my favorite Christmas songs, “…but all this year’s been a busy blur, don’t think I have the energy…” Not having energy is also true some days.
May, in pictures:
Science Saige. Saige is still doing science; still meaning water play with the science kit.
Legs are out. It finally warmed up enough to show some leg. And with legs like Vaile’s, you show them off.
The purple dress. I’m not much of a clothes saver to pass down to each kiddo. The clothes are usually so worn, they’re not worth keeping. Except I kept this purple dress. I remembered Saige wore it on her first birthday. And now Vaile wears it. She also likes to build LEGO Duplo towers. Below, Vaile at 18 months and Saige on her first birthday.
Thursday. I’m a stickler for routines, and on Thursdays we either stay home or go for a walk until we leave to pick up Blaise and Laine. This Thursday, we changed things up. I was on tap to drop the big kiddos off instead of Brian. After dropping them off, the little ones and I stopped by Target to grab a few essentials…. including balls that are clearly an essential. Damn end caps get us all the time. We left Target for Farrel-McWhirter, getting our play on much like I used to with Blaise and Laine before we had little ones.
Man, I love that park. It’s busier than it used to be. I think the secret got out. I remember taking Blaise and Laine a few times each week, and we were often the only ones there. Now there are a few more people around, but not nearly as busy as other parks in the area. We hit the swings first, then the animals, then off to the tire swings and climbing tree area, before calling it a morning and leaving to pick up Blaise and Laine.
I love the picture of the girls with the apples, where Vaile is saying, “Cheese!” with the funny look on her face. Saige making a weird face, too.
Giant ball find. I will say, all of our kiddos are all about equality. After picking one out for Saige and baby, Saige pointed to a blue one and said, “Blaise,” and then to another pink one and said, “Laine.”
The swinger at Farrel-McWhirter. Vaile would swing all day, every day if given the opportunity. Much like Laine.
The animals, trail, and climbing tree. So.many.memories from Blaise and Laine at their ages! Laine walked outside for the first time on that trail.
The balls in action. I let the little ones play with them while we waited for Blaise and Laine at pickup. They’re so funny how different they are. Saige intentionally rolled the ball down the hill, while Vaile walked around with hers. She wasn’t letting go of that sucker.
New shelves, even fewer toys. Karann was looking for a home for their old desks and shelving unit, and we happened to have a wall that could use them. Blaise has been asking for a computer—which he isn’t getting yet—so we figured a desk in the bonus room would eventually be needed. Two desks actually. I’m sure that’ll mean two future computers. It also was cause for me to toss more toys. These toys, three small baskets filled with LEGO Duplos, dress-up clothes, and a play kitchen are all that are in the bonus now toy-wise. I’m still in a get rid of stuff mode… which brings me to the under-the-stairs closet. The wall where the new desks are used to have two shelving units. I moved one to closet under the stairs, which now holds all of our board games. I still have to toss what’s in the four bins in the back. I really want to have almost nothing.
I love how Moose inspects new things. And how he briefly thought about jumping to the top shelf because he would totally fit.
Creepy mom, taking pictures of sleeping kiddos. Brian snores. I usually sneak out of our bed to sleep in the guest room. Blaise knows this and goes to bed in there almost every night, with his pillow of course.
Paw Patrol. The kiddos were having quite the morning playing Paw Patrol. Saige gets in on all the action now, taking it pretty seriously. Saige is next to me right now, pointing to this picture saying, “I dress up! I Paw Patrol! That’s me!”
Google Home. Man, I love this thing. The timer option alone is worth the cost. We use it for all sorts of stuff. Timers, weather, random questions, playing music, spelling of words… she even plays Mad Libs. There are times I’m impressed with technology. And bonus, I bought it while on sale, using a 20% Bed, Bath & Beyond coupon. Which I’ll never understand why Bed, Bath & Beyond doesn’t just mark everything down 20% and get rid of the cost of printing and mailing the coupons. Surely they can still find a way to track customers’ purchases. And I really miss Linens-n-Things. It was a way better store than BB&B in my shopping opinion.
I love checking the Google Home activity… the kiddos are a hoot. And, slaves to technology, both Saige and Vaile know to say, “Hey, Google,” although they never follow with a question. I will say it’s a bit weird to say commands without saying please and thank you… I still do though.
The kiddos love to get their groove on, especially Vaile. And with the Google Home, they can put music on whenever. We listen to Dean Martin when eating pasta, Mariachi music when eating tacos, etc. Vaile will dance to anything, any time.
Lobsters! Haha, when Laine was born, the first thing the nurse said as she took her from the doctor to clean her up before handing her to me was, “She’s a lobster!” Laine came out bright red. It was funny; she was totally a red lobster.
Bob and Kelly flew up Thursday for the Camp Orkila weekend. And as always, Papa brought a suitcase filled with gifts for the kiddos. (They know this and get super excited beforehand.) Bob is originally from Massachusetts and during his last trip there, he bought lobster hats for the kiddos. Ignore my dying plant in the background. I switched it out a few days later with my next victim.
Space Needle. We had time to grab lunch at the Space Needle before they boarded the ferry for Orcas Island. Kelly had never been to Seattle before so it was an easy way to get the entire city view in, and it’s also the touristy-thing to do.
Doctor, 18 month well-check. More like 19 months, close enough. Vaile is trucking along just fine; growing and hitting all the whatever she’s supposed to hit by 18 months. And she took three shots like a champ. I don’t really even care that much anymore… I didn’t even commit her stats to memory. She’s happy and healthy, that’s what matters.
Lainey Bug. Wednesdays the big kiddos have a textiles class up at Riverview. Laine has become obsessed with all things textiles. She had been asking for a sewing kit so I took her to Walmart and we went to town. I’m not a Walmart fan, nor am I convinced it’s any cheaper than Target. I am convinced because it’s Walmart, the brain thinks cheap so you end up buying a ridiculous amount of things because, cheap. We left with just under $100 of sewing stuff and also fabric markers. Since then, Laine has made a few pillows, weaved some fabric, made purses… all sorts of stuff. She also colored her own shirt. I’m impressed with the fabric markers; I’ve washed the shirt and it still looks the same. And since I’m talking about Laine, she lost her first two teeth in May. Both bottom teeth within a week. She’s now $4 richer… we do $2 bills, carrying on my childhood tradition.
National Pizza Party Day. The third Friday in May each year is National Pizza Party Day. The kiddos had been bugging me to have another party… we had a Halloween party, a Christmas party, a cookie decorating Christmas party, we went to a Christmas party. They wanted to have a Valentine’s Day party, Easter party, and they have been planning their birthday parties… they like having parties. In my quest to always find things to do and rarely follow-through, I was looking up random fun holidays. That’s when I found National Pizza Party Day, and we happened to have that Friday open. I pitched the idea to the kiddos and they were sold. It was fun! We had 20-something kiddos come, the weather was beautiful, and I think it was a success. I even made (made!) brownie “pizzas” all on my own. The piñata was a bust (haha)… the string to hold it up broke from the weight of the candy, and my fix made it weaker. I was bummed all the kiddos didn’t get to take a whack but the candy made up for it I think. Overall, it was a fun afternoon. And major bonus for homeschooling—party instead of school.
I didn’t take too many pictures since I was focused on the party. I managed to get one of some of the kiddos on the trampoline; Saigers eating chocolate; and Vaile the next morning finding the chip bowl and going to town on chips for breakfast.
Random sky picture. I was enjoying the blue sky on one of my morning walks so I took a picture.
Skater chicks. We changed things up on our morning walk. None of the parks we frequent have swings. I thought the park next to the skatepark had some, wrong. The play structure is pretty lame for the toddler age but the skate park was a hit. It was nothing more than the girls running around inside, which was enough. Next time, I’ll take a ball or something. On a side note, I love all the graffiti.
Workbooks. Man, these kids love workbooks. Even Saige and Vaile got in on the action.
Chickens! When the big kiddos have class at the farm, we typically stay after to play a bit. I told Saigers about the chickens and she wanted to see them. I opened the gate to go in and she immediately said, “No, no, no, no.” We enjoyed the chickens from the gate.
Dentist. It was dental appointment day. Blaise and Laine were up for their six-month appointment, and Saige went for the first time. As difficult as Saige can be, she was a champ. The hygienist said she would never have known this was her first time. She listened and did everything that was asked of her. Go, Saige! All three had excellent dental reviews.
I took the child lock off the pots and pans cabinet. Vaile noticed. I’m SO ready to be past the baby-proofing and kids getting into everything stage. I’m getting too old for toddlerhood, haha.
Family walk. All six of us went on my standard stroll. Saige filled her backpack with rocks to toss over the bridge. I’m not sure how she managed to carry it; that sucker was heavy. Brian suggested we toss rocks from the river’s edge but Saige would have no part. She is a stickler for routine, much like me. She had to toss them from the bridge… then she was up for by the river. Vaile thought throwing rocks was hot stuff.
Swimmer Saige. With no pool. It was hot. Maybe 81 degrees, haha. (Don’t tell my Native Californian self that’s what I consider hot.) I pulled the swimsuits out for water play on hot days. Since then, Saige has been rocking her swimsuit… water play or not. I put her down for a nap, she wakes up wearing her swimsuit. She wants to get dressed for the day, swimsuit. She actually had it on on a hot day, and was able to enjoy some water play. With boots of course.
Memorial Day party. We were set to all go until Baby got a temperature. Of course, because kids always get sick when there is something planned. Even this last weekend. Baby was out of commission with a 102-103 degree range temp. She, Saige, and Brian stayed home while I took the big kiddos to the party. We only stayed a bit since Baby likes to have mom when not feeling well… long enough for the big kiddos to get their play on.
And ending the month in Republic. On to June, which is almost over as I type this on June 22 (now June 26 as I post).
Jumping Raccoons 