Memorial Day Weekend...

Even though we were not able to make it to Sun Lakes this year for our annual family reunion (first time we missed in 21 years) we still found a way to keep the Moore tradition alive and went camping. We are over 30 years strong and still going and boy was it fun to add two little ones to the F.U.N. this year. This was our (Bryan, myself and the kids) first time camping in a tent so we kept it close and went to Birch Bay State Park...just in case!

First thing we did was head to the beach...
and jumped right in...We had so much fun at the beach...Then we headed back up to camp because Dad and Jack were thirsty...
Emily jumped right inside the tent to check it out...
and Jack hung out on his blanket...
I just couldn't pass this one up...Jack started eating part of Auntie Jenny's banana. I swear he is a two year old stuck in an eight month old's body sometimes!
A picture of the birthday boy...Happy Birthday Dad (AKA Grandpa Jim)
Here are a few pics of Jack from the weekend that I just fell in LOVE with...On Sunday we headed on back down to the beach before we had to head home.
We found a beautiful purple starfish...and dug some clams for Grandpa Jim and Patti to enjoy...
Tired little legs were ready for a rest after all of this fun...
And just in case ALL of these pictures weren't enough for you here are a couple of videos of the kids from their adventures.

Jack CRAWLING like a big boy...

Emily digging in the rocks and dirt...

Three new things...

I have a ton of photos to upload but until then I thought I would share 3 new things Jack has done these past few days...

1. He is crawling....more like speed crawling. He can really get going and with the way that he is climbing and standing we all know it won't be too long until he is walking.

2. Jack crawled UP the stairs! Crazy, I know...I promise we were right there with him!

3. Finally, he said his first word!!! While we were camping on Saturday he woke up and said, "Momma" two times. I kind of thought that it might be a fluke so I didn't make too big a deal of it but this morning he did it again!

YAY Jack!!!

Saturday with Auntie Jenny and Grandma Emily...

While I went to a conference on Saturday, Auntie Jenny came up and took Emily for the day. They started the day off at Diane's farm.

After a long walk in the woods she found the teeter totter. Since she turned two she has fearlessly balanced this thing. It used to totally freak me out but like many things, I am over it now.
Going up...Now back down...
This is Emily's new signature move...hand held up and, "You just wait. I can do it by myself."Here is some actual footage...(sorry it is sideways...it's from Auntie Jenny's fancy camera)

Next it was off to the tire swing...
and then back to the house to swing in "Emily's swing"...After swinging she went exploring to find the farm kittens. I have no idea how she catches them but somehow she does.Then it was off to the barn to find the rest of the kittens and the llamas...

"Nice kitty"....or should we say "Nice Emily!" She really packs those kitties around.
Soon it was time to go home to see mommy! Mommy missed her SOOOO much and brought her home some presents. We had a dance party with her new maracas, drum and rainmaker.Here is some dance party footage...


Before the day ended we headed outside to jump in some puddles...
relax by the warm fire...
and eat some delicious Doritos.

Tulip Festival. and a whole lot more...

During the second weekend of April we took the kids to the Annual Street Festival in downtown Mount Vernon. There is nothing like getting your face painted, doing some people watching and sitting down to enjoy some good street food...
After the Street Fair we headed out to a local farm to a petting zoo. First Emily fed the chickens...
and then my fearless child petted the donkey.
On Sunday we headed north for Sunday dinner with the Jones. Jack stood on his own for the first time...
All the cousins...Jack was playing with the new "toy" I made him. It is a mini taggie blanket. It has a "crunchy" material inside and he loves biting on the toys I hang from it.On Monday the sun came out so we packed up our bags and headed to Grandma Emily's for the day.

Emily devoured some delicious icecream...
watered some plants...
while Jack munched on some snacks under the umbrella....
When daddy got home we had a little cookout outside and Emily learned that she had "toastie buns." She also discovered that she LOVES marshmellows.
The next Friday we made cookies for daddy in the morning...
and Jack did some modeling of his new bib...When daddy got home from work we convinced him to set up the tent as a trial run for a "real" camping trip. Bryan dressed up Jack in some Coug gear just to remind Jack of where he will be going to college.
Emily LOVED being inside the tent! She jumped around and around yelling,"Little pig, little pig, let me in.. " and so on with the complete story. She is SO funny!
On the next Saturday I made the kids do a little more modeling for me with some items I had made. Jack is WAY more into the modeling than Emily.

a new fishy onsie for Jack...
an owl tee-shirt for Emily...
and a birdie tee-shirt for Emily...
Now that Jack is "crawling,"or "doing the army pull" as we like to say, he is really on the go! He heads straight for the slider and begs to go outside.
Finally, we headed out to Deception Pass State Park to visit Grandpa and Patti while they were testing out their new RV (it's more like a fancy bus!) Right away we headed down to the beach...
Somethings caught Emily and Patti's eye...Grandpa and Emily threw rocks in the bay...
while Jack decided to see how they tasted...
Emily played and played in the sand. Grandpa made her a mini fort out of sticks...While Patti showed her a "real" fort to play in...Jack and mommy had some bonding time...
Then we said good-bye to the ocean and headed back up to the campsite. There really is nothing like the area we live in. I love the smell of the ocean, the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks and most of all sharing days like this with the people I love.