Tumbling into History

The boys have been trying to learn how to somersault. First, they limber up on the couch. Now with a strategically placed blankie for padding, Cole demonstrates how "Downward Facing Dog" puts his body into proper position to begin. Grant demonstrates the proper use of toes to achieve the final push. Cole sticks the landing. Perfect "10"s expect for that 7.3 from the East German judge. Now it's time for a victory lap.

Wild Weekend

Hi everyone! I'm Grant, and I'm not ashamed of this face. It's blackberry season. As for the bandaid - that's just for style, and to look tough. (And I did cry like a baby when Ma finally pried it off so we could go to some wedding.)
I'll start with the hi-lites of our weekend. My uncle Ken, and cousins Sarah and Josh came up to see us, along with Grandma and Grandpa Austin. We all went to my other cousin's wedding in Seattle, and here we are on the ferry. Since my bucketheaded cousins in Port Orchard let us stay and play with them on the Olympic Peninsula side of the Puget Sound, we rode the ferry back and forth.



Cole and I got lots of hugs from Grandma, and she's great at helping us find stuff, too. I heard she grew up on this very Hood Canal just a couple miles down from where we were, so she's a pro.
Josh and Sarah found a jellyfish, and Pop found a hermit crab. The water felt great, but it was high tide, and everyone was complaining about that, saying there were fewer creatures.





We showed everyone our favorite creek hide-out, and caught some little fish. We also smelled a bunch of roses at the Portland Rose Gardens.



Thanks for coming, everyone! We love you!!


*Blogspot has such annoying programming, that only a programmer can really make it do anything interesting. So I know the pics are all skiwampus on this post, but I have my programmer working on other things, right now.

The Most Incredible Gift

A couple years ago, I got paired up with the best visiting teaching companion ever. She's also the nursery leader, so the boys really love this woman. On Sunday, we tried to slip out after Sacrament Meeting, since my family was here, and Cole just cried and cried, saying "I go to class!" over and over. So we stayed.

Last week, after the boys had been exceptionally challenging during one of our visits, she surprised us all with the most amazing gift. Puppets!! Just look at 'em! They are so fun, and incredibly well made. The boys have always loved puppets, and made good use of the few we had, but were resorting to socks for variation, so these were well timed.
Grant is especially cuddly with the raccoon.
What does a lion say?
They're great for entertaining friends.
And my personal favorite - the 5 legged octopus.
Thanks, Lorali! We love 'em!

Beat the Heat - Tip #17

If you pretend it's really cold (even when it's in the 90°s) you can put on a warm hat and almost start to believe it. Especially after the heat stroke sets in...

Toasty

This unusually miserable heat wave (of temps over 100°)started yesterday, and is expected to stay for four days. So it's had us all a little on edge, and here's Cole in total meltdown.
We have all of 8-10am to play outside before it's too toasty, and in we go to play games of boys tearing everything apart, and seeing if Ma can keep up the disaster control. Luckily, we are able to make the most of our two hours since the neighbor is doing a major landscape project involving...yes, it's too good to be true...a TRACTOR!
We have been blessed, indeed, although I can't say the same for our neighbors, choosing the 3 hottest days of the year to be outside doing hard labor.
So in the evening, when it dips into the 90s, Pop waters the quack grass and the boys.
Look close, and you'll see they're sporting their official Beijing Olympic wear.
By Monday it will be back down in the 70's. Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh.

Fair Weather Friends

Cole Reports:
Last week Ma and Pop took us to a wonderful place called a "fair". We don't know why it's called that because it seemed better than fair. It was great! Grant tried to hug a cow. We got to climb into a real fire truck. We're not sure why it wasn't red but there were real firemen there to help out if any of the cows caught fire, I guess. I touched my first goat. It won't be my last! Grant even got to feed one. Finally we wandered into the waterfowl area for a quick game of Duck Duck Goose. We also got to eat some yummy popcorn and an elephant ear. That seemed a little mean but it was delicious.

Bee Attitudes

Bees are now permanently excluded from BEATA, (Boys for the Ethical & Affectionate Treatment of Animals) and will now be part of the KILLA program. I'll let Grant explain:
"No bees! No bees! No bees!" (arrow indicates site of the attack in the shrubs, and Grant' back displays 2 of the 7 welts left from the uncalled for assault.)
Cole: "Bees sting, bees sting!" (Being a supportive and sympathetic buddy, since he got stung 3 times 2 days ago.)
The perfect cure: M&Ms, a popsicle, and a dip in the pool. (And watching from the window as Pop poisoned the nest was sort of therapeutic.)

So Called "Camping"

We finally took the boys camping. I'm not sure why it's taken us so long, except that Pop and I both really prefer a good deep sleep every night. But now that I'm 6 months along and don't sleep that well anyway, it seemed like a good time. In light of the burn ban, we decided on an Oregon State Park campground so we could at least expose the boys to open flames, since we knew they would really enjoy that. So here's a review of our wild weekend:
We drove to Multnomah Falls , the 2nd highest year round waterfall in the nation, just a few miles from our campground. Not hike, drove, so we could spend the afternoon with hundreds of other people at one of Oregon's most popular tourist destinations.
Grant worked on his elaborate rock chucking form, using a trailer in his left hand as a counter balance. (Since the Opening Ceremonies in Beijing are just two short days away, we can't help but see Olympic potential, here.)
Now, it's been a very long time since either of us has been to a state "camp"ground, and we were reminded of a few things. 1) Mostly people with huge RV's or people way too poor to get a hotel stay at these things. So, everyone's just crammed in arm's length away from each other, and just happy to get a spot, since they fill up so fast.








2)There's more asphault than dirt.
3)As long as there's plenty of water, the boys don't care where in the world we are.
4) Even in an overrun campground, the northwest is still packed with unsurpassed beauty.







5)Even after four days of being home, the boys are still telling everyone we see about "camping" and sleeping in a tent.

Chocolate Smile

In the proud tradition of the Yo-tee and the Spa-goatee, the Crunchers are proud to introduce another innovative face modification technique: the Chocolate smile! Here Cole demonstrates a chocolate half-smile with a chocolate soul patch. Anybody want a kiss?

Sssssweet!!

While weeding the garden (particularly morning glory, which can only bring thoughts of "...cursed is the ground for thy sake;" (Gen.3:17)) I discovered it really was for our sake, because look what we found hiding in those nasty weeds! A Serpent!! (of sorts.)
But a blessing none-the-less to two creature lovin' boys. I think they are finally starting to understand the word "gentle" thanks to my extreme overuse of the word when it comes to the many amphibians and reptiles who have given of themselves and endured so much "love." Luckily, this one went "back to it's mama," as the boys say whenever they let anything go, as much as they hate to do it, at least it's a concept they can understand. Although Cole found a feather today, and let it go back to it's mama. Makes no sense.
Grant got in on the "nake" lovin' just as much, too bad Ma and Pop never think to charge the camera battery until something interesting happens.