Moving Right Along

Uh oh. Time for baby proofing...

What do you get ...

when you combine two boys, a dad, some creatures....
swimming in a lake....
our best buddy, Mona....
a happy baby and a content momma...
perfect weather...
an adorable baby...
a little duck family...

our best buddy, Hannah...
a relaxing hike in the woods...
with a dog...
and the perfect woods (all during the week - with no crowds)?
Well, I guess you just get lucky when a spontaneous idea falls into place, and there's an incredible state park just 20 min. from our house that Evan can drive up to after work. Thanks, Zabriskies, for taking us camping!

Day of Rest or Day of STRESS?

Sundays are a lot of work. I'm too tired to talk about it.

As you can see, I'm not alone.

So, if Sunday is a day of rest, then Monday is a day of recovery from that "rest."

When Evan leaves for work on Monday morning, he has this certain smirk and he says, "well, I gotta go to work" ... trying to hide his utter joy that he gets to go to his sane, quiet, predictable work place.

okay - i'm gonna go collapse, now.

The Catch of the Day

Today, Cole reached a new level of cruncherdom.....are you ready????
Ta-da! HE CAUGHT HIS OWN SNAKE! Wow! I told the boys to go pick some raspberries (to keep them out of our poor neighbor's yard, their favorite frog hunting spot) and a few minutes later I heard much squealing with abundant joy. Here he is with his trophy. (When dad came home for lunch an hour later, Cole emphasized how "BIG" the snake was. Heh, heh.) Then, over the next half hour, we reviewed all the places you do not put snakes (as he tried each spot... namely coolers, pockets, water bottles etc.) It's all part of our B.E.A.T.A (Boys for the Ethical and Affectionate Treatment of Animals) program. How's our organization going, you might ask? Let's just say these baby snakes are remarkably....unhardy.

Anyway - GOOD! This means I don't have to catch them anymore. Sure, I've caught several for my boys, but I admit - there's just something creepy about snakes.

The Rescue

As noted in our last post, the fireworks invoked great fear in the hearts of some...
Getting Grant from our friend's house to the car required some strong arms, great speed, and a comforting voice to talk him through it the entire time. He covered his eyes just to be absolutely sure he didn't see one go off. Once in the car, we broke out the Twizzlers (our munchie meant for the fireworks show) and it was a blissful, quiet ride home. Even Brynie got one - aaahhhh, peace. Sometimes you just need a Twizzler. (Thanks, Emy, for documenting the drama!)

O Say Can You Scream?

We started off our day at the Lewis River park. We had never been before but we will be back. It's wider than our little Salmon Creek but more accessible and generally shallower. Bryn loved the water. And us boys don't mind it either. But the real waterworks began when the fireworks began. We went to a neighborhood party with some friends. As soon at we began talking about waiting until dark for the fireworks, Grant got a worried look on his face and actually shed some tears. When the first boom echoed from a nearby explosion he ran into the house and refused to come out. Note that Grant's shirt has the ironic command "I want you to take me to the fireworks."

Cole was mostly unimpressed with the whole thing, although he did throw a few poppers. Bryn was clearly in Grant's camp. We made an early exit and declared our independence from blowing up money.

Happy Birthday America!

Ted and Mary's Day Spa

The Crunchers are pleased to announce a new service available to guests of our bed and breakfast. In addition to our scone breakfasts and field mowing package our neighbors have opened up their own mud bath and fitness center, called "The Garden". There are a plethora of invigorating activities to participate in. Of course, there is a mud bath, with only the purest, high quality, genuine garden mud.
But don't forget the fitness center with lots of activities, like races, jumping, stretching, and yoga. (Clothing optional. After all, mud is almost modest.) Of course, we have non-traditional techniques like bucket therapy, and time outs. Here are a few satisfied clients: Now, what is the SPF of mud?

Baby Mama

Out little Bryn is growing up. About a year ago we got Dollar store dollies for the boys to try to teach them some baby skills before Bryn was born. I wouldn't say that the boys are especially baby friendly but at least we have a couple of dollies around now that we have a girl who can appreciate them. This night Bryn was quietly and gently touching and holding this baby. Of course, seconds after I put the camera down she grabbed one foot and started chewing on it.

Raising River Rats

The wait is over....LET THE WADING BEGIN!
Our newest idea for making kids comfy outdoors has finally arrived from China, and the boys were anxious to break them in. They demanded carrying their new neoprene waders to the creek all by themselves.
Ahhh - a perfect 62° day, and the stream never felt so dry.
The rocks are a little tough for balance, so hold on to your buddy. (That way, you can both go down together.)

Now we can finally see the creek up close. There's a lot of stuff in here!*
For Bryn..... maybe next year.
*One summer during college, I got a job doing stream survey in Montana. I lived in waders. I could go anywhere. I saw what was lurking in every pool, run and undercut bank - fish and creatures everywhere! I've always thought that would be fun for the kids to experience, but it turns out waders for young kids simply do not exist anywhere, until now!!! We had a hard time finding a manufacturer that would even make such small sizes, and after two companies dropped the ball on us - I breathed a huge sigh of relief when these finally showed up. We came up with the best size chart we could for 4 sizes: 3T, 4/5, 6/7, and 8/9. So we have 200 pair, and we'll see if anyone else thinks it's a good idea! Next up....dry suits and snorkels!

A Stroll on the Beach

Bryn and I would like to tell our side of the story:


The sand was warm. And we didn't have to change our clothes once.

Life's a Beach

After our thrilling look at the trains you might think we couldn't have any more fun. Wrong. Fortunately, this visit to the beach was much better than our last visit. Oh, the boys still got plenty wet and cold, as the video plainly shows, but they mostly ignored their rapidly numbing toes and just had fun. Naturally, the first thing you need on a beach is a stick. Of course it's also nice to have friends...
... and family, even if you do have to threaten some members of the family to get them to stand still for 3 seconds to get a photo. Of course, the real attraction of a beach is the water. Sure it's cold and windy but as long as a boy has his stick he can't go wrong. Or maybe he can. So be careful. Moving surf can cause dizziness. With predictable results. Grant avoided the water like the Wicked Witch after this little tumble. Keep your eye open for wildlife. Sometimes fish are easy to catch. Especially when they're dead. Remember that sometimes the warmest thing you are wearing is a smile.