Flat Top Run

Matt has been traveling quite a bit this summer, so when he's around he tries to pack lots of good times in.  The other evening he hit the zoo with Lincoln and Evan, then biked with Jake, and did a Flat Top Hike with Bentley.  He has more energy than I do - or he's better at pretending he does?!  When they made it home (Bentley and Matt) it was time for a midnight dinner and a game of Settlers for the boys and Matt.  Good thing we live in the land of the midnight sun.  :)

Boys at the Ball Game

Last weekend Matt decided to take the boys to a ball game.  Lincoln has had a bit of a baseball obsession lately so it seemed like a good plan - we might not be huge sports fans, but every once in a blue moon a ball game is in order.  It's American, right?!  :)   A lot of boys:

Don't mind Evan's concerned face.  I think he was busy wondering if the day has been waaaaay longer than he intended, and if it was waaaaaay past his bedtime. (They went to the game that started at 8pm - Alaskan summers!!!!)

And boys sitting in a row.  Love it!

Zoo Days

Many moons ago we had a zoo pass.  It's been a year or two, and I keep meaning to renew it but never quite get round to it.  Matt decided to take action last week and remedy the situation!  We have a new crew of "littles" who are eager to wander the trails for hours.  By their happy grins it looks like the zoo pass is going to be a good investment!  They've already been twice in the last week, hopefully we can keep the fun times rolling. :)

And, for the good ole' days - some other of my favorite small people at the zoo.

(Bentley at 2.5)

4 year old twins.  So stinkin' cute.

Rocks & Flowers

Because Bentley has maintained a strong interest in rock collecting, I have purchased him some tools of the trade. We picked up a bottle of 20% acid at the local rock store and he has been trying it out on all his white rocks to determine if they could be limestone or marble. I purchased online for him a rock hammer, a rock chisel, and a test kit for rock hardness. Those supplies arrived in the mail Tuesday afternoon and the next day the boys took the tools outside to give them a try. Jake isn't into searching for rocks outside like Bentley is, but he was eager to try out the rock hammer and rock chisel.

Bentley has read a couple of books on rocks and I'm surprised how much he has learned. Of course, there is no substitute for field experience and that's what he is working on now. It's quite hard to identify a random rock. He is always asking for my input and I don't have any. I know less than he does, but I'm pretty sure he hasn't found any diamonds or sapphires on our driveway no matter what he thinks! (We learned today that there is a state park in Arkansas where you can find diamonds loose in the dirt and you can take them home with you. Bentley is looking for a date on our calendar to go visit that park!)

While the boys were whacking away at rocks on Wednesday, Viva was collecting and pressing flowers. It was a very good afternoon spent outside exploring the natural world. (I was weeding my flower beds.)

Birthday Madness!

Jake and Viva are EIGHT!  I think that's craziness.

Matt took their birthday day off of work so they had the chance to start the grand event in style - meaning in a tent.  It was a bit of a non traditional camping event due to the burn bans in effect right now due to crazy wildfire season, but they still had a great time.  It was also Evan's first time camping.  The weary campers reported back that he thought the midnight sun was energizing... :)

Bentley opted out of the camping trip due to the lack of camp fires and steak.  Apparently he's a steak weathered friend.  It's all good though - he had a fun adventure of his own that I'm sure will be featured on the blog soon!

On Friday when our adventurers made it back to town we opened a few presents and then headed out to catch a movie together.

After the movie we were waiting for Daddy and Lincoln so we took a few pictures.  Because that's what we do!

Back home it was time for cake and presents!  Grandpa Tim, Grandma Vicki, and Tyler were able to join us.  There was a slight incident when Evan blew out Jake's candles for him... for a moment I feared for Evan's safety.  :)  Luckily we relit them quickly!  

The day ended with Star Wars and a visit from our buddy Marjory.  Jake and Viva requested all 10 flavors of Extra Gum for a present from her and she was able to deliver - they were thrilled.  :)

Happy birthday, twinlets!  We are so very glad you are ours!

June Heat Wave

The past two weeks have been filled with more hot days than not. Sure at first it's fun to have a nice, hot day when you get the pool out and the children run through the sprinklers. We made popsicles to celebrate the hot days. But then a very bad forest fire was raging north of us and some nights we couldn't open our windows (we have no air conditioning) and that was not pleasant. Our grass started turning brown; more sprinkler time means extra work for the adults, but more fun for the kids. They had a few water pistol fights. 

Despite the heat the older children have been very active the past two weeks with karate, swimming lessons, running club, golfing (B & J with Grandma Karen), biking, hiking (Virgin Creek Trail with me and Marjorie), archery (in the back yard!), playground visits,  and whatever it is they do on their own outside on the driveway or in the yard. They, of course, have nearly endless energy, but I'm exhausted! The days never seem to end because summer solstice equals 19+ hours of daylight. It's crazy time!

(The pool photos are courtesy of Kara.)

Pt. Woronzof: Evan!

We were near a large body of water, so Opa kept a close eye on the very active two year old. This translates into lots and lots of photos of Evan. I've limited the number I'm posting to seven. (Why seven? Why not seven?)

Evan really enjoyed our visit to Pt Woronzof. In addition to the beach and water, he loved seeing the planes take off. Pt. Woronzof borders the airport, so you see lots of planes coming down and going up.

Pt. Woronzof

When we were last at the rock store we asked where a good place was to look for rocks. The young woman who worked there said Pt. Woronzof was a great location for agates and jaspers and other rocks; she went there often as a child. Since Bentley was not very happy with my Sunday walks in the woods, I decided to change the location of our Sunday nature walk. Two Sundays ago Opa and I took the children to Pt. Woronzof. 

Most of Anchorage's coastline is filled with mud beaches, so Pt. Woronzof with its rocky beach is a rare find. The five grandchildren had a great time visiting the beach. Viva chose to wade in the water and Lincoln followed her example, but the other three stayed dry. Bentley spent the entire visit collecting rocks. Viva collected a few pieces of beach glass.

Evan threw really large rocks in the water. He found a pile of large rocks and he kept going back for them one after another. (We were a little concerned he might drop one on his foot and crush a toe, but we opted to not interfere with his choices.) Jake and Lincoln wandered the beach, throwing the occasional rock in the water.