the smiths visit the smiths

last week brady and jocelyn (with their two kids, lucy and tucker) came to visit. it was a very fun couple of days and we are so excited to have them living only three hours away now!

the first day they were here we went down to the fun center. the kids loved the swings. tagg's weird.

im flyiiiiiiiiiing.

good thing the worker insisted that an adult rode with the kids. brady and craig were clearly paying attention the kids' safety.

the frog hopper. apparently is was make-a-weird-face-day for tagg.

tagg, lucy and sully were super brave and went into the 3d motion theater. they have a camera on the audience so the worker can make sure everything is okay during the three minute movie. i have never laughed so hard. their faces! horror mixed with excitement.

that afternoon it cleared up so went back home to play on our homemade white trash slip n side.

tarp from home depot + dish soap + water. hours of entertainment.

that night we had dinner downtown and took a ride on the great wheel.

a couple of my favorite people.

after the wheel we went over to hot cakes for dessert. super tasty. except for the smoked chocolate. ew.

we had sully and tagg in our room so the smiths could have more space. i set up a mat for tagg to sleep on (i was going to have sully sleep in our bed) but apparently these two wanted to get cozy. looooove sleeping kids.

the next day was more fun in the sun. aaaaaand one of our (four) chickens laid her first egg! so exciting.

we headed down to golden gardens to play in the "real" sand. look at these four!

the ballard paseo is about thirty seconds from golden gardens so we hit that up. happy humans.

later that afternoon we brought out the slip n slide again. this time the men got in on the action. this was craig's "baseball slide".

go brady, go!

that night we got a babysitter again and went over to bellevue for dinner, shopping and a movie.

little did we know that the movie would royally blow so we got our money back and went downstairs to bowl instead. such an upgrade.

and to end the night? we danced on stage. craig and brady were still in their movie. what else were we going to do? i honestly cant believe that jocelyn moved to camas. now its only a short drive to fuuuuuun.

sully turns FOUR

last friday, sully turned four years old. we took him out for donuts when he woke up. nothing like sprinkles to get the day started.

speaking of sprinkles, sully (with a little push from tagg) requested an ice cream party for his birthday.

i have been waiting for an excuse to purchase acrylic ice cream cone holders so i didnt mind the theme request. 

"uhhhhh, mom. hate to tell you this. but i dont think thats going to work." tagg, when he saw me start to put together the ice cream cone pinata. so there, tagg.

birthday boy (we had to call him that for the entire "birthday" week!) enjoying his cone.

why is he so cute?

ice cream cone holders!

getting ready to take the first swing.

sully and his little friends.

mini ice cream cone sugar cookies for the favor packages.

favors.

we looooooove our birthday boy.

HAPPY FOURTH BIRTHDAY to our sully putty. he is sweet, smart, a sports whiz, a great cuddler and an amazing sharer. craig, tagg and i are very lucky to have him.

san diego to celebrate tucker's return

we spent last week in southern california with our family to celebrate tucker's return from his mission. the boys love any excuse to play at aunt brooke's pool.

tagg, sully and i went a few days early so we could claim our favorite room. :) the first night we roasted marshmallows, had smores and played with pete (until tagg's allergies got the best of him and brooke had to run and get benadryl).

before the boys went to bed we played in the (medium temperatured) hot tub.

the following day, everyone  arrived. poooooool party.

that evening we all went down to old town to visit the mormon battalion center and have dinner. i love old town.

during the tour through the battalion center, i volunteered craig to dress up like a soldier. its only fitting since lot smith (one of the leading soldiers in the battalion) is his grrrrrrrrrrreat grandpa. the boys were mesmerized.

family picture. of the five of us. ha!

the next day we played at la jolla shores. the boys loved searching for sand crabs with craig and my dad. tagg and sully tried boogie boarding for their first time and they were naturals!

later that night we went to fashion valley to shop and have dinner at stacked. eli (my cousin on the right) was in pure heaven.

my boys were pretty pleased too. tagg had so much shake in his mouth he couldnt give me a proper smile.

and sully was too preoccupied with his shake to even try.

group shot.

the next day we went down to sea world. i was a little conflicted about the sea world situation after seeing the documentary, blackfish. but i guess not too conflicted. sully loved the shark exhibit.

we went to dolphin show and sat in the last row of the splash zone. we live dangerously like that.

shamuuuuuuuuu

that night we went to oscars. best breadsticks on the planet. i love this shot of sully and grace. so sweet.

and then i jumped in and sully wasnt feeling it anymore. and thats one disturbing photobomb!

then we went back to brookes house and enjoyed the pretty evening.

smores again!

the next day we went up to orange county. the waves were really intense but so beautiful. i felt like we were in hawaii.

intense wave.

my boys are so happy to have tucker back.

who doesnt love laguna?

because after a great day at the beach you get to hop on over to the best restaurant, javiers.

it was a wonderful week. spending quality time with family and celebrating tucker and his mission.