More ocean photos...

Ocean Shores Vacation and Eric Church 2008

We headed off for Ocean Shores with Rhonda in tow. After playing a bit of Mission Impossible and High Speed Merge onto I-5, the Whipples and Hutchesons were off for the coast of somewhere beautiful. We didn't stop until we got there, and thankfully the kids did a fine job of hanging in there for the ride. Somewhat concerning, though, were the clouds and low fog that hovered overhead. What started out as a fine, beautiful, sunny day dissolved over the depressed towns of Aberdeen and Hoquium. The temps dropped as did our hopes for some serious sun worshipping. Once there we discovered our hotel was less than we were hoping for, but our rooms were big enough and connected, so it allowed for fun family time with the kids. Traveling into the town of Ocean Shores, we found that our options for dining were Subway and McDonalds. We chose both. We hit the pool, played on the beach, hit the pool, tried to dodge the plumes of smoke wafting from the casino, and hit the pool again. That night, Rhonda and I ran away to watch Eric Church play at the Elma Fairgrounds. Talk about Small Town USA. It was a blast hanging out with Rhonda, trying to find her a cowboy to flirt with, trying to find some decent fair food and trying to be nice as we people watched. Rhonda put up a good fight, but I thought more than twice about stopping at some roadside bar for a lookie-see on our way home. Not on my watch, Rhonda! On day two we managed to find a great, greasy fish shack called Sandcastles, raced our cars on a beach (go figure! where are the environmentalists on this one!) played on the beach, and again and again called on the pool for entertainment. Tonight we tried to dodge the smoke again, opting to take our fast food from the bistro into the main lobby. Nothing about this hotel was ideal for a family. After another round of swimming, the kids finally gave in to exhaustion and hit the beds. The guys hit the lounge for wings. I hit the hay, barely able to keep my eyes from crossing. Too much fun!
Day Three we hit the pool, loaded up our considerable gear, then headed out for a grand adventure up the coast. We stopped at the new town of Seabrook, marveled at how lost in time the coast is, traveled to the rainforest to hike through the trees, hugged a giant tree, and dined at the Quinault Lodge. Parting ways, the Whipples and Rhonda headed north through the Olympics and the Hutchisons opted to take the lesser of the long ways home. On and on we traveled, up and over the top of the peninsula. It was one very long drive as we raced the clock to beat the last ferry out of Port Townsend. The boys kept it together for the most part, but we were definitely feeling sorry for them as the hours went. We hit the 10:15 ferry after yet another pit stop at McDonalds. We finally arrived at 12:30 am, completely and thoroughly exhausted from our grand adventure!

Grandpa and Cooper

Tubing with the cousins!

Lake Whatcom Adventures- Round #3

Today, while running around on the lawn above the beach, Isaac stepped on the cup that I had left out after Cooper had his way with my soda. Wouldn't have been such a big deal except that is was GLASS. Thankfully, Isaac is super brave and tough, and limped away tonight with only a long cut on his big toe and a bleeder on his little toe. It could have been so much worse. The glass was broken into big and small shards, and his cuts could have been so much more severe. We dogged a big one this afternoon!

Adventures on Lake Whatcom Round #2

One day after Lake Whatcom Rescue


After our last tubing run of the afternoon, I was pulling the kids in close to our dock. I slowed down, then heard this commotion from behind. Turning around to see what was up, I found Thomas flailing in the water, screaming, thrashing, sobbing. The only part of Sophia visible were her toes, as she clung to the tube but tried desperately to haul Thomas back into the tube. Madeline, the third passenger it the tube, sobbed and sobbed on the side, convinced her Tommy was drowning. With Fir Creek life guards looking on, I tried to calm Thomas enough to get him to reach for the rope, then pulled him in from the water. Sophia climbed on board, our little rescue woman, then Jenny pulled in a still sobbing Madeline. Turns out the kids had moved forward on the tube and the wave somehow caught Thomas and pulled him in.

Again, Jenny and I pulled our kids off the boat, shaking our heads and trying to laugh.

Adventures on Lake Whatcom

So I decided not to let my fears of failing or not meeting a high standard keep me from taking the kids out on the boat this year. You see, the first, only and last time I took the boat out by myself, I hit a submerged log out in the deepest and most remote section of Lake Whatcom, and darn it, it will not be me to ruin Bruce's boat! I think I also had to go under the boat and unhook the line as well, but my memory is foggy other than a big, fat log in my way as I raced across the lake.
This summer is going to be different....

Two weeks ago-
Jenny and I decided to take the kids out for afternoon tubing. We had Thomas, two Allen girls, Isaac, Matthew and Sophia with us, with Cooper sitting happy in Jenny's lap. What a fabulous crew! We had several runs, took turns with all the kids, and were switching out the kids for one last run. Starting up, I heard one of the Allen girls yell, "the rope!" I immediately cut the engine, but the damage was done. With keeping an eye on the numerous boats, supervising the kids in and out switching positions from the boat to the tube and making sure Cooper was okay with Jenny, I didn't think to check to see if the rope was clear. I jumped in to see the damage, but couldn't see the damage. It was too far under the boat for me, but tugging, jerking and silently swearing at the underside of the boat was not doing the trick. I hauled myself up and looked at Jenny, wishing to be anywhere but where we were. With a boat full of kids and just the two of us, I tried to figure out what I was supposed to do now. I knew my skills didn't include diving under the boat without a mask, and we quickly realized that neither of us thought to bring our cell phones to call for help. Across the lake, Jenny's friend was out with a beach full of friends, but turns out they watched us thinking we were just waving at them. The waves were crashing against the boat, and I now was more than worried that we'd end up bashing into the docks if we didn't figure something out soon. Looking up at Jenny, I said, "we've got to get help. I can't do this." With that, we hustled the kids in out of the tube, put them at the front of the boat, and started waving. However, with it being mid afternoon and windy, there was a limited number of boats out. Finally, after waving and yelling, and feeling more than humiliated, a boat across the lake took notice of our yelling and came out to investigate. As they neared our boat, and seeing me in the water at the back, one dude executed a perfect Baywatch dive and swam over to investigate. Without much hesitation, he dove under, surfacing pretty quickly and sputtering very un-Baywatch like. Meanwhile, Jenny was turning this little ordeal into our own little episode of Rescue Heroes, and the kids seemed thrilled. Sputtering hero dude went under again, only to come up under the platform and hit his head. I pulled him out, realizing that I didn't need a second rescue operation one one afternoon. He said to me, "Man, I wish I hadn't just pounded that beer!"
Great, I thought. Just what we needed. Drunk Rescue Hero. I smiled at him, willing him to keep it together enough to go back under, all the while trying to keep us from being pounded into the boat by the increasing waves. He went under, again and again. Finally, he pulled the last of our tow rope out, and we all cheered. What could I do for him? How could I possibly make it up to him? I thanked him again and again, telling him how much we appreciated him helping us out with all the kids in the boat. He was so cool about it, and with the beer comment ringing in my ears, I said to him, "We're the beach next to the Firs. You come look me up and we'll buy you all the beer you can drink." He laughed, we hauled ourselves back into our boats, and he was off. Once up in the boat, I wanted to head back in and never get on the boat again. Jenny and I talked, agreed it was in our best interests to buck up and make it work, then gathered ourselves and put the kids back out. Despite feeling slightly sick to my stomach, we rode back to the dock instead of limping. Jenny and I could only laugh and shake our heads as we hauled kids and gear out of the boat and back to the safety of the beach.

Cousins racing and jumping at Jake's 1st track meet!

Tonight we headed out to get the boys some running at the track meet. Jake was game to try it, so we put him in the lane next to Thomas and he headed out fast. It was so fun to watch them running together, then waiting in line to try the long jump. When it came time to race the 50 yard dash, Thomas hit it hard out of the gate and kept looking over his shoulder encouraging Jake to keep going down the line. They were sharing a lane, so it wasn't hard, and super cute to see the boys encouraging each other as they headed for the finish line.
Tommy and cousin Jake sizing up the competition...


Tommy on his way to his first Blue Ribbon!

1st Place!

Thomas was eager to go out and run more at the Civic Field track meet that is held on Mondays. He specifically wanted to try the hurdles and long jump again, just as he did last week. Tonight he looked hard for the finish line, got a late start at the line checking out his cousin Jake in the lane next to him, then made up for it down the stretch and with a mad dash for the finish. He crossed the finish line in 1st place! The smile on his face was priceless!

Slip-N-Sliding!!!!!!!!!

Tommy in Action

Thomas is such a contrast right now. He is still such a little boy, four years old, emotional, demanding, sweet and loving. On the other hand, he is into big boy stuff, riding adult roller coaster, climbing trees and tree forts, jumping off docks and the swim trampoline, racing through the neighborhood on his bike, and getting more cuts and scrapes than we have bandages for. He begs for his friends then needs multiple referees to keep them from tearing each other apart. He loves to take his tools and gardening supplies out and about, asking me, "mom, am I doing a good job?" over and over as he works, rides the mower all over, works in the shop with grandpa and cooks upstairs with grandpa. Cries and throws big fits if his perfect ritual of saying goodbye doesn't work out the exact way he wishes it to be.
"Dad, do army men wear shorts like this?"
"Does a front end loader look like this?" he'll ask while out on the beach.
"Do worker men look like this?" when he's out working on the property.

Big Boy Cooper

Cooper carried this screw driver around for a long time this day. We have noticed that he is a lot more content and focused than his older brother, easily engaged in whatever he choses, quiet and busy for longer chunks of time than Thomas ever dreamed about. He enjoys walking around the patio playing with the straps of the bike trailer and stroller, in and out of the hot water buckets, kicking the soccer ball, playing chase, wandering around the yard and up to the tree fort, then out and about just exploring. He's trying to ride his tractor and scooter around, and is figuring out a bit how to use his feet to move him around on them. Of course, he's taken a few falls while standing on Tommy's big boy scooter. Now we have over turned chairs all over to try to keep him from climbing up on the computer tables and patio furniture. He also loves to chase after birds that venture into the yard or around the beach, and unlike Thomas, enjoys checking out the various dogs we encounter on our adventures. While Thomas still cowers away, Cooper is quick to go up and check them out, squealing his delight. He's not as adventurous in the water, thankfully, and at this stage in the summer still seems content to go in knee and thigh deep, then quickly turns around to play again. It is so relaxing on the beach right now, not having to chase him into the water or race down the dock to chase him down. His words are limited to "ma-ma, ma- ma", da-da, "up", "out", "aht" for hot, and "bah" for multiple things in his life. He loves to play with the friends and cousins that come over and enjoys being in the thick of things. If it's the toilet, the coffee grinder and machine, the washing, the boat...whatever anyone is doing, he has to be there as well. Now he's trying to hop around, and laughs and giggles as he hops around. He's also pushing and pulling the toy lawn mowers around and took a couple of boat rides this weekend. He's quick to smile, laugh and wakes up happy. He also loves go give open mouth kisses, and I saw him smooching and slobbering all over Jenny this afternoon. The other day he was cuddling up to daddy's chest in bed, and it is quick a sight for me...to see him so loving and sweet with his dad.

Silverwood 2008

The trip started out very early for us. John loaded the Pilot up late the night before, and by 4:30 am on Wednesday morning we loaded the last of our stuff up, hustled the boys out of their beds and sped away by 5 am. In leaving early we hoped to avoid traffic issues in Seattle with morning commute, hoped that both boys would continue to sleep away some of the 7 hours we planned to be on the road, and hoped to limit the stops we had to make to keep the boys happy for the majority of our car time. It worked brilliantly. Cooper traveled like a champ, sleeping the majority of the trip (he's been fighting a nasty cold and needed some catch up, I guess) and watching DVD's and playing the short amount of time he was awake. Thomas did not go back to sleep, worrying us a bit. For the most part he was content to watch his tractor shows and Indiana Jones Cuke (his version of the Veggie Tales episode), then busied himself with the scenery, watching for dust devils and other items of interest John would throw out to him. We checked in with Mom and Company, and they were just getting up and around by the time we hit the pass. I knew then we wouldn't be meeting up with them to add some entertainment to our ride, but that was just as well as we were somewhat concerned about sharing the nasty colds that had traveled through our house. I needed some sleep as well. Our night was short as it was with 5 hours. Cooper had gotten up twice, though, making it even shorter for me. Thankfully, I was able to catch short naps here and there, which I knew would help for the long day ahead.
By the time we arrived, we were all more than happy to get out of the car and hit Triple Play. We were very excited to find out our rooms were perfectly assigned as we wanted. Without waiting for the others to make it into town, we headed into the pools and slides of Triple Play. For the rest of the day, we played, played and played some more. John was determined to pack as much activity and fun into this trip, no matter what. Late into the evening the kids swam and played. It was after 9 pm and they were racing around the track on go carts. These were no leisure trips around the track, either. This was "game on" and the rules about bumping did not apply to the Whipples and Vankemsekes. John and Billy made friends with the track attendants, who then allowed Drew to race his own car even though he isn't quite old enough, as well as extended our track time. Two young boys decided to challenge John one evening, and John took them to task, spinning them out twice. Needless to say, the boys were less than pleased with the old guys playing dirty back!
On Thursday we enjoyed breakfast as a whole family, then headed out for the grand adventure---Silverwood! We loaded the boys into our rig, jammed out to Cotton Eye Joe, Jock Jams and Who Let the Dogs out, and cheered all the way. At one point, Jake was yelling over and over, and Thomas leaned over to him and said, "Jake, you need to calm down!" We were so excited to finally be back. After a year of talking about it, reliving all our memories, and eager to see and do it all again, we were finally back! We could not keep the boys from Boulder Beach and we quickly headed to the private cabana we had rented for the day. It was a great decision to get this added luxury, as we had a home base for the day, a place to rest and store all our stuff while we went out and about. There were no lines while we played at the park, and barely anyone around at all. Dad took Jake over to Polliwog Park, Andrea took Grace down to the rides, and the boys headed into the wave pools. Cooper, Mom and I held down the fort, content to play with rocks and explore. By afternoon, we all headed back down to the main park to hit the rides down there. The biggest moment for me came when Thomas decided that he wanted to ride the big coasters. Although just tall enough to meet the height requirement, he's still only 4, still my little boy, still so small. Inside I was a bit sick. Outside I bit down my fear and smiled, encouraging him and telling him I would watch and cheer him on. Watching him head off down to the gate was difficult, yet thrilling at the same time. How was it that my little guy was big enough to ride with the big boys already? I don't even want to ride these roller coasters anymore, and Drew was still hesitant about it even at his age. He did it and loved it. He was so proud of himself. His first roller coaster at 4 years old and it was named Timber Terror. Next he wanted to ride Tremors. I almost drew the line here. As his mother, I have an obligation to protect him, right? Again, I looked to John, pressed down my worry, and watched them head off to the gates. Drew and Dad will not ride this ride. It's too much. I refuse to ride this one again. I just figured Thomas would cry and that would be it. Silly me! He made it through it like it was nothing, and came off it with the biggest smile on his face. We even bought the silly photo they take, just to have this memory forever! The look of terror on his face could not be recreated, though! We finished up with rides and headed back to enjoy the water park again. With closing time, we packed up, headed back to the hotel, then jumped back into the hot tubs and slides to play some more. It was hard to even stop to eat. Again, the boys were riding go carts late into the night!
The second day we started off staking our claim in an area out by Toddler Springs and took off for Avalanche Mountain-our favorite water ride ever! The crowds were more robust today, but we managed to pull mom into the tube and off we went. The weather was perfect, the kids had a blast and we pulled another long day out at the park. John was still determined to pack as much fun in as possible, so we were up until late that night riding go carts and riding the waves of Triple Play. What a blast we had!

A Mother's Heart gets slightly cracked..early...

Tonight Thomas doesn't like me very much. You see, I didn't know that he wanted to ride the car down from the driveway. And when he was throwing a fit in the trees, yelling and carrying on, I told him that if he treated me better when I came home from work tomorrow, then I'd give him a ride. Today, however, I would not be giving him a ride because he was talking so mean to me and throwing a tantrum about it. Of course, later he was still mad at me that I made him chicken nuggets and wouldn't feed him chocolate chips for supper. Not letting him go upstairs to see Grandma and Grandpa (they were leaving for a meeting) sent him over the edge. Knowing exhaustion was playing the largest role in this production, I carried him crying and kicking to bed, complete with his stuff animals and bottomless juice cup. He refused to cuddle with me, he refused to let me read him a story. "Go away," he cried.
"I love you, Thomas," I said, tucking him in.
He pushed me away. "Well, I don't love you!" he replied.
I kissed his forehead.
"Don't kiss me, not now, and not in the morning!" he huffed at me.
I kissed him anyway, trying not to smile just a bit at the dirt-streaked tears edging down his face. "I love you, Thomas," I said again, bending down one more time.
"Well, I SAID I don't love you," he repeated, trying to avoid my dead on kiss.
"Good thing I love you enough for the both of us then," I said, and headed out the door.
I didn't know the cracks begin at 4 years old.....

Father's Day @ The Deming Log Show

Today we headed out to the Deming Log Show despite the heat. It was a lot of fun to see some of the events. As usual, though, the boys enjoyed the playground equipment far more than they did the shows themselves. That's just how it works out sometimes.

Big Crashes, Falling out of trees and Cuts

Thomas refuses to get into the water, bathtub or otherwise when he has an "owie". Maybe when he has one, but not when he has multiple owies going on. Usually we luck out and he can manage. The last two weeks he's been nursing a flap cut on one of his fingers. I can't begin to count the number of bandages he's had on it. The other day he cut another finger on the other hand, and now decided he couldn't touch water...not his hand, not his body...nothing. You should have heard the screams of agony when I tried to wash the grime from his hands. He'd been out helping grandpa all day, dirt covering his whole body and streaks of dirt running down his face. He'd then decided to play in the fire pit, and his hands were covered with black soot. He also smelled like a dirt pile...

Anyway, although I was able to get some of the dirt off, I had to grimace as he climbed into bed, still filthy dirty. Good thing he wasn't crawling into bed with me!
Yesterday, I came home to find that Thomas had fallen out of the apple tree and taken a chunk of his inner thigh with him as he slid down and out of the tree branches. Let's just call it tree rash....amazingly close to his man-parts! Not road-rash....tree rash! I thought to myself that bathing is probably done for a long time at this point. Oh well! Thankfully he is a boy and they can get away with a bit of grime, right?

Tonight John took the boys for a bike ride and I went to a graduation party at Bob's Burger and Brew. When I returned and walked through the door, Tommy's bike helmet was broken up and he was sporting yet another bandage, this time on his wrist area. John reports that while on their way home, going fast around a corner, Tommy's tire spun out and down he went, thankfully sparing his face but taking out his wrist and helmet in the end.

The summer has not even begun yet and he has both hands, his wrist and his thigh bandaged. The count is on....

While I was away at the relay...Cooper learned...

When I came home this afternoon from our run in Tofino, I found that Cooper has learned to clap his hands and march through the house with high knees. He's also seriously cutting all four of his 1 year molars, and he is cranky to beat all! Poor little guy! He must be in so much pain.

Thomas spent his weekend riding his bike all over, Geneva school, The Firs, the playground behind the fire station and around the neighborhood. John has fixed up the bike trailer and was able to tag along in that while Thomas rode. John seems tired but made it through the weekend, and I'm so thankful that I can leave the boys with him and not worry that they'll be sad, crying and miserable. I can only imagine how hard it was, but they made it and hopefully this is the last time for a while that I have to be gone!

As Cooper grows....

It is amazing how much you forget as they get older. Cooper has been chattering away for some time now, and has his own little ways of communicating with us. When he wants to go upstairs, he goes to the door and pats it, turning his head as if to say, "are you coming?" If he doesn't get the response he wants, like the door opening, he'll start to pound on the door and his cries get louder. If we don't respond, the door starts to shake, and we must respond for fear the door will come off it's hinges. Not really, but loud none the less. As he heads up the door, he'll say, "Bah?" and then calls louder, "Bahhhhhh???" until he hears either grandpa or grandma respond back down to him. He'll continue with this "bah" calling, and we figure it means multiple things for him at different times, maybe calling to grandpa, getting his attention, or just jabbering. Maybe it's his word for grandpa right now. He's also into saying "dthish" and pointing to things. When he wants a bottle he goes to the dishwasher or the fridge when he wants a snack. It's so much easier to start to communicate better with him. He doesn't have real words yet, but he can understand questions and has his own way of getting what he wants now. Now he likes to climb up onto the computer chairs, climb up onto the table and sit his bum somewhere and play with the computers. Grandpa and Tommy affectionally refer to him as the "computer nerd" as he loves to hang out at the computer, messing with the buttons, the mouse, the keys and anything else he can possible get to.

Of course, we try to block his way up by tipping the chairs over so he can't climb, as the danger factor is quite high, but when we forget, we'll hear him happily chattering away, and with that sound you know he has gotten himself into "position" up on the table pounding away.
He also loves to traipse around outside and now demands his turn on the tractor rides. The other day I found him slumped over in grandpa's arms, fast asleep as grandpa circled the lawns mowing. While landscaping, he has taken to climbing his way up into the seat, turning circles around into various positions and playing with the mower functions. He could sit up there for hours if we let him, but as of yet I can't let him up there without a hand clutched to a body part or piece of clothing, as he is still top-heavy and tends to lose control and fall out and off of everything.

He has a black eye on one side right now due to a headlong tumble into the window casing. He still has the road rash on the other eyebrow from his header into the gravel from flying down the hill without his brakes on. Oh wait...he is still trying to figure out his braking system. He is getting better at using his muscles to slow himself as he ventures down to the lower lawn and down to the beach. He loves to play on the beach, and for a few short days I thought he'd figured out how cold the water was and I wasn't continually chasing after him as he headed for deep water. But I praised him too soon. Apparently the water has warmed up just enough that he now has taken to trying to get into deeper water again, forcing me to repeatedly go in after him or stand in the frigid waters as a barrier for him. Ahhhhhhh!!!
Where Thomas was easily distracted and moved on to other things, Cooper has complete determination when he sets his mind to something, and he does not forget. He may be removed but he will return, and he will return with speed. And when he does not get his way, he is quick to arch his back, twist this way and that, shriek and throw his head back with gusto. And just the other day I witnessed him turning circles with his fists clenched when his brother took something away from him. Today he started stomping his feet at the door when I told him he couldn't go outside. Oh, my is all I can think. And yet, he is still my cuddle bug, loving, sweet, and smiling most of the day. Such a beautiful, glorious smile he has. A smile that lights up his entire face. He loves the friends that visits, and so enjoyed his time at preschool. I suspect he may be a pickier eater than Thomas, though. So far he appears to enjoy meats and cheeses, mac and cheese and spagetti. Try to get him to eat a piece of fruit and he's gagging with just a taste. My friend Rhonda tried to have him try watermelon and she had him gagging. But he loves chocolate and sour candy, and both are bad habits of his mom and dad. We'll see.

A visit from the cousins...

Look Ma, no training wheels...

Tonight, John took Thomas up to Wall Street in the neighborhood to ride his bike. When they returned a short time later they reported that the training wheels were OFF and he was riding down the street on his own! I took him up a short while later and he not only could ride down the street but he was able to start on his own without help and started turning circles without falling. He could also stop on his own when he wanted to without crashing or running into something. To say we were super excited was an understatement. He was clearly in his element, racing down the street and telling me he could go "super fast" without his wheels on his bike. It was amazing that in one evening, two times out, he was riding on that bike without training wheels as if he'd been doing it forever. He makes it looks easy, let me tell you, and it's pretty cool that it didn't take a long while to make it all work for him.