New Talents

gum ball machine from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

This is one of the boys favorite toys right now. They love putting the balls in the top and pushing the button to get them out. Ladon usually puts other items in the top as well and then we have to fish them out to get it to work again.

spin & stomp from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

A couple of months ago, we discovered Landon and Elliot knew what "stomp your feet" means. They would stomp their feet as soon as we asked them to. Now we have added "spin" and "squat" to their list of talents. They almost always make themselves dizzy from spinning.

A few new favorites have emerged for each boy. Landon loves cars of all sizes and carries, pushes and throws them all over the house. Elliot is obsessed with the house phone and anything else that has beeping buttons. If I put the house phone away, it causes major drama in Elliot's life.

Story Time

Every night before bed, we read with Landon and Elliot. This lift-the-flap book is one of their favorites.

Drive Through Rainier

On our way home from Vancouver, we took the scenic route and drove through Mount Rainier National Park. It was an amazing drive with great views from every angle. We did a short family hike to The Grove of Patriarchs: an area of ancient trees, some of which are about 1,000 years old. Landon and Elliot loved being out of the car and running around the trail by the trees.

When we first got to the park, we stopped at the visitor's center and took a family picture there. Landon wanted to look at the rushing water below instead of the camera.

For some of the trail the boys walked on their own and for part of it, we carried them. They loved every minute of being outside hiking. (The shirts they are wearing are a constant source of comments about superheroes from strangers.)

Those are BIG trees!

We live in a beautiful place and enjoyed seeing another part of God's amazing creation!

4th of July

For the 4th of July we drove to Vancouver, Washington. The Stoddards invited us to come stay at her family's place and celebrate the 4th with them. We had a nice drive over other than the fact that Landon and Elliot did not want to sleep in the car at all.

There is a great view of Mount Hood for quite a bit of the drive.

The first evening we went to an area where Brooks and Jeremiah did a little cliff jumping. Landon was trying to get further and further in the water the whole time.

What is Daddy going to do next?

Brooks did not jump off this bridge, but other crazy people there did.

In the morning we went to a 4th of July breakfast and played in the grass for a while.



Thanks to Samantha and Jeremiah for inviting us!

Later that day, we went to the Saturday market and walked around. We bought fresh berries and lounged in whatever shade we could find. There was live music and Landon and Elliot found a beach ball with one of the groups names on it. They loved throwing that around. There were also plenty of sticks to play with at this park.

Since it was such a warm day we found a water area at the park to splash around in.

That night we went to an outdoor ward party with them. We ate, played and then watched fireworks.

I Hate Goodbyes

Last week we said goodbye to a few things in our family, most of which we were sad to see go. On Monday, after months of discussion, we gave away our dog, Cole. We got him when he was a puppy and he has been part of the family for the past 4 and a half years. It was a difficult decision, and we miss him already in many ways. The boys both loved him and Cole was great with them. I am already missing him cleaning up all the Cheerios on the floor. We took a few pictures with him the morning before he left.

We also said goodbye to Landon's long locks. One Tuesday, I cut Landon and Elliot's hair. This was Landon's first haircut and I had been putting it off because I loved his long hair so much. It was time for it to be cut and I was brave enough to try cutting it myself. other than him not wanting to sit still and a couple of uneven spots, it turned out well. He looks so different, but still cute.

Right before we started snipping away


Notice the mullet in the back


During the haircut

And finally...the end result. What a handsome boy!

Last, but not least, Landon and Elliot also said goodbye to their pacifiers this week. There have been multiple times I have wanted to pull them out since then, but I haven't done it. They are actually doing great without them, and I am grateful to be done with crawling under the cribs on a hunt for pacifiers.