Trip to Camas

Brooks signed up to take the MPRE (a portion of the bar exam) in Portland since they didn't offer it in Spokane. The test was at the beginning of his Spring Break, so we headed to Portland and stayed with my cousin, Amanda, and her family in Camas, WA. We have talked about going to visit them for a while now and I am glad we finally made the trip. Her boys are 6 and 4 years old and introduced Landon and Elliot to the world of "big boy" toys and activities while we were there. They learned about scooters, bikes, Nerf guns, pencils and doing flips off the bed. It was a lot of fun to watch Brody and Ashton interact with the boys. We ate great food, had great company and enjoyed getting away for a few days.

They took us to the Omsi Science Museum and the kids got to explore all the amazing displays. Our children's museum in Spokane dwarfs in size compared to this place, but they had a few of the same exhibits and the boys were drawn to the familiar items.

On the way home, we took the Columbia River Scenic highway and stopped to see 3 amazing waterfalls along the way. We were excited to finally be getting out with the boys again after a long winter.

Landon and Elliot

*Landon's conversation with Brooks last week:

L: You're wearing socks dad?

B: Yep, I'm wearing socks.

L: I'm not wearing socks.

B: Oh.

L: Well, I'm Landon and Elliot's my best friend.

* Landon response when you explain almost anything to him, "Oooohhhh."

* Elliot prefaces lots of his responses with the word, "well." I guess I say that a lot.

* Elliot has always been interested in reading and learning what things are and what they do. Every time we read a book, he asks a million questions. If he hears a word he doesn't know, he asks, "What does (fill in the blank) do?" We then have to explain what "echo calling," "night is falling," "arches," "dock," etc., etc., etc., means. I love that he asks so many questions, but it takes a while to get through books.

* The boys spilled craisins all over the floor and I asked them to clean up the mess. When they don't help clean up I have them go sit in their room for a minute until they are ready to help out. Landon didn't want to do it, so he said, "I am not a helper. I'm going to my room." A minute later he came out and said, " I will help now."

* Brooks was sick last month and he wouldn't hug or kiss the boys to avoid passing along the illness. Around the same time Elliot and I had the following conversation.

S: Can I get a kiss from a cute little boy?

E: No, I am sick.

S: What are you sick with?

E: I am sick with germs...in my tummy.

* Landon and Elliot are both talking tons now. They have the best conversations all day long and are so fun to listen to. Here is just a little sample of their daily chatter.

B: Do you want to hear a story about Heavenly Father and Jesus?

L: Yes. Elliot, you want 'a hear a story Father and Jesus?

E: No, I want a story about a fish and a shark that are nice.

L: Ooohhhh. I want Father and Jesus story.

E: I want a fish and shark that are nice story.

L: Sharks are mad. Sharks bite.

E: Some sharks are nice.

L: Sharks and fish are on my show, Emo. (Finding Nemo)

E: Well, I want a story about fish and sharks.

The conversation continued from here, but I can't remember all the details. These little boys are so fun to have around though.

February

February is that time of year when I start to long for the summer. The kids are tired of being inside and I let them play outside if it is in the 40's and sunny; something I used to think was crazy because of growing up in the Arizona heat. We got another round of snow in February and Brooks had fun taking pictures of a snow covered Riverfront Park again.

We finally changed the cribs to toddler beds, but now the kids want to sleep on the floor. It doesn't bother me as long as they sleep.

Brooks got free passes to Silver Mountain water park and we finally took the time to go use them. Landon has always been a bit wary of the water, but this water park was perfect for him. They had a kids section with slides just Landon and Elliot's size and we spent the majority of our time in this area. Elliot decided to be brave and went down the big tube slide with Brooks. It was a fast slide and scared him a little. Afterwards Elliot said, "I don't like that slide. It's dark in there." After voluntarily going down it a second time he said, "I like that slide now."

They love going to the gymnastics place!