Lake Martha

This past week Collin, the boys and I spent a few days at Lake Martha, just an hour south of Bellingham. Although we were still close to home, we felt a world away and it was so nice to have a break from the everyday.

The view of Lake Martha from the kitchen of the lake house.

The kitchen

Master bedroom

Upstairs living area

Entertainment area downstairs

The precarious steps - we were happy that there was a baby gate at the top!

Ronan's bedroom
Latham wasn't as lucky - his portable crib fit perfectly into a huge storage closet beside Ronan's room!

Latham and Collin enjoying some father/son time.

More father/son time - Collin and Ronan went out into the lake on the paddleboat.

The view of the house from the lake.

Ronan loved being out on the water.

Paddling around Lake Martha

Fishing with Ronan - nope, we didn't catch anything.

Ol' blue eyes x 2

Collin and I perfected the art of smores while on vacation - it's all about preheating the graham crackers and chocolate!

Campfires every night!

Swimming in the lake.

A big smooch for mommy

We had so much fun jumpin' into the lake!

Vacation!

Hey, folks! We are currently on vacation at Lake Martha, Washington, so make sure to check back on Friday for a post of our vacation and pictures too.

July 4th Festivities

Happy Independence Day! We had a great July 4th - my parents came down to celebrate the red, white and blue with us.

Since I am the Mommy of two Americans, I have the right to wear this shirt.

Like father, like son.

The package of fireworks that we got were almost as tall as Ronan!

Lighting the first one.

Tackle tickle!

Grandpa's got his hands full!

My mom, Ronan and I.

Mommy and Baby Boy #1 lighting some fireworks. Once it lit we ran away...

...to watch from a safe distance.

My confused hubby - Holland shirt, American flag, and drinking a Molson Canadian.

In true red-neck style, we hung out on the driveway and set off the fireworks!

P.S. I swear Ronan has more clothes than just this one outfit. For some reason he is always wearing his blue plaid shorts and matching hat in almost all pictures that I put on this blog. Weird!

Strawberries!

As many of you know, I love to can. It is so much fun to make jams, syrups, salsas and sauces. Last Friday I dragged Collin and the boys out to a local strawberry farm to do some picking. We picked 31 lbs! It was a lot of work not only to wash and hull them, but also to process them all. I still have another batch or two (or three) of jam that I need to make.

Latham checking out some of the strawberries that we got on our excursion.

"I think I'll put this in my mouth and gum it a bit!"

"Aww Mommy, why won't you let me get a good taste of it?!"

Collin and Ronan returning from a hasty trip to the porta-potty.

Ronan after "picking" - really he just ran around between Collin and I. His cheeks are flushed because it was super hot that day - it was great!

Our Boys

It is so amazing to not only watch our boys grow and change everyday, but also to watch their relationship with each other develop. Ronan and Latham are now truely playing together - before Ronan would just run up to Latham, scream in his face and run away laughing. Now the play goes both ways. A few days ago Latham "chased" Ronan down the hallway. It was the slowest chase ever, but both boys were enjoying themselves.

What a sweet picture of brothers!

Playing in Latham's crib

Ronan is usually pretty good at sharing both his and Latham's toys (which he thinks are his too).
Note: Latham is now pulling up to standing!

Playing takes a lot of concentration!

Latham's new skill!

Just yesterday Latham learned how to clap. Now he does it all the time; probably because we all crowd around him encouraging him and clapping back!

He's proud of his newfound skill, and it's so special that he has learned it. No matter how insignificant a new skill may seem, the small steps contribute to larger and larger ones for later on in life.

Keep on learning, little one!

Ronan's Three Year Professional Pictures

Yesterday the boys and I went to get Ronan's three year professional pictures done at Sears Portrait Studio in Bellis Fair Mall.

After Latham's six month pictures I raved about Sears because I love the pictures that we got of him at that age, and I am really happy with how these ones turned out too. After recommending Sears to others because of their great results, the thought struck me that maybe instead of Sears being so great, maybe it's the subjects that make the pictures fantastic! :)