Rhett turns 5!

We've got a five year old on our hands! Rhett has been super excited for his birthday, especially since everyone in our family already had birthdays this year and most of his friends are already five. He was definitely ready for his turn! His birthday turned into an entire week of celebrations, and now our house is covered with balloons and new toys--I guess that's a sign of a great birthday.

 We started the day with the summer movie (we left early) and lunch at McDonalds. Then we were off to the Butterfly Pavilion! Rhett had been asking to go for a while. He loved the giant millipede and all the fish. 

 After we picked up Andre from work, we cashed in our coupon at Build a Bear. Of course Rhett got the blue Hot Wheels bear, which he named Rod (like Hot Rod). 

 Birthday treats after dinner at Red Robin with Grammy and Gramps!

Yesterday was Rhett's friend camping-themed party. It was craziness with seven five-year-old boys running around our backyard, but they had a great time playing camping games and playing in the tend. Rhett was in heaven with all of his friends.

Five-year-old Rhett is hilarious, curious, and so smart. He is a great big brother, remembers the most amazing facts, and loves his cars, stuffies, and books. We love you, Rhett!

summer fun

We in the lull between birthdays at our house, but that doesn't mean we haven't had lots of fun summer activities. Some recent fun from the last few weeks:

 4th of July neighborhood parade! Andre repeated his performance and won Most Patriotic Man for the second year in a row.

 Patriotic Tessa and her favorite things--one little toy in each hand

 She's turning into a little reader! I find her like this at least twice a day.

 Free Chic fil A day! The best picture we got. We may have gone to for lunch and dinner.

 The Bodens came to town! Rhett was in heaven going to Elitches with his cousins.

 Tessa loved all the attention from the big cousins.

 Fun during track practice.

We celebrated our anniversary a few weeks early with a stay-cation overnight. One of our favorite parts was stand-up paddleboarding for the first time. Can't wait to go again!

The Mariners came to town! We were a house divided until they got destroyed by the Rockies. 

tessa turns one!

Our baby Tessa is one! It's crazy to think that just a year ago she was a tiny newborn joining our family for the first time. Tessa is a light and the perfect addition to our family. It was been so fun watching her grown over the last year and watching her personality come out.

Her birthday celebrations were simple and included some of her favorite things. 

 Woke up with balloons in her crib! This is turning into our first birthday tradition and is such a fun way to start the day. 

 Books with Rhett and their stuffies. 

 Playing at the library. One of Tessa's favorite activiites on super hot days

 A pizza dinner, followed by opening presents in the backyard.

 On Saturday we had her official One in a Melon party with family. I almost gave up on this cake, but Andre told me to keep going and it turned out great! 

Cutest birthday girl!

 

 Before the cake

 During the cake. Showing off that she is one year old.

The aftermath. She started out pretty calmly, but things quickly moved to throwing cake off the high chair. 

A great week celebrating our sweet baby girl!

june moments

What a month! We are in full-on summer mode over here, with lots of adventures!

 Rhett and the bison. The wildlife refuge nature center is becoming one of our favorite places!

 Track star! Rhett rocking the baseball throw (shotput for 4 year olds)

 She climbs up stairs!

 Colorado boy in a Colorado chair. It's all made of snowboards!

 Rhett went on stage for the kids dance party at Elitches. He was nervous at first, but then ended up rocking the limbo and dancing his heart out

 Tessa loves hugging stuffed animals

 We went to our local touch-a-truck and it was awesome. Rhett got to climb into all the trucks, eat all the treats, and paint a snow plow!

 Going up on the boom truck

 Piano time with Dad is Tessa's favorite time of the day. 

Those gorgeous Colorado sunsets

camping trip

We decided to make this summer a summer of camping. We have a state parks pass that we want to take advantage of fully, and Rhett is obsessed with camping. Our first outing of the season was this weekend. We kept expectations low, especially with a baby, but the kids did awesome. Aside from some bugs and noisy neighbors, we had a great time. 

 Tessa acclimated to camp life quickly. Just give her some food and a comfy chair and she is good to go!

 The view of our campsite at Jackson Lake. We had our own private trail straight to the lake

 Exploring the shore at sunset

 ...and at sunrise. Tessa was up bright and early, so we took in this view from our campsite while the boys slept a little longer. 

Then it was time for a lake day! Rhett loved building his sand castles and was so brave in the water (thanks, swim lessons!) We put Tessa in her baby floaty and all got to swim and play with the beachball together!

summer times

Summer is here, and we are soaking it in! It was been super hot already, which makes me think we are in store for a scorcher of a summer.
I didn't want to miss out on anything this summer, so my planner is full of schedules and activities. It's been good at keeping us busy and having fun, but I also feel like we're just always on the go. The other day we didn't have to rush anywhere right after dinner, and it was so nice just to spend time together at home. That's not to say our activities haven't been fun, because we are having a blast! We're just figuring out the balance between at-home fun and on-the-go fun.

 A visit to the nature center. We spent forever in the discovery area, where Rhett worked super hard on his bison mask--he was especially proud of the 5 extra eyeballs.

 Rhett had his first lemonade stand during the community garage sale. He was the perfect businessman and waved at every car that drove by. Lots of cars stopped just because he was so cute. Thanks to generous neighbors and hard work, he walked away with $20 (even after spending $4.50 on a Spider-Man popsicle from the ice cream truck. I was sick it was so expensive). He spent his hard-earned money on a Blaze watch, Hot Wheels gas station, and two cars. Our budding entrepreneur!

 Splash pad days. Tessa is much happier watching the kids than getting in the water.

 We made all of Rhett's dreams come true when we took his friend to the science museum. They had been planning the playdate for months! The boys had a blast, and Tessa loved the baby area.

 This kid loves The Amazing Race, so finding a scavenger hunt with clues at Barr Lake was the best thing ever. He checked out some binoculars, made a new friend, and turned into a mini bird watcher.

 First place ribbon at Rhett's first track meet! I was nervous he would be scared to race, but he jumped right in and did awesome.

 Mini golf at the airport. We took my in-laws to the airport and stayed to play free mini golf on the plaza. It was a little spontaneous and I didn't have a stroller or anything for Tessa. I golfed one-handed while I held her, but we still had so much fun.

FHE bowling. Rhett rocked it with the bumpers and was so happy whenever he knocked over lots of pins. This is a happy dance in action.

the rest of may

It's summer time! We have lots of activities and fun planned for this summer, and things are just getting started. Some of the best moments from May:

 Just a boy and his balloon on the grocery store horse. I can't believe how huge Rhett looks in this picture!

 Park season! We found an awesome park with a super unique playground that I'm sure we'll be back to many times this summer. 

 I had to bring Rhett to the pack meeting where the scouts built and launched rockets. He joined right in and loved it. The look on his face and the "oh wow that's awesome!" every time his launched was great. 

 Andre's birthday! Rolling into the last year of his 20s in style

 Just a casual day finding the weiner-mobile at the grocery store. The worker even played the horn for us--the oscar meyer jingle!

 We went to a graduation party at a park I used to take Rhett to alot when he was small. I have a picture of him in this very spot with his arms in the air when that was his new trick as a one year old. He was happy to recreate the picture now. 

 Giant checkers! Turns out Rhett is a checkers natural 

 Cruising at the children's museum 

 Tessa is already following whatever her brother does

 This girl doeesn't like to stand and doesn't pull up on things...until one day I left her on the ground and turned around to her like this! Maybe she will walk one day after all!

Rhett started track last week. He loves it, and it is so fun to watch them practice. This is Tessa's future for many years--playing on the turf or in the stands while her brother runs.