Summer finally comes to Seattle!

It has been a record breaking cold spring and early summer, so we were all more than ready for the temperature to finally break 75 degrees! We broke out the backyard pool and spent lots of evenings at the Lincoln Park wading pool.  We even headed over to green lake to swim in fresh water.  Oliver loves the water so he has been loving this weather.  We have been trying to spend as much time outside cause it is way too hot in our house and we all love picnics, especially with good friends.  Oliver loves every second he gets to play with Trent - he is like a big brother. It is so cute!

first time he voluntarily put sunglasses on!

finally warm enough for the pool

the door is still more fun than swimming...

truck in the pool

picnic in the park

Wading pool!

daddy's feet

getting in there with the big kids

green lake

throwing rocks

"more" rocks please!

"airplane"

Oliver ran into the surf at Lincoln Park and fell face first before we could get him...got a face full of sand.  poor baby.

Too hot for shirts, but not too hot for hugs : )

...or for books

 great idea: put the chair IN the pool!

at the beach in Kirkland with the Klinges

"share"

checking out Trent's new car

Well, it can't be hot in too long...the fleece is back on for a hike to the beach at Discovery Park

hood weather in July

passed out!

4th of July in Quincy

We drove over the mountains to visit Mike's family for the 4th of July weekend.  Katie, Savannah and Andy also made the trip so the whole McDonell clan was there.  Oliver got to ride on a real live motor boat - definitely a highlight for him!  We spent the first day at the beach with the babies playing in the sun and sand.  The big kids went jet skiing and the McDonell kids took a spill thanks to Laura's driving.  It was a wonderful day.  On the 4th, we went to George, Washington to the small town celebration, complete with a fun run (I came first in my age group and even got a medal!), petting zoo, and parade (with lots of "big trucks").  Oliver was in his element, especially all the love from grandma.  He did get a little jealous of his sweet little cousin who grandma is also in love with...She is such a cute, fun loving little girl, and the opposite of Oliver in so many ways!  She loves dolls (Oliver could care less about stuffed animals and dolls), she loves animals (when asked if he wanted to pet the soft bunny at the petting zoo, Oliver said "no no"), and she eats almost everything!  That small little thing ate at least 3 times as much food as Oliver while we were there - pickles, watermelon, sno cones, etc.  He ate his cheese and that was about it.  It was a very fun trip and great to see everyone and see those two kids together.  The only bad thing was that I forgot my camera!  Katie and Andy took photos that are on my shutterfly site if you want to check out the photos:

http://www.mcdonellchaytorfamily.shutterfly.com/

Portland and the Oregon Coast

Mike had a conference in Portland, so Oliver and I tagged along and then we all went to Cannon Beach and Manzanita for the weekend.  Portland was awesome - beautiful weather and lots to do.  Oliver LOVED the street car, Powell's books and the hotel pool.  Oliver and I had a wonderful time together while Mike was working.  We had leisurely breakfasts along the river, walked and rode the train all over town, and trekked over to Powell's books, which has a huge kids section.  Oliver went straight for all the books he has at home and then proceeded to try to pull ALL the books off the shelves.  He picked out two books - sheep in a jeep and little pookie - Oliver's new favorites.  We also saw a public open meditation session which Oliver tried his best to interupt...When dad was done with the conference, we went out for dinner and then headed straight for the pool!  Oliver walked right in and went under water for the first time.  He loves the water ("ice") so much!  We left the city and headed for the ocean for our last two days of vacation.  We walked around Cannon Beach and walked out to haystack rock.  It was a gorgeous day!  We then went to our hotel in Manzanita, which was one block from the beach.  The hotel was perfect for Oliver - maybe not what Mike and I are used to.  The new criteria for a good hotel room: 1) a separate bedroom so we don't have to lay in bed in the dark after 7:30 when Oliver goes to sleep, and 2) very little that can be destroyed.  This place fit the bill and Oliver loved the TV/VCR combo - tried to stick bagel in there a few times!  We spent the rest of the timne wandering the beach and playing in the sand.  It was a very relaxing and fun trip.

early morning on the riverfront

reading one of the books he has at home (trucks) at Powell's bookstore

there are lots of fountains in Portland - this one was a bit too scary...

this one is just right!

on the streetcar

downtown portland

we packed up the baby (and all his crap) and headed to the coast for the weekend 

first stop Cannon Beach

the spindrift inn in Manzanita 

good times in the sand dunes

Hug Harbor

wait up daddy!

perfect morning on a nearly desserted beach

"ice"

Oliver's favorite place to be

a bit more running before the long drive home

Father's Day at the Museum of Flight

Mike hds wanted to go the Museum of Flight for years before Oliver was born, but I was not too excited about it.  He finally got to go when Oliver was a few months old, but he slept throught the whole visit.  So when I heard they were having a special father's day event, I decided to surprise Mike with a visit.  Oliver and Mike dressed up in their matching shirts (so cute!) and we headed out early to beat the crowds. Oliver LOVED seeing all the big planes and getting to run around.  It was a wonderful day with two wonderful boys.  Oliver has the best dad in the whole world - he is one lucky little boy!

taking it all in

in the cockpit with daddy

he liked this plan much better than the one on our last flight...

taking his turn in the flight simulator

Mike's uncle Ronald was a mechanic for this type of plane

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two hams

two wild and crazy guys

Grandma Visit #2

This was a very special couple of weeks for Oliver! Last weekend my mom came and this weekend Mike's family came. They rented a house right on the ocean a few blocks away. It was great, except there were A LOT of things for Oliver to get into and get into he did! He did enjoy all the time at the beach though, as you can see from the photos. Mike's aunt Mary and Laura and Andrew came too. Oliver had a lot of fun with his family.

Grandma Visit #1

Oliver hadn't seen his grandma susan for a couple months - probably the longest he had ever gone without seeing her, so he was very happy to have her here for the weekend.  We went to ride on a little train, to the park and to Ikea to get Oliver a stepstool for the sink.  He had a great time helping grandma put it together. 

Mother's Day

My boys have started a new Mother's day tradition that I love - they both wear Hawaiian (preferably matching) shirts! So sweet. This Mother's day, Mike (and Oliver) really did a great job. It started out with sleeping in, then a wonderful and tasty breakfast. Oliver made me a great big card at school and Mike got me a membership to the zoo! I LOVE the zoo and now I can go for free whenever I want. So we all got ready and headed out to see the animals. Oliver had been once before when he was only a few months old, but he really enjoyed the animals this time (and the exhibits). He was really into birds at the time so he loved the exhibit where you walk through the jungle bird house - he kept saying "bird" "bird" and pointing at them. We took him to the petting zoo area and he was a little reluctant to get to close to the goats. For good reason, because the goat lurched up and startled him. He tried to run to Mike but the goat went in between them, so he actually ran into the goat and freaked out even more! Poor little guy. It was a lot of fun overall though. After the zoo, we went to the park and had a picnic lunch. Then Mike made me an awesome dinner outside. Such a perfect day with my two wonderful men. I am a very lucky mother!