It is fun watching Mason grow up and seeing his unique personality come through
It is hard to tell him to turn his light off and go to bed when he looks so cute
Ever since our trip to Welling, whenever we are working in the kitchen Mason pushes up a chair and wants to help. He helped Kim make some chocolate zucchini muffins. They were delicious!
Our boys love eating corn off the cob
The kids always love playing with slime
This morning Lyza decided she would dress up
So did Nixon. Complete with vampire teeth!
The kids have been making lots of fortresses
When Mason has smiles and a messy face you know he had a good breakfast
All the smoke from forest fires has made things a little more challenging. The kids can't be outside as much. Kim is supposed to be walking but can't because of the horrible air quality.
I guess we are still going to the beach though. Look at Nixon surrounded by girls. Keep it up!
The kids found this huge spider in the back yard
Kim sent me a picture at work and told me it must be killed
It was huge! But now it is dead ;)
These kids have been OBSESSED with these perler beads
Here is an example of their creations
Went to a garage sale and came home with a fire truck!
And a new suit for this handsome boy
These two look like they are having fun together
38 weeks and ready to be done (as I am writing this Kim is now 39 weeks. Come on baby!)
Mason helping me make some waffles for an elders quorum brunch
Lyza is a pro when it comes to word searches
Mason loves to build
Two year measurement for Mason. Just a little shorter than Nixon was at the same age
Mason was teaching me some dance moves
These kids love to craft
Mason pulled all of these jars of apple butter out from under a dresser, lined them up, then touched his nose to the lid of each jar one-by-one. What kind of ritual is that?
Here he is happy to be eating cereal. He ate about 7 bowls this morning!
The kids are always content the first few hours after a toy swap
Kim caught the humming bird in action
The brothers playing together
Kim's due date is fast approaching. That means we (mostly Kim) are busy trying to get prepared before baby #4 arrives. Freezer meals are done.
This guys is doing his best to get out
Lyza got stung on the forehead by a wasp. Ouch!
Playing in the sand at the beach is the best
I brought pizza to the beach one evening on one of the hottest days of the year (it was 40 Celsius/ 104 Fahrenheit) and we had dinner at the beach and swam to cool off
I held Mason so he could float on his back and he went from happy to mad pretty fast
Lyza has been teaching herself how to swim while keeping her head out of the water. She is doing a good job
Kim came home one evening after the kids' bed time and was greeted by this sight when she got home
Kim took the kids to the pet store and they had lots of fun
These guys are so proud of the things they build together
We canned some peaches this weekend
The three kids are working together trying to catch a butterfly. I think they are over-equipped with a huge plastic bin, butterfly net, bucket, and a basket
Mason loves playing with these water beads
I know they aren't ready for America's Got Talent. But they are still cute
Hopefully our next post will be about meeting Mr. Baby Keyes #4...
You may recall that Kim and the kids made me a super cute Father's Day card this year. Kim took the pictures on an old camera we don't use anymore so I would not see the pictures. I finally pulled them off the memory card in that camera. Here are some cute ones.
We have blueberries in our back yard! Not a whole lot but they are really good. We should have more next year.
There is a super kind family in the ward that has lots of raspberries.
Kim picked for a couple of hours and got almost three gallons. Yum! This was also the morning after she and the kids got home from Welling. She is amazing.
Then we went to the Post Falls parade. One of the families from work also joined us.
Giant American flag
There was lots of waving
Every large vehicle Mason has seen since then has been a fire truck
There was lots of candy
It was also super hot out
The kids really liked this car
Cute pig hay bale
The kids together after the parade
The kids spent some time in the swimming pools that afternoon to try and beat the heat. They loved spraying each other with water balloons
After Mason's nap we let him open some birthday gifts that were too big to take to Canada with us
New water table. Does he look excited?
A fire truck that is battery powered
Lyza gave him a quick lesson in sharing
Mason has been OBSESSED with the water table
We walked down to the park that night
Mason really liked this new spinning chair
Playing in the water
Not sure what the story is here
Nixon enjoying some early morning sun
We took the kids to the splash park for FHE
I really like how this picture turned out
I encouraged Mason to drink the water
And then splashed him when he wasn't expecting it
Take that!
When we checked on Lyza before bed she was in a weird sleeping position so we moved her and she was acting like a zombie
I think these balloon things came from the dentist. In any event, look at those smiles
The kids made some pretty cool pasta necklaces
Lyza found the perfect accessories to go with her new necklace
This new game (fuzzy ball you catch with the velcro catching mit/disc things) has been lots of fun
(nice photo bomb Lyza)
Mason stuck with shooting this bug
Yummy ice cream
cute
Kim let the kids finger paint with chocolate pudding
The only time it is OK to eat the finger paint
Mason has been practicing on his bike
Like I said before, Mason loves his water table. He plays with it every day
The family went to the big park in Coeur d'Alene together
Mason remembered the drinking skills I taught him the previous time we went to the splash park ;)
Spider-Boy
For some reason when she poses for the camera her neck gives out
Mama and her boys
Kim and I went on a date that evening. We picked up some dinner, hiked Tubb's Hill, and ate dinner on the beach. We also did a little swimming.
Fun date!
35 weeks in this picture! Tomorrow she will be 37. Things are getting real around here...
Nixon has been really concerned about me teaching him how to climb a tree. First of all, I think he needs a better teacher. But here we are climbing a stranger's tree while on a walk around the neighborhood.
When the kids have cardboard to make a fort they have to decorate it first with stickers
This boy plays with the water table so often and for so long that his clothes get completely soaked and eventually he is playing naked outside
Naked boy at the water table
The kids have been at the beach a lot. Digging big holes seems to be a popular activity
Nixon proud of one of his creations
Playing in the pools together
Jumping on the trampoline with the sprinkler on. The big kids love doing this. Mason would rather play at his water table
Lyza keeping her math skills sharp
Kim had a doctor's appointment in Coeur d'Alene and after the kids killed a little time at the park
Then they met me at the office for a picnic in the air conditioned conference room. That was lots of fun
We got a humming bird feeder
And it actually attracts humming birds
We are getting lots of cucumbers in the garden
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!
I added some cap stone to our retaining wall at Kim's request
Then we went to the beach as a family. The kids had lots of fun swimming in the deep water
One of Lyza's post-bed time creations
One day Kim and the kids met Lyza's best friend's family at out beach. They had lots of fun playing together and catching grasshoppers
Pretty flowers
The kids were pretty tired after
Except for Lyza. She came right home and kept looking for bugs in the backyard
Ashley and Jessica visited for a few days last week. That meant two more big people to help read to the little people
Mason "helping" me work on a blog post
We have been having some family problems so we decided to meet with a wise counselor
Painting rocks. The kids loved it. After they placed them around the back yard
Library activity this week with a magician
On Saturday I took the boys to our local Ace Hardware for an anniversary celebration with music, food, and some good sales
Mason was distracted by his water bottle
That same day I took the big kids to a water park in Spokane. Lyza loved the water slides (Nixon loved to cuddle with his dad in the sun)
The kids have really been enjoying these perler beads
Google made us this cute compilation video of Mason as a baby
It feels good to be all caught up with the Blog! Although, soon we will have this baby and most likely get behind again. At least we will have something exciting to talk about!
