Pierce County Fair

At the beginning of August, we went to the Pierce County Fair with my sister Brittany and her children. It was one of the hottest days we've had this summer, in the high 90's (which is VERY hot for us), but we had a great time anyway. Here we are watching a pirate show.

We had only been there a few minutes and the kids' cheeks were already bright pink from the heat.

My sister Brittany and her girl Evelyn

All the kids were able to make awesome stick horses for free! That was probably the highlight of the day.

The fire department was there and let the kids put on jackets and climb inside the fire truck. I couldn't believe Dean actually did it! He is really coming out of his shell and will do more things these days.

Another thing that I was surprised about was Dean wanted to ride on one of the amusement rides. He and Evelyn could only pick one ride, so of course it ended up being the car/motorcycle thing.

Dawson was so wiped out and ready to go

Happy Birthday Dawson!!

Well, my baby boy is 2! I can't believe it, but it's true. He really is growing up, you know, saying "no" all the time and all that 2-year-old jazz. He is a very happy little guy who puts up with a bully for a big brother and loves to bite his cousin Lincoln. He loves to laugh, play "ring around the rosie," and wrestle with his brother (which always ends in him crying).

Jonathan let Dawson help frost the cake and boy did he love it.

Here is his "cheese!" smile. He looks slightly devilish, especially with that one little canine that hasn't come in yet.

Dawson's party was pretty low-key. We just had some of my family over and got pizza.

I was pleasantly surprised that Dawson liked his hat and actually kept it on!

Here are the party goers (Sydney, Dawson, Mya, Evy, Britton, Dean)

I loved watching the vultures come out as soon as Dawson started opening gifts. They just kept leaning in...

closer...

until I couldn't even get a shot of Dawson without some little person's head in the way (namely Dean's).

My point exactly. Dawson has done a fabulous job of sharing his toys with his big brother.

My sisters got Dawson this awesome drum that came with a few musical instruments inside of it.

All the kids grabbed one of the instruments and my mother started a marching band around the house. (anyone notice my mom's baton? yes, it is a used pizza cutter. I love her.)

The cake. Made by his daddy.

He actually blew out his own candles! Well, the first time one of his cousins blew them out, so we had to light them and sing all over again. But he did it all by himself; I was so proud!

In cake heaven

Unlike his brother, or anyone else I know, Dean does not like cake. He tried a little bit of the frosting and then said "I don't think I like it."

Happy birthday my baby boy. We love you!

Backyard: finally done!!!

Don't worry everyone: these are the final pictures of our backyard. We finished it last weekend, putting in play chips in one area and setting up a play toy that my sister gave me.

Needless to say, the kids are so happy that there is something to play on back here!

The rest of the completed yard

It feels so good to have all our hard work paying off. Now we can sit back and relax! To help us do so, we bought an awesome outdoor clock that has windchimes hanging down. They sound so nice when a breeze passes through!

Soccer Class part 2

For the sake of our blog book, I am posting more pictures of Dean's soccer class. As ridiculous as it is to have twelve 4-year-olds running around with soccer balls, I suppose this class is good for Dean because he is learning how to listen to other authority and follow directions.

They had a "passing and sharing" activity where they each held onto a jersey and tried to pass the ball to each other going across the field.

Dean was paired with his cousin Evy. Evy kind of took control and kicked the ball the whole way while dragging Dean behind her. It was pretty fun to watch, and Dean didn't really seem to mind.

Then there is Dawson. Try taking a 2-year-old who is OBSESSED with balls to a soccer class where he can't play with them. He did run in and steal one of the cones and played with that for a while.

Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks...

Last week Jonathan and I went to a Mariner's Game with tickets we got from an oral surgeon in the area. They were great seats! We sat in the 5th row, and as soon as the game started, Jonathan's dad called from Idaho and said "we can see you on tv!" It was pretty fun.

Ichiro at bat

My dad has been working at the games as an usher on the suite level, so we got to see him in all his glory! It was pretty fun.

It also just so happened that my sister Shelby and her family had tickets pretty close to us, so we hung out with them a little bit too.

We were walking around the stadium and all of a sudden, there was the Mariners Moose! It was quite the eventful game, besides the fact that the Mariners lost!

The One and Only Genuine Original Walker Family

A month ago we actually happend to be in one place at the same time and had an awesome family reunion.  It started off with a photo shoot...we look good! 

I love my parents!  They're the best.  Thank you for putting up with us all, and of course spoiling our kids with attention and fun. 

The girls.

The boys.

Here is all 28 of us!  Everyone did pretty great.

Jeff, JaNae, Walker, Whitney, Wyatt, and Wes.

Steve, Jill, Andrew, Carter, Colby, and Saylor.

Dan, Jolyn, Sadie, and Leah.

Our family!  Dean was such a trooper having the flu and all.  Dawson was a little grumpy that day.  Having some suckers to bribe him helped.

He got the sucker as soon as we finished.