Jetty Island

We winded down this summer with a trip to Jetty Island. It sure is fun to take the little ferry over and do nothing but play on the beach. We enjoyed having our favorite cousins over for the weekend, (Uncle Kevin and Aunt Kate too). I feel bad that I got no pictures of them, but I swear they were with us. Thanks Uncle Kev, Auntie, Adam and Ava for spending the weekend with us!
It will be sad to see summer come to an end but I think that everyone is looking forward to school starting. Just one week to go!

Gramma's Lake House

Gramma invited us to Lake Oswego for a couple of days. Daddy stayed home and Chase is at the beach with his dad so why not?? Ashtyn loves the fountain, a definite stop for us. She is getting really good at posing for the camera!



Ryder loves to ride in Papa's boat, but a close second is the paddle boat. Ashtyn is even getting the hang of it and loves to take rides too. Gramma tied the paddle boat up in front of the dock so Ryder and Ashtyn could pretend they were on an adventure.


Ryder's big news is that he learned how to steer and paddle the boat all by himself! We rigged up the boat so that Ryder could get closer to the paddles and with some advise and encouragement from Gramma he quickly did it all by himself with no help from Gramma, (as you can see she has her legs up), Ryder paddled to the bridge and back just like he'd been born to boat!
Thanks Gramma for having us, we had so much fun!!

Wiiiiiiiiiiii

Brian got a new Nintendo Wii game for his birthday and the boys love it. Here they are bright and early in the morning playing in their underwear. I had to get a picture because there they were practically in the buff, totally absorbed in their game and Ashtyn (having made a mess with breakfast is now shirtless too), trying to be one of the boys, thinks she is playing too.

Greenlake

Finally we made it to Greenlake! Everytime we are in the area I think about it. I can remember when I was little roller skating or bicycling around the lake. I can even remember playing in this wading pool. It is so fun to take the kids here! They loved the wading pool, we spent several hours playing. The boys likes crawling around on their bellies in the deeper spots. Ashtyn kept a safe distance from them and copied on the side, the most shallow part. I forgot her bathing suit so she sported the swim diaper only, oh well.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

For Brian's special day we went out for his favorite, Sushi. We tried this new place in town that has a sushi belt. Chase and Ryder could not get enough! They thought that the whole belt thing was so cool, it kept them busy. I had to get a picture, (you can see the food on the belt behind Ryder). Chase also had fun counting up how much we'd eaten. For those who are unaware of the the Sushi belt thing, (as I was), the foods on the belt are on different colored plates depending on their price and they just count up all your plates at the end. $1. for yellow plates, $1.50 for orange plates, etc.


The boys and I made cupcakes, per his request . Grandma also brought over chocolate cake! Chase and I enjoyed the chocolate cake and Brian, Ryder and Ashtyn had cupcakes. Can you believe it, Ashtyn ate an entire (extra large) cupcake?

Bedtime Before Dinner

I was in the laundry room doing some laundry and talking to Brian. Ashtyn kept coming out of Ryder's room and trying to get our attention. Finally, Brian went in there and here he was, asleep in the doorway of his closet. I guess he was tired, but it is only 5 pm! Ashtyn was picking up his arm trying to get him to wake up, very funny.

Where does the time go??

Ashtyn turned 18 months today and I wonder where did all the time go? I feel like I need to document her accomplishments at 18 months. I really wish I would have started a diary or blog when Chase was born so I could look back now and remember what Chase and Ryder were doing at this brief moment in time.
She certainly is the Princess of our family and pretty much everyone is crazy for her. Just one look at her toothy little grin and you can't help but to laugh. He tries desperately to keep up with her big brothers and does not want to be left out of anything. She has practiced her running just so she can keep up and she is getting pretty fast. Chase and Ryder are wonderful brothers, she is very lucky. They play with her and can be very helpful. Chase being the older one is very kind and nurturing with her and she rarely has to complain. Ryder on the other hand can be very kind, like sharing a lick of his popscicle with her, but can annoy her just as often. She has resorted to pinching or biting to get him to back off. (I always wondered where babies learned to bite, now I know). She is starting to use some words, mama and dada of course, ball, backpack, hi, bye. She tries to say Chase and Ryder, but it isn't really distinguishable. She climbs up the stairs and can climb down, though most times she wants someone to carry her down. After two crazy busy boys it is nice that she is pretty well behaved for her age. I don't really worry about her getting into things and she is very, very understanding of what we tell her. She loves her baby dolls and already plays house with them. She'll feed them and put them to bed, push them in the stroller and carry them around the house. She has to sleep with her special red blanket and usually needs her pacifier too and is a very good sleeper, usually a solid 12 hours and night and one 3 hour nap in the afternoons. With the summer here we've noticed that she loves the water and doesn't really seem to be afraid of playing in the sprinklers or going in the water and the beach. From birth she has been a mommy's girl but in the past several months she is slowly beginning to wrap her daddy around her little finger. This is such a fun age and I've been enjoying every moment. I am so proud of all my children. School starts in just about a month and I can't believe that Chase is going to be in the 2nd grade and Ryder in Kindergarden. With both of them at school all day it will just be me and Ashtyn at home during the day, strange. It seems like just yesterday they were 18 months old.

Ashtyn's lunch date

Ashtyn sat at her little table in her room for quite a while today, enjoying "lunch" with her favorite baby doll. I think that Brian and I both agree that this age is so much fun! Although it does seem like long ago that Chase and Ryder where this age, I do remember the very cute and funny things they did. If only they could stay this cute forever.

Mini-Vacation in Gig Harbor

Uncle Kevin and Aunt Kate were so nice to invite us to their neck of the woods for a summer getaway. It was fun to go with them to all of their favorite places in Gig Harbor. The cousins got along wonderfully and the adults even got an evening out to themselves.
We started our trip with a little slip-n-slide to beat the heat. Chase had so much fun with it that he sort of popped it. (Looks like we owe the other Hurley's a new one.)


Ava and Ashtyn were so sweet playing together in Ava's room, I had to get a picture. It is so fun to see the two of them begin to play together.

On Saturday, we headed over to the beach, (not sure of the name), near the Narrows Bridge. I believe Brian and Kevin are dreaming of the day they could buy that boat and cruise along the water, someday...


Chase and Ashtyn enjoying their day, what could be better?

I was really hoping to get a picture of the kids with the bridge in the background, but someone wouldn't cooperate...



On Sunday, before we headed north, we visited the Pointe Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. I think that everyone enjoyed themselves and the boys even got to ride a camel. Here they are youngest to oldest, (Adam-3, Ryder-5, Chase-7), enjoying their (very short for $5 each), camel ride. It is a little bit hard to get 3 little boys all looking at the camera at the same time.
Thank you Uncle Kevin, Auntie, Adam and Ava for inviting us to stay with you for the weekend!! The food was yummy, the activities were awesome, (as Chase and Ryder would say), and we can't wait to host you all in a few weeks.