Doggie! Hose! Party!

Uncle Sean and Uncle Joe arrived in Pasco with Watson the afternoon of Saturday August 3rd. Pearson was very excited to wake up the morning of the 4th and have a dog to watch:

Pearson even decided to consider possibly playing with Watson:

However it was Brayton who actually faced his fear and threw a frisbee:

Brayton proceeded to play with Watson until he was a bit overheated (Watson, not Brayton). In order to give Watson a break, we changed the boys into their swim costumes and let them refill the wadding pool:

Pearson was excited to eventually gain control of the hose:

A control that his brothers quickly regretted when he turned the hose on them:

Unfortunately Uncle Sean and Uncle Joe had to go home Sunday afternoon but we did manage to get a group picture before they left:

That evening we were invited over to the Ghirardo's house for a birthday party. The boys enjoyed playing with all their awesome toys:

One of the biggest hits was the ride-on toys, Pearson enjoyed leading the parade:

Bouncing Birthday, Beautiful Boys

On Friday August 2nd Grandma and Grandpa Maguire hosted a birthday celebration since our boys so rarely get to celebrate with family. The centerpiece of the celebration was a massive bounce house:

All afternoon the kids, both big and small, got to bounce it up:

Brayton even learned how to do a somersault!

Since it was a birthday celebration, everyone in the family with a summer birthday got to blow out a candle. McColley kicked things off:

And Pearson showed everyone how big he is now by blowing out his candle all by himself:

After all that bouncing, Brayton fell asleep as soon as we sat down to watch some family movies:

A good night of rest rejuvenated everyone, so Saturday morning we hit the S.pudnut Shop bright and early. Auntie Val made sure everyone left with a shirt:

We had to get a picture of Pearson with his other godmother Anna!

And since everyone was there - all the cousins picture!

Uncle Michael had to take his boys home Saturday afternoon but before they left Grandma wanted to get some pictures of all five boys together looking snazzy.

We first posed them on the front porch:

Then we tried the back porch:

Then Grandma offered everyone who did a big smile a dollar:

And finally I asked for their silliest faces:

Hopefully one of those is what Grandma was looking for!

Backyard Battles

Any trip back to Was.hington wouldn't be complete without a stay at Grandma and Grandpa Maguire's house. We drove over to the East Side on Tuesday and Wednesday July 31st was all about playing at their house.

In preparation for the boy influx, Grandma and Grandpa had purchased some foam swords:

Grandpa The Monster had to battle Two Brave Knights all afternoon:

Thankfully Pearson needed someone to cuddle with during his nap, so Grandpa got a break:

On Thursday August 1st Uncle Michael arrived with COUSINS! It was back out to the backyard and into the water:

A water fight quickly commenced between the big boys:

The little boys had to sit on the sidelines to avoid the fray:

Eventually the big boys abandoned the water table and the toddlers were able to have a turn:

Later that evening the Ghirardos came over for dinner... and the swords reappeared:

Despite a long and fraught sword battle, the kiddos still had plenty of energy after dinner. Uncle Michael refereed a few foot races to burn off all that left over energy:

Everyone came out to the front porch to wave goodbye to the Ghirardos, so we took a moment to take a picture of Grandma and Grandpa with all their grandsons:

Family Backyard Fun (Maguire Edition)

On Sunday July 28th we finally got to see Uncle Michael and Aunt Meghan's new house. Within moments of entering, the boys were out in the backyard playing with their cousins:

Pearson got a lesson in bouncing from his cousin J:

The big boys decided to have a fencing tournament - Uncle Michael took on the winner:

With the afternoon sun shining bright the kids were excited to hear there was a Slip 'N Slide:

The big boys used the Slip 'N Slide as a water gun refueling center for quite a while:

They eventually got around to using it for its intended purpose:

But then they liked it so much that they wouldn't listen and would run at each other from opposite directions:

Eventually Uncle Michael figured out that serving as a 'Launcher' was probably the best (and safest) idea:

Family Backyard Fun (McHop Edition)

On Saturday July 27th Grandma and Grandpa Hopkins hosted a barbecue for family. Since Grandma's birthday was only two days away, the barbecue ended with cake:

Grandma had a bit of trouble blowing the candles out because Grandpa had accidentally bought self re-igniting candles:

However, we had no trouble eating the cake once the candles were dealt with:

When the cake was all gone it was time to play:

GrUncle Mark and David  showed Brayton how to 'Kangaroo' per Laura's suggestion:

Of course Pearson had to get in on the action too:

As everyone was getting ready to go, a few family pictures HAD to be snapped with all the aunts and cousins that were there:

Laura also wanted a picture with her godson Pearson... who took a bit of convincing. He really didn't want to look at the camera:

McColley figured out that all the picture commotion meant he got Uncle Tim all to himself:

Jumping Eight Time Zones Part 8

Saturday April 21st found us back on the West Side all the way up at Wh.idbey Island for a family wedding:

The ceremony was short but the line for food was long, so the boys killed time by playing with Grandpa's hat:

And then drawing things on Grandma's phone:

And finally getting their groove on:

We bailed out of the reception before the cake was cut because we had birthday cake waiting in our hotel cabin. Saturday the 21st was also GreatGrandma Hopkins' 91st birthday:

Sunday the 22nd dawned bright and sunny so we had our breakfast out on C.oupeville's pier:

Then we took advantage of the weather for a second try at the park with Drew (and uncles):

Brayton and Drew had a great time playing together with Uncle Sean:

And then once again trying to do whatever McColley was doing:

Pearson found the three big boys very exciting:

At one point the two three year-olds decided to walk the balance beam and we could see that Brayton actually has better balance than Drew. You'd never think that based on all the things he runs into!

We ended our playtime at the 'train'. McColley got a nice ride from the three year-olds:

But he returned the favor:

Pearson once again enjoyed the show:

Unfortunately Monday was our day to suit up for the airport and say good-bye to the USA:

All that was left was waiting for the airplane: