The REAL Twitch

For those of you who watched the most recent season of "So You Think You Can Dance," you remember the very funny and very good dancer named Twitch.  He was our favorite.  He had signature glasses that he wore often, always with no glass in the frames.

We also have our own Twitch at home.  I started calling Mitchell "Twitch" when he was just a few days/weeks old because he was always twitching and moving in a funny way for no apparent reason.  The nickname has stuck with him, but when the famous Twitch came on SYTYCD, we had to ask ourselves, who is the better Twitch?

Double Header Weekend and much more!

This past weekend when my parents were visiting, we decided to see how much fun we could stuff into one weekend!  I'm not really sure we could have packed in any more fun then we did.  And it was a great time!

My parents flew in early Friday  morning.  Friday afternoon, we went to Ikea.  Here, Chloe sports her Ikea children's prize- some really cool sunglasses!

Friday evening we finally got to celebrate Ben's birthday (a week late).  The Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream cake from Dairy Queen was, let's just say, amazing.....

Ben got a new Utah State hat from my parents.  He has gone through 5 of these exact same hats in the course of the last 6 or 7 years, we counted up.  We have no idea where the hats have disappeared to, but this hat style and logo is his favorite, thus why we keep replacing it.  If anyone needs to get Ben anything for Christmas this year, one of these hats would be great, as there is a pretty good chance this new one will be long gone by then.  But doesn't he look great in it?  Go Aggies.

Saturday we were up and going pretty early, to get to downtown Seattle to begin our Double Header Day.  We parked in a questionable parking lot, then caught a Metro bus to Husky stadium to go to the BYU vs. University of Washington football game.  This was Mitch's first ride on a bus and he knew just what to do- hold on!  There was dozens of other BYU fans on the bus (more than Husky fans) and Mitchell was quite the charmer with everyone.

This was Chloe's first official ride on a Metro bus- she used to ride the bus with me everyday when I was pregnant with her and going to school in downtown.  She too held on tight for the ride!

The BYU game was lots of fun and we couldn't have asked for a more exciting game!  With just 2 seconds left and the Husky's to tie it up with their PAT kick, I leaned over to Ben and said, "They're gonna block it, just watch!"  Sure enough, they did.  What a game!  Go Cougars!

We had good seats and a great view of the game, but we were in the direct sun all day and it was hot and muggy.  We all sported nice sun burns for church the next day.

It was very hot for Mitchell, but he was a trooper. 

He was exhausted and took 2 short naps at the football game.  

Chloe did not particularly care for the football game- it was hot and there was almost no room to move around in our seats for her to play.  With it being so hot, she drank lots and lots of water (like usual, but even more than she usually does) and then ended up having to go to the bathroom about 10 times in a 4 quarter game.  The bathroom trips kept her entertained, as did making faces at all of us.

After the fantastic game, we got back on the bus to ride back downtown.  The bus was absolutely jam packed- every seat was full and there was probably more people standing in the isles and doorway than sitting.  Chloe sat on Grandma's lap and there were some older people in front of her who tried talking to Chloe.  At one point they asked her how old she was.  A little background before her answer: We bought our football tickets way back in April (4 tickets for Ben & I and my parents) and I didn't even think about Chloe until just a week or so before the game.  I called Husky stadium to ask what ages needed tickets and they said ages 3 and up.  I asked what the cheapest ticket they had left was and the lady told me it was $70.  We didn't even pay that much for our tickets and there was no way I was going to pay that much for a 3 year old who was going to sit on our laps or on the floor anyways (which is just what she did).  The lady on the phone said it probably wouldn't be a big deal if we just took her in, so when we got up to the gate on Saturday, we carried Chloe in and tried to make her appear young so there wouldn't be a fuss.  I guess Chloe must have overheard us talking about the age that you have to be to get in free because when asked how old she was on the bus she replied, "My daddy says that today I am 2!" 

Back in downtown, we headed to Pike's place market.

On our way to eat seafood on the Piers, I ran into Dwight K. Schrute and got a quick picture with him.  He quickly briefed me on black bears, brown bears and Battlestar Galactica. 

In the evening, we went to the second part of our Double Header- the Mariner vs. Yankee game.  We always root for the Mariners, unless the Yankees are in town!  (Well, except for Ben who always roots for anyone but the Yankees.... a sore spot in our marriage.)

We had great seats at this game too.  Actually, I don't think we've ever had bad seats at Safeco Field- it is such a nice stadium and we have loved all the views and seats we've gotten over the years.

This game was much more enjoyable for the kids- much cooler with the sun going down and much more room to play.

Chloe really enjoys the baseball games with all the music they play, the comfortable and very nice seats they have and all the room to play.  She loves clapping along with everyone else for a good play, dancing to the music and chanting along with all the chants.  It was a great time.

And the Yankees won too!  Wahoo!  Both our teams won on our Double Header Day.  (Ben would beg to differ....)

That was our first time going to two sporting events in one day with two kids- we got a few comments that day that we were very brave to have done that.  It was kind of daring for us to do, especially with how hot it was, all the walking and the lack of naps the kids got, but it really was a blast.  And it didn't hurt that we had twice as many adults as kids- I don't know if Ben and I would have attempted this day by ourselves, so we owe our fun Double Header Day to my parents and a big thanks for all of their help with the kids!  It wouldn't have gone as smoothly without them!

We extended our weekend out to Monday, when we decided to "Do the Puyallup!"  My parents came to the Puyallup Fair with us last year and we all had a great time, so we decided to do it again.  It was such a fun day- the weather was perfect (sunny and not too hot), it wasn't crowded being a Monday morning, and the kids did great too.  Chloe loved the fire engine.

 

She got a kick out of the fire hose....

The cow barn was a lot of fun, and I especially enjoyed all of the fun cow facts and jokes they had posted throughout.  This "All I need to know about life, I learned from a cow" was quite funny.

This sign read "I am milked 2 times a day and give as much as 10 gallons a day, or 50 to 60 pounds of milk....  Does that mean I could lose 700 pounds in Two Weeks????"  Wouldn't that be nice!

Chloe took her turn at milking a cow...

But was disappointed that it was only water that came out instead of milk.  "But mom.... this isn't MILK!"  She wasn't fooled.

She kept begging to go back to the cow barn, even though she didn't like to get very close to any of the cows.  Grandma found her a nice, gentle cow to pet, but she wouldn't touch it.

Grandma petted one cow to show Chloe how nice they were......  Then she bent down right next to the cow's face and......

Got SLIMED!  I only got an after shot (cow slime on her shoulder), but the actual sliming process was very funny.  

Chloe finally got brave and petted a lamb....

and a newborn piglet!  She was quite proud of herself for being brave enough to pet something.

And we couldn't leave the fair without riding the carousel.  All rides are discounted on Monday's, so we were in luck!

She got to ride the Big Slide a few times (here she is with Papa) and when asked later that evening what her favorite part of the whole weekend was, she shouted, "Riding that really BIG slide!"

We rushed from the fair to get my parents suitcases loaded, stopped by and got a quick dinner, then off to the airport Monday evening so they could fly home.

We had a wonderful weekend with them, and even with all we did, it went by way too fast!

First day of School

My baby is all grown up and going to school!  Ok, so it's just preschool, but I can hardly believe it.  We all have been very excited about it.  Chloe has been excited about it since I first told her last Winter that I signed her up for school.

One morning, last March, Chloe burst into my room around 6:00 a.m. and announced, excitedly, (waking me up), "Mom, I'm going to school!"  We must have been talking about going to preschool the day before, so she thought that the next day was the day.  I didn't think much about it in that moment (still half asleep) and mumbled, "Yep!"  A few minutes later, I hear the garage door opening and I ran downstairs to find her out in the garage, fully dressed in the "lovely" outfit above, with equally lovely hair.  I asked her what she was doing, to which she replied, "Going to school!"  I broke her heart by telling her she still had 6 months until school started.  After many tears, and when she was calm and adjusted to the fact that school was not starting that day, I asked her what she was doing out in the garage and what her plan was.  She told me, "I was walking to school.... to learn, Mom."  So off to school she would have went, walking herself. 

Now, 6 months later, school time is finally here!  I don't know how we made it this long.  She has been so excited and talking about it nonstop.  (She woke up at 5:30 this morning... can you tell she's excited??)  Although she will not start Kindergarten for 2 more years, for her sake I had to start her in preschool this year.  She is very into classes, friends and teachers right now, and obsessed with "doing" something everyday.  She has a need to be going and doing, so this was the perfect thing for her.

All ready for her first day.  Luckily, she had nicer clothes on for the real first day, and her hair was done.  Whew!

She loved helping me pick out a backpack and was even more excited to fill it with a pencil box, markers and glue sticks, as requested by her teacher.  (And boy is it hard to find backpacks small enough for a 3 year old that don't fall off their shoulders!)

Mitch was equally as excited!  2 naps a week that he'll get to sleep in peace and quiet!

Chloe was very quiet as we walked into her teacher's house and got acquainted with everyone and everything.  Here she is being shown the toys by her teacher.

And..... a smile!  Preschool is a hit!

With "Miss Cindy" her teacher, after class.  They learned about themselves today and colored a picture of themselves.  They also measured their height and took their weight.  Chloe is the tallest one in her class (surprise, surprise) and is an inch taller than the next closest child.  She is not the youngest in her class (close, but not quite) and is definitely not the oldest, but she is the tallest and even beat out all of the 4 year old boys for height!!  Go Chloe!

We celebrated a great first day of Preschool by going to McDonald's for lunch!  This smile tells it all- she LOVED preschool and can't wait to go back!