Mt Peak Family Hike

From September 2nd



Mt Peak is a well-known hike only about 10 minutes from our house. It took us a year of living here but we finally did it!

We hooked up with Frost Family and headed up the mountain around 4pm. Luckily, Liam has a very strong Daddy who could carry him in the backpack for the whole 90 minutes that it took to climb up! Didn't hear much complaining from him. I was super impressed with the 4- year olds who managed to get all the way to the top without requesting to be held. We saw lots of hikers and their exhausted looking dogs on the way up. Once up top, we had a good snack and re-hydrated. Lexie had a great outdoor peeing experience (thanks Carla.) She usually is not fond of going anywhere but in a potty but broke her princess rule this one time. Let Liam out to stretch his legs for a bit and we quickly remembered why he still requires to be controlled by the backpack. He is fast. He does not care for listening. He is crazy.

Really the kids had a great time despite the depressed faces.

The way down we saw the effect of overtired children. Lots of small falls that got BIG dramatic cries. Lots of "my legs hurt, can you carry me." Desperate to keep them moving and get down before dusk we promised them all Wally's milkshakes for getting to the bottom. No sooner then the words left our mouths and the smallest triplet with the biggest appetite, Audrey, takes off down the mountain. The others follow and we all made it before dark.

Celebrated burning all those calories by consuming some more at Wally's. Kids were EXHAUSTED which makes bedtime easy for parents. Looking forward to this one again! Super thankful for having such great friends close by.

4 is fabulous

Our oldest Brock Baby turned 4 on September 29th. She woke up excited that it was such a special day. Infact, from this point on I think I will have to wait to remind her that her birthday is coming until it is the actual day. She didn't want to fall asleep the night before, soooo excited to be turning 4.

It was a Thursday which meant she had ballet class. It turned out to be extra special because Neicey came all the way up from Olympia (much earlier then usual) to watch. Then, her ballet class sang "Happy Birthday" to her. Afterwards, she got a Starbucks hot cocoa and opened a few presents. That night, we celebrated by taking her out to Red Robin for her favorite dinner. On the way to Red Robin she said the sweetest prayer. Thanking Jesus for her special day and that everyone loves her. She has the best heart.

We feel very blessed by Lexie. She is the perfect oldest child. She is thoughtful, giving, well-mannered, and has great social skills. All qualities that have helped enhance life for Liam. Sometimes I forget she is as young as she is because of her maturity and ability to really follow directions. She loves to laugh, play, learn, do crafts, games, pretend, and help mommy with the house. Personally, I feel like I could keep her home forever and never send her off to school :) Teaching her is very easy, she has a desire to learn and learns fast.

Crazy to think that 4 years ago, she surprised us by coming over 2 weeks early and with that our lives were changed in an instant. Forever grateful to be home with her and be able to take in every minute of it. Happy Birthday to our sweet, sweet girl!

Chelan and Rocky Reach Dam

From August 7th
My parents took us over to Chelan to celebrate Pops' Birthday in early August. Great time with the family, only missing our brother Casey who couldn't break away from Florida this summer. Somehow we managed to get no pictures of the Lake. The guys had a great time jet-skiing and the girls got some sun in at the park. Liam and Caralynn ran all around like the crazy, cute toddlers they are.

Here is our little stud showing off his swimming skills at the hotel pool

He is obsessed with "driving"

Just having a little one year old fun with cousin Caralynn

On the way home, we stopped at the Rocky Reach Dam. We did the whole tour and visitor center which was nice and air conditioned. I would love to take the kids back here when they are older, it is very educational and awesome to see the fish ladders. Travis took one for the team and drove around a very tired Liam who desperately needed a nap, so that leaves Lexie and Caralynn to get some cute pics. Thanks to The Garwood's for a super fun weekend...and Happy Birthday to Pops!

Fish ladders

Kelsey Garwood, Britnee Garwood, Neicey Garwood, Caralynn Garwood, Lyndsey (13 weeks pregnant with "Bonus Baby") and Lexie Brock.

Hand's on children's museum

From July 2011
Olympia is home to many great things. The Garwood's, the prestigious Evergreen State College, and the famous Hand's on Children's Museum. We realized we hadn't been since the birth of Liam (22 months ago) and added that to the summer bucket list. After all, when Lexie was at this age she couldn't get enough of all the pretend scenes they have set up for little ones. Well once again I am reminded of how night and day our two children are. Liam could care less for this place. He played with the train set and ran around and full sprinting speed in circles the rest of the time. Thank goodness my mom came with the lend a hand. Lexie really enjoyed it as always, she loves using her imagination and this is the place to do it (gardening, a vet, doctor's office, you get the idea.)
This is the one and only picture I was able to get of my wild boy during his first (and last for a while) visit to Hand's on Children's Museum. Thank goodness for that train set.

Bonus Baby

From July 2011

Well this was not on our summer bucket list but worth mentioning. We were surprised to find out in June that we are expecting a 3rd baby due February 13th. Due to the shock of it all, we really didn't make the news public till about 12 weeks.

I had a really rough first trimester, throwing up and not enjoying food at all (lost about 5 lbs but always gain plenty in the long run.)

Travis dubbed the name "Bonus Baby" because we already have a girl and a boy, this one is the bonus. We are excited to complete our family and know that God's plan is always way better then ours. This baby will always remind me of that!

Drive-in crazyness

From July 9th The drive-in-movie was on the summer bucket list so we packed up the car, picked a nice night, and headed out to catch "CARS 2." Ended up being more exhausting then we thought. Liam would not stop messing with the steering wheel and any controllers. The wind-shield wiper was his favorite. He found the headlights. Then the horn. He thought he was back on Autopia in Disneyland I guess. Pretty sure no one could concentrate on the movie anywhere in a 20 mile radius of us. Maybe we will try this one again when he is a bit older, like 30.

Lemonade Stand

From June 26th

The Brock Babies teamed up with the Frost kiddos and hosted their very own, and very cute, lemonade stand. We were doing a garage sale together and thought it would be a fun way for the the kids to learn about money. Instead, they taught us about being generous. After making some small change they began pouring up big cups of lemonade for the tons of neighborhood kids who rolled by to say hi on their bikes, scooters, and roller skates. There were no dehydrated children in the neighborhood that day! Got to love their little heart's.