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.

The end of summer

One member of our family got a lot of use out of the backyard pool in August. He would run outside and go down the slide in to the pool first thing in the morning.


We made it to a Mariner's game on a beautiful Saturday in August. Kids did amazing. I think we made it to the 7th inning. They loved the SAFECO kids playground and seeing the moose. Before the game we spent some time hanging in the city.

Summer 2011 Bucket List

This year we wanted to be very intentional with how we spent our summer months. I had read an article that encouraged readers to make a summer "bucket list" and plan your calender out accordingly, so that come September you can look back on your summer and not feel like it passed you by. Who doesn't remember that feeling as a kid? So we came up with the list as a family but each person got to put an individual activity or two on the list. Here is the list we came up with the first of June:

- Disneyland
- Drive-in movie
- Swett Family Reunion
- Day at the beach or lake (Lyndsey)
- Baseball game with Daddy (Liam)
- Ride bikes on the trail as a family
- Hopscotch
- Lemonade stand
- Sleepover at Neicey and Pop's (Lexie)
- Water ski or boat ride with Pop's
- Hand's on children's museum
- Golf Tournament (Travis)
- Outdoor BBQ with friends

Can't believe we did almost all of it. Also had plenty of down time and lazy days, something we don't do much of after September. Making a list like this really helped us manage our time and make memories together. My goal is to backtrack and attempt to blog all these adventures, both big and small, so the kids can look back on it all someday.

The Happiest Place On Earth

Our sweetest family vacation to date

We have been talking about going to Disneyland for years. When we first got married, we said we would do it before the kids came. When that didn't happen, we said we would do it before Trav turned 30. Then that milestone came and went, and at last we finally agreed to stop putting it off. I found a great deal on hotel and airline tickets. My energetic mom graciously agreed to come and help be a extra hand for the kids. Everything fell into place and I am so glad we did it.

We left on the 4th of July around nap time. The plane ride there was a dream. We took a risk by not buying a seat for Liam (20 months) and it payed off. On the way there, both him and Trav ended up getting the whole row to themselves because the plane wasn't full. He slept for most of the flight and was happy to just play with his cars when awake. Lexie (3.5 years old) was a breeze, perfect age for flying. She read books, talked Neicey's ear off, and snacked during the two and half hour flight.

Lex watching the planes taking off with Neicey at the airport on the 4th of July

When we arrived at the hotel, we grabbed some lunch and headed to Downtown Disney. Travis had never been to Disneyland before and it had been 11 years for me. There was so much to see and do outside of the park alone. Got the kids back and in bed. They missed the fireworks but we could see them from our room.

Linebacker checking out the rooftop pool.

She had just wrapped up swim lessons + the water wings = unstopable


The next three days, we spent at Disneyland. My mom and I had so much fun watching Travis react to everything. Seriously, this is the guy you want to bring for vacation. He was crazy about the characters and I am pretty sure security was keeping a close eye on him. As soon as one would appear, he would get very competitive about getting in line and making sure the kids got a picture and autograph. We had to remind him that the characters were really just 16 year old kids who happen to be 5 foot 7. He got upset when we had to break it to him. I loved watching him on Pirates of the Carribean and Splash Mountain. Pretty sure he thought Disneyland with the equavalent to The Puyallup Fair until he saw it with his own eyes.

Stage-Dad Orchestrated this for sure

T-Brock knows how to vacation

Up, Up and Away

Stage-Dad Travis made sure his kids got only the best when it came to the characters.

licensed and ready to give mom a ride.

Oh yes, the kids had a great time too! Neither were scared of the characters. Lexie has both her parents thrill for roller coasters and rode the Matterhorn and Big Thunder Mountain.She really loved it all. Liam loved Dumbo and It's a Small World. The lines weren't bad for it being summer, we used the fast-pass as much as we could. I think the longest we waited was about 35 minutes for the Finding Nemo Submarine. Both thought it was awesome cruising in the cars, all around a pretend highway on Autopia. Lexie drove me around and I am thankful it will be another 13 years until that happens again. It was hot (about 85 the whole time.) so we made sure they got tons to drink and spent a small fortune on that.

Each day, we followed close to the same schedule we have at home. Got the park early, wore them out and headed back to the hotel for naps (nice part about the hotel only being 500 ft away.) Liam napped and Lexie swam at the pool with one of us. When it started to cool off again in the late afternoon, we headed back for more and stayed until they were done. Disneyland at night is one of my favorite memories from being a kid and it was so fun to share that with my family. The rides and sights seem extra special at night. One night my mom hung back with the kids, who were asleep so Trav and I could do some rides together. We were all so blessed by her coming. She has an amazing amount of energy and a child-like heart, exactly why she is such a great grandma.


Trav and I (without kids) waiting at The Haunted Mansion

Small World is amazing

The last night day we spent a couple of hours at California Adventure. Wish we could of had more time there but at least we got to do the new Little Mermaid attraction (Liam has a major thing for Ariel) and meet Woody. Then we headed to our last dinner of the vaca at the notoriously overpriced, yet memorable Goofy's Kitchen. Waiting to be called for our table there, was really the only time we had a full on melt down. Liam was only content laying on the floor whining. Lexie wanted to join in. They called our name and said it was our turn to take a picture with Goofy. The picture they took was awesome, both kids crying, Travis looked like he wanted to beat somebody up, and I had the perfect fake mom smile. Once we got in, all was good. Got to spend quality time with Donald, Chip, Dale, Minnie Mouse, Fairy God-mother, and Snow white. The food was similar to that of the Old Country Buffet. Yes, that good.

Neicey and I on A Small World

A picture of our brief trip to California Adventure

The boys love Woody

This would be proof of the memorable melt down at Goofy's Kitchen.

The look says it all.

Flight home was a little more exciting. Turns out parents should communicate at airports. Travis and I checked in separately and both accidentally checked that we had Liam on our lap. We tried to ask the ticket counter to assist with taking him off one of the tickets, knowing it will look odd and effect the plane count. Well the always helpful (sarcastic) ticket counter couldn't figure it out. We had no problem through security or getting on the plane. Then once on the plane and everyone is secured and ready to go. The flight attendant asks over the intercom if "The Brock's" are aboard (uh-oh, here we go.) So we have to raise our hands in front of the whole plane. Flight attendant comes over and said she just wanted to make sure we were here (uh-huh, I am so sure.) More awkward silence and the pilot comes on the intercom to say that they are having some problems with the boarding list and there will be a bit of delay. Flight attendant comes to me and asks my date of birth, then about ten minute later Travis's. At this point, we are not the most popular people on the plane. Super embarrassing. Liam is ready for a nap and starts fussing. Basically, the whole plane was delayed because of our lack of communication and some less then helpful ticket agents. Oops. After what felt like FOREVER, pilot finally said they got it figured and we are good. I was half wondering if we would be hauled off the plane or if Travis was a person of interest in a Disney character stalking suit. Once in the air, both kids were angels. The risk payed off again and somehow Liam got his own seat for free. We opted to ignore some dirty looks from other passengers, funny how you get skilled at that after your first kid. Arrived safe and sound and Travis and I are signing up for communication 101 :)

I guess he is comfortable enough with his masculinity to use a girl blanket.


All in all, it was such a sweet trip. Getting to introduce my three favorite people to Disneyland, countless memories made, happy faces, great pictures, much needed Vitamin D...worth every penny. So thankful we were able to do it!