Boating with the Obersts

We took Jeff, Erin and Blaine out on the boat yesterday. It was Blaine's first boat ride and I think it is safe to say he liked it! On the other hand, his poor mommy got a bit sea sick! (It was pretty rough on Lk. Washington.) Riding up front, Blake's new favorite spot.
Blaine having a good time - he didn't even mind the life jacket.

Blaine and Jeff

Erin drinking water and looking at the shoreline.

Blake now thinks it's fun to lean over the front of the boat to "touch water". We have to keep a close eye on this one!

Still no sleep!

Last Thursday I stayed the night with my sister at her house in W. Seattle. When I arrived back home bright and early Friday morning I found my hubby asleep in our bed and our son asleep in the hallway! I woke Chad up and asked him how the night went and he said Blake had come in looking for me a few times. I guess he gave up or maybe he was waiting for me in he hall?

Seriously?!?

Each day over the last two weeks has brought some new adventure at nap time. I have washed sheets covered in desitin, poop, soaked with wipes and on and on. I thought I'd finally gotten things to a point where he couldn't do too much damage, but this is what I found today. Quietly reading his book...upside down :)
"So ya thought you baby proofed huh?"

Sleepless

Blake has never been a good sleeper, something I plan to remind him of when he is a teenager that wants to sleep in! We still have Blake's mattress on the floor, I keep thinking we need to put the whole thing together, but I guess I wait a little while longer...

Baseball

Chad got Mariner tickets for the three of us to go to a game while the Yankees were in town. They were great seats... that we did not get to enjoy! Blake sat in his seat for the better part of one inning. Then he wanted to go check out everything in the stadium, except for his great seat. We saw the Mariner Moose, played at the playground, ate dippin dots and lemonade and on and on . Next time we're getting the cheap seats! During the 2nd and 6th inning there is an area you can go and meet the Moose and get your picture taken...we went both times. I only had my camera phone, so the picture isn't great but Blake LOVED the Mariner Moose! He couldn't wait for his turn and ran to give him a hug.

Fun with Daddy

Blake and I have been going to a new park in our neighborhood that Blake refers to as "Blake's House". He learned to climb the ropes to the top of the play structure. Every time he got to the top he would say "show Daddy". So this weekend the three of us (four including Lou) went to the park to show Daddy some new tricks! Blake rode his new bike to the park. (Can you tell who got him dressed today?? Chad is looking forward to the start of Husky football...)
The short walk up the hill was too much for Lou.

This is the room Blake refers to as his kitchen. He likes to pretend to eat cookies and broccoli and we get to drink juice or coffee :)

Daddy and Blake in the "kitchen".

Climbing the ropes.

Happy boy

He made it!

Yeah! One of the things I LOVE about Blake these days is he applauds himself every time he is proud of something he does. He gets such a kick out of it when you join in!

Busy, busy boy!

This has been an interesting week. When we went in for Blake's 2 year old checkup his doctor told me that it is important Blake has "quiet time" each day, even if he doesn't nap. He is still a napper, but he room seems to be so much fun he ends up having "party time" instead of quite or nap time. On Tuesday, after I discovered his Desitin party (anyone know how to get a tube of desitin out of carpeting??) I was washing his sheets, dresser, etc. Meanwhile, Blake decided it was time to do some art. I am not sure what is wrong with the easel and paper his Auntie got him. What did people do before washable markers?!?

Lake Thomas

After our time in Montana we headed to Lake Thomas, my most favorite place on earth. It is way up in northeastern Washington, almost to Canada and Idaho. I grew up going there, my Mom grew up going there as did her Mom and most all of my family. I love bringing Blake there too. He seemed to get into it a bit more this year, he played in the water, went boating and even made on trip on the tube!

My Aunt Suzanne came up for a night to visit with us, or should I say Blake! Blake doesn't get to see my Aunt much, but he always remembers her. He loves playing with her, snuggling and reading. When she leaves the room he looks around and says "Suz -ANN"??

Blake and I out for an evening cruise on the boat. There are moose around and sometimes if you go in the channels between the lakes in the evening you can see them. We struck out again this year, Chad is starting to wonder if I am making things up!

Uncle Brian brought this fancy tube that has back rests on it. I loved it! Blake wasn't too sure about it, he had a very serious look on his face for most of our ride.
Blake checking out his cousin.

Kisses!

Blake stayed up late enough to join us at the fire one night. He even got a smore!

Yum!

This is what you do during a summer rain storm. There isn't a tv at the cabin, so I played cards with the boys.

Later, Alison Blake and I had a dance party. Blake was so funny, he was really into dancing. He would clap after every song and they throw his arms up to grab Alison and my hands as if to say "ladies, let's dance"!

When it was time for bed he didn't want to quit. Although, I think he was asleep before Chad set him in his bed.

Boating with Auntie

More kisses

Chad and Brian went water skiing multiple times each day. Although Blake has been boating since he was 3 weeks old, he was not sure what to make of water skiing. Every time the guys would go out he would ask to go to the house and watch from inside. By the end of the week he was okay with watching from the dock.

Chad decided not to shave for the entire vacation - here's proof we were gone for two weeks! My mountain man :)

One evening on our boat cruise Brian brought his fishing pole along. Blake wanted to fish and when he put his line in the water he would say "fish on". This is something he learned from Grandma and Grandad Pittman, I was so surprised he remembered!

You have to love this picture! My little Coug in his Daddy's Husky chair :)

Maddie (my Aunt's dog) and Blake rearranging some kindling.

More family tubing.

Blake's "milk koozy" it says "this is not the life I ordered". Whatever, I think you've got it pretty good kiddo :)

Whitefish, Montana

Chad, Blake and I took off for a little hiking, relaxing and family time in Whitefish, Montana. We thought we would break up the trip by staying the night in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. We stayed at the Coeur d'Alene Resort and we had so much fun there. They had a pretty wooden boat that took us to their private beach. It was very private too, evidently Blake was the only hotel guest that wanted to be at the beach at 8:00 a.m. We had a cabana and they had beach toys for Blake too. It was really beautiful, but because it was just a pit stop on our vacation I didn't get many pictures. We played until it was about nap time and we hit the road again.

hotel marina
Blake checking out the boats.

We spent our first full day in Montana hiking. We took Blake to Logan's Pass, he spent his 2nd birthday at the continental divide.

This is part of the hike at Logan's Pass.

We saw some critters along the trail.

This is "Hidden Lake"....

.....it's not so hidden though.

We saw lots of mountain goats along the trail. I had my zoom lens, but I didn't need it for these guys, they were not afraid of people at all. Blake wasn't all that impressed though.

Blake was overwhelmed by all the natural beauty.

Later, we played by the river, ate some lunch and threw rocks! Rock throwing was a real highlight for Blake. Giggling with Mom. Family photo at MacDonald Lake. You can tour Glacier National Park in one of these beauties. We just got a picture next to one :) We ended Blake's second birthday with huckleberry ice cream cones. The lady at the ice cream shop lit the candle I brought and helped us sing Happy Birthday to Blake!
Trying to eat his candle.

Happy boy

The next day we hiked to Avalanche Lake. We started the hike with Blake not wanting to get in the backpack (after an 8 hour road trip, I don't know why he didn't want to be restrained again??). Then he was screaming that he only wanted to go on "Mommy's back". Blake weighs 28 lbs. but I was game. Chad on the other hand, was not so willing to give up the backpack. I know he is a gentleman and everything, but I suspect he didn't want to look like the chump who let his wife carry their kid up a mountain. In the end, I hiked with Blake and he crashed out about half way up the trail, so he couldn't even appreciate my backpacking skills! (The people we passed along the trail definitely gave Chad a hard time for letting me carry the little man :)

We made it!

This was my favorite hike, it was so beautiful.

As you can see by the look on my son's face, he was equally impressed with his surroundings. (I handed off the backpack about 2 seconds after we arrived at the top!)