Hooray for summer!

Sorry for the lack of updates (and lack of pictures) lately.  The sun actually decided to shine over Washington and end the extended winter we were having in May-vember and June-uary.  We've made the most of the sunshine by going out on family bike trips, visiting the zoo, going on a steam train ride in Elbe, and hanging out at local parks.  Baxter loves being outside and is always knocking on the door to be let out.

Riding the Cushman Trail in Gig Harbor.  There were waaaaay more hills than we expected. 

Bax enjoys being in the bike trailer.  He actually climbs in it himself when he wants us to pull him around the neighborhood.

Bax's new favorite thing to do each day is play outside with the hose.  He has a water table that my mom bought him in the backyard, but apparently that isn't messy or projectile enough.  He much prefers the hose with the wand attachment on it so he can drench the grass, our plants, the inside of our house when the sliding glass door is open, and most importantly, himself.  I've been having to pick up a happy, soggy boy out of the yard each day and pull him out of sopping wet clothes.

We visited Portland early in June to visit Baxter's new cousins, Nash and Vonzaa.  Matt and Angie have a full household these days!  The twins were only a few days old when we came to visit and were sooo sweet to hold.  They were so small!  I can't believe Bax was that tiny once upon a time.  They were super cuddly and soft, and still in that sleepy stage.  I think Nash is Matt's mini-me and Vonzaa is Angie's.  Baxter kept saying "baby!" when he saw them and would give them kisses on their heads.  So sweet.

Nash Matthews

Vonzaa Angelina

Max and Chance have also been spending a lot of time in Poulsbo with Grandma and Grandpa Choo-Choo, and Bax has been over a couple of times to get some fun cousin time in.  Max has been a great older cousin and takes his time with Baxter, showing him how to play with things and helping him get around steps.  We spent the 4th of July over there and it was so sweet to see Max and Baxter walking around the backyard, hand in hand.  As far as Chance goes, we'll just say that he and Bax tolerated each other.  There may or may not have been dramatic fits of crying and pinching involved.

Max taught Bax how to play with bulldozers and steamrollers in the dirt.

Dirt + Boys = Smiles

We also have been lucky enough to have some days off to hang out with Mike's friend Dave, his wife Rachel, and their sons, Owen and Gavin.  Owen is a month older than Baxter.  We all rode the Tour de Pierce together, which was a 12-mile bike ride around Puyallup and Sumner, which was really fun and something I'd like to do annually.  The little boys did pretty well in their trailers for the most part, except Owen got antsy during the last couple miles.

Here are Bax and Owen at the Woodland Park Zoo playing on an old trailer in their Family Farm area.  Bax hopped on the trailer and then appeared to peer out over his crop, like an old farmer overlooking his acreage.  We all got to feed bamboo to Bamboo, one of the elephants at the zoo.  (The pictures of that are on the camera which aren't downloaded to the computer yet.)

We also got a chance to go on the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad in Elbe, WA.  Baxter has inherited his Grandpa Bob's love for trains.  He fell asleep during the ride down to Elbe and woke up when we pulled into the parking lot for the train ride.  As soon as he realized he was in the presence of a real "choo choo", he was literally shaking with excitement.  He couldn't stop signing "train" and saying "choo choo!  choo choo!" over and over again.  The train ride went to Mineral Lake, where we stopped for 15 minutes and examined the different cars of the old train.  It was a really fun family outing.

In the Clopen car, which doesn't have windows.  On the plus side, we got a lot of airflow through the cart.  On the downside, our allergies went crazy.

In other news, I have a new job at work.  It's more of a lateral move since no increase in pay is involved, but it is a big switch from bedside nursing.  I'm part of a nationwide team to design and build the electronic medical record (EMR) for Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), which Franciscan Health System (FHS) is a part of.  I'm working as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) and on a team focused on inpatient charting and medication administration.  It does involve monthly week-long business trips to exciting and exotic locales, such as Kansas City, MO and Denver, CO.  I'm excited to see another part of nursing that doesn't involve FlexiSeals or someone complaining about me not getting them their dilaudid/phenergan/ativan/sandwich combo fast enough.  If I like it enough, I might decide to get a degree in Nurse Informatics.  Or I could just win the lotto. 

Hope you are all having a fabulous summer!  Have fun, stay cool, and drink lots of chocolate milk like Baxter has been.  :)