Oh the fun we had....

This past week my family (parents and brother) came out from Michigan for a visit. It was so good to have them here for several reasons. They had not seen our newest home, spent time with the boys since Christmas, and been here since May 2009. The boys were absolutely thrilled to have their Nana, Papa and Unkie Ben around to play with.

My parents have always done an amazing job of finding fun little toys/trinkets for the boys. I think that ever day they had something new for the boys. The first day they received nerf swords that they absolutely loved. They loved to gang up on Unkie Ben and/or Papa.

On the weekend the weather was extremely hot so we spent a lot of time outside enjoying the sunshine, shade and water. We slowly warmed Aidan up to having a water fight and before we knew he was the one starting the battles. Jaxon was not so thrilled with getting hit with water so he stayed out of it....and just watched the action.

I believe that I was the one that started the fight between Jamie and I. I figured I had to do something and before I knew it was soaked. Of course, I knew I would end up drenched but how could I not take advantage of getting my handsome man wet! The thrill of the competitive spirit, I suppose

Aidan was so sweet, he would go and get me more water and pour it into my bucket. For some reason I guess he thought I needed help :)

There are words to describe this picture! Oh how I love them both and their creative minds.
They were having a war with Unkie Ben. I suppose it was mostly Unkie Ben and Jamie going at it but Aidan thought that he needed to help his daddy....it was absolutely hilarious! I wish that you could have been here to witness the craziness of our family!

Aidan was funny...the first day of water wars and he was totally in it and loved it and didn't mind getting wet. However, the next time we tried to have a water war....he did not want to get wet but wanted to get everyone else wet. He didn't understand why he couldn't stay dry while soaking others.

Not entirely sure who won this war but I am sure that Aidan would say, he did.

The boys loved spending time in the backyard with the new little toys that Nana and Papa brought them. One afternoon they put together little airplanes that they flew all over. Jaxon's didn't last long as he wasn't as gentle as he should have.

We kept ourselves very busy with fun day trips, birthday parties, even games of Ticket to Ride and ice cream. The boys definitely enjoyed the fun and the different schedule but we are still playing catch up with naps. Aidan finally napped yesterday afternoon for the first time in a couple of weeks.

The Othello Tunnels was one the first place that we went while the family was here. It was a great place to go when the weather was warm. The tunnels are so cool for a free activity to do with kids. They can fun through the tunnels and look down into the rushing river below.

For whatever reason Jaxon attached himself to Unkie Ben while at the Othello Tunnels. He always wanted to hold his hand as the rule was while walking he had to hold someone's hand. Very cute.

The next day we spent the afternoon playing mini golf at Castle Fun Park. Jamie had taken the boys to play golf when I was gone in Long Beach and they absolutely loved it. Aidan did rather well. Obviously they play by their own rules but Aidan gets the concept of the game. Jaxon on the other hand....has room for improvement :) Not shocking.

We decided that we would celebrate the boys birthday's with my parents one evening as they wanted to make sure that they did that while they were here. The boys got the same gift (Radio Flyer scooters) We bought them for my parents as trying to bring those on the plane would have been utterly impossible.

The age span for these Radio Flyer Scooters says "2-5 years old" however, Jaxon needs a lot more practice before he has the hang of it. Right now he just wants to get on, hold on and have you just push or pull him. He hasn't figured out the coordination of using one leg to propel himself forward.

Aidan on the other hand has figured it out however; we need to strengthen his legs a lot more because when we took him to the park for him to ride our the lake he got tired very quickly and had a good meltdown.

We spent a couple of mornings at the park that is near by. The boys love the park because there are a couple of playgrounds that we go to. These pictures were taken at what they call the "Choo Choo Park" This is all because there is a train at this park that they love to sit in and play. They had just watched the movie Polar Express early that day so Jaxon was using his imagination and pretending he was on the Polar Express. Any kid that came over he would tell them "the train is moving!" I am sure they thought he was nuts but at least he was having fun.


Birchwood Dairy was another fun place that we took my parents. We had not yet gone with the boys so it was new to us all. We had tried one evening but found that when we got there that it was closed. It closes fairly early so it has to be an afternoon event. Aidan absolutely loved feeding the goats grass. I was a bit shocked that he was not afraid to do it since he is a bit more timid and shy. I guess when it is animals and not people the shy factor doesn't really apply.

We spent one afternoon in Vancouver as my brother wanted to go to MEC and my dad really wanted to see the Olympic torch. We had not gone to see the torch since the Olympics so it was really fun to see it without the big fence around it. The area there is so nice now. We were even able to see one of the float planes take off. I believe that was the highlight for the boys. They didn't really care to see the torch but the planes....oh they were definitely a hit!
After lunch we headed to Kits beach to let the boys play in the sand and then to Las Margarita's for dinner. Las Margarita's is one of Jamie and I's favorite places to eat in Vancouver. We have a couple of favorites but this is definitely a good one.
Overall it was a great week with my parents. It is always a fun time as the time we spend is few and far between. I really try to cherish the time that we do get. I know the boys loved having their Nana and Papa around. They were always either reading books or playing with something. Non-stop fun for them for sure.

Thanks, Mom, Dad and Ben for coming and spending a week with us. It was a great time and we really do appreciate all you do for us.