We’ve moved into July, after a two week span of 90plus degree heat, and we can’t wait for fall to arrive. Not that we haven’t loved late spring and summer… What’s not to love?

Pop-pop and Ann came to visit. We spent time building Legos, shooting off model rockets, playing games, and reading with them. They came bearing gifts, which we LOVE! (We will always associate gummy candies with Ms. Ann. And mints.) We graciously let them love us, which we also LOVE. We hope they also felt loved, in return. (We discovered when they were here that there are ZERO sushi restaurants open on Sunday in Olympia. Sorry, Pop-pop and Ms Ann! Nothing beats Sushi Den in Denver, anyway…)

We spent the fourth of July in an historic farmhouse in Whatcom county. (We could see Canada from our house!) We picked flowers from the immense garden, played naked in the sprinklers, slept outside in a tent, and lit fireworks next to the raspberry fields. It reminded Mom of Provence and us of our old yard (the space we had to play in outside). We found a newt in the garden and repatriated him to the nearby lake, where we saw and heard ginormous bull frogs. At night we heard the coyotes yip. We toured a Pacific coast resort town and played on the beach there. We all discovered many new things. (For instance, we discovered that Asher’s not-favorite bear looks almost exactly like his favorite bear. So when we brought his not-favorite bear with us to a place close to 4 hours away from our home, we discovered he won’t sleep without his favorite bear unless he is laying down next to Daddo in the bed.)

We’ve been busy so far this summer. We went to the Star Wars costume exhibit at the EMP Museum in Seattle. Emmett was very excited but a bit scared when we actually went in. Most of the costumes were from the prequels, and though they were beautiful, we weren’t sure who they belonged to. But we saw Princess Leia’s Return of the Jedi metal bikini, C3P0 and R2-D2 and Chewbacca. We also saw Han Solo’s gunslinger outfit from A New Hope as well as Obi Wan’s robes. Great stuff.

We revisited the Children’s Museum in Olympia, which is always a good time. This time Baby’s old enough to take part in a bunch of the exhibits. He biked, got wet in the water/dry ice exhibit, and tried to stuff some blocks up a pneumatic tube made for scarves. Cute!

We’ve been to local farms for berry picking, where Asher discovered that if squished, blueberries fit neatly onto his fingertips. (After one particularly dusty farm trip (where we were too dirty to even step foot in the house), we found out what it would be like to take a bath outside. Mommy and Ms Davey, our nanny, filled our pool up with bubble bath and we got clean while sliding down our slide into a pool of suds! Baby hung tough with the Big Pigs, splashing and sliding too. Well done, Baby!) We went to a couple of parks with lake/lagoons where we learned that Riley is deathly afraid of swamps and their ubiquitous swamp monsters. Though Emmett’s wanted to visit the natural history museum and the space museum, both are in Seattle and too far for a quick afternoon trip. So, instead, Mom and Dad bought a totally-legit telescope only to find that the stars don’t really come out til midnight and those that do aren’t so bright. After asking around, its apparently a regional thing. To find clear skies were stars can be seen, you have to go about an hour south of where we live. Oh well.

And Tessa and Mommy went to Ms Davey’s bridal shower, where Tessa was able to revel in all things-wedding. (Since then, Tessa asked Mommy if she could wear Mommy’s “beautiful wedding dress” when she gets married. Maybe with Mommy’s diamond earrings, she thought.) All the Pigs are planning on wearing costumes to Ms Davey’s wedding, so stay tuned to the September post and see how that all works out!

Despite all this fun, we all LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the fall. The changing leaves, pumpkins, cool evenings, nature walks at dusk. Like the changing seasons, somethings afoot at Daddo’s work and we might finally get relocated come September. Until then, we’ve got Baby’s second birthday to celebrate and a visit from Grandma Cheryl. Yay!

So keep cool and we’ll chat soon,
The Pigs

Waking Up

“Mommo? Is it wakeup time? The clock says eleventeen. I think we should all get up now.”
–Riley, asked at 4:17am

“Oh! The sun’s going to take forever!”
–Riley, when told he can’t get up until the sun rises

“I’m not giggling.”
–Emmett, asked to quiet down while giggling with his invisible friends at 3am

“Jammies!”
–All the Pigs, when asked if they’d rather get dressed or stay in jammies all day long

Getting the Day Started with Music

“I want the G. The G-L-E-E? The “Don’t Stop” one?”
–Emmmett, asking to listen to the song “Don’t Stop Believin'” from the Glee cast

“Mama? From the time I was born, all I want to do is dance!”
–Emmett

“We always listen to what Emmett wants. I want to listen to Star Wars.”
–Riley

“Dum-dum, dum-dum-dum-dum-dum, dum-dum-dum-dum-dum, dum-dum-dum-dum.”
–Asher, singing the Star Wars theme

School

“Oh, I don’t want to do handwriting. How about we get on Lego.com instead. Shhh. It’s okay. Don’t worry, honey. It’s fine not to do homework.”
–Emmett

“Mama? How about instead of writing “He ran into the cape,” I write “I ran?”
–Riley, trying to figure out the shortest sentence he could write using the word “ran”

“You’re killing me! I did this yesterday! Why are you always making me write?”
–Emmett

“Mamo? How’s this?”
–Tessa, who wrote “Tessa gets into chruble a lot” for her sentence using the word “into”

“Ugh! You make me pee everyday!”
–Tessa, when asked to go potty after an exemplary demonstration of the potty dance

“I want to go there! Can we go there?”
–Emmett, after every history lesson in which he learns about a new country

“Mamo? Can I be in fourth grade?”
–Tessa, when told all the Pigs were moving onto first grade language arts

“It’s not my fault. It’s yours.”
–Tessa, responding to Mom asking why her homework had such sloppy penmanship

Playtime

Tessa, answering her Minnie Mouse cell phone, “Uh, hi. Yes, Obi Wan Kenobi? This is Princess Leia. We really need your help here. If you don’t come, Darth Sidious and Darth Vader will be unstoppable. Ok. Sounds good. We’ll meet you at the Death Star. Thanks!”

“Daddo? This hill keeps telling me to go faster.”
–Riley, riding his bike on a steep hill

“Riley? I’m gonna have some Tessa-Riley time first and dress up like Princess Leia, and then there’s gonna be some Tessa-Emmett time and dress up like Anna. Okay?”
-Tessa

“Why do I have to say excuse me every time my mouth and my booty burp?”
–Tessa

“I don’t like wearing a cape and mask when I ride a bike. It makes me go too fast.”
–Riley, after cartwheeling over the curb on his bike while wearing a cape and mask

“The sandbox is Tatooine.”
–Emmett

“Are capertillers diurnal?”
–Tessa, completely out of the blue

“Maybe.”
–Emmett, after smelling his fingers in response to being asked if he needs to wash his hands

“That was AWESOME!”
–Tessa, after watching Dad blast a model rocket into the sky

Meals

“Mama? My tummy is telling me that it wants to eat ice cream for dinner.”
–Tessa

“Oh! Why can’t I eat pretzels for dinner?!”
–Riley

“Why?”
–Asher, when handed a banana and told to eat it

“No, thanks. I’ll just put noodles on them.”
–Emmett, responding to whether he wants pesto on his fake chicken sliders

“Num, num.”
–Asher, taking a vanilla chip bar for a snack

At Bedtime/Night

“The night sky is a blanket for the trees.”
–Tessa

“Oh! You are always making us go to sleep!”
–Riley

“I had a bad dream. I need a snuggle.”
–Tessa, less than two-minutes after she went to bed

“Night, night.”
–Asher, waving as he closes the bedroom door on everyone gathered for a nighttime story

“At our next house can we have just one room that we all sleep in together?”
–Tessa, Riley, and Emmett, each separately

“I had a dream about a scary kitty with glowing eyes. But instead of being afraid, I just ate it!”
–Tessa

“I dreamed about a super tall volcano with dinosaurs but instead of the dinosaurs eating me, I rode one all the way down the side of the volcano and into the grass. It was AWSOME!”
–Tessa

It’s almost June and we are just about done with our Kindergarten curriculum for reading and writing. We’ve developed a huge interest in all things Star Wars (see previous post) and also in ancient history. Mom told us a bit about Sparta and Riley kept asking, “Can you please tell me more about those good guys who fought thousand and thousand and thousand bad guys and won?” He’s interested in military history, geography, and general social history. (“But if they are only fighting because they both want it, then who are the good guys?”).

We’ve moved from ancient Greek history to ancient Roman history and also to Viking history. (Riley said, “The Vikings are really good at taking other people’s things.”) We read about Pompeii too. All of us are psyched to go to Europe to see all of these places. Dad is going to do a volcano experiment with us this weekend so that we can see how the forces of the Earth work to make lava explode from the top of a mountain. So far, so good in the school department.

Asher is turning out to be a really funny guy. He loves to make people laugh. But he plays really well on his own too. He’s got great creativity, which he displays when he pretends his graham crackers are people galloping all over his food tray. He loves yoga, especially one-legged dog and all inversions. He says Thank You, Please, and Hello. Just not super often. He can feed himself, which is helpful for Mom, but he can’t clean himself up, which is less helpful for everyone. He sings, often on-key and well enough to identify the tune. He’s wonderful. We all love him and we like him. A lot.

Tessa has lost all ability to focus in the past two weeks. Here’s a sample exchange:

“Tessa, please do your lesson.”

“Mom! Did you know that the word Sat rhymes with That and Cat and Flat and Whap? I just made that last one up. I made up that word Whap. Did you know that? Do you like that word? It’s kind of like Whop, which is like Wallop, which I think is a kind of candy. Mom? What does Wallop mean?”

“Tessa, what are you supposed to be doing?”

“When?”

“On the computer for your lesson.”

“Oh. I don’t remember. Let me check. Wait. Hey Mom, did you know that Check is like Chuck and that Chuck can be a name or it can mean throwing something? Did you know that Mom?”

Suffice it to say, lessons take a bit longer when Tessa acts like she’s snorted an entire bag of Pixie Sticks. Maybe this is why she took scissors to her long hair and chopped a good portion of it off. If you notice a shorter ‘do in her pics, its because we had to get it all cut off to match what she started. She wasn’t happy with it at first. But she’s come around…

Emmett loves his Luke Skywalker costume and regularly pretends that the sandbox is Tattooine. He enlists the help of Princess Leia and Darth Vader (Riley doesn’t mind being the bad guy because he has a red light saber and he turns back to the good side at the end) to help save the Rebels from the Empire. Cool trees at the park have now become the Death Star and the car (and his bike) is his Speeder. He’s fully enmeshed in the Star Wars world. Also, he lost another tooth! He’s getting so big!

Stay tuned to see what the summer brings. Our nanny is getting married so this is her last week with us. We are still thinking that the Army will move us to the East Coast any day now. And we’ve officially outgrown our yard (if that wasn’t apparent when we first moved here).

Talk soon,
The Pigs

We are all super excited to say that we’ve now seen the Trilogy! (If you have to ask, “What Trilogy?” then you should maybe skip reading the rest of this post.) We’ve embraced the ways of the Force. Here are some things you may have heard around our house this past week:

“Mommy, can we get a droid?”
–Tessa

“I had a dream about Boba Fett and the Ewoks came and saved me from him.”
–Riley

“I am Luke Skywalker.”
–Emmett

“That Java guy looks like he’d be stinky.”
–Tessa, talking about Jabba the Hutt

“Tattoine sure is a sandy planet.”
–Emmett

“Only people who make good choices get to be Force ghosts after they die.”
–Riley

“Mom, is Star Wars alive? Or is it just pretend?”
–Tessa

“R2-D2 sure is cheeky.”
–Tessa

“I don’t understand. Is Lando a good guy or a bad guy?”
–Riley

“Does Han get melted at the beginning of Return of the Jedi?”
–Emmett

“Why are that guy’s eyes on the side of his head?”
–Riley, talking about Admiral Akbar

“Are all Stormtroopers bad?”
–Tessa

“It’s okay, Tessa. He’s really a good guy at the end.”
–Emmett, taking about Darth Vader

“It’d probably smell like undies in that trash chute.”
–Tessa

“I don’t want a Yoda costume. I don’t want to pretend to be someone who’s so old.”
–Riley

Lots of changes at the Pig House! Mostly, though, its the Pigs themselves that are a changin’…

Emmett, seemingly without effort, went from training wheels to no training wheels to a Razor scooter in the span of two days. He’s a speed demon on the mean streets of Olympia, who–together with his crew–spreads cheer wherever he goes. His hair has been newly dreaded (although the locs can’t be seen under his helmet) and he’s lost his first tooth! (The tooth fairy brought him books which he loved, but he was upset he didn’t get to keep his tooth.) He assembles 7-12 year old Lego sets by himself and calls himself a Master Builder. His smile is contagious and he tells everyone, “You are my best friend.” Emmett is love incarnate.

Tessa is busting out with her reading and writing skills. She mostly enjoys writing letters to family members about Barbie (Grandma Betty got her started) and Barbie’s clothes. While choosing to be girly when working on her penmanship, Tessa gets a little more rough and tough in her reading choices. Her favorites are Berenstain Bears, Rescue Bots, and her Highlights magazine. Recently, Grandma Cheryl wrote Tessa a letter and she read the entire thing out loud by herself. On bike rides, Tessa enjoys enjoyment. The only thing keeping her from graduating to riding a two-wheeler is the fact that her hands are generally clasping flowers and sticks (it’s a real challenge keeping her from pulling every neighbor’s planted blooms) and her gaze is most often directed at whatever she’s most recently passed. She is firmly rooted in the present. Ride on, my friend.

Asher is a dancing machine. He can’t help but move when he hears music, even if its just a little shoulder dance. We aren’t sure if he got this from Emmett or if its an inherent love they share, but those boys just have to move. While Emmett’s dancing is explosive and wild, Asher’s movements originate from his hips. Either way, they are much alike. Asher and Riley made up a game they love to play–monster tag. They growl and chase each other. Oftentimes occurring before bedtime, Asher hides in the tent under Riley’s bed and lunges out at him with a smile plastered on his face and a low growl in the back of his throat. But if its quiet time for the Pigs, Tessa is Asher’s current snuggle choice. He pushes her over (none too gently either), pins her down with his chunky little body, and then he lays his head on her chest and grins. Wonderful.

Riley is both the house imp and helper, in equal measures. He will hide Emmett’s bunny deep down in a toy bin while helping to clean up the front room. He will talk about not leaving anyone out of snuggling in Mom and Dad’s bed while yelling that everyone takes up too much space. He shares all his snacks while he hoards books. He helps with anything related to the baby while inciting a screaming Tessa to wake the sleeping baby. He is a mystery wrapped in a enigma wrapped in a vest. His eyes crackle with light. Just make sure to check whether it is sass or sweetness illuminating them.

Never a dull moment here..

Pigs, Ho!

Daddo, my feelings feel happy when you stay home.
–Tessa

Uh-oh.
–Asher, after smacking Dad in the face with a spoon

Daddo, you should put all of these things away.
–Riley, about Dad’s “organized” work area

I’m AJ and this is Blaze.
–Emmett, when mounting his bike (referring to the monster truck Blaze and his rider, AJ)

Mom, when I grow up, I want to buy the house right next to you.
–Tessa

I was playing with a bug outside, and then I made it dead.
–Tessa

Mommy, do you want to suck on my bunny’s ear? It’s tasty.
–Emmett

Daddy, you are my best friend.
–Emmett

When I grow up, I want to be an army man like Daddy.
–Riley

That’s not fair! It’s my turn to play with Asher. You have to share him.
–Riley

I’ll share him to you in a minute when he’s done snuggling me.
–Tessa

Spring has sprung! In a land where there is darkness but no snow, we are looking forward to the changes that come with the lengthening days. But first, we recall with gratitude events of the rainy winter. Emmett and Riley outgrew their toddler beds and (probably belatedly) moved into big kid beds. Both boys picked out tent beds–a low loft with a canopy covered bed on top and and tent below. They’ve been a great hit with all four pigs. Tessa earnestly looks forward to when she will be big enough for her own tent bed. Not yet, little pig!

A bout of sickness moved though the house (again!) and even took down first our nanny and then her brother, so that Daddy stayed home to take care of us when Mom was sick and then she was flying solo when he went back to work. We loved having him home, and we told him that we intend for him to be able to stay home with us all the time and never have to go back to work. He loves being with us, so it will be a win-win (times four pigs).

We are progressing amazingly through our school, doing a lot of science lately. We learned about matter, weather, and seasons, and Tessa has proved a natural with science, picking it up faster than anyone else. Keep it up, Sweet T! Riley, on the other hand, is our resident mathematician. He excels at addition, and he’s proud of his skill. As should he be. Emmett continues to read words we never knew he learned (headdresses?), while smiling shyly at our recognition of his aptitude. So cute.

And all the while, Asher keeps growing. He loves mimicking everybody. He dances like Emmett. He plays in the sand like Riley. He wrestles like Tessa, which is to say he launches himself at people and holds on tightly as they fall to the ground. He repeats everyone equally well. Yelling, “Tessa, stop!” like Riley. Or, “Emmett, don’t!” like Tessa. He says, “I’m done,” when finished eating. He’s smiley and soft and huggable and a big ball of love. We fight over him often, not wanting to share our time with our wonderful baby.

We are each unique and amazing, contributing to a balanced group where each contribution is appreciated. And Legos are the glue that hold it all together…

With love,
Four Fantastic Pigs

“Isaac, no!”
–Asher

“But Pluto isn’t a planet anymore. Daddy says so.”
–Tessa, after hearing the planets listed

“He’s my boy!”
–Emmett, about Asher

“Thank you.”
–Asher, when handed a snack

“I’d like to go inside that church to see if I feel any closer to God.”
–Tessa, while passing a church, after learning in school that churches are where people go to feel close to God

“Mommy, I like this hotel-house.”
–Emmett, at the Portland hotel we stayed at for Tessa’s birthday

“Look, Daddy! I’m shaping myself!”
–Tessa, while picking up a kettlebell

“Did you have an older daughter that you got rid of because she made bad decisions?”
–Tessa, who also said “oh, good” when Mom told her no

“You have a lot of children.”
–The cleaning lady, responding to Mom saying she felt tired

“Your choices upset me, Mommy. I am very upset.”
–Tessa

“Mommy, Baby is making bad decisions. I think its time he goes to his room.”
–Riley

“Look, Mommy! I’m awesome!”
–Emmett, pointing to the character Emmet on his Lego Movie t-shirt (the song for which is titled Everything is Awesome)

“I’m making good choices. I get iPad time. And candy. And Legos.”
–Emmett, overestimating his privileges earned

A quick note on the holidays and Emmett’s birthday party. We got TONS of gifts. So many that we started to believe that every day we woke up was another present-receiving opportunity. We got Legos, crafts, pajamas, books, science experiments, dolls, art projects and supplies, engineering projects, wrist watches and clothes. (And rumor is that some gifts got delayed in the mail, so we still have some coming. Score!) We loved to be back in Colorado, seeing family and friends, and generally showing off. We got to see (and play in) snow. We hit up the museums and parks and hiking trails we loved and now miss. And then we came home for more presents. Wonderful month.

“Choose Butt-mode, Riley.”
–Tessa, while advising Riley on how to play the Rescue Bots Transformer game on their Leappad. She meant Bot-mode. But unfortunately, all the kids mis-heard and misunderstood the term.

“No.”
–Asher, while doing almost everything. Its his favorite new word. He’s embraced it in a way the other kids never did. Perhaps he’s setting boundaries with rowdy and slightly out-of-control older siblings.

“I don’t like you anymore. I’m going to rent a car and go to Colorado.”
–Riley, while angry that Dad wouldn’t let him put a toy into the cart while shopping

“I’m going to steal your keys while you are asleep and take your car to Colorado. And you can’t stop me.”
–Tessa, equally angry, circumventing the obvious obstacle of getting to the rental car place

“Mama, they are brown like me! And like Asher!”
–Emmett, who’s just now recognizing that there are a lot of people out there who share his luminous skin color

“Look Mama, we match.”
–Emmett, hugging Asher to him in the tub

“We got Doritos, a football cookie, chocolate milk, potato chips. And we got to play games on the Leappad and Nook the entire time.”
–Riley, enumerating the myriad bribes employed by Mom and Dad to keep him quiet while flying

“Presents! Presents!”
–Emmett and Riley, every time the doorbell rings, believing the UPS or FedEx man has brought something for them