Dance

Guess who's going to start dance class this weekend?? Yep, we signed Hailey up for a dance (creative movement) class on Saturday. She was so excited to get ballet shoes and tights. She hid them in her purse so she could do a dramatic pull out to show Dave.

She couldn't wait to get them on her feet.

What a cutie!!

We got all her gear yesterday and she played around in it for a while. This morning we had church and then went for a bike ride and when she got back home she came right up to me and said, "Mommy, can you turn me into a ballerina?".

It will be interesting to see how she likes class. Since I grew up dancing, she "has" to try it. It would sort of be like Dave never giving Tyler a baseball to hit. But honestly, not sure if it will be her thing. I sort of see her more as the gymnast/soccer player. But you never know right? I figured we would give dance a try for a while and then she can decide if she would rather dance or do gymnastics.

Now the challenge is finding extra-curricular balance for a 3 year old. We want to put her back in swim lessons in October and keep it up most of the winter the way we did with Ty in the beginning. We have signed her up for dance and decided not to do gymnastics for the time being. Now we've found out our church is going to start a 3-6 year old soccer season (practice and games on the same day) and Hailey has been anxious to be able to play soccer like Ty. I guess we will have to see how this all comes together.

Tyler will also be starting his first season of YMCA outdoor soccer next week.

Ocean Shores

Last weekend we made a quick trip to Ocean Shores. We drove there Friday and came home Sunday. But the weather was sunny, the kids loved the beach and swimming in the pool, and we didn't have Internet connection so I couldn't work. A good weekend overall. As soon as we pulled in and unloaded, we headed to the beach. The kids had a lot of excitement as we go closer to the hill that would lead to the ocean.

And then after a few moments of dune skating, they ran right in.

I don't remember the water being bone chilling cold as a child. The kids weren't bothered in the least but wow it was painfully cold.

The kids just loved sliding down the sand dunes.

Hailey was just happy playing in the sand (wet or dry)

Ty was all about the water.....and letting the tide create a pit for his feet.

Day 2

Saturday morning we headed down to the beach with buckets and shovels in hand.

Tyler go straight to work digging a pit.

Hailey had fun having her legs covered in the warm fine sand.

Tyler's pit got pretty big

Hailey really wanted to dig a pit but just didn't have the patience or strength for the big shovel. She did love throwing the sand out of her shovel though.

And there was more ocean time and wave jumping.

Once the kids legs and clothes were totally wet, it was back to the sand to get buried. Mmmmm, dry sand on wet bodies. Lovely.

Finally it was sand castle time.

After the kids had enough at the beach it was time for lunch and then we hit the pool. Tyler figured out how to do flips underwater and Hailey was a crazy canon ball jumper but did lots of swimming too. Dave and Ty headed back down to the beach before dinner. Hailey was done at the beach so we stayed in the condo and played Hi Ho Cheerio about 25 times.

Dave and Tyler made a big pit and apparently found some big drift wood.

WE hit the beach and the pool one more time before we left on Sunday. There was more wave jumping, dune sliding, sand playing, and also some heavy lifting going on.

It was a fun weekend. The kids are at a great age and both thought the beach was the best.

Rain rain

What to do when our summer fun is drown out by the rain........ Well, we spent most of the day inside with Tyler saying he was bored. I was busy wondering how in the world we are going to make it through fall and winter (my annual, oh no the rain is coming panic :)). Then the kids decided to gear up and go outside anyway......at least for 5 minutes.

UNO mania

UNO has been a very popular game around the Quiggle household recently. This kids want to play it multiple times a day. Although they prefer I play with them (or the whole family plays) they've mastered it enough that they can play by themselves (when they have to). It's fun to watch these two as they are getting so grown up and able.

Clinton Beach

The beginning of last week while we had hot weather (it's now pouring and freezing) and Dave had a weekday off, we took a ferry ride to Clinton Beach. I think the last time we took a ferry ride was pre Hailey. So, both kids were thrilled by the adventure. Add to it, Ty's love for sea creatures, etc and he was one happy kid.

Our ferry....we are waiting to board.
The kids thought it was pretty great to be able to stand outside while the ferry was moving.

They were pretty confident that they saw a shark fin out in the water.

Once on the other side, we were greeted by sun, a cool breeze, and nice sand.

The beach was filled with big clam shells. Tyler's dream come true. He also discovered just under the dock were massive amounts of whole clam shells that still had both sides connected. He was thrilled.

Hailey was mostly happy just playing in the sand.

A definite sign of summer

Tyler scooping shells before the under dock discovery.

By the time we headed home his bucket was filled to the top.

A cool rock.....

You know since Tyler took his shirt off, Hailey had to as well. Except she decided to lie down in the sand and soak in all it's warmth (head to foot), moments after sunscreen had been applied. Not recommended. She could have cared less and most of it fell off eventually.

Hanging out at the beach

Eventually the thrill of shells gave way to a sand castle and a great effort of getting water to stay in the moat

It was a very fun day for us all.

Pirates

Tyler has been interested in Pirates lately. And like anything he is interested in, it becomes a big part of his days. He wants to read books about them, is excited when one of his shows talks about them, wants to see pictures on the computer, plays pirates with his toys. Makes pirates ships, pirates, flags, etc out of paper, and of course dresses up for the full on acting out. And since he's into pirates so is Hailey. Also typical of his in the moment "obsessions" the costumes become more involved as the days pass. It all started with a paper eye patch that just was not comfortable. Then we moved on to aluminum foil hand hooks and bandanna hats. I actually think Hailey looks pretty cute.

As the costume evolved so did the "look" of mean pirate. Hailey just keeps her eyes on Ty so she can act appropriately (ie the exact same as Ty). Oh and Hailey LOVES her new Cookie Monster shirt. My guess is, you'll be seeing a lot of it in the coming months.

Full on Pirate gear...and want to be pirate sister

Ahoy...we mean business

And had to include this non pirate photo of Hailey, once again just being Hailey, in Ty's winter hat and some gardening gloves......all of which were used to drive their living room fort race cars.

cowboy and horse

by Tyler....