Summiting Mount Rainier, Father’s Day, Petting Zoo, Water Parks, & Build-A-Bear …

On top of Mount Rainier - 14,410 ft



Checking out ducks with Dad.

Ethan's favorite cow ... second only to wood chips!


Lovin' the water park.

So excited about Mr. Monkey at Build-A-Bear.

I’ve been a bit behind … so here’s a quick catch up. Father’s Day weekend … Finally, after 2 previous attempts, Jairo & a few friends from our ward were able to summit Mount Rainer … all 14,410 feet. Jairo was psyched of course and brought home some great pics as well as a nice sun burn. I’m just glad everyone made it back safe and that item is finally checked off his “bucket list.”

Father’s Day was finally a start to beautiful weather here in the Pacific Northwest so we've tried to get out as much as possible. First we visited Bothell Country Village where Ethan had a blast checking out the ducks and chickens. Since Ethan is so into animals we also visited a local petting zoo where he was more interested in the dirty wood chips!! We've also spent some time at the new water park in our neighborhood. Ethan loves playing in the water which means we get wet as well.

Last, we took Ethan to Build-A-Bear. I had visited a few times to give him some relief while I did some shopping. He had become quite attached to a monkey they have so we finally took him in to get his own. It was quite entertaining. We’ve never seen him so thrilled over a toy of any kind. You’ll have to check out the video.

Now we’re in the midst of entertaining family for a bit … we’ll check in sometime after the 4th. Happy 4th of July!

Just Being Silly

Toys R Us...

Here is Ethan's new toy and since it did not come with training wheels then someone else gets to ride it...

This morning after going jogging with Ethan and Maddie (dog), I went out to test drive my new bike. The weather this weekend has been amazing and I am glad it was still nice today. A buddy of mine and I went out on the back roads to a lake somewhere around this neck of the woods... to tell you the truth half of the time I did not know where I was, all I did was enjoy the ride.

We then met with Mel, Ethan, my buddy's wife and son and had lunch at Applebees. After some good grub, I told Mel that now she could go out on a ride and I would take care of Ethan, but she decided to take me on the offer of taking care of Ethan and went out shopping instead.

One of the requirements from Mel for me to get a bike was that I had to post it on the blog... so there you have it.

Dominican Republic

So, a bit about our trip to the Dominican Republic (DR) ... I have to say, after all of the sunny warm weather it has been very difficult to be back in the Pacific Northwest rain. Boo hoo. Anyway, at the start of our trip we spent a few days on the coast of the DR in Punta Cana. I can't tell you how beautiful this place is. All that you would expect from the Caribbean ... white sand beaches, warm clear blue water, warm breezes, and lots of open air buildings. We got a great deal at the Punta Cana Resort and Club which was amazing. It was a slow time for them so we often had the beaches and pools to ourselves. Ethan loved the water in any form, pool or ocean, and had fun playing in the sand. I do have to say, even with all of the Europeans tourists, I was still the whitest person in the resort even as we left and I had "color"!

Following Punta Cana, we returned to the capital city, Santo Domingo, and spent a day touring the colonial district. What a beautiful area. Lots of historical buildings dating back to Chrisopher Columbus and his first trip to the Americas. This particular picture is one of Christopher Colombus' homes built by his son Diego.


Of course, the wedding. Our main purpose for this trip was to attend Olivia's wedding. Despite a few gliches, the original time of the sealing being changed, my parents getting lost for 2 hours beforehand (in a 1 mile radius mind you ... sorry mom & Dad, I still don't know how that is possible!), and the groom running a good hour late (at least this allowed my parents time to make it back) the sealing was a beautiful, relaxing event. I only wish I spoke better Spanish to be able to communicate with Elias and his family better. Jairo did a great job translating and mingling with everyone, which exhausted him by trip's end. Thanks hon!

During our stay in Santo Domingo we stayed in the temple housing. It was inexpensive, clean, had air conditioning and clean water!! This allowed us to be on the temple grounds a lot which were beautiful and a peaceful break from the noise of the city. We met a lot of great people while we were there, including a family from Jamaica who we hope to keep in touch with. The interesting thing for them is that the DR temple is the closest temple (there is one in Florida but that would require American visas which are difficult to acquire), but there are no direct flights from Jamaica to the DR so they have to fly to the DR via Panama!! What could take about 45 minutes by air ends up taking 8 hours after their stop in Panama. Certainly dedicated people.

I am happy to say that Jairo, Ethan, and I were all able to make it through the trip without the typical stomach viruses that Jairo and I both endured on previous trips to Latin America. The people in the DR are very welcoming and fun loving. I have to say that I felt a bit like a rock star there - at least in the capital city anyway. One day we attended an international children's book fair that was taking place a few blocks from the temple. They had bussed in thousands of kids and the place was a bit insane. The funny thing was when we got there all the kids were very interested in us. They were taking pictures of us and circling around Ethan's stroller. It was quite funny. I thought, I would love to come here with my blond haired blue eyed friends, that would cause quite the spectacle. Overall a great trip and we would love to go back and see more.

If you're interested in more pics from this trip, check out our photo album link under 'our pics'.

Dude!

Well, April went by in a flash! Ethan is now 6 months and trying lots of new things. This past month we started him on baby foods and for the most part he's a great eater. However, as you can see, peas were not his first choice in the vegetable department. We've tried a few more times since and now he loves them. He now weighs 17 lbs 8 oz and is 28 inches in height. He grew 4 inches in 2 months! He rolls and scoots on his tummy or back to get places. He's not yet crawling, although getting very close. He seems to go through bouts of teething, but nothing breaking through yet. He took his second international trip (Jairo likes to include Canada ... I don't think that really counts) this past week and was qiute a trooper. With all the people, different places to sleep every other night, and a very hot and sweaty climate he did very well. Although I think he'd had enough when we boarded our return flight at JFK and he had quite the episode of projectile vomit that soaked my shirt a sprayed a few passengers - in 1st class no less. Awesome! Anyway, pics to that trip coming soon ...