Six Kids for a Week

After learning that Natalee would be leaving for a few days the end of August to take the twins to BYU, I asked her what she was planning on doing with Riley and Trenton while she was gone.  When I found out that she was going on taking the boys on the awful, 14-hour drive with her to Utah and back, I offered to take them for the week while she was gone.  Since Trenton and Logan are best friends and Riley is the best nephew an aunt could ask for, I figured that it would be a fun treat to have these two boys join our family for the week!  Since Chris has the day off on Fridays, Natalee asked if she could pass the boys off to us on Monday morning on her way out of town for me to watch them until Thursday evening when we could meet Chris in Tacoma after work.  Luckily, we had a stunning weather forecast for the week with sunny weather in the 80s every single day.  As a result, I planned something fun for all four days that we had together including outdoor/water activities for the first three days.  We all had a great time together.  Logan and Trenton were inseparable and Lia, Ella, Emmett, and I all loved having Riley around.  The cousins played great together and had so much fun on all of our adventures and enjoyed playing in our pool in the backyard whenever we were home.  Although I was pretty pooped when Riley and Trenton left last night, I am so glad that we invited them to spend the week with us!

We met Natalee and the kids at our favorite splash pad park in Tacoma on Monday morning.  After saying goodbye to the twins, the kids and I spent the next few hours playing in the splash pad and at the park in addition to eating a picnic lunch.  Here I am with baby Emmett enjoying the splash pad together.

One of my all-time favorite photos of Emmett and me together thanks to the talents of my personal photographer, Lia.

All the kids posing for a picture after playing in the water.

Lunch time on the towels.  I just love how baby Emmett is smiling in this picture.

A close-up of sweet Emmett who enjoyed rolling around at lunch time.

Riley, Lia, and Emmett hanging out on the towels.

On Tuesday, we drove up to spend the day in Issaquah at Lake Sammamish and the grandparent's house.  Vivi and Bryce were able to join us at the lake for a few hours of fun in the water in the afternoon.  The cousins enjoyed some wild play time on the floating mat while we were there.  Notice how many of the kids are on the mat before Bryce jumps on it.

And notice how many were thrown off after Bryce landed on it.  I think these before and after photos are hilarious!

The gang recovering and climbing back aboard the mat after Bryce's landing.

The three girls giving me a smile.

Group cousin photo!

My cousin, Brad, just happened to show up with his two children while we were there.  Here is his son, Ryder, paddling around in the paddle boat with Logan, Ella, and Trenton.

Lia and Riley balancing together on the paddle board.

Logan and Ella cruising around in the paddle boat on their own.

Lia and Riley paddling towards the dock.

We headed out on Wednesday to spend the afternoon at our favorite, little water park in Tacoma called Kandle Park.  Emmett slept in his car seat for most of the time which made it much easier to keep my eyes on the kids. 

The kids relaxing in the wave pool before the wave machine started up again.

Ella wresting with Riley--one of her all-time, favorite activities.

Riley, Ella, and a bunch of other kids waiting for the large, dump bucket to dump on them.

And there it goes!

I splurged and let the kids buy popsicles from the snack stand.  Here is Logan showing me his bright red tongue after finishing his popsicle.

Everyone showing off their tongues after finishing their frozen treats.

After Emmett woke up, we headed over to the baby pool to play.  Here is the gang playing in one of the awesome, water features in the pool.

Splashing around.

Showing Emmett what it feels like to put his feet in the water.

I forgot to take any pictures on Thursday, but I took all of six kids to the movie theater to see Disney's live action movie, The Lion King.  I managed to get there with enough time to buy treats at the concession stand and get everyone situated in their seats with their popcorn and treats before the movie started.  This is the third movie I have taken Emmett to this summer and he did a great job sitting on my lap, nursing, and then taking a nap during the movie.  We managed to make it out in one piece!  After coming home for a late lunch and some play time in the pool, Natalee actually arrived before dinner to pick up the boys.  She had decided to leave Utah a day early and made it to Puyallup by the late afternoon the next day.  We said 'goodbye' to the boys and sent them off after a fun filled week.  It was the perfect way to wrap up our summer before heading off to Blake Island next week with them for one last final hoorah!