Happy 4th Birthday Preston!

Preston asked for another airplane cake all year, just like the one from last year.  And then he decided it could be the same thing so 2 weeks before his birthday suddenly switched to a 'nemo' cake.  And then a few days before it was back to airplanes, but he wanted a runway cake this time.  

He didn't have any requests for meals for his birthday.  Anytime I asked if he wanted a special breakfast or dinner he insisted he just wanted airplane cake.

We partied hard for his birthday.  That morning was the last day of Volleyball for Brielle and Ethan, so we had a big potluck party after the award ceremony.  We then went to a friends house for a swim party and crawfish boil.

40 pounds of live crawfish delivered from New Orleans just in time for our lunch.

That night as a family we had a pizza/movie party at home and then went out to ice cream.  Although we played all day, he didn't think it was really his birthday until the next day when we celebrated with the cake and presents.

And he loved being the Captain a couple days earlier as we celebrated Gramma Finlay's birthday aboard the Arrowhead Queen.

Preston's 4th Birthday Interview and Stats

My name is: Preston (aka: PrePre, Friendliest Friend, PJ)

Height: 44" (98%)

Weight: 43lbs (92%)

Sleeping: About 12 hours 7pm-7am.
Preston loves life. No one finds common everyday things quite as exciting as Preston.  He has such an ability to light up the room.  If I had to describe him in one word it is definitely 'exuberant'.   He is a good buddy to have at home with me during the day.  He loves riding bikes, it was the ez-roller this past year, but he got a bike for his birthday and was so excited about it and runs to jump on every time the garage is open.  He is starting to read and loves practicing writing letters.  He makes up songs all the time and sings about anything and everything.  

Birthday Interview Questions

He started right off just talking and telling me about things before we got into the interview.  

What is your name? Preston

When is your birthday? June 10th

How old are you? 4

What is your favorite color?  Green

What is your favorite song? 'We Believe in God'

What do you want to do when you are a grown up?  I want to be a person that builds lights

Where do you want to live when you grow up? at California

What is your favorite food? Macaroni and Cheese

What is your least favorite food? I don't have any food that I don't like  (this is mostly true.  He is a great eater, but has always had a sensitive gag reflex.  He still often has to spit out food if he puts too big of a bite in his mouth.)

What is your favorite movie? Chuggington

Who is your best friend? Gracie and Nora and Abigail

What is your favorite book? I don't know

What does Daddy do? My dad does all the things that are good and nice.
What does your mommy do? My mom does all the things that is nice and good.

If you could get anything you want, what would you ask for?  Some treats I think

What is your favorite thing to do? Color
What was your favorite thing you did when you were 3? Do Chuggington on movies

What are you excited about with turning 4? My Birthday

Washington State Day 5-Sequim to Home

Sunday it was time to head back home.  The kids all ran out to say goodbye to the owner's dog that had kept them entertained at the house for the past 2 days.  The all loved playing with BooBoo.  

After church in the morning we had time for a few things on the way back to Seattle.  We stopped at the lavender fields, which weren't in bloom until later in the summer, but still were beautiful.

We also went over to the Dungeness Sand Spit.  

We chose not to walk the whole trail to the lighthouse at the tip.  The spit is 5.5 miles long and is the longest natural spit in the nation.

A storm was blowing in and it was cold as we walked the beach.

But we were lucky it was still a clear day and we were able to wave goodbye to Mt Rainier from the plane as we flew back to CA.  

Washington State Day 4-Olympic National Park

We planned to spend the day on Saturday in Olympic National Park.  We went up to Hurricane Ridge, and in reading about it I saw that there could still be some snow in the middle of May, so we planned to wear pants in case it was cold.  The kids were so excited to find snow and I was thinking maybe we could see some small patches if we found some shady spots.  We were not prepared for the amount of snow we found.

We had planned to do a few hikes, but the kids really just wanted to build a snow man.  The snow was pretty icy, but we got a creature of sorts piled together and they were happy with it.

We had such a gorgeous view for a picnic lunch

And the boys were so excited to borrow a sled and play on the hills.

After leaving Hurricane Ridge we drove to Crystal Lake and hiked to Marymere falls.

It was a just under 2 miles and a fun and easy hike for the kids

We went from playing in the snow to playing in the lake, a fun day for everyone!

The house we were staying in had such a great backyard for eating outside and finishing the day with rootbeer floats by the fire.

Washington State Day 3-Anacortes to Sequim

When driving to the hotel Thursday night we saw a cool looking park that we stopped by Friday morning before heading out for the day.  

We went over to Bowman's Bay and hiked over to Rosario Head Point.  At the beach by the Maiden of Deception pass a couple of scuba divers had just came up with a bunch of animal life collected there in the bay that morning.  They let everyone touch and explore.  

The hike led to a gorgeous view point where we got to see dolphins swimming by.

We went back to the beach to trade off kayaking and playing/picnicking.  We were so lucky to have amazing weather for the whole trip.  James was excited that we saw a few bald eagles while we were out.

Preston found the muddest part of the beach and plopped down to play.  He and Ethan also loved the floating log they found and turned into a boat.

After Bowman's Bay we drove over the bridge at Deception pass onto Whidbey Island.

We had just enough time before getting onto our ferry to explore the lighthouse at Fort Casey.  We were able to walk up inside and view the bunkers.

Preston was especially excited about driving out car onto the big boat.  The ferry ride wasn't very long-about 40 minutes, taking us over to Port Townsend.

We were hoping to see some of the Orca's that had been spotted on the ferry earlier that morning, but didn't.  We did see more dolphins though, which is always exciting.  When we got across we drove through the fun port city of Port Townsend and stopped at Mt. Townsend Creamery for some cheese (we especially loved the truffle and cirrus, but tried all of them more than once to make sure.)  :)  It was then on to Sequim for the night.

Washington State Day 2-Seattle to Anacortes

Thursday morning we explored the Chittenden/Ballard Locks. 

It was so interesting watching the locks process.

We could have spent much longer, as there was so much to see with the draw bridge moving and boats coming in and out.  We didn't even have a chance to check out the Botanical gardens or visitors center there.

There wasn't any fish running in the ladders, but there was a little viewing area that we checked out and a few fish going through the spillway.

We hurried back for a lunch reservation at the Space Needle.

The clam chowder was the favorite, and watching the sea planes take off and land while we ate and spun around was great entertainment for everyone.

We were able to go up to the observation deck after lunch.

And then played at the Artist at Play park.  As was the theme for the whole trip, we could have stayed there all day.  Everything was so fun it was hard to move on to the next fun thing.

We drove up to Anacortes with just enough time to shop, make and eat dinner and get up Mount Erie in time for a spectacular sunset.

Washington State-Day 1-Travel and Seattle

We started our summer a week earlier than the kids got out of school.  There was great deals on flights to Seattle at the end of May and we just happened to have some points James had accumulated from some work trips.  So, we seized the chance to go explore the State of Washington with James' brother Ian and their family.

Our first day started about 4:30am to get up and out the door for an early flight.

Before heading into the city we stopped for some fish and chips and a view. 

Then went to Pike's Place Market.  We loved taking time to explore there.  We got to see some fish throwing that it is famous for. 

And had fun sampling fruit, veggies, honey, etc at the stands.  It was all so yummy.  

Everyone added their mark to the wall in bubblegum alley

And watched cheese being made at Beechers.

We met up with cousin Jeannie at Zeke's pizza for dinner.

And she took us to her favorite ice cream shop for an after dinner treat.  Molly Moon's had some fun flavor's to try out.  Everyone tasted the Honey Lavender, that reminded us of the same flavor at Katie's ice cream in Cape Cod.

We then walked to Kerry park for some fun play time and another amazing view.

That night we stayed at a hotel right next to the space needle.  Everyone was exhausted from the full day of fun and fell asleep pretty quickly.