Trucks, Cars, Planes, and More!

A few days ago they had a big event at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.  There was every sort of emergency vehicle imaginable there that the kids could explore along with lots of fun activities for the kids.  We met my cousin Kari and her kids there and had a wonderful morning.  We joked that we (Kari and I) are probably the only 2 Morgan's who have never been in the back of a police car before.  There isn't much room and it's pretty uncomfortable.

Keaton and Papa (the name he has given Grandpa Morgan). Keaton looks so serious in the picture but is having the time of his life, you just can't tell from his expression in the picture.

 

 

Keaton really took a liking to the police dog and was following him around everywhere.

 Again, doesn't look real happy but is....maybe the heat was getting to him.  He was all decorated with stickers and stamps and buttons and tattoos and his fancy mask he made.

SLU Play Space

Keaton and I were looking for something to do one raining morning so we decided to go check out a new indoor play area in South Lake Union.  As we were driving there I noticed how much the area has changed.  Just a few years ago it was a very industrial area of Seattle with no attractions.  Now it is full of trendy restaurants, condos, businesses and this play area!

It seemed like a great idea, go play hard for a few hours while I sit back with a cup of coffee and watch and then get a good nap out of Keaton.  That's not how it went.

The place was designed so that it is a giant indoor maze.  It was too big for Keaton to explore on his own so I got to crawl through all the obstacles with him....

 

After being exhausted from that I then was hit by balls that could have been a bit softer in the popular ball area...

 

 

Then he wanted a big fort built around him...over...and...over again (the other kids kept knocking it over).

 

But he did have a REALLY good time and that is all that matters!  And he did take a really good nap.  So it wasn't relaxing for me but that's OK, most things aren't with a 2 year old! 

Return Father's Day

I would guess that TJ would like to return Father's Day and do it over again. Keaton gave him a cold and he had to work. 

We didn't get any pictures of dad and Keaton on Father's Day but Keaton did make his dad this really cool picture frame with tools.

 

And Manny made him this card since they love to play with the fishing pole together.  Keaton was nice enough to help Manny color it.

Grandpa Morgan, Uncle Rich, Uncle James and Aunt Claudia came over and just like Mother's Day it was a beautiful sunny day this year.  Keaton played baseball with Uncle Rich.

 

He also had a lot of fun honking the horn on James's walker.

 

We went for a long walk where Keaton learned to blow on dandelions which he thought was pretty fun. I wonder if he will think it's as much fun digging up the new ones that grow in our yard :).

 

 

Manny and Me

I think it's been 5 years now that Manny and I have been doing the Furry 5k walk in Seward Park.  It has become a Summer tradition for us.  I was really looking forward to it this year because I don't get to spend much one-on-one time with Manny so this would be our special day. 

He was a total maniac as always!  Right away we saw a good friend of ours there, Kenda Salisbury, so we had someone to walk with.  She couldn't believe the stamina that Manny has.  He just kept pulling and pulling and wouldn't slow down.  People would turn to look at us because Manny is a very loud dog when he's active, snorting and grunting.  It can be REALLY bad and TJ and I really worry about him sometimes because he will keep going and going and doesn't know when to stop. Luckily we made it through the entire walk without stopping at the first aid station for Manny.  He even found enough energy to stop for a swim.  I did end up doing about half the walk with wet shoes from the swim since he wouldn't come out.

After the walk they have tons of free treats for the dogs.  This is one of the best perks about doing it because it saves us from having to buy them, at least for a few days. 

I figured Manny would come home and sleep the rest of the day but he kept on going.  Spent the afternoon in the backyard in his favorite spot and even had energy for the fishing pole. 

 

 

 

 

Trying to Garden

Growing up we always had a really big garden that my mom took care of.  She grew up on a farm in Illinois so it was in her blood to garden.  I remember how much better the vegetables tasted coming straight from the ground instead of from the grocery store.

A few months ago we had these little animal characters that grew grass and Keaton had so much fun watching his grass grow that I thought he would love a garden.

We found a small spot in our yard and started out year small, trying to grow carrots, cucumbers, green beans and broccoli.

It's only been a few days but so far that spot has become a spot for the dog to lay in, a spot for Keaton to dance in.  TJ and I are quickly losing hope that we will see any vegetables growing in our new garden.

Future Golf Pro?

Keaton and I went to this carnival at one of the West Seattle Elementary Schools.  They had all sorts of games that were 50 cents each and there were prizes to be won!  We did the cake walk and he got a cupcake, picked a duck and got prizes for the number on the bottom, got a sucker from the sucker tree, played a fishing game, got fake tattoo's...all for a couple of bucks.

On our way out he wanted to go in the bouncy houses they had but there were too many big kids.  Then he spotted the mini golf.  We didn't have any more tickets left but the lady was nice enough to let us play for free. I didn't think we'd make it more than one hole before he lost interest.  I didn't even know if he would know what to do.  But I guess all that practice with the golf clubs his nana got him paid off.  He played all 9 holes and was very into it.  And of course he had a little dance he did when he got the ball in the hole!

Golf is something both TJ and I enjoy but we never go anymore, probably because he now have a 2 year old responsibility...and I'm not very good.  But maybe in a few years we can get back into it and bring Keaton along.  Although if he drove the golf cart he'd never want to get out to golf!

International Traveler

We just went on our first international trip with Keaton...sort of.  We went to Victoria BC, which is actually south of the San Juan Islands and about as far north as Mount Vernon, WA.  Keaton has been farther north when we went to Orcas Island in the San Juan's last year.  So I'm not sure if a visit to Victoria counts as an international trip but we did have to go through customs and show proof of US citizenship.

Keaton was a fantastic traveler, did really good on the boat ride up and back, thanks to the wonderful DVD player and some other kids he played with. 

 We didn't do the "traditional" tourist activities in Victoria like afternoon tea at the Empress Hotel or The Buchart Gardens.  Traveling with kids means doing things you think they will enjoy.  So we fed the very friendly harbor seals...

 

Met some very friendly goats at a petting zoo...

 

And some friendly ducks and even a friendly elephant that Keaton hugged...

 

The people in Victoria were very friendly too.  Everyone was so nice, not something that you always encounter here in the US.

 

Here is Keaton enjoying his lollipop that has ants in it.  He wasn't a bit scared of it but didn't like how the ants tasted and spit them out.

 

His favorite part of Victoria was the "totem poles". It isn't something I would think of as being very "Canadian" but there were a bunch in front of the Parliament building next to our hotel and he talked about them during the entire trip.

 

A few views of Victoria, including the famous Empress Hotel.  I tried to lighten up the pictures so they didn't look so dark and gloomy (it was a rainy weekend). Victoria is a very pretty, well taken care of city.  At least the parts we saw.