Adventure Science Center

Once we were done at the zoo, we moved over to the Adventure Science Center. It was MUCH cooler inside than it was outside at the zoo, so it was a nice change of pace. Ruston decided it was naptime, and THANK YOU to Dayna for having her Ergo so I didn't have to lug him around. He was so peaceful in the Ergo, which just strapped to my front and I didn't have a hurting back at the end of the day!

There were a ton of different exhibits at the ASC, I would liken it to the Pacific Science Center in Seattle. Anyway, one of them was letting you feel what is was like for someone in a wheelchair, so here is Jason practicing his wheelchair skills.
Thea practiced this too, and did pretty well for her little size! Dayna followed and supervised behind her.
Once Ruston woke up from his nap, he found this large keyboard. Danelle was also in the back pushing the keys.
Ruston enjoyed making music with this.
Thea and Ruston also go a kick out of the rolling chairs... who cares about the wheels and buttons on the wall?!?!
While the littler ones were pushing chairs around, the older ones were getting ready for something major.
A trip to the moon! This simulator hooks you up to assist in changing gravity for you (basically), so you can feel what it's like to be on the moon and jump really high without much effort. Danelle and Shane are below...
Danelle and Jason...

I think they enjoyed that, although I hear the harnesses weren't the most comfortable!

Once again, Ruston found the strangest thing to be the most interesting: a ramp. Since he hasn't been walking for but a couple of months, he decided to practice his walking on uneven ground... up and down... up and down...
...up and down... up and down...
I also think Jason had as much, if not more, fun than the kids did. He LOVED the ball pit and the huge crane to practice picking up the balls. :)

Either way, at the end of the day, we were all exhausted!!!!!

Nashville Zoo

My sister's family (The Halls) came to visit us, and we had a bunch of fun! Dayna, Shane, Danelle, and Thea had never been to Tennessee, so we tried to introduce them to a couple of places.

We took a day to visit the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere as well as the Adventure Science Center (in another post). The kids had TONS of fun, although it was a very hot day! Ruston enjoyed some stairs he found at the zoo, and yes, his head is shiny and his hair is messed up because he has sunscreen in it.

We visited the petting zoo where there were goats throughout. Ruston didn't really want to touch them, but he was willing to sit next to them.
I think he had some sunscreen in his eye here, but like I said, he sat by them, and that's about it. Haha.
Danelle and Thea took turns brushing them too.
We also saw flamingoes...
...zebras...
...more zebras...
... and Dayna and Thea! Oh wait, those were the meerkats!
Ruston, however, was not very interested in the animals, but rather enjoyed climbing on this alligator. Don't worry, it's not real. :) Danelle and Thea were running around in the rest of the large play area that was nearby.
Proud of himself... king of the alligator!

WA Baby Shower

While we were in Washington last week, my sister in law threw a baby shower for me.  It was her third one in something like a month or two, so she's been busy with them, and most of the people there had been to all of them.  She had a rough time coming up with some new and different games, but I think she did just fine!  Thanks Kelli!  Here is the cake... yummy.

This was one of the games we played.  It was a game where the hostess puts different candy bars inside baby diapers and then melts the candy bars, so then they get passed around in order for people to try to guess what candy bar is in each one.  It just looks really strange to watch everyone inspect what looks like a very messy diaper!  Laurie Odegaard inspected quite closely on this one!
Then my mom and Carmen Stucky decided they would collaborate and try to figure some of them out.
I did pretty well... just wish I didn't second guess myself or I would have been almost perfect!  
Dayna seemed stumped here, and I'm not sure exactly what Danelle was thinking, other than maybe we were all just a bit crazy!
Terri Nicholas holding her son Luke, and Paula Hochstatter doing their inspecting.
Natalie Skaug won that game.  We realized she must really like her candy bars, and hasn't been around many diapers to be grossed out by the thought of inspecting them closely!

Then on to the presents!  I only posted a few of them on here, but I got LOTS of good things for the little guy.  We were a little worried I wouldn't be able to pack it all well enough to get it back to Tennessee, but we managed.  Here is a little outfit with a "taggie" lion on the front.  The tags are good for textures and boredom. :)
Thea thought the paper was pretty fun too.
This was the end result... AFTER we consolidated some.  See why we were worried about getting it all back to Tennessee on the airplane??
Like I said, the party was great, and thanks to everyone that came and/or helped out to make it happen!  And just for fun because I think it's a cute picture, even though it's not from the baby shower, here's Thea, who decided she wanted to be in her seat, only she didn't figure out how to turn around in it. :)  Isn't she cute?!

Before we left Washington...

Before we left Washington, Jason and I headed up to Kirkland one last time to see Dayna, Shane, and the girls (but mostly the girls). ;)

Here is Uncle Jason pushing Danelle on the swing... one of her favorite things.

Uncle Jason and Danelle... connected at the hip!
Jason, me, Thea, and Danelle with her funny face smile.
It was a fun day up there, and we missed everyone the minute we got in the car, especially with Danelle waving and saying bye over and over again with her binky in her mouth.

Another thing Jason wanted to do was get a picture of this monument at Ft. Lewis.  Jason's last day in the military, we both went on post to get his paperwork, and then got some pictures.  Sadly, the sun was behind the statue, so it was hard to get a good picture of it... yes, Jason is in that picture.
Here's a close up of Jason standing at the foot of the statue... last time in uniform. :)
The new memorial in front of the statue, I thought it was a good tribute (even tho a bit late) for 9/11.
And here is what the plaque on the statue said: