Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Jeep boys

I still can't believe that the boys are big enough to ride this thing around now. When we go on our nightly walk, they now like to take this thing for a spin. Gavin is a pretty good driver (99% of the time), when he is not distracted and looking at something....off the curb he will go!


Chef heaven

This is Derek's present for our anniversary. (Well, mine too, since I enjoy using it as much, if not more!) A Vitamix 5200. It makes our smoothies in seconds...and they are SO good! We put a lot of seeds in them, and this thing grinds them up so well, you would have no idea. I have already made spaghetti sauce, soup, fondue, and whipped cream;) Of course, Derek makes our green smoothies every morning. So far, its pretty amazing. Gavin knows how to work it, and knows what to press for what food. Our little chef is in heaven. 




Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Day with Teacher Jane

Oh my, what a day. Today we were invited over to Teacher Jane's house for a swim, picnic lunch, and tractor ride with "Tractor Don." Teacher Jane was Gavin's teacher 2 years ago (She is also the director of Mountain School), and she is the most amazing person we have ever met. Gavin adores her, and now Austin does too. Austin talked to her all afternoon and wanted her to hold him over and over. For anyone who knows Austin, you would know that this is RARE for him. She just has something about her. The kids love her.

We had a really great morning. Swam, rode on the tractor, and had a delicious lunch. Teacher Jane took us on a tour of all her gardens and the boys got to pick a TON of grapes, kale, and strawberries to take home. We saw some baby quail, and the boys picked them up because they were curious. One on one time with Teacher Jane...the boys were happy, intrigued, busy, and entertained by her for three hours. They didn't even complain when they were hungry....rare!

We are so lucky to know Jane...and Austin can't wait to have her as a teacher in 2 years:)


Brothers

After Gavin's photo shoot, I was able to get some shots of the boys. It is VERY hard to get a single picture of them BOTH looking and smiling! Here is my attempt. I gave up early on, and let Gavin take more pictures. I figure he is bound to get better ones than me these days!





Gavin the photographer


I can no longer get away with taking pictures of the boys without Gavin doing his own photo shoot first. He now needs to take his pictures, and it HAS to be with my nice camera. I have taught him how to do 2 basic things with the camera settings, and he knows exactly how to change the settings. He also pretends he knows more, and adjusts ALL my settings. It takes me 20 minutes to get them all back;) 

Today he used Austin as his subject. Then he took some "nature" pictures of the rocks. I think it was about 200 pics that he took. We saved these 7. I love how Austin just sat there and let him take his picture. It was pretty cute. 


Saturday, July 27, 2013

Yeah Right

Oh look at this smile and those cute little lips. NOT! Don't let this fool you! During our trip back across the country this one was a TERROR! Holy Lord. I am not even sure where to begin.

Well, I guess I need to start by saying that the car ride to the airport (1.5hrs) he was very good. Played and talked and ate. Then the first flight to Texas he fell asleep after screaming in my ear for 10 minutes, and slept the entire flight. Oh man, then the flight to San Fran. He was a NIGHTMARE! He did not want to sit. Did not want to eat. Did not want to play. Did not want anything. He wanted to cry, and every time my ears popped, he would yell as loud as he could. I knew that it was hurting his ears, but there is nothing I could do. I used to nurse them during this time, and they would be OK. But obviously that cant happen. I tried walking around and shushing him, and I tried everything I could think of. I was exhausted. Oh, and he went #2 THREE TIMES ON A THREE HOUR FLIGHT! Seriously?  Oh, and no changing station in the bathroom. Oh, and it was diarrhea because he still had some of the stomach bug left in him. Oh yeah. It was bad. I honestly feel terrible for everyone around us. I did not look up ONCE and NEVER made eye contact with anyone. Yikes. 

For the most part, Austin had a great week, but that stomach bug he had/has really threw him off. He did not sleep well and I had to resort to some Benadryl to help him out. He was drinking pedialyte all week, and just not himself. SUPER clingy to me. I knew he did not feel good. 


Friday, July 26, 2013

Back home

We have been back home not yet a week and of course we have been very busy! We are trying to get back into some sort of schedule and keep up with the great weather. Lots of naps, park playdates, walks, grocery shopping/cooking, and playing at home. Austin is busy transitioning to one nap a day in preparation of Gavin starting afternoon school this fall. Busy busy!






Thursday, July 25, 2013

Oh my **First fight!

Tonight we walked down to Mojo Burger and met up with Ryleigh for dinner. The kids had a blast at dinner followed by dessert at Yogurt Net. Suddenly there was a fight between them about the trophies that they found. Imaginary trophies. Ryleigh put them "away" and Gavin wanted some. So they fought and fought. Then TEARS. Screaming and crying. Finally Ry decided that she would tell Gavin where they were...and they were happy. Even hugging. Very sweet. 




Monday, July 22, 2013

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Christmas Pics Take One

Tonight was our last night here, so we tried to get some good Christmas pics....We got some smiles out of the kids because #1 Grandma and Grandpa had jelly beans in their hands and they were slipping them to the kids, and #2 Uncle Scott kept falling down. I think there were lots of smiles....ONE of these pics is gonna make the Gunderson family Christmas card!





Ober Gatlinburg

We went to Ober Gatlinburg today...We are so glad we did! This place was awesome! We took a tram ride up the mountain to a theme park....SO much to do. Water slides, rides, games, and chair lifts that take you even higher to ride a sled down the mountain. That was my favorite.

Gavin tried out the water slides, but decided after one time each, that they were "too fast." It was pretty funny to see his face going down. So scared! 

We ate lunch inside where there are restaurants and shops, and then we headed back out for more fun. Finally at about 1 the babies crashed out in the strollers, and the big kids kept at it. 

After a very fun filled day, we headed down the mountain around 3 to call it a day. It really was a fun place to take the kids...and I am pretty sure the adults had a lot of fun too. 







Friday, July 19, 2013

Crystelle Creek

Tonight we headed to Crystelle Creek  for dinner. Its a very cute little place on the creek, and it ended up being perfect because it has a little walkway that the kids ran up and down a million times. A perfect restaurant is a place where kids can run? Yes. Perfect. 

We had a great dinner and even managed to get a good family pic!




More Bathing kids....BUBBLES

Most nights Austin would get ahold of the bath bubbles...and just dump them in. This was a result. At one point he was lost in them and screaming and crying. Oops!

Happy 4th Birthday Gavie!

We celebrated Gavin's Birthday one evening. He got a TON of moon dough...his absolute favorite. It became a very fun thing to do at the giant dining room table. Thank you Grandma for the presents, and thank you Aunt Erica for the awesome magic trick box!


Thursday, July 18, 2013

First time playing Mini-Golf!

Tonight we headed over to downtown Gatlinburg to play some mini golf. We went up the incline to the top of the mountain in a little outdoor elevator. Then we played golf going down the mountain. The big kids had a good time playing, and the babies liked to just run around and throw the balls. I think we finished 18 holes in 15 minutes. Might be a record.

Gavin said he got "A pillion pillion points" :)


Downtown Gatlinburg

Today we headed downtown to play. We stopped at the Ripley's Arcade first. The kids all played a ton of games and got a lot of tickets. 

After that we headed up the Space Needle to see some pretty cool views of Gatlinburg. It is SO high up, and I did not like it very much. Apparently I am old and afraid of heights now? I was holding on to Austin so tight...my hands were sweaty I was so nervous. The kids loved it though!

Afterwards we walked around and found a good pizza and burger spot for lunch. 

Next up was GEM MINING! Gavin was MOST excited for this. He loves sand and dirt...and to FIND something PRETTY in it? "Its amazing" Gavin, Griffin and Annabel all did the mining, and found lots of pretty stuff. Apparently its all worth a lot of money;)

Last stop was ice cream of course. What a fun day downtown. 




Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Zipline!

Today mom took Erica and I zip lining at CLIMB Works! It was so much fun. The last time I did this was in Costa Rica, and it was not nearly as professional! (I was pretty scared for my life in CR!) This company was great, and they took good care of us. We had a beautiful view of the mountains, and we were so high up. Good memories. LOTS of laughs. Thanks Mom, it was a blast!

CLIMB. Challenge. Learn. Inspire. Master. Believe.