Post-Christmas Visit/Tubing at Snowqualmie with Auntie JoJo

We Milam men love our frequent visitors and Auntie JoJo is definitely at the top of the list . . . her visits are always fun, easy, connected and fun (yes, I said fun twice).  Christmas or post-Christmas for the boys' birthday have been a staple since the boys were born and we went with the latter for 2015. Two big blog highlights to share from this year's visit . . .  

First up, a fun filled kitchen dance party with the boys . . . some serious moves on display here:

Second great experience is uniquely PacNW . . . tubing!  Being from Texas, we only knew of tubing on the water, but in Seattle and Canada, many of the smaller skiing mountains carve out land in the lower part of the mountain and create grooved lanes down the hill with a tow rope (or snow stairs) to climb back to the top.  Heading down is as simple as grabbing an innertube, waiting in a short line and then heading downhill

The boys went into the activity with excitement . . . that is until they saw the mountain . . . they almost immediately transitioned from planned solo rides to many, many duo rides with Daddy or Pai. Noel finally got the courage to go solo on the last run of the day . . . Ethan opted instead to pass on the last couple of runs and enjoy warmth and hot chocolate inside the lodge.  

Truly a big hit with everyone . . . 

Our initial take on the tubing locale . . . 

Ethan and Sweet Pea Ethan showing some genuine excitement . . . 

Furry Auntie JoJo with Noelly giving some serious side eye

As I type this last caption, I realize, "did we go the entire day with no pictures of Daddy?"  I guess so !

Lastly, a couple of great action videos . . . up first, a duo run:

And, in closing, Noelly's solo run to close the day . . . so super proud of himself afterwards.

Christmas Gift Highlight: Pie Face

As you know, we continue to be sporadic and without continuity in our posts this year - you might see a post from Christmas followed by one of our summer vacation, so bear with us.

The holidays were awesome all around - relaxed, no travel and enjoyed time with family and friends.

We have a lovely tradition of opening gifts and eating throughout the day - no huge frenzy that allows us to really enjoy the day.

One of our other tradition is Uncle Ron's gift giving.  Always from a good place and sometimes from a place of questionable judgement, he takes on the role of Uncle in the right way.  His gifts are a mix of ones that might be a hair too old for them (reference motorized ATVs at first Christmas and  motorized Mini Coopers for second Christmas) with ones that are spot-on.

This year's gifts contained one that I (Pai) was dubious of and ended up being the HIT of Christmas - Pie Face.  No explanation needed - just watch the videos below:

I decided I'd go first thinking "It won't set off on the first try - I was wrong:



Then Noel showed us no-one really loses - whip cream in the face is a delicious way to lose:




Then Ethan took a turn:




And Uncle Ronnie finally got in on the fun:

2015: Profressional Photos - 6th Year Edition - Now in Seattle!

After making the move to Seattle, it was very important to us to continue our family tradition of annual family photos for the Holiday Cards . . . while we left this year to the (very) last minute, all ultimately worked out well.  We found a solid photographer that directed us to Discovery Park in the peak of the fall leaf turning season.  Adam found us some solid Seattle-esque attire (the boys' vests are my personal favorite) and we got lucky that the sun broke out in November right at the start of our session.

We could have posted 20 shots from this shoot due to the boys' great mood and creativity . . . and if you look closely, you'll see that we captured Noelly just after he'd lost his front teeth.

Great day and some great shots . . . 

Family pic - Denim and flannel

Daddy and a very giggly Noelly

Happy Pai and Happy Ethan

Art designed 100% by Ethan himself . . . he'd never seen leaves that large in Texas

Family pic at eye level . . . Noelly going with the catalog pose

Daddy and Ethan deep into the woods

American Gothic

After ~10 sessions, the boys have definitely figured out how to create some great shots.  This one, again, was 100% their pose 

Two best friends walking down a tree-laden road . . .

School Photos 2015 - Kindergarten

We blinked and the boys are now almost six years old.  It's hard to believe the boys are in Kindergarten and enjoying life in Seattle at their new school.  Dad and Pai came into the boys' new school environment with understandable apprehensions based on the fact that we left such a fantastic school experience in Dallas.

Fortunately, all of our concerns were for naught . . . the boys each ended up with a tremendous duo of teachers that really took time to get to know their distinct personalities.  They've integrated into their situation seamlessly . . . definitely been our biggest point of relief.

I mean - look at this pictures - they tell the full story on their own . . .

6-year old Sweet Pea . . . I mean, does this kid ever take a bad picture??

Noelly at 6 is definitely showing signs of transitioning into a little man - that missing front tooth is priceless.

Ethanol's First Day of Kindergarten at our New Seattle School - Bertschi

I just found this in our draft folder - I mean - they look SO young compared to the first grade photos we just posted.  

This was our first day at Bertschi and they were so excited.  I remember how nervous Bruce and I were walking into a school that he amazingly got us into well after acceptance letters were released.

Noel - ever the goofy kid

This was when Ethan really started going for the slick hairdo (Also note: Noel holding a spaghetti squash?!?!?)!

Ethan LOVES his brother!

Walking up to the school.

Noel meeting Claire, his assistant teacher.

Looking back as this was a year ago - it's amazing how great this school is - they've met some great friends and has been really great at shaping their view of the world.

Ethanol's First Lost Teeth!!

The Milam Dads are fairly great about uploading pics to the blog - really great, actually - so great that we currently have ~30 blog posts awaiting the second phase, the actual writing of the blog post!  Best laid plans . . . 

Plucking this one out because of its life significance - the boys were true champions when it came to losing their first set of teeth.  Noel came first with initial apprehension followed by relief and pride.  Ethan followed not long thereafter, though his unfortunately happened during an overnight stay at the Shroyers's house, our dear friends from Dallas,

Some photographic evidence of some proud, big boys . . . 

Noel showing off his missing front tooth!

Ethan sending us a proud picture of what we missed!!

Photo Booth Fun

I was in the other room with Noel working on a cardboard box spaceship and Ethan was in our bedroom.  I kept hearing this "camera" sound and when I peeked in I saw that he'd discovered the Photo Booth program on my computer (It's a program that takes four pics in a row),  He figured out how it worked and below is his series of photographs:

Hmm, what does this do?

Oh - pictures...

Take a picture of my Batman shirt

He's falling off the chair here

Well then the fun began as we all wanted to get in on the action as there are special (and somewhat creepy) effects you can layer in:

Frog effect

Blockhead effect

Space Alien effect

Bugeye effect

We love Daddy effect

Easter, 2015: First Family Trip to Santa Monica

Adam and the boys came to Seattle for a long 10 day trip that spanned Easter weekend and we took full advantage of the stay to take our first family excursion out of Seattle.  We packed up our bags and headed to Santa Monica for the long Easter weekend hoping to enjoy the sun, putter around LA and maybe even ride a roller coaster on the boardwalk. 

 

While the four of had a great four days, I think we all came away deciding that Santa Monica wasn't someplace we'd rush back to. That being said, this trip results in some of my favorite pics of all time . . .

 

Noelly cool just outside of LAX waiting for the car shuttle bus.

The boys recreating a Crooked Tree experience from Dallas, walking along the upper beach promenade.

Avo donated some straw (or is it tweed) beach hats for the trip.  Really suited Pea Pie Ethan.

Daddy hugging some babies and so happy to not be working!

Pai and the boys exploring the water . . . brrrrrrrrrrrr!

Ethan deciding he'd rather enjoy the sun with Daddy.

After a bust of a day visiting the Santa Monica Boardwalk (ride tally:  zero!), we visited the Orange County Aquarium, where the boys made a friend.

And the Aquarium also had a bird section  (why?  no idea)

Noelly was fearless!

Last night, perfectly captured by Pai . . . two adorable boys admiring the palm trees.

Punta Mita 2015 - Part 4: Family Pictures!

OK - last post from our great Punta Mita trip from 2015 . . . to close, some great individual and collective family photos from the condo . . . fitting end to the summary of our lovely time.

Brudam Brigade in full joy mode . . . love Ethan covering his face from the giggle . . . 

The four kids, who were thick as thieves throughout the trip . . . 

Danielle with 3 of the 4 kids . . .

Photo of the 4 parents for our adults-only dinner out . . . 

Annual pre-departure pic of all 8 of us . . . Ethan is not here for our photo taking

Punta Mita 2015 - Part 3A: Fine Dining . . . and then this happened!

Ethan has always been the more adventurous eater of two boys, but our family dinner out in Punta Mita took things to a whole new level . . . 

Ethan has started to love fish and made up his mind that he wanted lobster for his dinner . . . after a quick Dad & Pai discussion, we decided, "damn the price, let's let him go for it!."  We expected a polite plating with a single lobster tail with masses of rice and other food to mask the handful of lobster bites . . . but no . . . instead, we received the ridiculous bounty below!  Lobster for days (or weeks!) . . . 

Ethan was so proud of himself and his dinner choice!

Punta Mita 2015 - Part 3: Fine Dining!

Punta Mita has just enough restaurants for us to make it through the week without repeating and there's not much opportunity to expand.  Here are a few highlights from our favorite meals . . . 

 

The standard Ethanoel pose - Ethan leaning in, arm around Noel with Noel grinning.  Love this one.

Gluttony . . . too . . . many . . . chicken . . . nuggets!!

Milam family dinner . . . Daddy and Noelly.

. . . and Ethan and Pai!

Last big night family dinner . . . lovely picture of Danielle

And the whole gang, approaching sunset.