First Halloween in Seattle!

Halloween has always been serious business in the Milam household . . . last year we were the fearsome foursome school of sharks and we knew we had to up our game for 2014.

After taking my new job in Seattle in September, our travel schedule required that we spend Halloween in Seattle, which turned out to be a spectacular decision.  We caught up with Uncle Ronny and then paired up with a great family from work and went to the Queen Anne area, where all of the businesses handout candy to the kids in an incredibly easy, fun environment.

The boys loved the whole experience . . . nonstop candy every 3-5 steps . . . what more could they ask for??

Now . . . onto the costumes . . .

Our legendary bosses:  Noelly Optimus Prime and Ethan Darth Vader

The bosses with their minionst:  Pai Stormtrooper and Daddy Bumblebee

Transformers R-O-L-L . . . 

This picture KILLS me . . . I mean that Stormtrooper is DIS-interested and lacking discipline, while Darth is commanding respect.

First Trip to Seattle: Part 2

So we've arrived, settled into our apartment, which is nice, just a bit crampt -  four of us in 800 sq. feet.  Luckily, it's an amazing building with a ton to do there and we're right in the middle of downtown where we can go on these great Urban Adventures.

The boys have totally taken to the city and love exploring the new scene.  And a little wind and rain doesn't phase them either - they just keep on going through it all


On our first outing they proclaimed, "Pai - look, it's Little Blue Truck!  We didn't know he lived here!"  For those not in the know, it's one of their favorite books - go HERE for a reference.

On Day 2, Bruce arranged for us to go on one of those Duck Tours.  Super Touristy, yes, but the boys had a blast and we got to see most of the city in under 2 hours with a lovely duck whistle accompaniment:

On Day 3, we rode the monorail down to the Space Needle, where we paid for our tickets, rode up the elevator and after about 5 minutes, the boys declared they'd had enough and wanted to head back down (the cost per minute on that transaction was maddening):

Ethan taking in the sites

Noel looking too much like a grown up...

A pit stop in between the monorail and the Space Needle

Post Space Needle candid photo - moments before, his shirt was off.

We're at this massive water feature and they're protecting us from it.

Having a world famous "Dingleberry" - aka chocolate covered strawberries.

We took a lovely boat ride with Bruce's boss the last day

And some brotherly love as we landed back in Dallas.

First Trip to Seattle - Part 1

In early October, the boys and I made our first trip out to see Bruce in Seattle.  It was my first time traveling with the boys alone and it was a four hour flight.

I know - you all know me as the poster child for "cool as a cucumber" - unflappable, overly planned, think of everything - you'd never know on the inside I'm like this:

Who am I kidding - I'd planned for nothing, forgot to pack any pajamas for the boys and barely managed to grab iPads as we headed out the door.  My only goal was getting both of the boys to Seattle - that would deem the trip a successful one.

That being said, the plane experience was lovely, the boys were amazing and set the tone and routine for our future trips to the Northwest:

The night before the flight - the boys are SO excited to talk to Bruce.

Ever the stylish travelers - backpacks and all

They both sacked out for about an hour giving me a nice peaceful moment to read and relax - well, as relaxed as you can get with two 40-ish lb. boys strewn across my lap:

Dad & Pai in Parrot Cay - Dad & Pai's Story!

Dad & Pai don't get a lot of personal airtime on this blog, but I thought I'd finish out the story with our side of the story, which was a visit to a private island in Turks & Caicos.  Adam found the place and got us upgraded to this ridiculous house, which was on the outer perimeter of the resort . . . ridiculously lovely and remote . . . a dream for this introvert! 

 

It was our first trip to the Caribbean and the clear water was warm and incredibly . . . not sure we're going to give up our Mayakoba staple, but Pai definitely did us well on this trip!

 

Pai showing off the house and our private pool . . .

The view from our patio . . .

Looking left from the ocean . . . nothing but solitude as far as we could see . . .

Responding to Ronny's text with the picture showing Ethan covering his eyes . . .

Adam relaxing and attempting his vacation special - the NY Times crossword

Gorgeous view at sunset . . .

Dad & Pai in Parrot Cay - Ethan & Noel Caregiving Part II: The Shroyers!!

After the stay at Uncle Ronny's, the boys transitioned to their first overnight with friends . . . staying with the Shroyers.  I work(ed) with Dan at HBK and we've grown to love all four of the Shroyers, even taking a great trip to Vail with them (predecessor blog post to follow).

 

The boys love Mia and Grant, who treat the boys as such great friends.  We had supreme faith in the Shroyers to watch the boys, but we were still a little nervous about how the boys would handle being in an unfamiliar space.  All nervousness was clearly unfounded . . .

 

Arrival!  Look at those 4 smiles!



Movie time!

The boys love a good activity, especially if it involved cookies and M&Ms



Why take your shoes off when baking on top of the counter?

Grant regaling the boys with a bedtime story

pretty friggin' adorable . . .

Dad & Pai in Parrot Cay - Ethan & Noel Caregiving Part I: Uncle Ronnie!

Pai has really stepped up his blogging game and I gotta keep up!!  Found a host of posts in "draft" status, so better sooner than later!

 

I think everyone is aware that I took a new job in Seattle, which started in September, 2014.  HBK kept me on longer than I expected, so Pai and I had to be creative to fit in a trip before I took the leap. We planned a trip to Turks & Caicos and turned to a slew of fantastic caretakers to watch the boys over the 5 days . . . first up, a few days with the boys' favorite play buddy, Uncle Ronny!

 

Noelly showing us how Uncle Ronny handles car safety while driving down the Interstate

Ethan getting in on the action . . .

Noelly showing just how close he is to fitting into adult size t-shirts . . . wasn't that long ago when the neck hole would slip over his shoulders.

Ethan showing his ninja pose!

Summer Staycation with Gramma and Papa . . .

We've long since appreciated that the boys enjoy their time with each and everyone one of our extended family . . . as long as they have each other to lean on, they're both usually up for any adventure on the table.

 

Dad and Pai did a below average job of finding summer activities this summer after our Alcuin June session ended . . . this was our first full week of no school and the boys took their first staycation to Flower Mound to spend a couple of nights with Gramma and Papa.   They've always loved their time at the condo, but the house in Flower Mound represents a whole new adventure . . .

 



 

The biggest hit:  A fun slip-n-slide down the hill in G&P's back yard

Ethan modeling Gramma's slippers in an effort to warm his feet up!

Super adorable pic of the boys exhausted after a long day of activities.

July 4 visit with the Waids . . .

We spent July 4 with our favorite family, who also double as our favorite Godfamily for the boys . . . the boys are head over heels for Coco and Teal and Dad/Pai always get some great time with Travis & Denise.  Sad we didn't get a full group photo out of this trip, but lots of great shots of the kids . . .

Noel was sooooo excited to share the double swing with Coco . . .

Ethan and Teal enjoying Klyde Warren Park (we lasted 18.4 minutes in the 95 degree heat!)

 

The boys and Coco made a homemade apple pie with Aunt Denise . . . super delicious!

Travis and Adam (who is holding Dad's sweat towel at Klyde Warren)

The boys begging Coco to stay and live with us forever!

Punta Mita 2014

We made our fourth trek out to Mexico for Spring Break and it's amazing how much changes with the boys each time.  They went from being these little wobbly boys who didn't want near the water and now they can't get enough of it.  Bill and Barb went with us this year and it was a great trip from beginning to end.

Here's a little series of the boys having a ball in the water:

Noel and Ethan "helping" Papa with his jigsaw puzzle:

Noel kept finding the perfect piece and knew exactly where it went!

Ethan acting as project manager on this year's sand castle project.  Pai was the general contractor:

 Last day family photo shoot.  Ethan grabbed the camera and told me to make a funny face:

Then he gave Noel the camera and struck this pose:

Finally, we got everyone together for a nice photo: