Sam and Max go on vacation

 

The whole family: Sam, Mom, Dad and Max

At the end of August, the four of us (plus Grandma and Grandpa) rented a house at Lake Chelan for an end of summer trip. This was Sam and Max's first vacation ever! Here are photos from that trip and the rest of August, with anecdotes sprinkled throughout.

Sam enjoys riding the rocket car

Sam climbs up onto the window sill

In early August, both Sam and Max developed the skill and desire to climb. Sam is especially adventurous, as he fearlessly climbs onto things like the window sill. We've once again had to do a pass at baby-proofing our home. Our floor is reasonably well padded, so thankfully we haven't had any painful falls, yet.

Sam stands proudly on the toy tub

Max squatting

Sam trying to climb onto the play kitchen

We do our best to prevent the boys from climbing anywhere dangerous, and occasionally we take a photo before helping them down safely.

Sam enjoys playing with a big cardboard box

Sam and Max really enjoy two things at the moment 1) freedom and 2) anything that's new. Because they're so excited by anything at all new, we let them play with boxes or food containers that we'd otherwise immediately throw into the recycling. This tends to keep them entertained... for about five minutes.

Max eating some avocado and carrots

Grandpa Doug, Mom, Max, Sam, Dad and Grandma having dinner

Max taking in the view with Mom

Sam enjoying the view with Grandpa

Grandma painting the landscape

Sam trying out the pool floatie for babies

Amanda bought two of these pool floaties for babies so that Sam and Max could float around the pool. Neither of the boys were that thrilled with the floaties, so we didn't use them for very long. I think they felt a bit too restricted, and they had no idea how to kick to move around, so they didn't have the freedom that they tend to enjoy.

Max and Sam playing with toys and the sunscreen

Max, Dad, Mom and Sam

We spent most of our pool time carrying the boys around so they could enjoy the water. To be honest, they weren't nearly as excited about being in the pool as we imagined they would be. I think when they're a little older and can splash around on their own with life jackets or water wings it will be a lot more fun for them.

Max enjoyed walking around the pool

Sam and Max having a good lounge

Mom, Sam, Dad and Max

Big smiles!

Amanda enjoying her morning coffee with a bit of peace and quiet

Max holding his water cup and Sam holding two sunscreen bottles

For whatever reason, Sam really loved holding the sunscreen bottles on this trip. He got really upset when we tried to take the bottles away from him, and the lids were closed tight, so we just let him hold onto the bottles most of the day. Sam was especially fond of the spray bottle. I suspect he liked it because the spray bottle is metal, which feels cold to the touch and makes different sounds than most of the plastic or fabric toys that he normally gets to play with.

Max enjoying some pancakes and berries at breakfast

I realize that I post many photos of the boys eating, and this is for two reasons. First, the boys spend a lot of time eating, as each meal can take them thirty to forty-five minutes from start to finish. The second reason is that it is hard to get them to sit still and face the camera, but when they're trapped in their booster seats they can't escape my photography!

Amanda hiking

Grandpa and Grandma took care of the boys one day so that Amanda and I could take a short hike together. We often like to hike when travelling, and we look forward to sharing this with the boys some day.

The hills, and Lake Chelan

Mr. Tree

Amanda enjoying the views

A fiery looking sun hidden behind smoke

There were forest fires in the area, which meant that occasionally the sky would fill with smoke depending on which way the wind was blowing. For the most part it didn't affect our trip; however, this one evening the smoke made the sun look quite spectacular.

Mom and Max enjoying a tender moment 

A picturesque home we saw on our evening walks

"Boys, look at that!"

A deer!

We often take evening walks to get some exercise, show the boys a bit of the world, and pass the time before putting the boys down to sleep. It was quite nice walking around our area in Lake Chelan, although it was pretty hilly, so we got a bit more exercise than normal.