Visit to Santa

The boys and I went to visit Santa on Friday. I was so excited to see that the line wasn't very long, especially for 1:00pm the Friday before Christmas.

After several minutes of standing there, I soon found out that Santa was out "feeding reindeer" until 2:00. I thought about getting out of line to do a little shopping, but in 5 minutes the line doubled in length and I figured we probably weren't going to be able to get a picture if we didn't stay in line.

The boys behaved perfectly, considering they were hungry and anxious.

2:10pm..............FINALLY........Santa bellows a "HO....HO...HO..." and the long wait was worth it. The look on the their little faces was priceless. Garrett became real still, mesmerized by the sight of Santa. He watched Santa intently and with a very serious tone in his voice, said "Mom, LOOK..............it's Santa." Colton is the little boy who seems to think the world revolves around him, he just kept waving and smiling at the big guy, I think he thought Santa was looking solely at him.

Here is the picture of the boys with Santa.

Garrett didn't hardly move an inch. When asked what they wanted for Christmas; he moved in real close, with eyes as serious as could be, asked for Transformers.

Colton said he had been a very good boy and he wanted trains. As Santa turned back to Garrett, Colton continued to talk (eyes closed) as if he had Santa's undivided attention, he wants airplanes...........trains........The Polar Express train.....etc.

After our visit with Santa, we had a little snack in the food court, took a ride on the Merry Go Round and topped it all off with an Aunt Annie's cinnamon & sugar Pretzel.

All in all it was a fun day.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone!

We miss you all.

With Love,

Jeff, Linda, Garrett, and Colton

Mimi's visit

Mimi (from TX) was in town a couple of weeks ago, the kids were so excited to see her! We spent Saturday afternoon at the Seattle Aquarium, the boys had a blast.

On our way to the airport.

The boys are looking at these eels that hide in the sand. The thing that's sticking straight up that appears to be about an inch long is one.

Looking at Sea Urchins and Star Fish.

Colton

Colton is a month away from turning 4! I can't believe it! He can be SO crazy & silly one minute, and then incredibly loving & sweet the next. The crazy and silly is more common though.

He definitely has a strong mind of his own. He decided he wanted to take his training wheels off sometime in late July or early August. Next thing I knew, he was riding around as fast as he could pedal. He scares me, always seems to walk on the line between Fun and Disaster. :)

He started in the 3/4 pre school class last week. He screamed and cried on the first day. The second day he didn't even look back when the doors opened. I think he'll have a blast this year. His best friend (the only person he knows in the class) is Brooke. She's a cute little girl, she's the sister of one of the boys that was in Garrett's kindergarden class last year.

Updates on the Lutz family

Shrimp! We went to Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands for the 4th of July. Garrett spent hours laying down on the Dock, net in hand trying to get these little buggers.
4th of July Parade on Lopez Island, a short ride in the Dinghy from Friday Harbor.

My parent's took us on their boat for Garrett's birthday. That's what he wanted to do ;) He spent the afternoon fishing and picking starfish off the bottom side of the dock.
Here's Colton "fishing". He has to do everything his brother.
Garrett is still into Power Rangers. He's broaden his horizon to include Transformers, Spider man and "Magnetix." Yes, we've talked about the dangers of putting those things in their mouths. :)
More 4th of July

Garrett riding his bike

Snow boots in July

So far summer has been pretty uneventful. The boys enjoy riding their bikes and playing with the neighbor boys.

Check out Colton's feet. On this particular day it was near 100 degrees, one of the hottest days on record!

riding bikes

Colton is the "Champion"

Oh my, it has been a LONG time since my last post! Colton is our little actor! SO dramatic, everything he does is over the top and melodramatic. It's funny, he kind of sounds like someone else I know................could it be his daddy??? ;) In the Youtube video Colton thinks he is racing Garrett. So, when he gets to me he thinks he "won" the race. What race? There wasn't a race. Garrett was playing with someone else. Colton's overactive imagination was in overdrive. :)

Garrett's last day of School

Last day of School Sunshine Mountain

Garrett "graduated" from Kindergarten.

It was a fun day. Family and friends were invited to spend the last half of the day at the school as the kids had a "field day," playing games and showing us all the fun things they learned during the school year. After the fun and games, we sat down on the floor for a little picnic.

Click on the picture, I posted a "web album".

Heat Wave in Seattle

We had some warm weather last week, so out came the little pool. We really need to get a bigger one but I don't think we have the right backyard for one.

I couldn't get Colton to make a "nice" face, so this is what we're left with. :)

Garrett's last Field Trip

Garrett had his last field trip last week. The kindergarten class went to the Seattle Aquarium. The kids had a great time. One of the other Moms and I chaperoned our boys plus 3 other boys. :-O

Yep, FIVE 6 year old Boys in my car!!! That made for one "rowdy" ride to Seattle.

Here is Garrett at the end of the trip

"Best Friends"

Colton, groovin to the music

Somewhere near the middle, he decides to leave the room. As he's leaving, he gives us a little "peek" of his backside. :)

Planting for summer

Last year Garrett wanted to grow some vegetables, so we bought some seeds and watched them grow. We had fun with this little project. Last year it was green onions and corn. Much to my surprise, the corn actually grew and produced a couple of corn cobbs. :)

This year, Garrett wanted to grow brocolli, carrots and green onions.

Here is the start of the brocolli.

A day with his "best friend"

Garrett and Tyler

What ARE they watching?

It's even got Colton mesmerized!
SPONGEBOB!!!

How time flies

I don't have any new pictures to post so I thought I'd put some on that I recovered from our computer.

Despite what the date says on the picture, these pictures were taken September 2004. To think, Colton couldn't even walk yet.

Garrett had just turned 4.

Our trip to Yakima

The girls had their Regional competition in Yakima, WA last weekend. Yakima is about a 2 1/2 hour drive east of our house. Although it's not Texas, Jeff loves going there.

For those of you who don't know, Yakima is on the other side of the Cascade Mtns. Summer can get to be real hot and winter tends to be much colder than on our side.

Our schedule was pretty full with gymnastics. As usual the boys sat through the competition with a pretty good amount of patience. We didn't have a meet on Sunday so we decided to take the bikes and fishing poles to this park located within walking distance of our hotel.

Colton isn't exactly the most patient of fishermen. He kept asking us "is it in the water?", "do I have a fish?", "can I check it?".

Garrett had a great time. He'll put his own bait on if you let him. He did really well with his bike. You'd never guess that he didn't have the slightest clue as to how to ride a "2-wheeler" just 2 weeks ago.

Garrett's first t-ball game

Garrett had his first t-ball game today. He LOVED it!!! Not too much running around, "throwing," "catching," and hitting the ball...............he had a blast.

The first "inning" he was an outfielder, a great position for the kids; they get to play with the grass and do "twirly-twirls" while they're waiting. ;)

The second "inning" he was in the pitcher's position. Since it's t-ball, there isn't a need for a pitcher, but you have to "field" the ball in that position. He was on top of every ball hit his way, he was actually pretty aggressive in that position. Who knew???

Third "inning" (of 3), he was back in the outfield...............YAY. ;)

He did really well, I was really proud of him. We may have a baseball player in our family..............O.K. so maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself. :)

Colton spent the entire 90 minutes running back and forth on the grass, flinging his body to the ground and getting as dirty as he could get. In other words, he also had a blast!

I'll post a video when I get a chance.

Look at the big guy, he's "in the zone" :)

It's a "home run"

Actually, he was the last hitter so they had him run through to home.

"YEP, just hit a HOME RUN baby!!!" :)

You can't tell, but Colton is FILTHY!

Easter at the Lutz's

A few months back, Jeff planted a bunch of Tulips.

He is definitely the green thumb in the family.

I couldn't make a chia pet last more than a week.

What can I say??? Definitely got a mind of his own.
Gyozas!!! :)