It used to be that almost every night, Erin and I would go upstairs to bed and find Cole in our bed or he would wander in sometime before morning to cuddle.  It seems that these nights are less and less common.  Do they have to grow so fast?

Yesterday, we decided it would be fun for the kids to help us make home made pizza.  I visited Pine Lake Pizza just around the corner for fresh dough.  Pine Lake has the best NY style pizza around and they sell their dough for $3.00 a pizza so I bought enough for four pies.  I loaded up on fresh ingredients so that we could make several different kinds of pizza, from traditional to gourmet pies that had a pesto, olive oil and garlic base. 

We fired up the green egg to 525 degrees, sprinkled a little corn meal on the pizza stone so that the pizza wouldn’t stick and cooked each pie for 15 minutes. 

The results were awesome! 

Before Kate got back on a plane for home on Sunday, we drove over to Discovery Park in West Seattle.  The park is on the grounds of Fort Walton and offers miles of trails that open to the Puget Sound.  It was another gorgeous day, so we took lot’s of pictures.  In addition to the ones you’ll find below, click here or on any of the pictures for a slide show of more shots that we took throughout the day. 

The boys exploring a field leading to the water

Cole taking a break on the trail

Ian pouting after getting into trouble

Last week, Erin’s folks and my sister Kate flew in to town from Ohio and San Diego respectively to celebrate Nathan’s first communion this past Saturday.  The weather was incredible albeit a bit hot (close to 90 degrees).  After a couple of baseball games in the morning, the boys dressed up and allowed me to get some pictures of them looking like they are little adults.  After the 5PM mass, we drove to Bellevue for a dinner celebration which lasted until almost 10:00 PM.  The boys were pretty beat by the time we got home, but we still managed to get rolling at a decent time Sunday.  More pictures from Sunday to follow, but first, I’ve posted some pictures from Nathan’s big day below.  If you click on any of them, there is a slideshow with many more pictures.  Enjoy!

I can’t believe how mature they are looking

First family picture we’ve taken in a long time…

Grandpa and Nathan looking at Nathan’s rosary

Ian having a GQ moment

Nathan getting ready to enjoy dessert.

We enjoyed a low key day today.  Despite the rain, Erin managed to find a few hours to  garden and I grilled out a couple of t-bones this evening.  With the crappy weather, I gave up on trying to get a family portrait so I decided to grab some individual shots of the kids throughout the day and evening. 

Here are several of Cole that I think capture his spirit.

And another few of Ian vegging out in front of the TV.

And finally, Nathan just before bed.

This morning Erin, Cole and I headed over to Nathan’s school for a choir performance followed by a visit to his classroom to check out some of the projects they have been working on this year. 

Not the best seats, but….

Nathan showing off a cactus he built for his project focused on desert regions.

Nathan giving us the power point lecture on desert flora and fauna.

Cole competing for mom’s attention as Nathan shows off his work.

Nathan’s ‘rocket’ art project.  I think his was the only design incorporating solid rocket boosters

Tonight, Erin took Ian to his ball game while I stayed back to watch Nathan and Cole (who are both nursing colds).  I used the opportunity to get some work done in my office and when I emerged to check on them, I found Cole playing XBox with Nathan.  Glad I turned the parental controls on months ago!