Another Tacoma Visit

We just can't get enough of our cousins so we took another trip up to Tacoma. The real reason we went was  because Max has been called back to the Seattle Fire Department for an interview. That's kind of a big deal. He was narrowed down from 5000+ applicants to 2000ish applicants (all for about 60 jobs, yeah, it's competitive) Anyway, we didn't go for the actual interview which will be in January (actually on Gwenevere's 5th birthday so it will be fun to be in town for that) we went up for an interview orientation put on by the Seattle Fire Department where they teach you tons to prep you for the actual interview. With such fierce competition, we figured every little bit helps. But we also just love to visit our cousins. First of all, Hooray for Max and his accomplishments! That being said, the rest of this blog will mostly be about playing with cousins.

We arrived in Tacoma late on Wednesday night, everyone was asleep so we put Charlie in his bed then curled up on the large bean bag and went to sleep. In the morning we woke up and sent Max off. We all ate breakfast then walked to the library for story time and to play at the park. When we arrived at the Library, we realized that they didn't have story time until the holidays were over but we still had tons of fun anyway.

Everett slept on the library floor. I thought it would be funny to put a book on him to make it look like he fell asleep reading. He, of course, woke up from that but still looked just as adorable.

Happy Boy!

Gwenevere enjoyed some storytime.

Grace worked on the puzzle. But actually, she was throwing pieces on the floor.

Elizabeth is a super-mom. I get so scared of having two kids and she is making the 3-kids look easy! I know it isn't easy and she works hard to raise her kids so well and you can definitely notice the fruits of her labors!

Charlie liked the LEGO table. 

 When we got hungry we went outside for a snack and to play on the playground. It was a pretty cold day but that didn't slow these kids down. I wanted to take pictures of more than just Charlie but he kept doing crazy things so I had to stay close by him at all times.

These are the things that scared me. He is such a climber!

 Elizabeth took Everett on his first slide ride!

 Charlie was a fan of the fast twisty slide!

On our walk back, none of the kids wanted to be in the stroller. Near the end of the walk, Charlie was getting grumpy and having a hard time listening (nap time) he kept running off onto peoples' driveways. He also saw this puddle and got wild, excited eyes so I just let him go for it.

 When we arrived home Elizabeth and I made soup and bagels for lunch and Gwenevere got Everett all changed.

While we were eating lunch the UPS man came and brought an exciting surprise. 

Elizabeth has talked about getting matching stockings for as long as I've known her and this year she finally did it. So we had to do a photo shoot of the kids with their stockings. It was so exciting to see the girls so giddy about them. 

Grace loved her ballerina stocking!

Gwenevere picked out one that said 1st Christmas because she loved the reindeer. It will be her 4th Christmas but I think it will be a cute story for her to tell in the many years she uses her stocking!

The adorable Roemhildt children. 

 Gwenevere loves her baby brother! She takes such good care of him.

 We then attempted nap/quiet time and Charlie eventually went down for a nap while the girls watched some shows. Gwenevere and I did a puzzle which was super fun!

Max came home at the end of quiet time and he watched the kids while Elizabeth and I prepped dinner. We made Venison fajitas made from the deer Max caught. YUM! After dinner we helped clean up a bit and were getting close to leaving when we decided to throw Charlie in the bath with the girls. I think the pictures speak for themselves but these kids are definitely water lovers!

They are all so excited here!

 We then got Charlie out and got him in his pajamas and got in the car to go home. It was another fantastic visit with family. We are always so spoiled when we venture up to Tacoma.