The Optometrist

I went in to the optometrist for an eye exam yesterday.  One of my eyes has been bothering me off an on for the past little while.  But switching to just wearing glasses has made it much better.  Since I haven't had my eyes checked in many many years, I thought it was time to see the optometrist.  It was in Spokane Valley and Will was very kind to watch the girls while I had my appointment.
I was able to narrow down my glasses selection to these three pairs.  I knew that I wanted something a little more bold and a little more fun than my current glasses since I plan on wearing them most of the time.

I guess they all look very similar in these pictures, but it was nice to be able to look at the pictures at the eye exam place and get a different viewpoint of what I would look like wearing the glasses.  Tune in in like two weeks when I get my pair to see which ones I selected. 

And Whitney got to try on lots of glasses as well.  I think she is trying to act like a police officer in this picture.

A short visit

Will's sister, Emily, and her family were visiting family in Portland and they wanted to see us as they drove back to Colorado.  We wanted to see them on their way back, so we met up in the Tri-Cities to hang out with them for a little bit.  It was just a fast trip because they had lots more driving to do, but we were really excited to get to see them.  It has been about a year since the last time we saw them.  We met up at the Playground of Dreams in Kennewick.

Will brought his bubble contraption and it was a real hit with all the kids.  Here is Emily giving it a go. 

I think Matthew liked the bubbles the best.  He loved making his own (and got really good at making them) and he loved chasing the ones that Will made.

Grant got ahold of the flyswatter that has holes cut out of it which makes for a good bubble wand for little kids.  He waved it around and got a lot of little bubbles all over the grass. 

After bubbles, the kids had a ball playing on the playground.  Whitney and Anna stayed pretty close to each other.  Anna is about a year and a half older than Whitney and she was very nice and let Whitney tag along with her.  I think this picture is really cute with both of them smiling in their little boat.

All Matthew needs is a hard hat and he could be a great construction worker.  Here he goes to town digging for whatever can be found in the bark.

Whitney and Anna both like swinging.  I didn't get a picture, but they were both on the tire swing for awhile just chilling together. 
After playing at the playground, we went out to the Olive Garden for dinner together and then we had to say goodbye to the Guptills.  They wanted to keep driving for a little longer that evening.  Thanks for visiting us.  We had lots of fun.  We will have to go down to Colorado and visit them some time.

Saturday was just a relaxing day with my family.  We went to Chiawana park in the afternoon and only got a little sunburned.  Whitney loves holding grandma's hand and is happy to be walking to the water.  There were a lot of duck feathers and seagull feathers all around the water's edge that Whitney kept trying to throw into the water.  It was pretty funny because the feather often just floated right back to her.  Oh well.

Rachel is not too happy in this picture because we had just put her feet in the water.  It was apparently too cold for her because she started crying right away.  Again I say, oh well.  We went back to Cheney Saturday evening so we could spend Fathers Day without driving and just being by ourselves.

That is pretty much all that has been happening here. Hope everyone is doing well.

Potty Training

Why was I never warned just how difficult potty training can be?  We have only been doing potty training for the past six days and I already want it to be done.  But I guess that just doesn't work.

This is our potty chair that we are using.  It was given to us by a friend whose little boy was too young for potty training.  We have had this chair for about seven months; I have really been putting off the potty training.  Now all of Whitney's friends in nursery are starting to learn to use the potty, so we decided that we better start as well.
So we bought a bag of jelly beans as a reward for using the potty.  At first, Whitney was afraid to even sit on the potty, so she got a jelly bean for just trying to use the toilet, but now she isn't afraid anymore.  I am thankful for that.

I didn't take any pictures of the actual sitting on the potty, but this is Whitney right after she went potty for the first time in the toilet.  I let her play with a whole bunch of stickers and she put them all on our little brown toy chest.  She kept saying "What is that?" when she saw that she had gone to the bathroom.  So I am hoping she is starting to recognize the feeling of going to the bathroom in the toilet. 
What else should I do for potty training besides just leaving her on the potty for a long time while we eat or read books or watch TV or whatever?  I would love potty-training suggestions.

Anyway, that is what we have been doing this week and will be continuing to do for a long time.  Cheney has been rainy, so we have been spending lots of time inside.  I hope next week will be better.