Namansdag Magnus!

I found out about name days back in February.  It is a tradition in Sweden and some other European countries to celebrate a person on the day assigned to their name on the calendar.  I looked up Magnus and Ragnar and found their name days and then put it on our calendar to celebrate.  We thought it would be a great way for each of our twins to have their own special day since they share a birthday.  We decided to bake a cake together for name day and that during that day the name day child could pick what we ate for meals as well as get a small gift.

Magnus decided he wanted to get a giant mylar balloon for name day.  We went to the party store and picked one out.  We then went to the grocery store, and he picked out the cake, frosting and decorations for his name day cake.  We came home and made the cake, and he picked his favorite takeout food for lunch- grilled cheese/fries/lemonade.  He loved his name day cake, and we sang "happy name day" (to happy birthday tune) to him.  I think he was pleased with the day and felt very special.

Magnus' Haircut

Magnus' hair was getting in his eyes and looking a bit shaggy on the sides.  I decided to trim it and in the process a lot more was cut than I planned.  I also trimmed Ragnar's hair at the same time, but he gets trims every other month or so.  Magnus did a great job sitting still for his cut and was very excited that he also got to have his hair cut like his brother.

Art

Coloring with chalk on our driveway is a favorite past time this summer.  We have a great blacktop to work with, and the colors really stand out.  All of the neighborhood kids come over and color with us almost every night when it is nice out.  It's been really fun to get to know our neighbors better. 

Ragnar's coloring skills have steadily been improving.  His artwork is actually starting to look like what he says it is.  He drew this and told me "big pider that come and get me." (He says pider instead of spider)

It looks like a big spider to me.

Brip

Magnus loves his stuffed monster Brip. Lately he sleeps with him, eats with him and plays with him. Consequently, Brip gets filthy. Normally Nate washes and dries Brip while we are at church. That way Magnus never misses him. But for the past two Sundays that hasn't been possible. Tonight I told Magnus I had to give Brip a bath while he slept. He was ok with that until it was actually bedtime. He was so distraught that I got out our backup-emergency-if-we-lose-the-original Brip. I handed it to Magnus. He looked at Brip, rubbed his unpilled surface and declared "that not my Brippy". He grudgingly put Brip down in his crib and laid next to him instead of on him like usual. Luckily, I was able to swap out imposter Brip for original Brip as he slept.  He woke up in the morning and was very happy to have his buddy back.  He didn't let him out of his sight the whole day.

Amusement Park Take 2

We went back to Remlinger farm for another go at rides.  This time Auntie Dani came with us.  It was a very hot, sunny day.

Both boys were a bit more relaxed this time as they knew what to expect.  Ragnar decided he wanted to try the pony rides. He rode on "Coconut" and was in love.

Magnus went on the roller coaster.  Or as they both call it "the fast train." Of course, he had to ride with Auntie.

They both enjoyed most of the other rides.

They also tried the kid ferris wheel.  Magnus wasn't happy in it and kept yelling at us to get him out.  Poor kiddo.  Finally, the ride operator got him out and he was glad to be back on solid ground.

Last day in Long Beach

It was colder and mistier today.  But, once again the duo didn't mind.  Today was a repeat of a lot from the day before.  The only exception is we had coats on early in the day until it warmed up a bit.
The boys love the beach and would have been happy to spend all day there.

 

We swam in the afternoon and had a nice dinner at home before turning in for the night.  We packed up and left the next morning.  Once again, the drive was great until the last 1/2 hour.  

Beach Photo Shoot

I was excited to have Nate take some photos of the boys at the beach.  Here are some of my favorites from the posed and candid's he took.

Long Beach

We headed down to the beach bright and early.  We brought a picnic lunch with us so that we could stay the whole morning. 

It was cold and gray and a bit misty, but the boys were in heaven.  They were excited to use their sand toys and make castles and holes with Papa in the sand.

 

 

We also played in all the puddles and the "river."

The wind picked up so we got our kite out.  The kite went up on the first try.  Both boys had a turn at flying it, but Magnus was enthralled and flew it for a long time.

The sun came out around lunchtime, and we enjoyed it while we ate.

 

After lunch we napped back at the condo.  After the nap we went swimming in the indoor pool at our condo. The boys had a great time. 

We ate dinner in town and walked around a bit.  Of course, we had to get our picture taken with the world's largest frying pan. 

 

We ate dinner at the condo and then watched a movie all cuddled up on the couch with our fireplace going.  It was a wonderful day.

Family Vacation

This is our first family vacation that isn't visiting other family.  We loaded up our duo and all of our stuff and drove to the Washington coast.  We decided on Long Beach as we have never visited it, and it looked like a great location for us to play and relax.  It took us about 4 hours to get there.  The boys did really well on the drive.  The last half hour was hard for Magnus, but he made it and we got to our rental condo.  Once we had unpacked the car we walked down to the beach. 

Our condo is on the edge of the sand dunes and there is a trail straight to the beach through them.  The boys were amazed by the tall, tall grass.

After walking through the dunes and soft sand we were on the packed down sand.  Both boys took off their boots and ran for the water.  It was AWESOME!  They were so excited to see the ocean.  It was their first time at the ocean, and they ran right for the waves. 

Ragnar tried to turn around and run away from a wave, but he got hit from behind and was knocked down. He ended up soaking wet but didn't want to go get changed.

 

We then walked around and splashed in some "piddles" (puddles) and the boys climbed into a giant hole someone had dug in the soft sand area.

 

 

We walked back through the dunes after about an hour and washed the boys up.

 

 



We then headed into town to grocery shop and grab dinner.  It took a bit for the boys to calm down and sleep that night, but they eventually did.