First Day of Second Grade

*Sniff* *Sniff* Summer is over. I'm happy for the routine and for a slight break. But, I want the time with my kids and I have a hard time letting go. That being said they seem to have a great teacher, Mrs. Olsen and are really enjoying school.

Stone.Ridge

My mom and dad do a timeshare and stay at Stone.ridge every year. And I always take the kids up for a day to do crafts, golf, and swim. It's a favorite summer activity!


Molly LOVED the craft. Painting a piggy bank was a favorite. There was not enough time to complete it to her perfectionist expectations!

Katie and Grandma Patti!

Katie realized she could swim. As in, really swim! She was so proud and worked hard. And then posed. And then swam. And then posed. :)

 

Grandpa Bob even golfed (9 holes)

 

Katie golfs just like her daddy. I kid. Kind of.

 

One of my favorite moments was this one. Grandma and I were watching from the side of the pool. Katie really wanted to practice swimming. Joshua decided to be her instructor and helped her practice swimming back and forth. It was adorable and made my heart swell!



Lake Day 2013

Towards the end of summer, we rented a boat with my brother and his family. It was one of the best days I've had in a long time. The smile on the kids' faces says it all. Molly skied on Uncle Adam's shoulders, and the boys both got up on skiis. All four kids went tubing and absolutely loved it!


Thomas and Abby tubing!

The cousins all show their great form! (Thomas-7, Molly-4, Macey-7, Katie-4, Joshua-7, Natalie 18 months, Abby- 10, Macey-7)

 Joshua up and skiing. Look at that face!

 Katie was so comfortable tubing. She even had time to wave!

 "No hands" Thomas!

 Thomas up on skiis!

 Molly riding on Adam's shoulders!

 Joshua getting ready to ski.

 Thomas working on getting up. Don't be fooled. I bribed them with Pokémon cards part-way through these attempts because they were ready to quit. So glad I bribed them because soon they were up and skiing!

 Natalie and Molly tubing!

 Cousins tubing. Pure joy.

 Joshua can hardly believe he got up! His face was so awesome!

Spokane Civic Theater- Charlotte's Web

I signed both boys up for a Civic Theater class this summer. The performance was Charlotte's Web. Thomas is always reluctant, but ends up loving the class every single time (this was his second). :) In the play, Thomas was Arabel (Fern's dad) and the County Fair President. Joshua was Charlotte! I cannot express the joy in my heart when they perform. They love it and I love watching it.

Spike and Dig!

Dan did Spike and Dig this year. It was so fun to watch!

Ya.. He's awesome...

Family Vacation 2013

Our yearly vacation with our buddies, the Worthy family, was a real blast. We stayed in Linc.oln City in a house we rented.


The girls were at home in the sand.

The kids at the beach.

 

Family photo 2013

 

The surprise photo! Thanks kids.

 

Katie is especially happy at the beach. I swear it's the place her heart is happiest. She takes after her mama.

 

The kids were exhausted every night.

STP/Fort Ste.vens

Dan did the Seattle to Portland (STP) race again this year. His dad had a nasty wreck the week before and was unable to ride, so Dan rode with his cousin, Mikal.

 

 

 

After STP, we decided to take a quick trip to Fort Ste.vens for a night. Joshua has asked for a couple years about following the Lewis and Clark trail. We thought it would be fun to take the kids to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. It was so fun!

 

The kids LOVED the beach, and the ship wreck was pretty cool too!

 

 

 

 



Best Friends....Our First Friend Moves

Molly and our neighbor Camden have been friends for the last couple years. Sadly, Camen's daddy got a new job in Port.land so they moved. Molly was (is) heartbroken. She is mad. She asks me why we don't move, why I took her best friend away, why his mommy doesn't bring him back. It's sad. But before they moved we had some good playdates. And when they boxed up their house, we let them roam the house together to help cement the idea. Rough!

The River

Our favorite place in the summer is at the river. The older the kids get, the easier it is to spend all day on the beach playing and swimming. This year, the kids made amazing progress in their swimming. AMAZING! The boys no longer wear life jackets and Katie is really close to swimming without a life jacket. The boys learned to dive and can nearly flip as well (off the dock).