July fun

All righty, lets see if I can make it through July.. finally!

We started off the month with a trip to the zoo with friends to check out the new tiger exhibit. I'm so thankful to live so close to such a neat zoo. I love having a membership and not having to worry about seeing all the animals and rushing through.

It was a beautiful and busy day, but we will saw a ton of animals!

The carousel is always one of the kids' favorite things to do. Colter was pretending his horse was an "old steam engine" I wish you could hear his accent when he says it.. kind of with a southern drawl. "This is old 99" he said.

Hear me roar!

Not sure Savannah enjoyed this arrangement, but she tolerated it much to Maddie's delight. 

We made our annual trip to the greenlake wading pool. I feel like it gets better every year. The kids loved running around in the warm water with all the cousins. 

Wrote about our 4th of July back here

I hosted a marshmallow summer fun day with the cousins. We made marshmallow goo, tried out marshmallow shooters using toilet paper tubes and balloons (which were a major fail), and threw mini marshmallows at people's shaving cream covered heads. Fun times. 

I had Woodlands Park in Kirkland on my bucket list to check out. It was an awesome park for my age of kids, but with little ones, it might prove to be more of a challenge. There is no parking next to the playground, you have to park on a side street and then walk along some pretty neat boardwalks to get there. The park was awesome. I loved that there was a toddler area fenced inside the larger playground. I'm a sucker for wooden playgrounds. The kids found plenty to do. Their favorite parts were the tire swing of course, and the rocket ship, train, and fire engine car- all made out of wood. 

That night we had a ladies night in Edmonds for church. It was so fun to just sit, talk, and enjoy the sunset. No wet clothes, snacks galore or shovels needed!

I wrote about our awesome weekend in Ocean Shores here

I met up with Sam in Kirkland for the Johnny Bregar concert. We love Johnny Bregar, but at this concert he kept stopping during every song to talk about something and it was annoying even me! ha. We ended up heading to the beach before the concert was early, and enjoyed the great digging and beach time. 

My little astronaut digger. I'm sure memories of being a mom to littles will fade over time, but  I hope I remember the constant dress up, the amazing stories, and the sweet moments of digging rivers and making dams with my little dude.

My mom took Colter to play group, and I got to meet up with two little girls from Maddie's music class at a great private beach club. I love having moments where she has the chance to socialize with kids her age. These girls were so cute together.

We met my mom, who was watching my sister's twins, in Edmonds for a stroll around the farmer's marker and then down to the beach.

We had some fun over at auntie's house, playing at the park and on the trampoline

Also on my bucket list was making homemade popsicles. The kids and I were overly excited to eat them, and didn't wait long enough for them to firm up. There were lots of tears shed over these dang popsicles.. so much that we ended up eating ice cream sandwiches and trying them the next day. ha

Another day full of imagination .. a construction worker on Mars and a serious space shuttle launch.

I went to a ladies night out to celebrate Lindsey and Jenni's birthday. We went to a fancy French restaurant called Bastille. It is so wonderful to let loose and just have hours and hours of laughing and talking. 

During play group, Maddie and I always have a little fun exploring time. There is an incredible crepe/coffee shop just around the corner. They have a great little plaza with a huge chess game, a fire pit, and a fun fountain. 

I've been wanting to check out Lake Whatcom Railway for a while. The drive was beautiful, but the place was ... interesting. The turn off led to a long gravel road. When we arrived at the parking lot, there was only one other car there. There were two workers that walked us around and it totally reminded me of a dateline episode. It was mainly a bunch of old broken down railroad cars, with a working handcar that they give rides on for $10 per person. No thanks. Colter and Maddie still loved it and were super jazzed to get to pick a railroad spike from a huge random pile. Definitely wont go back, but we enjoyed the family time. 

I met my mom at a nature preserve in Everett for a quick walk. It's a perfect little loop trail for kids with lots of spots of adventures. Wooden bridges, a cave, areas to throw rocks and sticks in the water, and plenty of opportunities to see some birds/ducks, and possibly other animals!

My buddy and I built this lincoln log tower. I can never get attached to our creations, but it's guaranteed to be knocked down by a flood, rock slide, or accidental demolition within minutes. 

I met Ben's cousin Tamara and her kiddos at Mt Baker Beach to watch the blue angels. Another favorite summer event! It's hilarious to me how quickly the kids lose interest of these incredible planes flying right overhead. The beach is awesome though! 

That night we met up with some more of Ben's relatives at the Seattle center for some dinner at the armory and play time at the fountain. 

We made it back to the Magnolia Parade. It is such a great parade- lots of bands, people throwing candy, and minimal advertising. I have a video from the parade of bagpipers on my phone , and Maddie plays it at least once a day. Loves those bagpipers haha.