July week 3

One of our friends owns a horse and she is super generous and gives rides to kids. One morning we met up at Brier Park and got to ride Cinnamon. Colter loved it so much and for many days after wanted to "play Cinnamon" all the time.

We really lucked out in the fun date department this month, thanks to Nana being in town. My mom watched ALL the kids (that's 7 folks), while we went out on a double date to the greenlake chip and put and then to Dicks for shakes. It always feels so special when we get to spend time without kids. Besides my sister getting nailed in the arm by a golf ball that no one would claim, it was all fun.

Grandpa Willie came into town and on Saturday we took him to the farmer's market for some tasty donuts, beautiful flowers, fudge, and other market yumminess. We also went down to the beach afterwards for some train spotting.

That night we met up with the Heavilands, Wornicks, and Kelsey's mom and boyfriend for a dinner at Mukilteo beach. We were really hoping for a fire pit, but when we got there, they were all taken. I walked around trying to figure out who might be done first and we parked it by the one I guessed on. Wouldn't you know it, but the group left within 5 minutes of us getting there. Score!

We met my good friend Sam at a new beach in Everett. It had a train bridge, great little stream to play in, and a fun beach to throw rocks . I have seen how life changes a bit when the kids start attending school, so I am trying to really cherish this time and freedom with the kids.

My friend Stephanie came into town from Texas and there were also birthdays during the summer that hadn't been celebrated yet, so a girls night was arraigned! We had such a special time laughing, telling funny stories, and just enjoying some uninterrupted time together.

The next day, the kids and I drove up to visit Stephanie at her parent's house in Big Lake. It is a such a beautiful area to explore! We took the kids on a walk in the woods where much berry eating and "saw mill" working took place. Stephanie provided us a delicious lunch, and then we spent the afternoon playing around the house. Colter is getting to an age where he's starting to play with other kids. We played "bear cave" for a loooooooong time. Seeing the look on the kids' faces when I jumped out from my hiding spot never got old.

And the fun continues....

July week 2

I took the kids to the new and improved City Park in Edmonds. They've done a great job and we'll definitely be back. Unfortunately our time didn't last long because a little boy showed up with the coolest HUGE garbage truck I've ever seen and Colter had such a hard time with it not being his that we had to move on. We redeemed our time with a fun trip to the beach and train station though!

Ben and lots of his guy friends took their sons on a "dads and lads" camp out. Besides the going to sleep part, Colter LOVED it, and had so much fun being in the woods getting filthy, eating smores, playing "saw mill" with his digger and dump truck, and going on walks with dad. It's so fun that he's getting to the age to be more independent and have fun with his friends.

While Ben was away, I slept over at my sister's house with Maddie. We watched a movie and ate some yummy snacks.

My sister hosted a beach skewer party in Edmonds. Everyone brought a different skewer to share. Such a fun idea. My favorite was the caprese skewer Jessica brought, but the dessert one was a close second.

I have kept in touch with a former coworker from Bethany (Amie). She lived in Bellingham while we worked together, but moved to Marrowstone Island/Port Townsend area a couple of years ago. We were supposed to go camping out on their property in April, but the weather kept us home. I finally made the trip out there and it was such a special day. We haven't spent time together since our boys were born over 3 years ago, and we've both had another child since! It felt like no time had passed since we saw each other. It was so easy to pick up where we left off and catch up. I guess that's the sign of a good friend!

summer fun continued- July week 1

When you're in the middle of having tons of fun, it's hard to realize how much you are actually doing until you look at the pictures! Here's a snapshot of the first week of July.

We've had a lot of beach days this month. It's been so fun to finally put Maddie in all the cute girly summer outfits I've been hanging on to.

That same night, Ben and I went back to Edmonds for our date night. It was a perfect night for a walk along the water, ice cream, and watching the sunset.

We haven't been to the zoo as much as i'd like this summer, but we managed to make it there on the red white and blue zoo day, where they feed the animals different summer fruit. We also happened to be at the hippos right when they were fed watermelon. It is amazing how powerful they are! After the zoo we tried out the new park. It is really spread out, so it was a little challenging keeping an eye on both kiddos, but the play equipment is amazing!

We purchased another groupon for the electric boat and this time brought along the kiddos for a dinner cruise. It is such a fun experience to be out on the water, jamming out to tunes, taking in all the fun sites. There were a ton of seaplanes taking off right next to us. One started its takeoff right by us and caused so much wind to stir up it was a little scary! It was one of those nights where I looked around the boat and felt immense gratitude for my life. Little things like Colter snuggled up with Jessie and Mark, Maddie reaching for the water and laughing, Saisha standing up on table singing Frozen, and Austin and Kelsey snuggled together and knowing that they are going to become parents soon. So many little things to be thankful for.

My sister (who let me remind you has 5 children), suggested we do a dinner hike. Thank goodness for her adventurous spirit because I would have never thought of doing that. It ended up being so fun despite a few tumbles, scary end at the waterfall, etc. I always say how thankful I am that we can get out of town so easily and feel like we are in the middle of nowhere.

Ben and I went canoeing at the arboretum. Another amazing thing to do in Seattle where you quickly feel like you are some place way more remote. I also learned that I should never take forgranted Ben's ability to steer a canoe. I didn't think it was a big deal to be in the back, but boy did I learn my lesson! I almost crashed us a billion times. I definitely disrupted some eco systems when I canoed us in to many lily pads. I also crashed into a prickly blackberry bush and that's when I called it quits. We maneuvered a seat change and I enjoyed the peacefulness of the front :)