concert in the park

The kids and I attended a concert at Elizabeth Park last week. It was a beautiful night and we had a lot of fun. They all enjoy dancing and spent most of the evening out there. The big kids are getting more "refined" in their dancing. But I was thrilled to catch some of Ethan's signature dance moves!

hot, hot, hot

It was finally hot here this weekend. I'm not one who generally enjoys the heat - but even I have to admit that this summer has been ridiculously cold. So we took the hot weather we were given and we ran with it. The kids played in the sprinkler several times. (The view of swimsuits hanging on the front porch to dry is one of my favorites!) We BBQ'd burgers and corn on the cob. And then Sunday night after dinner we took a drive out to Sudden Valley and got ice cream and put our feet in the water. Patrick and I lived out there before we had kids and we had fun showing them our old house and some of our favorite places.

**Do you see Ethan's puffy black eye? It looks much worse in person. He fell while we were at Fred Meyer this weekend. He screamed and screamed. I got lots of 'what kind of mother are you?' glares. It was awesome. Note to self - always smile at the Mama who is trying to comfort her screaming kid. She could probably use it!

summer days

We have been having a great summer. There have been no fancy vacations or super-exciting destinations. We've just been enjoying what each day brings. Loving this break from our busy school schedule. Having fun with friends. Saying "yes" to last-minute adventures.

The kids are getting older and that certainly gives us more freedom (yay!). And I am getting older too and learning to cherish the days rather than wish them away (I did say learning, there are still tough days to be sure). But either way - this summer has been delightful. In fact, we usually start back to school mid-August. But not this year. We're going to drag this summer out as long as possible!

sweet sisters

Two of my sisters and their kids came for a visit this weekend. Like all of our family gatherings - it was chaotic but SO much fun. One of things I love most about my sisters is the way we love one another's kids. This weekend they took time out to make my girlie feel like a princess. And when they love on her - they love on me. Thank you sweet sisters!

lemonade stand

Audrey has been asking, no begging, to do a lemonade stand for quite some time. And yesterday was finally the day. Patrick had some time to himself last week and spent it building them a great lemonade stand. We moved it over to Kylie's house (since they get a little more traffic than we do). We baked brownies and mixed up the lemonade. The five kids each took turns "manning" the station.

It was very fun. After expenses, they each earned $1.25 - and were thrilled. Not bad for a cloudy Wednesday in Bellingham. Liam is my little entrepreneur. He had figured out ahead of time how much we'd need to sell in order to not only make money, but also be able to fund another one. And this morning he tells me that next time we should tell all of our customers where and when we'll be doing it again so they can come back if they like our stuff. Smart kid.

family camp

This past weekend we celebrated our annual "Family Camp" in Lake Chelan. Lots of swimming, boating, yummy food and laughter. When it comes to family - we have been 'blessed beyond measure' for sure!

Rachel, Courtney, Stefani, Lucas, Kelly
Ethan, Jonah, Charlie, Abram, Alice, Audrey, Liam

track and field

Every Monday night Bellingham Parks and Rec puts on a track and field event at Civic Field. It's done on a drop-in basis and costs just $4 per child. We've been able to attend three so far this summer. The kids LOVE it. Tons of events. Tons of ribbons. Lots of friends there. Very fun!

Group huddle before races begin.
Dad got off work in time to come and cheer!

Audrey ran the 50M, 100M, and 200M races.

Liam ran the 50M, 100M, 200M and 400M races. He got first-place for the 400!

Liam throwing the mini-javelin.

Ethan running the 50M hurdles.

Audrey throwing the discus. She got second-place in this event last week!

Liam jumping the long jump.

Audrey throwing the shot put. Nice form, don't you think?

What a great program this is! The list of reasons why we love this community just keeps growing!

ahoy!

Patrick and Liam went on a very fun adventure yesterday. They participated in a sea battle between two pirate ships out in Bellingham Bay. They were on a boat called the Lake Washington - the same boat used as "the Interceptor" from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Everything was very realistic (although Liam was disappointed that they were not using real cannon balls!) and they had a great time.