Michigan trip

I've decided to try to get back on facebook a little.  Not sure if I will do much on it.  I'm determined not to spend too much time on it!  However, this blog is sort of my scrapbook for now, so here are just a bunch of pics of some of the fun we had...

 

catching critters...

on the beach...

 

digging for worms to go fishing with Grandpa

 

riding the quad bike

 

We got the chance to go the commissioning for a friend I grew up with who is leaving soon for the mission field.  Great chance to catch up with friends I haven't seen in too long.

 

out for donuts with Grandma

 

catching up with Ann Arbor friends who I have missed greatly...

 

got to meet the new cat at my parents' house

 

and Uncle Matt and Aunt E's chicken we love...

 

we had blue cupcakes...

 

to celebrate the August birthdays...

11 years old!

We had 2 small parties for this special boy.  One in Michigan with the family there which is the picture below.  He wanted Michigan cupcakes which of course was fun for me!

 

Another party before we left on our trip with a few friends.  I try to hang a plastic tablecloth cut into strips on their door before they wake up so they can "burst through" into their birthday...

 

He wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese so we picked up one friend and ate on the way at Little Ceasers because that was what he wanted for dinner.  I love that I don't have to do anything fancy with my boys for them to feel like its a party!

 

Even Grammy got in on the shooting action!

 

We had one friend spend the night afterwards.  We are still trying to figure out our policy with our kids about sleepovers.  It is a very complicated issue for us and we really want to be intentional about what we decide to do.  Its a work in progress but this night turned out quite fun for everyone involved.  Love the chance to celebrate Austin and how important he is to our family.

Deception Pass Camping Trip

We just got back from a wonderful camping trip with our small group.  5 families, 10 adults, 13 kids...lots of fun and memories made.

 

There was a recreation area with a freshwater lake on one side and the ocean on the other.  The kids had fun playing at the beach and getting us to bury them in the sand.  (Although I still have a hard time calling it sand - its half dirt and rocks but still good for playing.)

 

We also hiked to the bridge over Deception Pass.  I walked out on the bridge but had to turn around immediately and go back - I am a wimp when it comes to heights.  Absolutely breathtaking scenery though.

 

Every time we went to the beach I came back with pocketsful of rocks that Ezra had picked up.  They were his treasures.

 

The dads had a chicken fight out in the lake.  They were way out in the lake but you can see them.  Barely.

 

Now we are off to Michigan in a week!

Camping in Wenatchee

I decided I am not going to try to catch up on my blog from all that we have been doing this summer.  Its just too much!  I will put some camping pics in this post because its the easiest thing I can do in a few minutes.  Other than this trip we have been.... doing swimming lessons, sports camp (VBS) at our church, weekly allergy shots, dentist appointments, golf camp, playdates with friends, biking/jogging around Greenlake, swimming at the lake in our neighborhood...and I am taking a class...and we are enjoying every moment of the wonderful sunny weather we have had!


Our new camper!  My parents GRACIOUSLY drove it out to WA from Michigan for us to have!  What a blessing.  I am super excited to be using it.  It has been in the family for many years but we haven't been able to have it out where we live because we couldn't get it out here, but now it is!  We had a lot of learning to do to be able to figure it out but we didn't have any complications on this trip over the mountains.

 

Christian learned to ride without training wheels last summer.  We needed to pass his bike down to Ezra so we got him this 18" bike and he has had a hard time learning to start and stop on it but he is getting the hang of it!

 

Fliers up!

 

We went to Wenatchee with a family we know from church who shares our love for camping.  Had a great time with these special friends!

 

It was 98 degrees each day.  I loved it.  My family thought it was a bit hot but we could swim a roped off area of the Columbia River.  It was COLD water but refreshing.

Toured the Rocky Reach Dam on Saturday.  Pretty cool place.

 

 

We got to go below and see the fish ladder - there were salmon already coming upstream through it.

 

Austin found a praying mantis...

 

 

More swimming...

 

Looking for river otters...they were supposed to be there but we didn't see any.  We did see a beautiful Great Blue Heron up close though.

 

 

Love these friends!