Summer is here!

Summer has finally arrived in Seattle and the girls couldn't be happier.  Kaylin loves the summer.  Even in the winter when it was sunny outside, she would ask if we could get her pool out and play in the back yard.  Since we live in Seattle, she equates the sun with the summer :-).  It took her awhile to figure out that it can be sunny outside and still be cold.

Nana and Pop Pop gave the girls this fun sprinkler.  Lauren especially loves it.  She kept saying, "Come on Kaylin!"  My favorite was when she said, "Come on Kaylin, let's get wet!"

Tonight we headed to Dick's for cheeseburgers and shakes and then hit up Cal Anderson Park across the street.  After playing on the playground for awhile we let the girls play in the fountain.  We weren't planning on them getting wet, but luckily we had a couple of towels in the trunk so they were able to dry off before driving home.

For those of you who know Kaylin well, please notice that she is wearing SHORTS.  You are not seeing things.  After about 2 years of wearing only dresses, with or without leggings, Kaylin is starting to wear regular pants. I view this as a small miracle.  I also think it makes her look so much older which makes me kind of sad.

We are all definitely happy that summer has arrived, even if it only stays for a week or two.

4th of July

We had a fun 4th of July.  In the morning, Eric went golfing with his dad and brother.  That evening we had a BBQ at Eric's parents.  For fireworks we tagged along with the Greens to their friends' (who we've met a few times) parents' house on Lake Lucerne in Maple Valley. 

 Before it was dark enough for us to enjoy the fireworks, Lauren tried out karaoke.  She didn't want to hold a microphone or sing, but she enjoyed standing on the stage.

 Kaylin and the boys had front row seats for the show.  Yes, this is the best shot I could get.

Lauren liked the fireworks too, but she wanted to stay farther away from where they were lighting them off.  Like mother, like daughter.

While she enjoyed looking at the fireworks, she didn't enjoy hearing them so close up.  They were loud!  She pulled her hood over her face a few times when they lit off the big aerials.

The girls were exhausted.  I had to wake them up the next day so we could take Kaylin to her swimming lessons.

I'm so grateful for our country and for all of those who help keep us free!

Pearrygin!

At the beginning of August we took our yearly trip to Lake Pearrygin. The weather was perfect for hanging out in our swimsuits on the beach, in the boat, and in the water all day.

Our days consisted of this:

floating on air mattresses

riding the new and fabulous GTX
that's our green tent in the background

kayaking

sitting on the saddles at Shari's

eating ice cream

more saddles

more swimming

more GTXing

maybe a future knee boarder?

more floating

We had a great time! My whole family was there and it was so fun to see everyone.

Slip 'n Slide!

We actually had some sunny, hot (for us) weather today! I bought the girls a slip 'n slide over a month ago and finally pulled it out today.

Lauren was so excited that she couldn't keep her clothes on.

The girls weren't too in to sliding, but they loved splashing in the pool at the end.

They also both enjoyed drinking the water.

And they did a lot of this:


After realizing that there wouldn't be any sliding, I hooked up a sprinkler.

Fun!

First day of summer fun

Eric's day off this week was yesterday, which was also the first day of summer. It was a beautiful, warm day. After golfing and the retirement party at my old school, we went with Eric's brother's family to their friends' pool. The girls had so much fun.

Kaylin and Ryanne

Lauren and Christopher

Lauren was so content in the floaty. She was in it for about 2 hours! She watched everyone, splashed around, played with a few toys, and had a great time.

Kaylin and her noodles.

I was totally surprised that Kaylin had no fear about the water. She took swimming lessons 3 years ago, more like "get used to being in water lessons" at that age. She's been in lakes a few times, but that's a lot different than a nice, warm pool. We showed her how she could swim with the pool noodles and she was off. She also found she loved jumping off the edge of the pool to Eric.

With the weather we're supposed to get the rest of the week I really hope that the first day of summer isn't our only day of summer this year.