The First Summer Days

Our first days of summer included random plans here and there.

A sleepover with Ella for Annalise.....

they played in the sprinkler.

They played NINJA....

And cuddled up at bedtime....

Avery did a volleyball camp at the high school all week.

She had a great first intro to volleyball and is really looking forward to playing in the fall.

Annalise was happy to see her when she got home every day....

It was also our 16th Anniversary that week.

We spent the day checking out new campgrounds.

Mark likes to stop at convenience stores when we're on trips.

Everyone gets to pick the item of their choice.

Annalise chose a KING size ice cream cone....

Within 30 seconds it came off the cone and landed in her lap.  Not to be wasted, she picked it up with a napkin and ate as fast as she could before it melted and made a bigger mess.

Oh my.  I don't like that game.

Another afternoon we headed out to Semiahmoo beach to check things out.

With a stop in Birch Bay at the "C Shop"!

So far, summer is off to a great start!!!

While The Big Is Away....

While Avery and I were off with the Girl Scouts, 

Annalise and Mark decided to get the boat out and do some fishing.

Lots of fishing....not so much catching.

So they stopped at the store on the way home and got their dinner!

Girl Scout "Camping"

The Girl Scouts couldn't agree on how to spend their half of the cookie money they earned.  Some of them wanted to do a camping trip, some wanted to do a "water" thing, and others wanted to do both.

So we compromised.

We all agreed on a camping trip to a place with cabins AND a pool.

The Lynden KOA is where we ended up.

Michelle and Kim were the other faithful leaders for the trip...

they're so awesome!

We started the trip with getting things settled in the cabins...

3 or 4 girls in 3 different cabins.  The moms in our own.

Then it was time for a troop meeting.

We talked about the schedule, decided on what we were going to do next and had a snack.

Each girl brought an item for "GORP" (although there weren't any raisins or peanuts in this GORP!)

Then it was off to the pool.

 The weather was amazing!  HOT even!

After swimming it was back to camp to get ready for dinner.

Emily, Addie and Breanna were our cooks.

They got the fruit salad ready and chopped up all the fixins for foil packets.

While the foil packets were cooking, another group "set" the table.

They did a lovely job with the centerpiece!

After s'mores and songs by the campfire, it was quiet hours.

The girls each went to their cabins.

Us "grown-ups" stayed up and chatted around the fire, gave one last check of the cabins and all was good for the night.

The girls were up and at 'em early again the next morning.

Pie irons for breakfast and then they wanted to go straight to either swimming or pedal boats.

The pedal boat crew....  

They didn't stay interested in the pedal boats for long. 

(Guess they looked more fun than they actually were!)

Then it was back to the cabins to pack up and go home.

A quick, but successful Girl Scout "Camping" trip!

Last Day of School

Another school year in the books.

Annalise had a great first year of school.

Kindergarten was a success!

She's super excited to be a "grader" next year.

Her highlight of the year included making soooo many new friends!

Her teacher said she was a "positive member of the classroom community".

Nice work Annalise!!!

Avery also had a great year.

She loved her teacher and really came out of her shell.

Throughout the year we kept getting comments about what a tremendous leader she was both in and out of the classroom.  Her teacher told us that she was an "eager and determined learner". 

WooHoo....way to go Avery!!!

Now....let's go and have an awesome summer!!!

Father's Day

We had plans to go to Lake Chelan for Father's Day weekend this year with my parents and Geoff and Robin.  We had been last year for Annalise's birthday and had such a great time we all wanted to go back.  When my Mom passed away my Dad didn't think he could go back without her.  I was super bummed, but totally understood.  I barely wanted to go back without her.

We decided to still go and I'm so glad we did.

It's so beautiful there!

And there were lots of happy memories of time with Grams.
(This is one of my favorite pictures.....)

 

The weather wasn't the greatest when we got there.

But that didn't stop the girls (and Uncle Geoff) from getting in the pool!

Seemed like a good night to hang out and play cards.

And then.....we saw this cloud.

What does it look like to you?

It started off looking like a fox to all of us, then it kept morphing into other creatures!  

It was so cool!!!

The next morning, the clouds had parted and it was warm and SUNNY!!!

Robin's Dad and his wife drove up from Wenatchee for the afternoon.

It was great to see her Dad and meet Bernadette.

We headed out for a walk and ended up at the City Park.

Then back to the pool!!!

Mark and Geoff spent some quality time in these chairs.

Such a beautiful view!

And we played more card games!

Sunday was Father's Day.

Mark is such a great Dad.  His girls love him dearly.

Unfortunately we had to spend most of the day in the car heading home.

It was a great weekend.  We had such a nice time.

And then we made the most of the drive home with several stops along the way.

The first in Winthrop.

And you can't stop in Winthrop without getting ice cream!!

We hit the road again and stopped at the top of the North Cascades Highway at the Ross Lake overlook.  GORGEOUS!!!!!

A lovely view of the mountains for this Dad on Father's Day, 

with the girls he loves the most. (Be still my heart.)

Happy Father's Day Mark!