Summer Highlight Reel

I just can't have my giant camera with me all the time!  I find the camera phone and instagram to be so handy!  It just is, but that doesn't mean I can't re-post them on my blog to preserve the memories.  :)

 Trips to the library are always a favorite.  We have been working on reading skills.  

Dave and Chris attended a dental conference in Seattle.  We made a trip of it, stayed in a hotel, enjoyed some Brazilian Rodizio, and did a little downtown shopping!

The Pages moved across the street from us!  It's great to have close friends so close! Sometimes we borrow baby Bailey and practice having 3 girls, complete with matching clothes.  Notice the elephant theme?

 Trips to Seattle and THE farmer's market are the best in the summer.

 Beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers for $5? Yes, please!

 There's a brand new Children's Museum close by and its amazing! They love the dental section of it of course. ;)

As the Relief Society evening meeting coordinator I plan our monthly activities and this one was a favorite! We splatter painted over 130 T-shirts and participated in the Walk to Cure Diabetes, supporting a young girl at our church who deals with that challenge.   

 We went on a little vacation- just the two of us! The sites were beautiful as we rode the sounder to Vancouver.

 Then, we boarded a Norwegian cruise ship and relaxed! We toured around Vancouver Island and spent some time in Victoria. Our favorite place to be was on the ship!  The entertainment and food is endless!

 Tuesday is our prized family day and this is where we spend many Tues mornings.  The girls play while we work out and then we all go swimming!  Lizzie is very proud of the fact that she can swim all by herself (with a floaty backpack to help).  

 "I have a hot dog for a pet.  The only kind my folks would let me get.  He does smell sort of bad and yet he absolutely never gets the sofa wet..."  The girls LOVE this "A Light in the Attic" favorite.  They find it hilarious.  A couple hot dogs, cooked spaghetti noodles and... voila!  The nursery rhyme comes to life.

 Mike graduated from dental school!  Another dentist in the family!  We had a little party and said farewell because they are headed to work in Yakima.  

 Father's Day was a good one this year! The girls treated their daddy like a king.  We surprised him with a new DeWalt Drill and Saw set.  Then, they decided to continue giving him gifts until they had given all their toys away to him.  We cooked him up a special dinner of marinated flank steak, mushroom farfalle pasta, salad, and bread.  Later that day, we baked a giant chocolate chip cookie and decorated it with frosting.

 Mommy and Daddy had their vacation so a family vacation was in order!   

 We flew to Vegas and stayed at Circus Circus the first night.  

 Then, moved to the Tahiti Village which was off the strip a bit and very family friendly. The Van W's joined us and we did lots of swimming and buffets!

 The last stop of our trip was in Utah for a family reunion!  We checked out the site of my parents' future home!  (Should be done this Fall)  We got to see where they are building their new business, too! We celebrated the 4th. Then, we headed to a big cabin and spent time with the whole family. We did a lot of water activities, camp fires, played games, etc.   I need to get all those pictures from my Grandma...

 The same week we returned from Utah, cousin June came to stay with us at our house for a couple days!

 We all loved spending time with her and had some good times at the fair, jumping on the trampoline, and eating pickles.  (June LOVES pickles)  The other day we were eating hamburgers and Lizzie said, "I don't like pickles.  If I find one on my hamburger I know just where to put it."  Me: "Where?"  Liz: "In June's mouth!  She loves pickles."

 Right after June left, the Marstons came to visit!  Lizzie and Grant loved playing together.  It was very cute.

There are so many cousins!  The families are growing exponentially!  (We are missing the Laupers in this photo)

 Blackberry season is here!  We go crazy picking blackberries all August. One of our favorite summer things to do.

 I have been working quite a bit this summer at a few different offices.  Quite a bit being relative.  Once a week is quite a bit for me.  I enjoy the time and the girls get to have an all day play date with friends!  Sometimes, I get a longer lunch and I pick up the girls for a lunch date!  

I don't think I have ever frequented so many different parks in one summer.  I think we have visited 10 different parks over the last month.  This park was inside the zoo and this little red spinner was a favorite!  The tiniest merry go round ever...lol.