Camping at La Wis Wis

Shawn took the three olders camping to LaWisWis Campground a few weekends ago.  The weather was perfect and the company was even better (Max and I weren't there to cramp their style). The made for a fun filled weekend of fire, sticks, hiking swimming, hotdogs, tents, smore's and more smore's!

Sam, Jack, and Lyv had a wonderful time with Shawn, and it really was a treat for them to be there without me or Max bossing him around.  They had his undivided attention.  We are so blessed to live in such a beautiful area and the forests here are almost enchanted, they are that beautiful.  They are so green and the water is so crystal clear, it is amazing!  

I tried to convince Shawn that less would be more in regards to cooking while camping with the kids on his own.  But Shawn is not a less is more kind of a guy – More is ALWAYS MORE! So he did dust off the dutch oven and fry up a breakfast skillet for the kids which they loved. 

The boys even braved a jump off the cliff in the background (about 10 feet) into the frigid water below.  This is glacier melt, so this was not light decision, but adventure is out there and they found it!

All good things must come to an end

Thus far I have never had a child attempt, even think about, accidently cut their own hair. Not even Jack!….streak ended.  Sweet little Lyvie was sick of having hair fall into her face and decided that the most logical solution was to use the kitchen shears to get rid of the problem! AHHH!  

These things always happen when I’m so preoccupied somewhere else.  She excitedly bounds into Jack’s room, where he and I are working on building a new Lego set together, and announces that she found a way to get her hair out of her face!  I nod and mumble a Uh-huh and say that’s great, and then I hear her mention scissors, wait what???  I turn and to my horror see a chunk of hair cut out of the center of her forehead!! I start to wail and moan, and before I can come to my senses, she has realized that her perfect solution wasn’t a solution at all but a disaster, and Lyv begins to cry. 

  In the end we both hugged each other as I recounted the time that I too cut my hair as a little girl, an even bigger disaster because it was right before we took family pictures.  What we learned is that with or without hair, Lyv is a beauty – although I have kept a closer eye on the scissors; and the good thing about hair is that it will grow back.

Fun with Friends

There is nothing better in childhood and even in adulthood than good friends.  We have been so lucky to have made wonderful friends in all of our adventures the past 12 years, for which I am so grateful for.  Our good friends the Lancasters have joined up in several of our shenanigans the past month and it has been a blast.  

It is almost scary how well our kids get along – we both have 3 boys, 1 girl; and in exactly the same order (boy, boy, girl, boy) all around the same ages.  Plus we often get asked if we’re sisters which makes me think it was meant to be!  We’ve been to Get Air in the Tri-cities, to cake decorating courses, to hiking, and every park, splash pad and playground in between. 

A constant worry for me is having my children make and be good friends.  Ones that I know will influence them to do good and encourage them be involved and kind.  I hope that my own children will be the kind of friend that other mothers want their kids to hang around because of those same qualities.  

I feel like we are so blessed to have met wonderful families in each and every town we have lived in who do just that.  I am so glad my kids have such great buddies and that I get add another BFF to my circle.

Cake Decorating 101 

 Get Air : Tri-Cities

 Grove of the Patriarchs - Mount Rainier National Forest

 

Are we there yet?

School is back in session in two days, and as I sat down to add the final pictures of our summer activities I couldn’t help but feel a little sentimental.  This summer has been such an enjoyable summer with the kids.  Three of the four have reached an age where they are actually “fun” to take places – meaning: they can all walk, they take care of their bathroom needs independently, they don’t need to be watched constantly to make sure they aren’t going to choke on something or unknowingly put themselves in harms way.

That being said – Max is still in that stage, but I don’t seem to mind it as much as I did with the olders.  Perhaps it comes with parenting experience, but I am more and more convinced that it is parent exhaustion that causes me to not be as paranoid.  I am loving watching Max at this age.  The formation of his first words, he is literally a parrot around the house.  My favorite Maxism: He refuses to call Shawn dad – it is either “Ma” or “Sam”!  I get such a kick out of his “O-tay” and am always freshly in awe at how much he understands and does independently.  He has also mastered a very technical thumbs up - which I think is absolutely adorable.  

A few weekends ago Shawn took the three olders on a camping trip.  We elected to have Max stay home with me (so we wouldn’t have to deal with the fire, the joys of sleeping with a toddler, etc.) and as he and sat for the first time completely alone I couldn’t help but feel a little bit sad that my baby isn’t really a baby anymore.  He has been such a treat for me because he is so affectionate and loving, especially to me.  I am his world, his center, his go-to.  He gives me wet kisses frequently and chimes in I wuv ya, after I tell him I love him -  but this won't last for long.  I can already see this moment in time slipping away as he runs after the older kids trying to do exactly what they are doing. Am I ready to have Max be the last sweet baby? Not knowing if there will be another little Summers to be held in my arms in the future I’m going to soak up this time all while I can get it.

But I also am looking forward to the time when all of our kiddos are at the fun - jump in the car and go stage.  There are so many adventures waiting for our family, I just haven't quite made up my mind if we are there yet.

Ballet Camp and Hayden Lake Weekend

Summer is just flying by but I think a lot of the reason is that the kids have been so busy with fun activities and we have been making the most of our weekends!  My friend teases me about being gone every weekend, but I can't help it - there are too many places too see and fun adventures to do.  I really want to look back at our live and feel like we have taken full advantage of every opportunity given us.  So opportunity 

#1: Ballet Camp!  Adorable - that is the only word to describe this.  The girls met for one hour for 5 days and learned a short routine that they performed on their last day!  They danced to Cinderella's "A Dream is A Wish Your Heart Makes" and Lyv was too cute for words.

After ballet camp and Jack's golf lessons (Photos of that coming soon) ended we loaded up the car and headed to Hayden Lake, Idaho to my Aunt Kate's cabin.  This place is one of the my favorite spots on earth, not only because the water is amazing, warm and clean but it is breathtakingly beautiful.  We spent two days playing in the water, water skiing (yes, even I skied, you can't help it the water is that warm!) lounging, making sand castles, and reading  It really is heaven on earth.  The other great bonus is that my sister Katie was there along with her three kids, so our kids enjoyed the time even more.

If you look hard you can see Lyv and Shawn over at "Minnow Island" as Lyvie took to calling it.  There are lily pads, minnows and turtles that live over in the shallow embankment.  She explored to her hearts content!

The older kids - Jack included, spent much of their time jumping off this platform dock!  Scary! But they loved it and kept going back for more.

Despite my best efforts Max was not a fan of the water --until he found this bucket of water on the deck.  Yes, this is the bucket to wash the sand off your feet.  He thought it was a perfect little hot tub for him.

Last but most definitely not least, we were able to spend time with my Aunt Kate!  She has always been my favorite Aunt, because she was so hands on.  She takes time to talk, to explore, to hug, and feed my kids and even jumps in the paddle boat with Jack…and that is always an adventure.  She is such an amazing woman and I am grateful that my kids had time with her.