Summer of (un)Fun

So... this summer has been a little crazy for us.  Buying a house, moving, having my dad pass away, being very pregnant... let's just say I haven't been as good as I wanted at providing structure and fun activities for my kids (and it's showing in their behavior).  Last summer, for instance, in addition to going to Yellowstone and Texas, we learned about a different country every couple weeks and did some really neat activities relating to each country.  This summer, I'd planned on keeping up somewhat with "school" for Aubree and Bryce, but even that basic continuation plan flopped.

Oh, and in addition, it's been hot here.  No, not compared to lots of the country, I'll admit it, but low 90's/high 80's is hot for Seattle and it's been going on for weeks.  And did you know that most houses here don't have air conditioning?  Ours certainly doesn't and it's brand new!  When I was in California in May and people found out I was due in September, they were all so concerned and sorry I'd have to endure the summer heat pregnant.  "Don't worry!" I assured them, "I live in Seattle.  It won't be a big deal at all!" I was wrong.

Roasting in my home saps what little energy and motivation I have left and I'm left with the primary entertainment of watching my feet and ankles swell to sausage-like proportions.

Okay, I get it - excuses, excuses, and enough complaining!  My point of this post is actually to document the few times this summer when we have gotten out and had some fun. (And by tomorrow the weather's supposed to be back to the 70's, so it's all good.)

**Back in June we had some friends from Arizona, Brenda and Trevor, come up to visit.  Their main intention was to visit their brother, but their brother was moving that weekend, so we got to have them stay with us.  That worked out well since my three kids had a ton of fun with their four.  Having built-in playmates for five days meant their was never a down moment.

  

At one point, early in the visit, the kids decided they wanted to play a game.  Aubree pulled out Hullabaloo and over the next few days the kids played over and over and over again.  I had no idea that one game could provide HOURS of entertainment, but they never seemed to get tired of it.

When the kids weren't playing Hullabaloo, we also played at the local Children's Museum (and my camera ran out of batteries) and visited Point Defiance Zoo.  Mark and I enjoyed having friends with whom we could play games in the evening.  It was a fun week!

**We managed to make it to the "beach" a few times in July.  It still seems strange to me to call the shores of a lake a "beach," but I guess since there's sand and water it counts as such.  Newcastle Beach is a gem!  There's just the right amount of sand and shallow water, and a place for parents to sit, and an awesome playground.

One afternoon, Mark joined us after work for a picnic dinner and that doubled the fun! 

 

Of course, Thane had to sample the sand. Yummy.

**Another beautiful Saturday we had the opportunity to meet up with one of our old BYU friends, Star and her cute baby (visiting from Minnesota!).  It was a short visit, but really fun to see her.

We explored a new-to-us park set on a gorgeous lake where some friends of ours just bought a house.  Aubree got ahold of my camera and enjoyed the ability to take pictures of everything she saw.

Thane is going through a stage where he LOVES water fountains.  He's an expert at spotting them no matter where we go.

Mark took this cute picture, though.

**One day I followed the example of some friends and made the kids Gak.  Hours of entertainment! (Though all the play dough accessories were already packed, so that limited their playing options).

**The kids were invited to a couple really fun birthday parties.  One was held at My Gym and they spent 2 hours climbing, jumping, singing, and playing in a big gymnastics room with all their friends.  Thane wouldn't leave the ball pit.  Aubree and Bryce loved the zip-line.

The second party was held at Kidz Bounce, and they spent two hours jumping and sliding and playing on all the bounce equipment.  

For the first time, Thane was totally able to play on the equipment independently.  Aubree helped him up the BIG two-story slide a couple times, but then he was able to do it on his own - over and over and over...

Oh, and did I mention he's got a thing for water fountains?

**When Thane is taking his afternoon nap, one of Aubree and Bryce's favorite things to do is play together on the computer.  Bryce enjoys watching Aubree play DreamBox (an online math program) and Bryce has started playing Reading Eggs (and Aubree likes to watch/play along).  I'm just glad their getting along!

**Another beautiful Saturday right after we moved, we took time off from unpacking and explored the lake park just a mile from our home.  It's amazing!!

**Another afternoon we decided our new backyard grass needed to be watered...

**And finally, just yesterday we went to a local "KidsFest."  Aubree had seen signs and advertisements for the event for week and begged and begged to go.  It turned out to be really cute and fun.  Just the right size for the kids to play little games and get simple prizes, but not too many people.  One highlight was seeing the "Reptile Man," who brought out a big tortoise, a cobra, a rattlesnake, a boa constrictor, an albino python, and an alligator.  We really like where we live!