Summer Daze....

I say Summer Daze because our summer has almost been that - a daze. We've had no defining moments, vacations, or even weather. It's just been a really nice relaxing summer. The rain has mostly stayed away, Andy and I got away for a couple of overnighters, and our big backyard continues to fulfill it's purpose of keeping the girls well entertained.

And now we're getting ready to head back to school. Ailey starts 2nd grade next Wednesday and Marin and Silje go back to preschool the following week. Surprisingly, I'm not one of those moms who is desperate for summer to be over. Perhaps I can thank the "daze" for that, that summer didn't tire us all out but actually let us sit back and enjoy life for a couple months.

So now ... I'm going to inundate you with pictures of our lazy summer. The only kind of order they are in is chronological. Be ready. (And remember, I DID spare you hundreds of photos!)

The girls and I took to a hiking trail in Mukilteo one day...

They all got a camera and put them to good use. (I've spared you those images, but really they were all quite good.) Here they are photographing the greenery.

And here eachother.

Silje can never quite get away from her Collecting. She really IS quite good at picking out some interesting things.

We checked out this banana slug on the way in and on the way out. The girls were so surprised with how far he had actually moved!

Resting by the library after our hike.

At the zoo, and the hippos were actually on their feet! We couldn't remember ever seeing them anywhere other than in the water or rolled out on the dirt. Those legs were definitely worth a picture.

We walked on the ferry one day with friends and went over to the beach. It was a warm day and nice to get in the water! (Silje went in a little too far at one point - she just can't seem to keep her feet under her even when she's running toward the ocean - but we dried her shirt out on a log before heading home.)

On the way back, with Corban and Caeley.

Ailey took a couple of horseback riding lessons. She loved every part of it!

Ailey also got to go to Girl Scout day camp. She LOVED IT from day one and is still asking to go back next summer.

We went to see the new Pixar movie "Brave" with cousin Luke. We snuck in their ice cream dessert and they all loved the movie. (Me too. And it was kind of refreshing to see a Disney Princess not fall in love with the Prince in the end. :))

We had a camp-out evening one night, with bonfire and s'mores. And the tent went up for Ailey to sleep in for a few warm nights. Andy and I each took turns staying out there with her. Ailey loved it. I was strongly reminded of why I don't like sleeping on the ground.

Mmm ... s'mores.

Silje with her handful of marshmallow.

The girls had a sleepover at Gma Linda and Gpa Mark's while cousins Luke and Sam were staying there too. It's a good thing the house and yard are both big, because that had to have been a crazy household!

The girls made their own bonfire out of sticks one day and enjoyed lunch in front of it. Very creative, I thought.

We went to the zoo one day with my sister's family and my parents. I stayed home sick (darn cough is still holding on) but I understand they had a great time!

Friend Heidi and her husband and daughter came for dinner one night. Kjirsten is absolutely adorable - and it was kind of nice to see how far from age 2 we are now!

We went to pick blueberries one day. The girls did great and didn't even eat them all. The berries are still in our freezer waiting for an opportunity to make a crisp!

Little Amy ... oh, who am I kidding. 21-year-old Amy came for dinner while she was visiting from Oregon. It was fun to see how the girls still treated her like it hasn't been almost two years since seeing her!

My friends Debbie, Jen and I became Holly's Cheerleaders for a couple of months. Holly is the 3 1/2 year old daughter of some friends - she was born with a severe form of skeletal dysplasia, was not supposed to survive her birth, and continues to educate doctors and her community on just what the will to survive can look like. We raised enough money to sponsor two holes at the 3rd annual Go Holly Golf tournament last weekend - collecting from people at her church, preschool and the elementary school where her older siblings go.

We were very proud. :) If you want to know more about Holly feel free to check out the website: http://www.gohollygolf.com/

 

Andy and his golf "fivesome".

We took our last zoo trip of the summer a couple of days ago. It's always a fun one - since the girls know they get to go on the carousel, eat cotton candy, and buy a souvenir from the store on this day I never have to listen to those questions the rest of the year. :)

Now we're heading back into school, getting to the bus on time, homework, Girl Scouts ... and hopefully a little more summer weather. Happy End of Summer everyone!

Popcicles and Bubbles

Aaahhh.... Summer days!

Take Me Out To The ...

Take me out to the golf course ... "It's a ballpark, Silje, a field". (repeat 10 times)

Take me out to the ball-game

Take me out with the crowd!



Buy me some peanuts ...



and licorice ...



 and popcorn ...

I don't care if we never get back!

'Cause it's root, root, root for the Aquasox!



If they don't win it's a shame. *sniff sniff*

For it's one, two, three girls running the bases ...



At the ol' ball game!



Sunday, July 15th, Everett Aquasox game with the SNOMOMS club.

Can we go to another baseball game tomorrow, Mom?!?!

Summer day

I LOVE me a beautiful Washington summer day. Today was one of those days. Temps in the low 70s. Not a cloud in the sky. Plenty warm for a swimsuit, but not so warm you're sweating doing nothing.

We spent part of the afternoon at a friend's house in their backyard (just stopping to deliver something turned into an impromtu playdate). Then we came home to our own backyard and an impromtu playdate with neighbor Lucy. Lots of running in and out of the pool (them, not me), eating popcicles, blowing bubbles, hitting balls off the Tee, lounging on warm sun-baked beach towels.... These are the kinds of days that I remember from my own childhood summers. (We tend to forget the dreary cloudy summer days when we're bored stuck inside, don't we?)

Two winters ago was so gray and rainy I think we forgot what the sun looked like. Last summer was mostly rainy/cloudy until the end of July. But this summer it's only rained sporadically and the forecast continues to show sun.

If I didn't have those memories of my warm, sunny, playful childhood summers, I might think we weren't in WA anymore!

Silje's Belly-Button

So as a baby your belly button is the pathway for all the "food" you got from your mom while still being baked in the oven. It's supposed to close itself up within a few months after being born, and definitely by age 4. If it doesn't, it's called an umbilical hernia and needs to be surgically sewn up.

That's what Silje had, though as a baby and a toddler, while we waited for it to close itself up, I called it her "Indicator Button" - if she cried, screamed or threw a tantrum, that little button would pop right out. Not that you would need any indicator in addition to the noise that accompanied the button popping, so I guess you could say we didn't mourn the passing of Silje's Indicator Button last week when she had her surgery.

We've been to the Surgery Center at Children's Hospital before, with Ailey. Three times, actually - twice for hip surgery, and one other time for a spica cast change. We were always impressed with the staff and nurses ... and even the doctors. :) They made us feel comfortable again this time around too - I was hardly nervous at all. Maybe just a little when they let me carry Silje back to the operating room and I watched her go under the anesthesia (I shudder a little remembering that).

However, if you look around just a little while at Children's, it's pretty easy to put Ailey's and Silje's medical issues into perspective. We're very blessed with healthy girls and are very grateful for it. We're also grateful to be so close to such a wonderful children's hospital too and to have the option to go there.

We left Ailey and Marin at my parents' house for a few nights. Since my sister and her family were there too they had quite the little party with Luke to play with.

Silje is checking out her new "bracelets" in the pre-op room.

She likes her gown. It has Loony Toons on it - Uncle Winnie's favorite. (And Uncle Winnie is one of Silje's very favorite people.)

When Silje got out of the recovery room, she got to cuddle, eat a popcicle, and watch cartoons.

She got a ride out of the hospital in a wheelchair too!

She easily agreed to rest on the couch when we got home. But she didn't stay here long - she was walking around playing in between rest times on the couch throughout the day.

And she was ready to go to Red Robin for dinner the next day and try mud pie for the first time!

She complained of a sore tummy a few times the first couple of days. But otherwise she has only complained when someone forgets and ends up touching her belly. It's still a little tender and we're still waiting for the tape over the stitches to fall off.

The fun part about the whole thing though was having time with just Silje. That has never happened before - at least not for longer than it takes to run to the grocery store. She got quite a bit of attention for a few days and I think we all enjoyed that!