Lost a tooth!

Leia lost her first tooth this month. She stayed up late many nights trying to get it loose enough. Finally she got annoyed with it and asked me to pull it using floss and slamming a door. Getting floss on her ridiculously tiny tooth proved difficult and while she impatiently waited for me to figure it out she reached in and gave her tooth a good yank and out it popped! She was so proud that she pulled it herself. I was so proud of the tooth fairy for remembering to show up later that night. 

 

Art Camp and Soccer Camp

Leia spent 5 mornings at soccer camp with her best friend. Each day she was exhausted and each morning she awoke ready to go again. 

While Leia was in camp Kate and I made up our own art camp. We planned out the projects ahead of time and enjoyed getting creative. 

Day 1 & 2: Sketch the fountain at the marina and watercolor paint it. 

Day 3: Aidan joined us and we created designs with masking tape on canvas and painted the negative spaces. 

Day 4 & 5: Sculpture creations. Kate created a Sculpture Park out of random materials we found around the house. 

We plan to do this "camp" again next summer. It was a wonderful way to spend some one on one time together. 

Opa and Oma take us Camping

Opa bought a new RV so we though loading it with kids and grandkids was a great way to break it in! Turns out we were right, though I don't think we actually broke anything.... We stayed at an RV park just north of Bellingham, WA so that we could hike Rock Trail (one of the top items on our summer bucket list). I have learned that RV parks are where grandparents go with their grandkids in the summer. There was a fantastic heated pool, a decent size playground, and a million other grandkids set loose on bikes and scooters. It was so refreshing to set the kids loose to explore and make friends and know that everyone else was doing the same thing. The kids enjoyed the freedom and independence and the grown up enjoyed....the freedom and independence.
Rock Trail was everything I hoped it would be (getting up close with many varieties of rocks, contentment of being out in nature, and just the right amount of physical challenge for the kids). After completing the trail we weaved our way into a small neighborhood to find a hidden sculpture park. It was fantastic. Then of course we headed back to the RV park for more swimming and scootering. It was a wonderful weekend and something we look forward to every summer.
Loving kids that can swim unassisted:

 Book Club:

 Let the scootering begin!

 The hike:

 Taking advantage of art that doubles as a bench:

A Few More Drops in the Bucket

We spent July completing all sorts of bucket list items. We hung out with friends from Georgia, friends from Oklahoma, went camping in Opa's new RV, and spent 4 fantastic days babysitting my best friend's daughter. We also hit some classics: Remlinger Farm, VBS, and a garage sale. AND we made a second trip to Chelan. Throw in a Sounders game or two, a bachelor party, and a bachelorette party, and another bestie coming to stay for a few days and all of a sudden it's August!
Our favorite kids take on VBS:

 Hands up for the roller coaster at Remlinger Farm

 Taking Maisy to the park, or maybe she took us?

 Buried up to their necks to stay warm on a breezy beach day with our friend Claire.

 Grubbing on some ice cream with Remy after running amok in the International Fountain at the Seattle Center.

We LOVE summer!