Ocean Shores

Our reward for finishing the house was going to the ocean on Saturday. We went with our cousins, Katie, Laura, and Dale. The kids love it and had a good time. We thought that it might have been a little warmer than it was but overall we enjoyed the cool air. The water was freezing but that didn't stop Cameron from jumping right in. The first 20 minutes the kids just ran and ran on the beach. Cam liked to chase the sea gulls.













When we were thoroughly frozen by the water and wind we found shelter in the dunes. The sand was warmer and the wind much less. The kids loved playing tigers in the grass and probably could have stayed there for hours.

After we stopped to eat ice cream and within the first 5 minutes Natalie and Mesha dumped their ice cream cones on the floor. The people were nice and gave us new ones. I think that it is part of the tradition of the ocean, getting ice cream and then dropping it on the ground. When we got home and bathed the kids I think we brought back a good part of the ocean with us. Ahhh...something to remember it by until next time.

The Lake

Last Wednesday when the heat was too much to take we went to the lake with grandpa and grandma, leaving dad alone to paint in the heat. Grandpa had his boat out and the water was bath water warm. We had a fun afternoon playing in the water. Both Cameron and Julia were brave enough to go on the tube with their cousins and mom. After a lot of convincing they learned to jump off the boat into the water. I water skied for a little while but realize that I am not as young as I once was. The next day I was sore! Cameron said it the best on the way home "This was the funnest day ever"

* I didn't take the camera :(

Painting

Ever since we moved into our house 6 1/2 years ago, we have talked about painting the exterior of the house. A few months ago we finally got serious about it and planned on doing it the last week of July. Mitch took the whole week off and we were ready. It turned out to be the hottest week in Seattle ever. It was HOT. It was not fun! There is about a million things I would rather be doing in 104 degree heat than painting outside. The kids made it hard for both of us to work together so Mitch ended up doing most of it. We still have the drain pipes, gutters, and front door to paint, but we are so thankful that it is over. The final color is blue and we were a little shocked when it first went on because it was REALLY blue, with the trim done it looks much better. We are most grateful to have it done!

Before:





After:

Sports Camp

We signed Cam up for a sports camp that went from 7-9 pm all last week. It was through a local church and was cheap so we thought why not. Cam loved it. They did cheers, played different sports each night, had snacks, and had devotionals. Mitch and I were a little anxious about the church side of it. It was a little more church and a little less camp than I was hoping for but Cameron has been playing "sports camp" ever since it ended. He got a t-shirt and feels the need to wear it EVERYWHERE in public. Hey, why not publicly announce our love for Jesus?

They were divided up into age groups and Cameron was a blue 2. They were the blue bubbles. They had to do a cheer in front of everyone (at least 200 kids). When he gave me the cheer at home it made me laugh. Mitch was a little less thrilled.

Ragnar Relay Race

This spring a lady in my ward asked me if I was interested in running in a relay race in July. I thought that it would be a fun experience and give me something to train for this summer. The Ragnar relay race was on July 24-25. It was a fun experience, definitely hard. The relay is made up of 12 runners, 6 runners to a van. Everybody has 3 legs to run over the 2 day period. My team started out on Friday morning at 8 am in Blaine and finished around noon on Saturday in Langley (About 125 miles total). I was in the second van with all women. It was fun getting to know them, I only knew one other lady in my car. We were all lds and moms. We all said that it was fun racing but more than that it was a nice break to be away from children especially driving in a car! My legs of the race were not too bad (I had shorter distances that most the team, thank goodness. I am still a sprinter at heart! ) The first leg was at 3:30 pm on Friday and 3.1 miles. It was EXTREMELY hot! My second leg was at about 1:30 am on Saturday and was 4.2 miles. Running at night is fun and much cooler. We got to wear funny headlamps and reflector vests. My last leg was on Saturday around 10 am and was 4.3 miles. Boy was it hard! It had a LOT of steep hills and it was hot. By the end I was exhausted (we got only 1 1/2 sleep) and the next day I was so sore that I tried to keep my dignity at church and not limp. Overall it was a fun time and was happy that I was able to accomplish something new.

Cameron was impressed with my medals and my t-shirts. He wanted to make sure that I was fast. I love that I can still impress my 6 year old!



There was two teams put together with a lot of people from my ward. Our teams names were: T.A.R.P 1.0 and T.A.R.P 2.0
(Troubled Athlete Relief Program)



Here I am at my last exchange!

Swimming Lessons

Cameron and Julia have been taking swimming lessons this past month on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They love them! Natalie is a hand full to keep happy for the longest 1/2 hour of my
life but I do enjoy watching them.




Cameron was put in a class that had older kids in it and the first few sessions I thought he might drowned (I am a paranoid mother). He drinks half the pool each time. His teacher hasn't been the most attentive but Cam has grown more independent because of it, which is a good thing for him. I don't know how much he has learned but he loves it and isn't afraid to try.



Julia loves the fact that she isn't having to watch in the stands and is old enough to have her own class. She makes friends with everyone and is so fun to watch. The last two times she has decided that she is too scared to jump to her teacher at the end of class. Man, she can be stubborn! No bribery or convincing will work. Last time I asked her what the problem was and she told me "Her fingernails were too long and bothering her" What?

Cameron is in need of a pet!

Unfortunately his parents have not given him one. Last week he caught his first frog and was so proud. He had it sitting on his shoulder talking to it at one point. This past week he has found one about everyday and then brings them into the house to show me. Yikes!


(The picture quality is terrible--sorry)


What he would really like is a dog or a cat. Anytime we see one he says things like this to me "I sure would love to have a yellow dog like that" or the other day driving in the car we saw a dog in a car and he said "I think they are bring that dog home from the pet store. I sure would like to go to that pet store and see them there." It ALMOST makes me want to get a pet then I remember that animals poop and that is enough to bring me back to reality.

Unattended Artist

Natalie has become quite the artist of late. I swear she waits until I leave the room and then makes a mad dash to where ever she has stashed multiple markers, crayons, pencils and other art mediums to color on EVERYTHING! When I walk in the room where she has colored she gives me a sheepish smile and runs. Today she did this about 3 times (one might think I would learn, but no) the last time she went and got her own washcloth and started cleaning up her work. Thank heavens for Mr. Clean Magic Erasers, Comet, and washable markers! If not, my house would now be a rainbow of color.

Birthday Pictures

One of my LEAST favorite things of the year to do is to get the kids pictures taken. The day always starts with promise and ends with pushy sales people, long waits, picture people with little to no idea how to interact with children, non-cooperative children and my very favorite- kids who have forgotten how to smile and are suddenly afraid of the camera. Most my kids pictures turn out with maybe one picture I want to buy and more often not even one that I would like to buy but I do because I am not going back! I guess when my kids are older they will look back and see that their mom really did try but more often than not failed to get cute pictures of them.

After all that being said: I took Julia the other day to get her birthday pictures taken and they turned out so cute! I had a hard time deciding which ones to choose. Here are a few of my favorites:

Mariners game and the pirates

Last Tuesday we took the kids (minus "the Nat") to their very 1st Mariner's game. It was a lot of fun! It was LDS night so we got a free hat or t-shirt. Cam had to have both- so dad gave him his t-shirt and all night Cameron called himself Mr. Mariner. The kids enjoyed the food, the hat trick, the hydroplane race (Cam and dad won) and occasionally watching the game. After the game was over walking out of the stadium there were some drunk homeless people on the street. Cameron said to Mitch as we walked past them "Dad, was that a pirate?" Mitch said "You know Cam I think it was." The next day I asked the kids if they had fun at the game and Julia told me she did but "those pirates were a little scary." We had a good laugh.



Mr. Mariner











Cameron wanted to know if the moose gave hugs. I thought it was a slim chance that we were even going to find it in the stadium but he showed up in the section next to ours in the 7th!



Griff cheering in his own seat for Griffey!

4th of July

The 4th of July was a hot day, it must have been in the high 80's. Were we really in Seattle? Usually on the 4th of July it is cold/rainy. It was a nice day! Mitch spent the day before pressure washing the house getting it ready to paint in a few weeks. Hooray! So on Saturday we were ready to relax.

Our ward has an annual 4th of July breakfast/bike rodeo. Cameron and Julia were excited to decorated their bikes and ride in the bike parade. It was massive kids on bikes~good times...

Later on in the day we had promised the kids to take them to the Rain Forest Cafe for their birthdays. They see the commercials for that place on PBS every morning. Nice.

It was a good lunch and the kids really behaved themselves well in the restaurant. I guess Mitch and I don't have too much faith in them normally. Cameron and Julia loved the whole experience. Cam was in awe that they gave him his own ice cubes in his drink and wanted to know if he could keep his glass. Julia liked that they gave her crayons to color with.

Nat wasn't too sure about the fake moving animals, but loved the gift shop. (Who doesn't?)

At the restaurant they have a person dressed up like a green tree frog named: Cha Cha. Cameron and Julia loved him! I don't know why but Cameron LOVED him. He kept coming up to the frog giving it a high five, then a hug, then a handshake probably 12 times. It was really cute. Natalie on the other hand screamed anytime it got close.

Of course the gift shop is bigger than the actual restaurant and everything is so cute in it. We let the kids pick out a gift. Cameron picked the loudest shirt possible. Julia and Natalie got stuffed animals.

Later that night we watched the fireworks on the next street over with a couple of friends from the ward. I can't remember the last 4th of July that I didn't need a jacket. It was wonderful.