Swany Reunion- Dunes and The Beach House

Before checking into our beach house for the week, we spent the afternoon at the sand dunes.  The place we went had sand dunes leading right into a lake.  We swam, sun bathed, dune surfed and ate a lot of sand, well Lucy and Anya did anyways!  Cameron must have climbed to the top of the dune at least 12 times.  It was very steep and I could hardly climb it. Cameron has more energy than any one I know!

Late that afternoon we made it to Bandon and had fun exploring our new home for the week. 

The "River House" is an old store turned beach house off the Coquille River at the mouth of the ocean. 

The kids loved that the backyard was their own personal water front and they spent a lot of time out there.  It was AWESOME!

Swany Reunion 2012

We had our first ever Rodney and Linda Schvaneveldt family reunion July 30th- August 5th on the Oregon Coast in Bandon.  Bandon is about 30 minutes south of Coos Bay and a place my dad lived as a kid for a short time.  It has been about 4 1/2 years since we have all been together and since then we have added 6 additional people to the family!! My parents rented a huge beach house and we spent the entire week having such a great time being together.  The weather was beautiful and so was the scenery.  We were sad to come home and say goodbye to all our cousins.















Two days before we left for the reunion some of us decided, what was a reunion without having t-shirts?  We got a little creative and made shirts for everyone!  I even made Lucy a onesie out of an adult size t-shirt.   We left for Oregon on Sunday so that on Monday we would have a full day to PLAY.  Kara graciously hosted all 25 of us at her house that night and it was a PARTY.

Here is all the Swany siblings and the kids Monday morning on Kara's bed. Everyone was so excited to see  and in some cases meet each other!

Lemonade Stand

A busy Saturday afternoon at the Stuard household. The kids had a lemonade and cookie stand. They were absolutely darling. They made $12.00!

Rub-A-Dub-Dub

four Stuard's in a TUB!

Got out the little swimming pool for Lucy to play in while it was HOT last week and everyone had to join her.

We also have spent the last few nights at the beach cooling off.  The kids love it when the lifeguards go home for the night and you can jump off the lifeguard chairs into the water.

Cub Camp 2012

Cameron attended Cub Camp in the middle of July.  He had a great time and I have to say not being pregnant this year made things SO much better for me too.  This past Tuesday was pack meeting and looking at all the awards he earned I would say camp was a success!

Great Wolf Lodge

Here they are!  Cameron told Mitch after we got home that this was the "best two days of his whole life!"  Us on the other hand thought it was a good time but wonder for the price if it was worth the trip--fun yet pricey. 

My favorite part of the whole trip was that night in the lobby they had a DJ with the music cranked up with kids and parents dancing.  Natalie really knows how to shake her thing.  She was darling but the real crack up of the night was Cameron.  I wish I would have been able to take some video of him dancing it was so cute.  He stood about 2 feet from the DJ the whole time and sort of swayed to the music mesmerized by the guy in charge.  Mitch and I laughed and laughed.

The kids had there own little cabin to sleep in with a TV.

They all got wolf ears at the place we ate dinner.  They spent the next two weeks playing "wolves."

The water park was very fun and the kids had a great time.  Even Lucy enjoyed the water.

At the end of the day...going home!

Deception Pass

Every year we go camping with Mitch's parents and the Clayson's (Mitch's sister).  This  year we decided that we wanted to camp at Deception Pass on Whidbey Island.  It is such a beautiful spot that overlooks the San Juan Islands.  Campgrounds fill up pretty fast so we had to reserve them last November.  We have been wanting to go there for a few years so we were pretty excited to go and explore!

On the Ferry ride over

Setting up camp

The hooded woman

Exploring the beach the first night

It was so beautiful.  We talked about how excited we were for the next day. 

Then came the RAIN..............................

MIDNIGHT:  It started to rain---Then it POURED

4:00 am:  The Clayson's tent and all their belongings become a lake

5:00 am:  The weather report does not look promising for the next few days

6:00 am:  The Clayson's pack up and go home

Breakfast was a soggy affair 

9:00 am:  Grandpa and Grandma's tent is leaking.  They pack up and go home.

The Stuard Jr's hope to stick it out and see if the weather improves.  The only jackets and tennis shoes we have for the kids are soaked, everything is mud.  It starts to pour.  We discover that our tent has leaked and the sleeping bags are wet. 

1:00 pm:  VERY DISAPPOINTED we put a fork in the trip and pack up our stuff.  On the way home on the ferry, the line of cars going to the Island is long and wouldn't you know it the sun starts coming out.  BLAH.  On the way home we discuss how this is not how the trip we planned should have ended.  We come up with a new plan. 

The plan is called THE GREAT WOLF LODGE! 

Watch out world...

THIS

GIRL

IS 

CRAWLING!

Moses Lake

The week after school got out the kids were signed up for swimming lessons for two weeks. Unlike the last time, this was a little painful to sit through. I couldn't get all the lessons at the same time so we had to stay for two sessions and after the first 1/2 hour that place gets HOT and Lucy wasn't the little baby that just sat happily in her carseat. I spent the whole time holding her while she and I both sweated to death. The kids did great though and really improved there swimming skills (I wish I had a video of Julia and her dolphin kick, she is amazingly good!) which was awesome because we have spent this summer SWIMMING!  

June in Seattle isn't the best month of the year. It rains pretty much the whole month and is cold when you think it should be warm. So while I was sitting at swimming lessons sweating but the outside temp was raining and 50 degrees, I hatched a plan to go somewhere warm and SUNNY.  The day swim lessons finished we took off for Moses Lake to stay in a hotel and go to the water park there for a two-day vacation.  It was just what we needed.  We invited Mitch's parents along and had a great time.  We rented an apartment, but the kids thought it was a hotel (they don't even know the difference!)  That night a little boy who was staying in the lower apartment came out to play with the kids.  Natalie kept calling the place a hotel and the boy kept saying, "This isn't a hotel-this is a house!"  His family was staying there for temporary housing while his dad worked.  Both he and Natalie were getting mad at the other, it was kind of funny. 

The weather was 100 degrees and sunny!

On a walk that night, Cameron found the biggest "wish flower" he had ever seen and wanted me to take a picture of it.

The water park was fun, crowded and just what the doctor ordered! Snow cones for lunch and to cool off.

We slathered on the sun block and swam all day! And when we couldn't swim any longer we got in the car and came home.  It was the perfect kick off for our summer!

Lucy was about the cutest thing ever in the water.  She loved sitting in the shallow water-splashing, splashing, splashing!! 

Tickling the Ivory

On Saturday the Stuard family bought a piano. 

You heard right...a piano.

Mitch and I have been back and forth on the idea with it being such a big item in our already crowded home, but with an awesome, free piano teacher the idea is hard to refuse. Starting next month Cameron and Julia will be starting piano lessons from Grandma Stuard.  The are E*X*C*I*T*E*D and hopefully this excitement will last!  For now though there is a lot of "music" in the home.  Hopefully the kids will take after Mitch's side of the family because I am seriously lacking in any of the fine art talents. 

Natalie is a little less than pleased (that is putting it kindly) that she isn't old enough yet to start lessons. There has been lots of crying.  It is hard when you are 4 going on 20...

Top 60

I decided to make something for dinner last night that I don't usually make.  After, Cam told me that what we had was in his top ten of favorites.  Julia who struggled to get through dinner last night said, "well it is in my top 60."  I couldn't stop laughing.  I guess I should be glad she has a top 60 because I swear I only have about 10 things I make. 

Cameron told me this morning, "Well, Chocolate has lasted a long time now."  You know a whole 2 months I have managed to keep the g. pig alive.  Well done self!

Alive

Yes, we are alive. 

You might not know it from our blog....I am WAY behind.  Summer has been a whirlwind of activities that have been C*R*A*Z*Y.  We have been on vacation to multiple places and we have been playing hard and  are just a little tired!!  I hope to start catching up in the the next couple of days but for now I am off to watch the Olympics!