Sammamish Swim

As members of the Snoqualmie YMCA we were invited to try out the new YMCA in Sammamish before it opened to the public.  We couldn’t pass up an opportunity for free swimming so I picked up the kids at school so we could take full advantage.  First, they gave us a tour of the facility, which was impressive.  If it wasn’t 25 minutes away I’d join up in a heartbeat.  We thought the pool would be crowded but we were the first to arrive and were joined by a few other families throughout the evening (3 from church) – what is it with Mormons and getting free stuff?  Doesn’t hurt that it was a Monday night = FHE night.

The kids all had to take a swim test and get a color coordinated wristband according to their swim skills.  They had us take a picture so when (if) we return they won’t have to retest them.  

Abigail was there too, but she looked old enough that she didn’t have to be tested.  Apparently, she feels old enough too as I found this picture on my phone from that evening – what is up chicka? Are you ducklipping me?

The kids really enjoyed playing in the pool.  Unfortunately the water slide wasn’t open yet, but there was a zero entry section perfect for Drew and Katie, a deeper section for basketball and swimming, and a small ‘river’ with a waterfall.  Justin was able to join up with us after work.

Drew is part-fish and loves playing in the water – he used his arms to scoot around on his belly in the shallow pool a lot during the evening.  I didn’t notice until the next day how beat up his little feet were from being dragged along the bottom of the pool.  He obviously didn’t mind – the kid is fearless in water and played non-stop.

A fun outing for our family for sure.  There aren’t a lot of pools nearby so it was nice to take advantage of the opportunity. 

Best Date Ever

Justin’s been planning a TOP SECRET group date for months – not that it’s taken months to plan, but getting everyone’s schedules lined up took months of scheduling and rescheduling.  Justin communicated and planned everything just with the husbands so the ladies knew nothing about what we were doing.  Finally, the big night arrived on April 15th – unfortunately, Kent ended up sick that day – I was so glad Camden decided to still come even spouseless.  The Reynolds and LeeMasters are two of our go-to favorite couples. Justin invited two other couples that we haven’t done much with socially before.  I was a bit nervous that everyone would gel well together and thankfully the group dynamic was great.

Anyhow, we drove into Seattle with Camden and the Reynolds and pulled up to The Electric Boat Company.  The guys loaded up the boat with a huge cooler of food, bags of munchies, and a huge bundle of roses.  The ladies were impressed.

We had two hours to cruise around Lake Union.  Justin had tunes playing – beginning with one of my favorites – Sail by AWOLNATION.  The cooler had more food than we could eat – Thai wraps, sandwich wraps, veggie tray, fruit tray, shrimp, Caesar salad and then tons of snacks, candy, and drinks.

We’ve had the most beautiful spring weather and this evening was perfect for being on the water. We took the boat up to the Locks, past Gas Works Park, and along the Seattle skyline. I wish I would have taken my camera and gotten some better pictures.  It really was such an enjoyable evening and so beautiful.  The two hours flew by.

I like this picture of the Reynolds because you can see the Ballard Bridge sign AND the NEED WEED? sign.  Gotta love Seattle.

Near the end of the boat ride the guys presented their wife with a poem they had written along the lines of Roses are Red, Violets are Blue… and we each received roses to take home.   A few kept their poems private, but those that were shared were hilarious.  Since Kent was incapacitated at home, Benjamin took it upon himself to write Camden’s poems - one to share and one private.  I seriously laughed myself to tears and if I think about it now I still crack up.  Only the best of friends can pull that off.   Justin’s poem was perfectly balanced with sweet and funny. 

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

I am excited

To be here with you!

Roses are Red

Daffodils are white

You really are

A beautiful sight.

Roses are Red

Lake Union is awesome

If Ben has to pee,

I say we just toss him.

Some roses are Red

Others are Pink

If I were sick like Kent

It would really stink.

Roses are Red

This is a fun endeavor

I am happy

To be with you forever.

We couldn’t just end the evening there so everyone came back to our house to hang out.  Carly was home babysitting and worked some serious magic getting the house straightened up in that 30 minutes.  The rest of the night was full of laughs.  We thought we’d end up playing games, but the conversation just kept going.  Seriously, one of the funnest dates I’ve ever been on with some of my favorite people.  Thank you Justin for everything you did to make it so special.  I can’t wait to see what you do to top this!

Katie Turned Six

Katie’s SIXTH birthday was on Thursday, April 14.  My kids get all excited about picking out their birthday meals and what they would like for their birthday cake.  Katie knew just what she wanted for her birthday breakfast, “a cinnamon roll or donut just for me and everyone else has cereal!”

The girl has a heart of gold! ;-)   To her credit though, after sharing her request on Instagram that morning it was mentioned that sometimes we all just want to feel special and having something special just for her accomplished that.

(Justin did bring home half a dozen donuts so Jason and Drew did get a little something as well – the girls were already off to school)

Katie’s upcoming birthday has weighed on my mind for months.  She was so, so excited to have her very first birthday party.  I don’t love planning parties, especially when it involves children, plus Katie really doesn’t have many close friends so the idea of putting together a list of kids to invite made me uncomfortable.  Of course there are plenty of kids from church and the neighborhood we could invite, but she doesn’t really associate with them much so it seemed weird to me.

Anyhow, while we were at Ocean Shores I was expressing my dilemma to a friend and she came up with the brilliant idea to take couple kids to open bounce at the nearby bouncy house the morning of her birthday (since she’s afternoon kindergarten) and call it good.  It was brilliant!  We invited three little kindergarten friends to join us for an hour and a half of bouncing followed by lunch and playtime at a park and then I dropped them all off just in time for kindergarten.

Turns out the Issaquah school district was on break that week so the bouncy house was much more crowded that a typical weekday morning, but the kids didn’t mind at all.  Drew had no problem jumping in and kept up with the big kids.

We had an hour to kill at the park – good thing I brought lots of snacky food for these kids.  They played hard and worked up an appetite.

Katie had no hesitation when it came to choosing her birthday dinner – chicken, carrots, and rice.  A total win for me because it cooked in the crockpot and gave me enough time to finish her birthday cake before dinner.  Abigail helped me with the decorating - Katie chose yummy layers of chocolate and strawberry cake.

(wearing her birthday crown she received at school)

The following Sunday, April 17, we had the Fletchers over to celebrate – Katie was so excited.  It was our first Sunday in our new ward and getting home at 12pm sure makes it easier to have people over.

Katie chose taquitos and mint brownies for her second birthday celebration. 

Justin took her out to Red Robin on the following Wednesday to redeem her free birthday meal.  One-on-one outings are always a special treat.

It’s been awhile since I’ve done any kid-specific posts so let’s give a little glimpse of Katie at age SIX!

• Katie is stubborn.  Which leads to some defiant moments.

• Katie is athletic.  If we’re ever at a location that has a track this girls want to run around it.  She doesn’t have much stamina, but the desire is there.  She is excited to play soccer again this fall.

• She is a great bike rider and, in my opinion, is a little too confident riding up and down the hill we live on.  She always remembers her helmet, which makes her mother very happy.

• Katie makes messes.  When it comes time to clean up her usual reply is, “I can’t!” She hasn’t quite learned how to tackle putting away her clothes, then making her bed, then putting away her shoes – she’s just looks at the whole mess and gets overwhelmed.

• We actually hear “I can’t” more often than we’d like around here.  One of our most recent battles has been with Katie turning on the shower on her own.  She would prefer us to turn the shower head to the wall and then turn on the water before she gets in.  Getting her to turn it on herself has been surprisingly difficult

• Katie and Jason are typically great playmates – most recently they play with Legos any chance they get.

• Katie can be quite bossy – with siblings, her teacher, parents.  I love and encourage her help keep Drew safe and accounted for, but she hasn’t quite mastered when she should mother and when she should not. 

• Katie has the sweetest smile and such bright beautiful green eyes!

• I’ve had several people over the years tell me she looks just like Matilda.  I’m not familiar with that movie, but they assure me that she is an adorable character.

• She wears a size 1.5 in shoes and a size 6-7 in clothing.  She’s not picky about what she wears and couldn’t care less about whether her hair is combed or not.

• When I took her in for her well child on the April 12 she measured:

            Height:  48.82” (96 percentile)

            Weight: 52 lbs (82 percentile)

• Katie is on the bus everyday nearly as long as she’s in the classroom.  She’s picked up at 11:35 (for a 12:45 start time – that’s over an hour on the bus) and then school gets out at 3:25 and she gets home 45 minutes later.  At the beginning of the school year I wouldn’t let her take anything on the bus, but as the year progressed I haven’t cared.  An hour getting to school is crazy long. Last week I got a call from her teacher letting me know that Katie and her friend had come to school covered in marker.  At first the teacher questioned whether I sent her to school that way (turns out the friend had a marker in her backpack).  First let me say my kids know we only color on paper – coloring on our bodies, walls, furniture is NOT allowed and thankfully something we haven’t had to deal with very often.  But as the teacher went on and on about how disappointed she was in them I was able to see it in a less serious light.  The girls were standing right by her and this teacher has a way of making even grown adults feel ashamed.  I met Katie at the bus stop that afternoon expected fully tatted out kids and as suspected the teacher made it sound much worse than it was.  Again, totally not okay, but it was obvious the girls had been reprimanded so severely at school that they didn’t need any further punishment at home.

• Katie sleeps great – usually in bed around 7:30 and wakes up 12 hours later. 

• Katie is a great little reader.   It’s amazing how quickly she caught on to it and is comfortably reading chapter books.

A couple questions I asked Katie:

Favorite color? pink

Favorite thing to do outside? ride my bike

What do you want to be when you grow up? doctor? teacher? teacher!

Favorite candy? tootsie roll

Favorite thing to do at school?  read

Least favorite thing at school?  math

Favorite dessert?  mint brownies

Favorite restaurant? Red Robin

Favorite food? pizza

Happy Birthday Little Miss Katie!  We sure love you!

Ocean Shores {April 7-8}

As I mentioned we didn’t have many plans going into spring break.  Justin was in Houston the first few days and we had some dental and doctor visits scheduled.  When my friend Sommer saw that we would be having 80 degree temps late that week she proposed a trip to the coast.  I moved around some appointments and we were excited to join the fun.  The kids and I left first thing Thursday morning and were the first of our group to arrive in Ocean Shores around lunch time. 

We’ve been to Ocean Shores a few times and never before have we had weather as perfect as today. We spent all afternoon enjoying the beach.

The water was cold, cold, COLD! 

   

We walked down to the beach from our hotel and had a huge area all to ourselves.  Most of the other beachgoers were parked next to the public access areas, which worked out great for us.

The ocean breeze was perfect for flying kites.

Carly loves these gaucho pants – Abigail calls them her grandma pants.

Easy enough for even Drew!

A group of horses seemed to come strutting around about every hour.  Fun to look at, but not so fun when they pooped all along our beach.

We brought lots and lots of snacks to the beach.  Drew enjoyed blowing through the veggie straws.

Abigail is at a point in her life that an important part about any outing is getting a great picture. 

Including us there were six families in our group – four of us from church and then two non-member friends of Sommer’s.  The kids all got along really well and had a great time.

We thought we had all the kids gathered for this picture, but afterward realized we were still missing a few – oops!

And the Moms of these crazy kids!

We packed it up and made the trek back up to the hotel where we ate pizza out on the grass and then let the kids play in the hotel pool until bedtime.  I offered Carly $5 to entertain Drew in the pool so I wouldn’t have to get in – money well spent!

The next morning we took our time eating the complimentary hotel breakfast and lounging around in our rooms until we were brave enough to bundle up to head down to the beach.  Going from sunny and 70’s to frigid and 50’s was quite a different experience.

Turns out it wasn’t nearly as enjoyable so we packed it up and headed to the local ice cream shop before making the drive back home.

Two days without naps and Drew waits until were 10 minutes from home (on a 2.5 hour car ride) before he falls asleep – figures!  Thankfully, we were able to let him keep sleeping in the garage while we unpacked everything.

(you may have noticed we hit up Chick-fil-A in Tacoma on the way home)

We weren’t quite ready to end our fun so Sommer invited us over to her house that night for a BBQ and to hangout.  Such a great little staycation and proof to me that I can do these sort of adventures even with five kiddos in tow.