A few days of cooler weather and then record breaking heat!

The weather cooled down for a few days and was high 70's-lows 80's. It was great for us to be able to play in the yard, go to the park and ride our bikes!!! We went to the Farmer's Market on Thursday in Livermore and had a blast. Big surprise, the kids really like kettle corn :o). We also discovered golden raspberries. I'd never seen them before, but they taste just like a regular red one. We also got a huge flat of melt-in-your-mouth organic strawberries. Not too many of the raspberries made it home. I'm happy to say my kids are fruit kids! It was a great atmosphere, lots of people, kids, music and bubbles. We're going back tonight, although now we're back at record breaking heat, so the kids might be a little more grumpy. I was actually a little chilly when we went last week.

Ryan was out of town Monday through Thursday and thank God for air conditioning-it has been hot! It is strange to walk out to get the mail at 6 o'clock when it is 101 degrees! It feels like Hawaii, sort of. We went to Chuck E Cheese one evening and hit the kid pool. I wish I was able to take pictures at the pool because they were having a blast! They have a water slide that Ainsley flies down and I catch her and Reggie slowly goes down by himself. By the end of the session, he started going a little faster. He has made such huge progress in the water this summer. We are going to do lessons in Sept., so hopefully, he'll get even more comfortable.

Ryan got back on Thursday and we went to Reggie's orientation for school. His teachers seem awesome and there's a 6 to 1 student/teacher ratio, so he should get some individualized attention. All the kids seemed very well behaved and the parents we met were very friendly and nice. Seems like this area has a lot of out-of-staters, so it was nice to have something in common right away! We already have a play date set up for next week and it can't come soon enough. We've had a couple rough days where Reggie has really missed his friends. They talk on the phone, but I know he'd like to play with them :o(. At least Reggie has Ainsley to play with. They have really started playing together a lot more and they laugh and talk and it is really fun to watch.

Ryan and I haven't had a babysitter yet, but we are hoping this weekend to have Julia (Ryan's bosses daughter) come to watch the kids. We've been having a little competitive fun playing basketball in our driveway after the kids go to bed. We're about even in wins of PIG, but we are running out of daylight, so I think our days of playing are numbered. Ryan is very excited that his watermelons are growing. He has about 5 the size of softballs.

Trip back to CA

It was a much more pleasant drive home. We got a much earlier start, around 11:30, and stopped in Portland to see Matt (Ryan's college buddy), Monique, and their 2 sons, Atticus and Tennison. We had a nice visit and dinner. It was good to get caught up and let the kids run around before being stuck in the car for 9 hours. We arrived at around 4 in the morning, so we made great time and caught a few hours of sleep before the kids woke up at 7. It was so much fun watching them. It was like Christmas! I didn't realize how much Reggie would miss his toys. He was very excited to play with them and was running all over the house. Riley, our cat, was very happy to have us home :o).

We were greeted with HOT weather. The first week we were back, it was over 100 almost everyday. The kids (and Ryan) cooled off in the pool and slip and slide:

The first week back was busy, grocery shopping, unpacking and just trying to get everything organized. I made Ryan a collage of just the 2 of us for his birthday, which required going through hundreds of my parents pictures in boxes, in no particular order. So, my first project when I got back was to get caught up on my pictures of the kids. I downloaded them from my camera, uploaded them to the website and printed over 800 pictures (I was over a year behind!). Now I just have to put them in the kids books and I'll feel somewhat on top of things :o). I also realized that since the kids have been born, there are very few pictures of me and Ryan, so all you new parents, remember to take pictures of yourself.....it will be fun to look at the bags under our eyes someday!

Our last week in WA

It was a busy week!

We went to the Skagit Fair on Wednesday and had a great time. It was the most animal active fair that I've been to. Competitions were going on everywhere and animal owners were anxious to answer questions and talk about their animals. Of course, Ainsley could have looked at the critters all day long and Reggie wanted nothing to do with them. All he wanted to do was go on the rides. We made our way in that direction and he and Grandma went on most of the kiddie rides. Ainsley was quite upset that she wasn't tall enough for any of the rides, except one....

We spent Thursday and Friday just enjoying the lake. Here's a few pics:

We celebrated Ainsley's birthday on Thursday with banana muffins, topped with whip cream (grandma's got them addicted and now guess what we have in our fridge?). And she got to open her baby from grandma. It was supposed to get her interested in the potty because it pees, but it hasn't worked so far. Reggie is very interested and has added a peeing (and pooping) baby to his Christmas list. I tell you, you never know!

Aunt Liha, Uncle Wade and Maggie arrived on Friday and the kids always get riled up. Here's a fun clip after Ainsley opened her gift from them:

We finished the week out with Ainsley birthday party and a final goodbye to family and friends. The weather was a bit crazy, sun, rain, hail, wind, but the company was great :o). Ainsley was a bit overwhelmed and pretty quiet, but perked up a bit after dinner. Here's a cute clip of her big day:

I have to give a big shout out to my family who put up with us all summer. Liha and Wade every Monday/Tuesday and my mom and dad the rest of the time. Thanks for having us and making the summer so much fun. They spent countless hours playing with the kids, dad mowing the lawn and moving dirt on the back hoe with Reggie, grandma playing in the sand with Ainsley and getting Reggie to try swimming, walks to the property through the woods, playing in the loft, the list goes on and on. They were in heaven! They will remember summers at the lake forever :o). They have no idea how lucky they are, but someday they will. Thank you mom for taking every Wednesday off of work, so we could "play" and I could have a little break. Hopefully, next year, they'll sleep better and then we'll never leave!!! We love you guys and miss you already :o(.

Notice the string in the front....Grandma pulled them because the 4-wheeler is broken!

Summer fun

We've been visiting lots of friends/family and have really enjoyed being back for a few weeks. Ainsley has had lots of baby time and Reggie has had quite a bit of friend time :o). Things are winding down and we're all pretty tired and ready to see daddy. Sleep has been a big issue and I'm pooped. Feels like I have a newborn again....when one sleeps, the other doesn't and I'm up usually a minimum of 4 times a night :o(.

Ainsley with Amelia during our visit with Jane. Lilli and Reggie were having all kinds of fun in the master bathroom!

Visit with Grandma WadeAinsley with Mack during our visit with Megan and Drew. Reggie was having fun with Lachlan and Cohen.
Splashing in the water at Forest park with Abby and Kellen.
Sharing a snow cone.
Monday we went up to Bellingham for a picnic that my mom's work was hosting for family. The kids had a lot of fun jumping in the bouncy houses, getting painted tattoos (not Reggie!), eating, dancing to the tunes and playing games.

We had a couple windy/cloudy days at the lake and what better to do than fly a Buzz Lightyear kite!! Ryan flew in for a week and got to spend his birthday with us. It was a great week and nice for the kids to get to spend lots of time with daddy. Nice for me to spend a little time relaxing and enjoying the sun :o). Peggy came to watch the kids on his birthday, so we played golf and went to Red Robin for his birthday burger. It was great for us to spend a little time together too!