Lake life....

I didn't realize all the activities we've done until I started looking at our pictures.  We've had all kinds of weather, so have done all kinds of indoor and outdoor activities.  The weather hasn't seemed to stop the kids from swimming or playing outside.  I think they are nuts!  Today was the first day I went for a long swim and it was cold!  It surprises me how long they can last in the water :o).  Here's some pictures of our summer activities....

Swinging Spencer while walking in the woods and climbing on fallen trees at least 5 feet in the air.

Water fights have been a hit this year.  I'm glad the weather has been nice enough to enjoy the lake!

 Ainsley is so much more confident this year and will swim way out into the deep waters.  They have taken many trips to the log (an old tree that you can stand on out from the dock) :o).

 Practicing my golf swing.  Had a few crazy balls as did most everyone, but no one got hurt :o).

 The kids have been doing lots of paddle boarding and canoeing this year.

 Reggie and Grandma planting.  He wanted to bring some plants to our new house and he assures me he will water them.  He is such a good helper when he wants to be and he wouldn't stop until they cleaned up all the raspberry rows which took awhile.  I wish I could find a way to make all of our helping activities his idea!

We went to a maze at a farm near Laconner and the kids had a lot of fun.  There was a slide in the middle that was surprisingly bumpy, but fun.  From the picture, it looks like grandma really enjoyed it.

 The kids have been really interested in little critters and have caught fish, frogs and crawfish.  We had the frogs for a week, but decided to let them go.  Finding bugs for them to eat was a bit of a challenge.

Our latest rainy day activity.  Grandma helped with the dough to make all kinds of sculpted creatures.  We made a turtle, dolphin, ray, starfish, etc.  We got some food color involved and that made things way more interesting.  The kids have been playing with their creations since.  Both Reggie and Ainsley said it they were having so much fun and it kept their attention for almost 3 hours.

We had Megan and the boys up yesterday (Lachlan, Cohen and Mack) for our yearly visit and the kids played in the water for hours!  Grandma offered to take them down the outlet and it was quite the production going against the current, but they made it!  Reggie was already asking when they were coming back.  It is always nice to catch up with old friends!

Surprise Party!

The happy couple on May 4, 1972.

My parents had their 40th this year and we wanted to do something special for them.  Since we weren't around in May, we thought why not have a surprise party in July? Lake Cavanaugh has a nice community center that we rented and it worked out great because we could set up shop over there  before the party.  It was very hard not to talk about it, especially since we have been staying with them!  Liha and I had to talk in code, I had to keep my e-mail empty of Evite responses and I turned the kids into liars, but I think mom and dad were surprised!!!
We had a great showing of family and friends, even the Lih's from New York came :o).  We did a lunch event and then people headed to my parents for some more visiting.  

I have to say that I am very glad it is over.  With renting our house and dealing with buying a house, this just about sent me over the edge!  A big thank you to Aunt Pam, Aunt Sue, Jenisa (who made a great picture collage) and Aunt Jana!!!  

Arthur, LeeAnn and Jackie (the New York Gang) stayed for a couple days and we enjoyed all the fun lake activities (walking in the woods, playing in the water, making smores, visiting the rope swing and going down the outlet).

  

Birch Bay

 The kids made a trip to Birch Bay with Anthony and grandma and had a blast!  They always get so spoiled with junk food, toys and fun activities!!!  The weather cooperated and it was nice and sunny for the water slides.  It was good they both were there because Reggie wanted to go on the big slides and Ainsley just wanted to hang out in the hot tub.  She was in there for a long time and the lifeguard finally asked her how old she was and that was the end of the hot tubbing.  You had to be 6...bummer she is only days away from her 6th birthday.  I think she was ready to go after that :o(. 


Later in the day, they went to play miniature golf and go-carts.

They somehow found some time to swim in the pool at the condo and enjoy the hot tub there :o).
When they got home, we heard all about how big Piper (Aunt Holly's dog) had gotten and how she peed on the floor.  Kids remember the funniest things, but I know they will have some awesome memories with their family :o).

Small, maybe large Miracle

We didn't have any medical insurance for the months of May and June and we were hoping not to use Cobra because it is so expensive.  The last trip to the doctor for us was to evaluate Ainsley's tonsils in February and  I was wondering just how long this streak could continue, given our history of health!  Well, we made it and still haven't been to the doctor!!!  Now, I'm starting to wonder what we're paying all of our premiums for.  Dyson has VERY expensive medical insurance, but it only takes one big thing to make it worth it.
Praise God for health :o).

New House!

Our rent was raised in early March and it made us really think about what makes financial sense.  We were paying a lot in rent, more than if we were to buy a house, so we started looking.  The market has been slim pickings and we had been talking with the owners of our rental to see if we could buy that house.  We looked at several homes and put an offer on one, but were outbid (there are multiple offers on homes where we live, for well above asking price).  That worked out because I wasn't really excited about it anyway.
The Thursday before we left, I got a call from the owner of our rental and he said he would sell us the house, but the price was way higher than anything we'd seen, so it was clear we weren't meant to buy it.  I looked on the MLS and found a couple new ones, so Friday (in between packing and playdates) we headed over to look at one last house.  Ryan loved it immediately....everything was redone and it was big.  5 bedroom with a 400 sq. ft. finished building in the yard that could be made into a small guest house.  We made an offer and it was accepted.  Perfect timing!  NOT!  So, the beginning of our trip was figuring out financing, signing paperwork, etc., etc.  Thank goodness for the internet!!!
Things seemed to be going a bit sideways with the appraisal and inspection, but we got everything we asked for, so it seems like it was meant to be :o).  We close the end of July and will be moving sometime in August.  Feel free to come an visit....we have all kinds of room for people to stay!

We made it!

It was a crazy last week in Livermore, finished off by the Olympic Trials in San Jose.  It was awesome to see it live and get to know some names before the Olympics start.  The kids were bored after about an hour and wanted to go, but I made them stick it out.  They had a bunch of past Olympians there and that was fun to see Mary Lou, Kerri Strug, Shawn Johnson and Shannon Miller.  Can't wait until the end of July!

We got home late, but everything was packed and ready to go.  I woke up at 4:45 and just decided to start loading the last things in the car and finishing up around the house.  We left at 5:55 and Ainsley wasn't feeling good right off the bat.  She finally ate some strawberries, but as we were going over the pass, she made a wimpering noise and I turned around to see her face as white as a ghost :o(.  No warning, out the strawberries came.  I caught most of her puke in my hand and we pulled over to clean everything up.  Other than that and a couple traffic jams, we made great time.  14 1/2 hours.  I think we could have done it in under 14 if we hadn't had those issues.  Maybe on the way home....
We didn't tell grandma we were coming because she gets a bit stressed out, so when we arrived the kids opened the door and just walked in and grandma looked very confused :o).  Everyone was very happy and we were even more happy to be out of the car!
We spent the next few days hanging out and relaxing, catching up on some much needed sleep and watching the cousins play.  The weather was terrible, but the kids went out and were swimming in the water anyways, NUTS!  We went down on the 4th of July to do the Sedro-Woolley fun run.  The kids and Ryan ran the 2 mile and I ran the 5.  I ran into my  college friend, Jill (no pun intended!) and we had a nice time catching up :o).  You never know who you are going to run into in the Valley.  The weather was sunny on the 4th...mark it on the calendar.  The evening was very chilly, but we enjoyed everyone else's fireworks on the party boat.  This was the first year we didn't have a party and it was really enjoyable.

Since then, the weather has been fabulous and we've been playing on the beach and in the water (I even went swimming yesterday!).  Grandma's been busy with water fights and canoe rides, Ryan and Reggie went on the tube and I've been taking the kids on the paddle board.  They are dead tired by the end of the day :o).

 Getting poor grandpa

 Otter pop break :o)

 Rough life....

Today I had CPR training and then I met mom and we took Ainsley to Dimensions of Gymnastics for open gym.  My old coach was there, but we didn't get a chance to say hi.  Maybe we'll go again this summer :o).

 Mom had her cowboy boots out for some reason and Ainsley begged me to put them on.  They no longer fit grandma, so Ainsley wants me to take them home.  Please mom....

We had a little excitement this evening when we heard a strange wrestling noise in the kitchen.  We looked over and it was a big bird trying to fly out the window.  Thank you Maui cat, but we didn't really need such a beautiful bird in the house.  It was totally freaked out and dad caught it in his hands and then released it in the yard.  He looked like a professional bird keeper.  As Ryan put it, "I've seen it all now!"