Summer summed up in a loooong post....

Wow, a lot has happened since our last post.....we've had nothing but sunshine, even 100 degree weather a few days!!! Didn't we leave Livermore to avoid the heat???? At least we had the lake to cool off in :o). Time has really gone fast :o(. I can't believe our time at the lake came and went. It was so wonderful to spend so much time with family and enjoy the lake and the peacefulness of being there. There's not much better than sitting and looking at the lake in the morning, just relaxing (it didn't happen that often!).

Ryan came for a short 4 day visit. It was great to have him here and he was off his crutches and into his boot, so he made some great progress, so great that no one wanted to tell him what he could/couldn't do because they didn't want to be liable if something happened. He was a bit frustrated and ended up walking a bit without his boot. We didn't do too much while he was here, except went to his birthday dinner with his mom/brothers at Skipper's. Mmmm, how I love their clam chowder :o). We swam a lot and Ryan found that it really helped his Achilles feel better. Then we had birthday dinner at the lake and Ryan chose his usual, lasagna and banana cream pie. He was supposed to fly out early Monday morning, but he had to make a last minute trip to Little Rock, Arkansas, so we got to spend a little extra time with him. We had plans to visit Sarah/Ashen/Torin that morning, so he came along. Ainsley was a little clingy, but Reggie had a blast. It was a hot day, so they played in the pool :o). I also had a great visit with Sarah. As chaotic as it is when we are in town, it has been great to see friends and catch up.
We spent a few days at Liha/Wade/Maggie's and enjoyed the Mukilteo beaches and parks. We went to the water park near their house again this year and the kids had a great time. It doesn't seem to matter where they are...they have a good time, just hanging out and playing. They love to explore the yard and play with all Maggie's toys. Reggie and Maggie have become quite the playmates :o). They've also been to the lake a lot and for some reason Maggie and Ainsley are better playmates at the lake. Reggie is very good about watching out for Ainsley and Maggie, so they go off and play for long periods of time and Reggie intervenes when they are struggling and I have heard him problem solve with them and it is just great!

There's a Kangaroo farm in Arlington that we visited one Sat. morning. We met up with Jenisa, Lacey and the kids, Aunt Pam and the Rinehardt's. We saw all kinds of animals...ostrich, lemur, kangaroos, pony's, goats, llama's and alpaca, turkey's (no, not the kids!). It was a very interesting place and the kids had a great time. Reggie had his first experience on a tree swing and we got some big smiles from him.

We also spent lots of time on the party boat. Reggie asked if we could build a lake in California, so we could have a party boat too. Hmm....If it were only that easy! Reggie and Ainsley love to drive the boat and Ainsley dances to the music and waves to all the people on shore. We rescued a piece of wood and a tennis ball from the lake and they were our treasures :o). We also took several rides in the canoe and went down the outlet, all the way to the log jam. We didn't see any beavers, but we saw plenty of beaver trails. They got a lot more comfortable being in a rocking boat. We spent hours everyday, building in the sand and swimming in the lake. About 2 weeks before we left, Reggie decided he wanted to swim. We put a life jacket on him and off he went, swimming for hours at a time. There's was a trampoline about 100 feet out from the beach and he had no problem going out there and circling it, even though it was over his head. We played the "ball" game, where I would throw the ball and he would swim to get it or we would race to get it. I think we're going to start serious swim lessons soon. He told my mom he never wanted to leave the water! What a difference a year makes. Ainsley made slower progress, floating in her life jacket. She would giggle and laugh hysterically trying to keep her face out of the water. She loved the shallow water and would "swim" and dance and jump around, splashing and throwing herself all over the place :o). The beach/water was a big hit with all of our visiting friends. My friend from high school, Megan, came up with her kids and Reggie had so much fun playing with the boys. He was doing stuff I never thought he would do. Amazing what can happen when they see other kids doing things. Kellen and Abby and their families also came to the lake for a visit and the kids had a ball, playing in the sand and water. Again, it was so nice to visit with friends :o).

Grandma Peggy came to the lake for a visit and played with the kids all day! They had a great time (after Ainsley finally warmed up-she can be a stinker sometimes!). Reggie was very happy to skip quiet time and read books with Grandma! A couple weeks later, she took them to the movies. I never got the full story, but in Ainsley's words, "Weggie was hiding undew the chair and it was weally woud!" They just don't seem to be movie theatre kids....maybe someday. They left early and went to McDonald's and that was a big hit. Being at my parents, 1/2 hour from anything doesn't make it easy to go out to dinner! They even got a toy and had ice cream, so all was good :o).

We missed the fair this year in Pleasanton and they moved the Skagit fair out a week, so I was very sad because it looked like we weren't going to get to go to a fair. Then, we saw in the paper that Stanwood/Camano was having a fair, so we HAD to go. It was a very small fair, but perfect for the kids. They had a stage and had different performers every hour. When we got there, a country singer and his daughter were performing and grandma, maggie and ainsley were very excited to dance. Ainsley just kept going and he asked her to go up on stage and then she freaked out and ran away. The girls rode some rides by themselves and Reggie went on his first roller coaster by himself. It was a very exciting day. Later, we went and watched some tap dancers and they were great. The last group we watched was a bunch of kids, from age 8-16, who were dancing and singing. Ainlsey was watching and mimicking their dance moves. I think it is time to get her into dance!!! Reggie was soooo bored and just wanted to go on the rides! It will be interesting to try to keep them both happy at that kind of event. We did manage to find a pirate show and boat building station and Reggie could have stayed there all day!!!

Ryan arrived that week on Wednesday and we were all very happy to see him. He did, however, bring the cloudy weather. Poor guy didn't get to enjoy the sunshine at all! I think he was happy to be there no matter what the weather. That Friday, we went to my mom's work picnic. Ryan enjoyed the food, the kids enjoyed the bounce house and face painting and winning prizes and Ainsley enjoyed dancing to the music. Maggie was once again the only brave one who would ride a pony...someday! We did get a big laugh watching Reggie and Ainsley do the wheelbarrow race :o).

On Sat. the 8th, we had Ainsley's birthday party. I packed up quite a bit Friday and Sat. morning, so I was feeling pretty good about the trip home, which made her party much more enjoyable. We had such a nice time visiting with family and friends one last time (until Christmas). As you'll notice from the cake, Ainsley is really into shoes. Since we've been home, I've had to argue with her everyday about the shoes Grandma Peggy got her-they are too big and she wants to wear them out of the house. Is this just the beginning? After an early BBQ dinner and cake, we headed over to the firehall for the dance where Ainsley admired her sparkling shoes all evening. Ainsley, Maggie, Cadia, Grandma Irene and Grandma Pam boogeyed, while Charlie and Reggie threw rocks in a hole outside. Could boys and girls be anymore different!

We woke up early the next morning and were on the road by 8:30! I was sad to go, but also excited to get back. We had such a wonderful summer and it did go too fast, but school starts for Reggie in a week and a half, so we couldn't have stayed longer, even if we wanted to! A big thanks to mom and dad who put up with us all summer. Thank you for letting them come up and snuggle with you in bed every morning (like you had a choice!), so I could sleep a little longer :o). They will have wonderful memories of their summers at the lake.We had a nice drive back, stopped for lunch and dinner and ran around a bit. The kids were so good in the car and we didn't have to turn on a movie until after dinner! We arrived at home at 12:07 (Ryan won our ETA bet-he guessed exactly), so we made great time.