A FULL Summer and a fun 4th of July

Get ready to do some speed reading cause I'm getting this all down in one shot.

Where to start... Well summer was extremely eventful. I guess it needed to be in order to get me through my "homesick for Cleveland" feelings and with Travis constantly studying for the bar I had to keep myself busy in order not to loose my mind (or kill my kids).

It started out with the Tumwater Falls Ducky Races. You buy a numbered duck and, along with the thousands of other ducks purchased, they release it down the falls in a race to the end. Many prizes are up for the grabs, none of which we won, but we always enjoy the festivities and the suspense at the Ducky Races.


There was a fishing area set up for the children to catch fish, and it was free! So the kids each caught their first fish... did I mention I love free stuff. The only drawback was that we had to keep the dead fish. Luckily papa was able to gut, clean, and cook them up for us. Thanks Papa.




Fathers Day 2010 and a couple of Home Depot workshops to help the kids create the best Fathers Day gifts ever. (Again, all free!) Happy Father's Day Travis. Thanks Home Depot!






Lots of berry picking with friends and family.





The best fireworks display ever! I loved the 4th in Cleveland and the fireworks were always great, but there is something to say about sitting 15 feet away from the launching field. Our neighborhood put on an amazing show this year. We did a BBQ at the park in the afternoon and then gathered a few doors down from my house to see the serious stuff. So if you don't mind a little ash falling in your eyes now and then... there is nothing quite like watching commercial grade fireworks blasting off right above your head and then just walking a few yards to tuck your kids into bed for the night.


Church bike parade.



The very next day Dillon learned how to ride his bike without training wheels. In no time he was zipping around the neighborhood like he was on some kind of batmocycle. Thank goodness for his helmet, I have a feeling it's going to be put to the test a few times.



There are lots of parks around here that put on free summer shows, concerts, and movies. This is just one of the many we attended. Preforming Pigs... I guess their pretty famous... not sure why.



Dillon in his first cast. I say first only because I'm sure there's at least a few more in his future. He has a problem with his thumb... it's called a trigger thumb. They want to immobilize it for a while to see if we can clear it up without surgery. All I have to say is that the cast STINKS!


Ward camp out. Sadly Travis couldn't be with us for this one. Still at home studying for the bar. I guess it's good for him because we all froze to death. Other than that it was a great time.





Olympia Lake Fair!




Movies at the neighbors.


Grandma got us stashes. (It freaks me out how real it almost looks on Dillon)



Watershed Park. I wish we had a pool, but this will have to do. At least there's no risk of drowning.





Brian Anderson cutting off Dillon's nasty cast. Thanks Brian, you saved us a visit to the surgeon and a nice bill to follow. Dillon... all cured!



Thurston County Fair with friends!




Olivia Poyfair's birthday party. It's nice being close to old friends.



The biggest slug ever. Caught and released all in the same day.




What we like to do on a hot summer day.




Thanks Poppy for the trampoline!

Molly loves her Grandma.



Ocean Shores and the biggest crab I've ever seen... to bad I was too busy freaking out and trying to get the kids out of the water to take a picture of this crab that was the size of a basketball.






Fishing with some friends for Family Home Evening. It's crazy how the fish were biting, you would think they'd catch on. Each kid caught and threw back at least 2 fish.






Our neighbors have the coolest thing ever. It easily makes for a day of entertainment for my kids while the adults all sit in the shade and sip lemonade. Ah, this is the life.


So after picking a bunch of blackberries off some wild bushes and picking up a box of peaches from the farmers market we are treating ourselves to some mighty tasty blackberry peach jam. I wouldn't have guessed that these flavors go together as well as they do. SO DELISIOUS!



Sand In The City. This is a must attend event where they bring in truck loads of sand and, along with some amazing professional sand sculptures, the kids can have a blast playing and digging all day.




Although I have to say... my favorite part of the day is when we were all throwing rocks into the water and my friend Brittan decided to step on that big rock behind her slipping off and completely submerging herself in the ocean. As bad as I felt for her I couldnt stop laughing. We had to leave after that.


Then off to take the bar exame in Seattle where I caught up on some R&R while Travis tested his brains out. And just like that... three days later... he was done.


A camping trip with daddy and a run through the obsticale course to end the summer right.







After a long summer we're all trying to catch up on some much needed sleep.