Summer Activities

Darbi, my old neighbor and friend, was here visiting for a couple weeks. Their family moved to Fairbanks, Alaska last August and so it was fun to see them again. We had them over for dinner a couple times then hung out several other times. It was fun to catch up and chat outside while the kids played, just like old times. 

The girls playing barbies on the front lawn.

L-R: Aleeya (neighbor), Kate, Logan (Darbi's oldest), Jocelyn (neighbor) and Dallas (Darbi's 2nd kid).

This is Koda, Darbi's dog. Kate misses him. He's a ginormous dog! Lindsey was SO scared of him. She ran away crying, but last year she was fine with him. 

Chelsea went to Chuck E Cheese for the first time. We went with Darbi and her kids one morning. Then we got Little Caesars pizza and went to a park to eat lunch. That was a fun day even if it was crazy at Chuck E Cheese and the entrance stunk like urine. 

I bought these from Target. They are my new favorite find. My friend, Stephanie, that I worked with in YW had these at an activity and I liked them. I love mini spatulas from Williams Sonoma, but these are better because they don't have the wood handle. The silicone/rubber part on the end started to twist on my spatula, sad day. So with these that can't happen. 

We went to a carnival that the Arc of Snohomish puts on for families with kids that have disabilities/special needs. It's an awesome event. We've gone before. They have free sno cones, cotton candy, cake, popcorn and a bunch of carnival games for the kids. It's a fun environment for the kids with special needs. It's the least stressful place to take Preston to because they expect kids to be "different". It's awesome! At the end, they have this motorcycle show where these guys do stunts and tricks on their bikes. We played at a fun castle park nearby afterwards and the kids had so much fun. It was a fun outing.

I put Chelsea on this little ride on toy and she loved it. It makes music and all sorts of noise. She now gets mad when someone else takes her toy away. Which they often do. 

Last day of school was June 13th this year. We got out early this year because we didn't have any snow days to make up. We drove our neighbor, Anshu, to school every morning. Anshu used to ride with Darbi, but since they moved we took her. Kate walks home with another neighbor girl, Jocelyn, and her grandma every day. It's nice because then I don't have to wake up sleeping babies to go pick her up. 

Madeleine (another neighbor, yes I know a lot of my neighbors, haha!), Darbi and I walked to the school on the last day of school to pick up the kids. Madeleine brought popsicles for everyone. Before we left, I noticed all the teachers lined up along the sidewalk and waving to the kids as the buses drove away. The teachers were waving, the kids were waving and the buses were honking. It was a pretty cool sight. Love Odyssey elementary school! 

What a mess!!! Chelsea and Owen made a lovely mess of pirate's booty while Tawnya and I were going over stuff at the Church. The pirate booty dust was stuck to Chelsea's pants like glue. It was pretty funny. It even took the vacuum a while to suck everything up. Tawnya was training me on my new calling. I am now the visiting teaching coordinator. I got released as Young Women's 1st counselor last month. I'm sad to leave the young women's program. It was a fun almost 3 years. The girls were asking me if I would still use them as babysitters...um heck yes I am! haha! The YW president I worked with, Christina Miller, is getting married so we are very excited for her. 

I've been experimenting at making Thai food. I love chicken pad thai and thai red curry. I found some red curry sauce at Winco and some pad thai sauce there too so I went for it. It tastes pretty good, but still not as good as in a restaurant. But at least I kind of get my fix at home, plus it's cheaper. 

Kate with Dallas. She misses her in the neighborhood. They had fun playing together while they were here visiting. 

I had posted this picture on Instagram because this is how our front yard looks on a nice day. The pool and slide are out, the chalk is being played with, Preston is laying on the driveway like a lizard trying to warm up, kids are running around in the road and moving when a car comes, kids are riding bikes and playing with toys and I'm feeding them snacks or popsicles and maybe reading a magazine or checking facebook. Yep, sounds like a summer day for us.