Newport

In August we had a fantastic weekend down in Newport, OR.  SO MUCH FUN!!! We left on Friday night, stopping for dinner at Red Robin and arrived late in the night, around midnight.  We woke early and headed to the beach.  We then planned out a fun day sightseeing Newport.  We ended up at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, ate lunch at a yummy pizza joint, hung out at fun pirate themed shopping center, played at the beach again.  We then went down to the waterfront and watched boats, ate dinner at Mo's, played some arcade games, watched seals, and got ice cream.  The next day, on our way home we stopped at the Tillamook Lighthouse, ate lunch at good ol' McDonald's, and drove the scenic route along the ocean.  It was beautiful!  It was a quick trip, but so nice to get away.  The kids were great and slept well in our hotel.  The weather was perfect and everyone was happy.  That makes for a good trip!

Animal Park

We took a drive out to Redmond to a fun park that has farm animals, some trails, and a few toys.  The kids love it, mostly because of the animals.  I love it because it's relaxing and the animals, I must admit, are pretty fun :)  We went out there on one of those Seattle days when it's cold in the morning, but starts to get sunny in the afternoon and you're not really sure if it's going to stay warm or get chilly again.  The kids were in long pants, but it got super warm and Sam ended up rolling up her pants and I did the same.  It was beautiful out and a great day to hang out at the park....



July 4th!

We had a super fun Independance Day this year, like usual!  We have a tradition of having Jeremy's family over for a BBQ and fireworks.  The guys usually plan a wiffle ball game in the afternoon as well and us girls hang out and get ready for dinner.  This year we also invited some old college friends over to our house.  They had just moved here a few days earlier.  That made for an extra full house, but extra fun as well! 
The day started with Jeremy running the Maple Hills 5K that they do every year... We went along to see him off.

While Jeremy was running, the kids and I headed to Target to get some last minute party supplies and food.  We came home and quickly got ready for the next activity: the parade!  Yes, the 4th of July Maple Hills parade.  It's actually quite comical because there are more people in the parade than come to watch.  Most of the neighborhood participates, but we have yet to give it a try.  We're great spectators though!  Sam did hop on one of our friend's "floats" for a while and had a good time.  And, the kids get really excited to get candy that's thrown. After the parade our neighborhood hosts a hot dog lunch at the park.  AND, to top it off, the neighborhood fire station brought a truck in to get everyone a little wet.  The kids loved it! 



After the parade, a quick change of clothes, and a little prep on the food, people started arriving and the wiffle ball game began over at the school just down the street.  Us girls hung out a watched the game and kept an eye on the kids.  We then headed back to the house and ate, ran through the sprinkler, played games, and started fireworks!

To end the evening we walked over to the park, where the neighborhood likes to gather and set off the BIG fireworks once it's dark.  We didn't get there until around 10:00, so it was late and the kids were getting really tired.  Collin ended up falling asleep in my arms, with my hands over his ears because it was really, really loud.  He must have been really tired to fall asleep through everything.  We eventually got headphones on him, which he wouldn't dare let us put on before, and he slept like a log.  We ended the night with a BANG (literally) and had another great 4th of July!!!