February-July

Well here we are in August. It has been a really, really fun summer! The girls have been in camps, we took a wonderful vacation to Black Butte with Pete's side of the family, and had a beautiful three-day trip to the beach. There is still a month to go, but with Pete back to work I feel like the summer is winding down. I'll be back working part time this year, and Pet will continue for his second year as a high school VP.  BUT - before I get to summer pics, we have to start back in February!

Pete and I celebrated 9 wonderful years in February.  Love of my life!  I'm so glad that he is mine.

Sofie did great things in school this year.  Her writing improved and by the of the year she could write her first and last name with ease!

Sofie's fabulous work that was displayed in the art show at school this year.

Girls getting ready for Mardi Gras!

More writing.

We took the girls to the crab races in Garabaldi this year, and I think it was a highlight of the year for all of us!  SO much fun.

Super fun hats!

Pete got into the mix.

Sofie ended up winning and Lucy got second place!  They each got a fun prize.  Definitely a family tradition from now on.

We made our usual stop at Blue Heron in Tillamook.  The girls (especially Sofie) could spend hours feeding the animals.

Fun masks to try on.

The Children's Museum continues to be a favorite place to go.  Of course our little animal lover likes the pet hospital the best.

Playing at the park.

New hair cut for the big FIVE year old!

Selfie at the beach.

Sofie wanted her fifth birthday to be at Pump It Up.  We had a fabulous party and then she and I went on a special trip to visit Auntie Lorissa and her family in Spokane.

On the plane.

Hanging out with Justin.

We got some Mama/Sofie time at the park, just the two of us.

Auntie Lur, Jenell, and Colleen.

Such a sweet, wonderful five year old!

We love our time with cousin Mia!

More beach journeys - it is really one of our favorite spots.  We go every time we get a chance.

Easter Egg hung in the neighborhood!

Easter bunny was good to the girls this year.

Lucy likes to dress Mia up like a funky Easter bunny. :)

Emma and I like to take trips around the park.  In the early spring we saw lots of mama and baby ducks.  Emma likes to call them "greenies." Ha!

Emma gets in on the birthday action - she turned 3 this year!

The Little Mermaid continues to be her favorite character - she loves anything Ariel!

Sisters.

Self portraits in chalk at the park.

Sometimes the girls want to eat like dogs - and I let them.  What are you going to do? :)

I found this funny, as it resonated with me just a bit.  Haha.

Katy, Syd, my mom, Marge, and I all ran a 5K on Mother's Day morning.  Such a great thing to do!  It was so fun.

Syd won for her age division!!!

More children's museum!

Pete taught Lucy how to play chess - she got dressed up for the event.

Emma's last day of the 2's class.  Next year she will go to preschool two days a week all by herself!

Sofie's last day of preschool!  Next year she'll join her sister at the elementary school for full-day kindergarten!

Preschool graduation!

An outing to the farmer's market, but all the kids wanted to do was play with the zillions of ants that were by the fountain!

Sofie loses her first tooth!

Family outing to the Rose Festival Carnival.

The kids got to play with this little fellow!

... and eat crepes.

The kids joined us on a trip to the winery not far away from us - so beautiful out there!

The winery also has a little pond with frogs in it, which the kids find fun.

Trip to the dentist.

Lucy brought supplies to the zoo in order to take notes on the animals.  Anyone who knows Lucy is not surprised by this.

Pretending to be orangutans. 

Mia and Ems in the pool for a little cousin time.

Sofie with a new "pet" dog from Grammie Marge.

Caroline and Saige - Lucy and Sofie's American girl dolls.  They are always around somewhere and usually tag along for outings and vacations.

Fun at Vacation Bible School.

Emma gets her first swim lessons.

Lucy at swim.

More Vacation Bible School.  Sofie loved the obstacle course!

Lucy got to be in the 4th of July parade this year with her Girl Scout Troop.  She was SO excited; although she says next year she wants to just watch the parade so she can get more candy!

Sofie did the bike parade.

Sofie loses a SECOND tooth!

Of course we had to make a summer trip here!

The girls went on their first big roller coaster ride.  It was hit and miss, which made us decide that Disneyland is a while off for us I think.

Syd and me.

Emma enjoyed her ice cream!

Lucy and Sof made playdough treats.

We had a FABULOUS week in Black Butte!

The kids got to go horseback riding!

We rode bikes along the meadow and played at Palina Springs.  So fun and brought me back to my own childhood.

Family dinners every night with lots of laughs.

Fun (and somewhat inappropriate) card games!

Sister snuggles after fun in the pool.

Ems in Grammie Marge's hat.

For the third year in a row, Pete and I went to breakfast at Rogue to open up the Oregon Brew Fest.  It was pouring this year, but still such a fun tradition!

Then we headed off for three days at the beach.

A little game of cards in the morning.

Living the good life.

S'mores on the deck!

Yum!

Exploring the tide pools in Canon Beach.

Love my family.