Oh Yeah...the SUN!

Well, the sun has finally arrived. It isn't too hot, but the bright light is bringing us much joy.

We've been busy this last week. We have taken to riding our bikes around town. On Thursday we went to the library and park after riding to the bank. On Friday we went "garage saleing" on our bikes. We found a couple garage sales, but only purchased a few stuffed animals.

I'm still working on the wallpaper in my bathroom. It is slow going. Plus, now I have to repair the wall and add some texture since there isn't any on the wall at all. I can't wait to finish the project, but don't really want to work on it...especially when it is nice outside.

On Saturday we went to the Berry Dairy Days run. Mike came in 5th overall in his race and got #1 in his age group. He did really well! Then the girls got to go over to their cousins for a birthday party of sorts. They stayed their all day while Michael and I ran errands...then came home to work on that bathroom.

There are usually brief periods each day while the girls go in the pool in the backyard. They don't usually stay in because they get so cold. On Sunday I sat outside and enjoyed the sun, taking a break from the bathroom.

Yesterday I had to do some work at the church, so the girls got to go to the pool there! Some friends joined us there. It was our first visit this season. They swam for 3 hours! They were so happy that they behaved the whole time we ran errands afterward. We try to fit everything in one visit when we go over to Burlington now to save gas.

Today we rode our bikes over to the library for their summer reading program. They had a magician there today. Then they played at the park. Right now they are listening to Peter Pan. I just found out our library subscribes to an audio book library! It is very cool and apparently very entertaining to them because they are quietly listening!

More Pictures

I added pictures to my last update and have posted a few more photos in this album. June Photos

P.S.

P.S. Tegan's egg survived the drop!

School's Out!

Friday: School's Out for the Summer! The girls had only two hours of school today. We got the necessary pictures with their teachers and celebratory pizza for dinner.

Saturday: We took our time packing up for going camping and headed east over the Cascade mountains.

Sunday: I'm writing this while we are driving around looking for a trail to hike. We just got done having an ice cream treat in Winthrop.

Happy Father's day to Michael. He says he hates Father's day. He just doesn't care about presents. We got him a bird song book and a nice pillow anyway. Now he'll be able to identify birds by their songs and sleep better too!

We are staying at the Klipchuck campground. We had trouble setting up camp in getting the trailer in the right spot, but once it was up and our home made, I was happy as a clam. The trailer doesn't necessarily make setting up camp easier, but it makes my life while camping easier.

Later: We found a place to hike. It was a great adventure. We had to go two miles up to see some waterfalls (which was hard to convince three little girls of the value as they were tiring out after one mile), but the falls were beautiful. We were up close and personal with the top of the falls without any guard fails which freaked Tegan out. We got some good pictures then made our way two miles back. The trip was a bit much for the nap-deprived Anika, but we were very proud of the stamina of the older girls. I loved hiking with the family and hope we go again soon.

Monday: This morning we got up and took the trailer down. The girls agreed to try another hike. We went about 1.5 miles up to Cutthroat Lake. The girls liked this hike better, but probably only because over half of the distance was covered in snow! We were warm enough in shorts and tank tops because the weather was perfect.

The view at the lake is amazing. The lake is surrounded by a tall snowy mountain bowln (the pictures don't even do it justice!). Mike caught a tiny cutthroat trout in a creek flowing out of the lake.

Now we are tired bunch making our way home. I'm sure the first thing the girls will do is jump onto the pool. That's right...It's not raining! Maybe it really will be summer now that school is out.

Painting & Projects

I finally attacked a project today that I have put off for over a year! Yes, you heard me right...I put off a project for over a year. Mike and I painted one wall in our bedroom red last year. Today I painted the other three walls the brown we had choosen. It looks great and really didn't take me that long.

I also started another project (which ranks in the top 5 of my least favorite things to do) of pulling wallpaper off the wall in our bathroom. I HATE wallpaper! Who invented? Why put it up? Painting is so much easier and changeable. It is a waterproof paper that won't come off with normal procedures. Now I'm pulling off the top layer to get to the paper backing. Then I'll have to go back and wet that down and scrub it off. I can't wait to get that done so I can paint a neat yellow color. I want all new hangy things and a new light fixture too, so it will be a bathroom makeover!

I'm happy I got so much done today. The sun came out for a minute too! What a great day.

Studio A

Kelbys been going to a thing called Studio A for the last couple months. She really enjoys it. Tonight was the finalle and she got to go in the heated up church pool! She was so excited.

Tegan stayed home with Dad and tried to design an entry into the all school egg drop contest tomorrow. He had to find a balance between making her figure out an idea on her own and doing it himself. The goal of the contest is to build something that you could drop from the school roof and not have the egg break. Ill let you know how their invention works.

Last week of school...

Hey everyone! I want to start updating a little more often and posting the pictures right on the site. What do you think?

On Monday Anika and I went to volunteer in Tegan's classroom. The kids were still learning, but it was hard for the last week. I was going to make a cute craft gift for the teachers, but after I took a bunch of pictures and got them printed I decided I didn't have time for that. This is a busy week. I ended up making a card for each teacher and they seemed to be happy.

On Monday night we went to the school board meeting to see Kelby's teacher from last year receive and award for employee of the year for the Sedro-Woolley school district.

Kelby still loves Mrs. Brooks and visits her in her classroom before school many times. I'm hoping that Tegan gets in her class next year, but they might put her in a 2nd/3rd grade split class. She would probably do well in that class since she is such a smart girl.

Yesterday we went to the park with Tegan's class for their all-day play day. It was a good mile plus walk to the park...then the whole 1st grade played and played until it was time to walk the mile plus back to the school. We were pooped after that! It was really cold out too, but at least it wasn't raining.

Today we went to the school for Kelby. Her class had a storytelling day today. They got to share something important to them. She shared her Webkinz horse. It was cute. She talks very quietly, so it was hard to hear her, but I was very proud that she did it because it wasn't a requirement and she was pretty nervous. Then Anika and I had a BBQ lunch with her at the school.

Tomorrow is pajama day and a couple other fun things. We're still hoping for better weather to show up soon.

Pictures and Stuff!

Hey there! I can't believe that it is June because our weather is just like a normal March! We are still in winter. Hopefully it gets warm this week and breaks into summer since the girls are out of school on Friday. What will we do with ourselves if we have to stay inside?!

Let's see, what have we been up to? The end of May was fun.

We did take that camping trip over Memorial Day weekend. We expected to find some crazy partiers, but it was the quietest camping trip that we can remember! We had a beautiful camp site and found lots of fun stuff to do. We did a couple hikes and visited the town store where we got ice cream and visted the "train" like we always do. There was a little rain in the morning on our last day, but we stayed nice and dry until we packed up. It was a good test for the tent trailer and it passed! We had to pop it up in the garage when we got home to dry it out.

The big thing that week was that the girls got to go on a fieldtrip for Girl Scouts out to the Padilla Bay Reserve. They were taught about the estruary (don't know how to spell it) and how it is a protected place where fresh water meets salt water. There are a bunch of neat creatures that like it and they got to see a bunch of them under microscopes. Anika is an honorary Girl Scout and gets to do everything her big sisters get to do.

The next weekend we stayed home to get some yard work done and relax a little. It was not quite warm enough, but the girls got in the pool. They also each invited over a couple friends just for fun, so we had an inpromtu pool party! They were all girls from around the neighborhood. Kelby and Tegan haven't been too good at inviting friends over, so it was a real break through. The next door neighbor girl is just one year older than Anika, so she gets to be her friend.

Tegan's 1st grade class got to take an all day fieldtrip to the zoo the next day. She had to be to school early and got picked up late. It was a long day for her. I didn't go on that trip because there were so many parents going that the bus was full. I wasn't going to drive if I didn't have to with this price of gas. I really missed getting picture though.

More May Pictures

For fun I took the girls to the KOA indoor pool on Tuesday after school. I'm already getting into the mood of starting summer I guess. I forgot that on Thursday the Girl Scout troop would be off to the YMCA pool, so they got all kinds of swimming in this week. At least they learned some water saftey and swimming lessons at the YMCA.

We were going to try to go camping this weekend after the church ladies' breakfast, but because the girls had a Girl Scout ceremony and BBQ, we stayed home. The weather wasn't that great for camping anyway. Regular Girl Scouts is now over until a camping trip in August. We'll be doing Girl Scout Twilight camp in July. I'm helping to teach crafts for that and Anika gets to come and be in a tag-a-long group.

The church breakfast was fabulous! I'm so happy that it is started and really meeting important needs for the women attending. Only about 36 ladies were there, but I believe with all my heart that each of those ladies received encouragement or connections while they were there. I know I do!

Today Mike played soccer up in Bellingham for his sister's team. He hasn't played soccer in so long...and he twisted his ankle. I hope it isn't too bad since he's going to be doing some more races soon. The girls and I took the opportunity to visit my favorite scrapbooking store in Bellingham, Treasury of Memories. I am spending much too much money on craft stuff lately, but I have big plans to start selling some journals I've been making. I know...just one more thing on my list to do! I'm crazy, but I've realized that I have been missing the crafty side of me. I LOVE crafting and the girls like to watch and craft too, so it is really good for all of us. I'm making "Reading Records". They are journals that you keep track of all the books you've read. These are for readers, but I've also made them for the girls and they seem excited to read so they can write down the books. I think it will be really good for them.

I think that is about it for now. I hope all is going well. Of course you can now read more deep thoughts from me at smileonmyheart.blogspot.com. I'm still trying to post about the Bible studies.

More June Photos

Mike's Cousin

Here is a link to Mike's cousin's Caringbridge site if you want to be praying for him.

caringbridge.org/visit/nathanielomli

I'll post an update soon.

Loves,

shawna