More Summer Fun

We've been keeping busy enjoying the on and off again Seattle summer weather. It's kind of hard to plan things when it's sunny one day and cloudy/rainy the next day. I've just about had enough of it! Anyone live in the perfect climate and want to share?!?

We went to Renton River Days with my mom and Chad. Jack loved sitting in the firetruck, jumping in the inflatable toys and playing in the tumble bus.

Lindsey loved playing the drums, throwing a fit whenever I strapped her in the stroller and riding in the swings on the playground.

We went to my parents' ward pioneer breakfast over the weekend. There was a bike parade following pancakes, so we decorated Jack's bike and he joined in the fun.

We created a covered wagon using a white sheet and pool noodles for Lindsey to ride in. She rode for a few minutes, but decided that pulling it was much more fun.

We headed to the zoo yesterday. It was a cool day, but that meant that we were able to see lots of animals. We checked out the new flamingo exhibit, heard the lion roaring, watched bears catching their lunch (as shown in the picture above), and saw the hippos swimming.

Chad's home!

My brother, Chad, who has been serving in the Texas Fort Worth Mission Spanish Speaking for the last 6 months came home yesterday. He has been having some health problems that he needs to get solved before returning to his mission. He had major nose surgery about a year and a half ago, and after getting hit in the nose playing basketball in the MTC, the nose was re-injured. He will have to have surgery again! This time he is going to see a plastic surgeon, so we joked that he should pick out his perfect nose in a celeb picture and see if they can copy it on him( I think he would look good with Brad Pitt's nose :)). It was bittersweet to see him- the kids were so excited to see Uncle Chad again! But, I know it is difficult for him to have to have this "break" in his mission. Last night, after he was released, he stopped by to see us. Jack came down wearing his doctor garb and proceeded to fix Chad's nose (AKA putting a band-aid on his nose). We wish it was that simple. We love you, Chad!!

6 years!

We celebrated my 27th birthday (AHHHH- how am I so old?!?) and our 6th wedding anniversary last weekend. It was a week late, but it was the earliest we could get away. My wonderful parents volunteered to watch the kiddos while we took our first overnight since Lindsey was born. I planned the whole thing and kept it a secret from Clint. Since the price of gas is impossible these days, I decided to stay close. We took off about noon and headed to the beach. It was great to lay out and not worry about chasing any kids around. I'm sure everyone was blinded by our whiteness, but we have to get some color sometime, eh? Clint made me jump in the chilly water, but it turned out to be refreshing. We then headed to Bellevue to check into our hotel. We spent the aftenoon/evening relaxing, eating dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and walking around. We stayed up a bit later than usual, and slept in a bit later than usual too. It was nice to lounge in bed without little arms and legs flailing about. We headed out to a fun little hike past North Bend and then to the outlet mall for some shopping. We picked the kids up at 6 and headed to Lake Sammamish state park for a picnic and for an evening swim.
All in all, we had a great weekend. We need to do this at least twice a year. It is truly rejuvenating for the body and the relationship.

Ice cream cake. My favorite!

You gotta love the self-portrait in the hotel room. :)

The Twin Falls hike.

Our picnic at the park.

My little mermaid. She absolutely loves the sand and water.

Summer Fun

Clint's brother, Tim, and his family have been in town for the last week. We have spent a lot of time together visiting and watching our kids play. Jack and Tyler are two peas in a pod and keep each other VERY busy. Lindsey likes to be in on all the action. Her favorite things right now? Climbing, walking almost running, ice cream, pointing out every dog we see, talking in a VERY LOUD voice, getting into anything and EVERYTHING!



For the Fourth of July, we spent the day with family at Clint's sister Lisa's house. We had a yummy BBQ and spent 4+ hours doing fireworks. Jack was NOT a fan of the noise. The first few fireworks sent him running into the house crying. Then, we slapped a pair of headphones on him and he was a happy camper. He loves to sing and hum to himself, so he was doing this with the headphones on. Everyone kept asking what station he was listening to. :) Party girl Lindsey loved the noise and chaos. She would have been down in the action if we had let her. The kids fell asleep on the way home (11 pm) and were up by 7 am the next morning. We love our sleepers (haha!).