4th of July weekend in Seattle

Our super fun 4th of July weekend in Seattle. We were able to leave Thursday evening and spend the entire holiday weekend with the Payne family, and of course the city of Seattle. We purchased a city pass and tried to hit most of the fun things Seattle has to offer. We started out on Friday at the Woodland Park Zoo. Josie had never been to a zoo and she loved it. We then hoped on a boat for a short harbor tour, then on to the Seattle Aquarium. The aquarium was by far the favorite attraction for the day.

Waiting to get on the boat for our harbor cruise

Off to the AquariumThe kids spent tons and tons of time at the tide pools touching all the creatures

After a long day, we headed back to John and Melanie's for some pizza and fun in the yard. The swing set and the chickens were well loved.

Conor insisted on sleeping under the bed where the trundle bed is stored. It actually worked well for everyone

On Saturday we were lucky enough to have the Payne's spend the entire day with us downtown. We started out at the Pacific Science Center

Kevin on the high rise bike

Josie piloting the helicopter

Lincoln in the dinosaur footprint

Lunch break at the water fountain in the shadow of the space needle

Off to Pike's place Market to battle the crowd for some cheese and flowers and balloon art

A great shot of Qwest and Safeco fields with Mt. Rainer in the back

Sunday we went to church and then came home to a delicious barbecue with all the fixins: burgers, watermelon, and yummy homemade strawberry ice cream. Oh and of course more time on the swing set.

Then it was off to a firework show, Emerald Down's was nice enough to have their firework show on the 3rd instead of the 4th.

The 4th of July brought more fun! The Mom's got to go on a morning run and then check out the awesome RED, WHITE and BLUE pancakes we were treated to when we returned. We went to the parade in Enumclaw, a lot of horses, and kids on bikes, and the traditional fire truck. The kids loved it, and we at least got to put our hands over our heart and watch the flag go by.

We tried extra hard to be festive with our food this weekend

Best seats in the house (street!)

Watching the flag go by

Oh, and our last festive food for the day-Cake bites!

What a fun filled weekend! No one wanted to crawl back in the car to go home. Thanks to the Payne's for helping us celebrate the 4th in style and for being such fabulous hosts.

A few moments to spare

In Conor's spare time he loves to try "experiments." This one included vinegar, baking soda and a potato.

Lincoln graduates to a high chair!

Josie discovered that Lincoln's baby food is delicious!

Cooking up some pizza on the BBQ. Our most favorite summer meal.

Tennis and Soccer Camp

Tennis and soccer camp ended up overlapping a bit this summer. It was crazy busy for a few days at our house, but all the more fun. Conor did both camps at Whitworth University and really enjoyed them. He met some great kids and learned a ton of great skills. Josie and Lincoln were great spectators at all events. Way to go Conor.

Amidst all the craziness we had an unfortunate death at our house (joking) Conor's pump encountered a 10 cent water bottle leak and cost us $500 dollars, that insurance will probably not cover, and a lot of grief, once more, a lot of grief. Curses on that water bottle. All is well now, but always a good reminder of how grateful we are for modern medicine and technology that help keep Conor healthy. I also learned that I may rely a little too much on that handy dandy computer. Conor with his soccer coaches

Josie and Lincoln watching Conor play soccer

Check out all these soccer balls! I thought it was a cool picture.

Go Conor

Happy Lincoln

Tennis fun, he even won himself a baseball hat for playing so well.

School is out!

Josie doing puzzles on the ipad

The gang shooting hoops in the rain...so tired of the rain.

School is finally out at our house. Conor's last day of school was June 17th. The day after was rainy, rainy rainy. It was the 1st Saturday in a very long time that we didn't have something going on, so we kicked it around the house doing odds and ends and hanging out together before we hit summer full speed ahead.