heavenly lake sammamish

We had a dramatic weather change the last couple days we were in the Seattle area. It reached up to 93 degrees. So we made it to my favorite place... lake Sammamish. I swam for about an hour thanks to both grandmas down there watching my children :) I could of stayed there for ever. Except for reality calls. Pepper did get to drive the boat and go tubing. We put her on the tube with Robert... the whole time she was acting like she was bored. I thought of giving her a slightly wilder ride but then again she is only 15 months and a bored face is better then a crying one. We also went to the Newton pool. Pepper climbed a slide and went down by herself (and this is no small slide). Don't worry we did stand at the bottom to catch her though. I wish I got pictures. I will have to have my grandma send me some. But the moral of this story is I LOVE THE COMBINATION OF SUN + WATER!

Independance Weekend

First of all... the fourth of july seemed to stretch on and on this year. Saturday we went to the annual Sammamish 1 & 2 ward breakfast.
Then we went to my Grandpa & Grandma Newtons for a BBQ. My aunt Marti brought a litter of puppies with her. Here is Pepper looking at one of the puggles.
On Sunday we of course all wore red white & blue to church.
July 4 is also when Tabor turned 4 months old. So he got rice cereal for the first time.
We went over to Robert's Grandpa & Grandma Newtons for Sunday dinner. Here is Kristian James & Robert entertaining the kids.
And we bundled up and went on our boat to watch a firework show. Tabor stayed at home with his grandma Salmon because it was pretty cold. I love fireworks & the lake, so it was worth braving the weather.

Pen Pals Meet

Sarah and I having been long awaiting the day that Cecily and Pepper could play together. They met when Pepper was 4 months old, but the playing was at a minimum then. Anyway... I had kind of envisioned it being at the lake or pool or park or anything outdoors, but we were in WA and it did rain. There were a couple of breaks from the rain showers so we we played in my parents back yard. It was a good day. Pepper loved having someone her own size around that was gentle :) Pepper did hug Cecily and they both fell over, but other then that Pepper had a tear free day!

This is on Fathers day. Tabor had a blowout on the way home from church so we changed him into this "I am a child of God" T-shirt. Robert wore this T-shirt when he was a baby. I just thought it was a cute picture of the 2 of them.

Yard Sale!

This is us setting up for our yard sale. I wish we got a picture once everything was out but people started coming and photography was forgotten. It was actually kind of fun. I feel cleansed when I clean out our house and give things to the D.I., but it feels every better when you get money for it :). I LOVE to get rid of things. Although Robert put a limit to my fun... he wouldn't let me get rid of things we still use. Imagine that.

Strawberry Days

First of all... we have been choosing a color to focus on each week. Monday we go on a walk and point out/collect things in that color, Tuesday we wear the color, Wednesday we have lunch while only eating that color, Thursday do some sort of art with that color and Friday we have an activity in that color. When we are through I am going to compile it into a color book. (we have only done 2 weeks so far). Anyway, I know in advance that we were going to pony rides on Friday. And most ponies are brown so I decide it will be brown week. Everything went according to plan until Pepper got on the pony. She was crying and trying to get off. So we were unsuccessful in getting a decent picture of her for our brown book. Oh well.

While we were at the Pleasent Grove Strawberry days Pepper rode a pony, dug in a pile of hay for prizes (she got a bracelet) ....
and did a donut walk. Pepper got one of the last donuts. By the time my nephew Korvers number got called they were out. Lucky for us!
We went home for naps and that night we returned for the carnival. Tabor absolutely hates the sun in his eyes so I got him sunglasses. He didn't seem to mind them... although they fell down his nose a few times.
Robert, Pepper, Chris & Korver going down the slide. Pepper enjoyed it but Korver couldnt stop talking about it. He loved it.

Typical

On a typical day Pepper transports the things in our laundry basket into the bathtub, the bathtub toys into her crib, her blankets into the bookshelf, her books into the trash can and the garbage back into the laundry basket. And we never can find a set of shoes without having a scavenger hunt. But this particular day she decided to add the toilet into her rounds. Yes now she can lift the lid up. But the part that gives me hope is that it was diapers she threw in the toilet. Maybe she is catching onto the fact poop and pee go in the potty. That's what this means right? I wish. Tabor (on the other hand) is an absolute gem. He does eat every 2 hours but as long as we have that taken care of he is a happy camper. Both of them love to play with their daddy. And since it is father's day I thought I would add a photo of them with Robert. He had them both laughing although the picture didn't really capture that. Well we had a busy weekend and it is not over yet... so I will catch everyone up later this week.

We courageously attacked the weeds on the side of our yard which had been left unchecked far too long, when a stealthy paw reached from under the fence and startled me to death. Robert looked in my direction wondering why I had let out a scream and by then I realized it was just the neighbor's cat playing with me from under the fence. It was entertaining to play with the cat from our side of the fence sticking grass under the fence and watching the cat go after it. Pepper especially thought it was funny!

SPRINKLER WEATHER IS HERE!

I am not so great at talking while the video camera is on. I say weird things like... "what a happy people". But leave the sound off and you will find a cute video of Tabor smiling.

On Memorial Day we met the Curtis family at the park and watched Robert & Chris play tennis. Pepper and Korver actually sat in the stroller for quite a while watching, I was impressed. Now I feel bad that I never actually do anything in honor of memorial day. Next year I am going to a cemetery to put flowers next to my loved ones. You can check up on me... I will do it :)