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We had a brief summer last week! It was sunny and nice and we played outside. And today, it’s back to cloudy and we can’t go outside because wasps have taken over our backyard and I can’t tell where they’re coming from… anyone have tips on getting rid of them? At least it’s warmer now!

We had a fun trip to a park downtown to picnic with some of the preschool kids. CareBear and LiliBee were explorers for awhile and AliBoo enjoyed the warm weather. Our other preschool trip for the week was to the Kid’s Expo at Bill’s Fishin’ Hole. It was apparently the first year for it so turnout was a little on the slow side, but the kids had a great time fishing (those were very hungry fish so there was lots of catching going on). They were also able to make picture frames out of popsicle sticks and hand feed some of the trout. CareBear decided she didn’t like the floppy fish and so LiliBee has been obsessed with that ever since… even though they haven’t been floppy for a couple of days now! We had a wonderful trout dinner last night cooked by Chris.

CareBear had her first dance class on Saturday. She was very excited to wear her new outfit and could hardly contain herself waiting for the class to start. It was very cute watching all of the 3-4 year olds learning how to curtsy and plie. Meanwhile, LiliBee had fun in gymnastics doing obstacle courses and getting Chris to jump into the foam pit with her. Not a bad way to spend a morning!

The rest of our week was pretty boring with the usual shopping and errands. We’re getting the hang of our summer (school-free) schedule. The kids have been enjoying the change of pace, I think.

This week should be fun. I’m not sure what we’ll be doing, but there are play dates, sleep overs and fireworks watching in the works! It will also be Lucy’s worst week of the year. She really hates firecrackers so she’ll spend most of her time cowering behind the claw foot tub in the bathroom. I just hope the weather gets better and the wasps go away!

Happy Summer! No, really, it’s what the calendar says. It’s summer. Really.

We had a hit and miss kind of week… one play date called due to rain, one called due to illness (them, not us, this time) and we ended up skipping Meeker Days. I was looking forward to going to that but the weather combined with the flaky kids kind of made it more trouble than it was worth! We managed to enjoy or weekend anyway, though.

We went for a rainy picnic in the park last week. CareBear and LiliBee didn’t seem to mind the wet play equipment and enjoyed themselves quite a bit! I would have thought that they might object to the wet pants, but apparently the lure of the slides was too great. Of course, our “picnic” took place in the car. It’s Washington, we’re used to that.

The girls had a fun day down at Grandma’s. They got to play with cousin H all day and I hear that LiliBee learned how to drive the jeeps. I know she’s been jealous of the kids who could drive them so I’m not surprised. I asked CareBear if she was going to drive the jeep, too, or just let H and LiliBee drive her around. She’s decided that she likes to be chauffeured.

Meanwhile, AliBoo and I had a day all to ourselves! We did all of her favorite things: snuggling, nursing, napping, smiling, screaming. It was a good day for AliBoo… she got all of the attention!

Our biggest news of the week, though, is the bed hopping that’s been going on! We brought our “guest bed” into the girls’ room this weekend for CareBear. She is officially in her “big girl bed” and loves it. She likes to tell me that she has the biggest bed in the whole house. LiliBee moved out of the crib and into the “little girl bed” (toddler bed). That leaves the crib free for AliBoo, whenever she’s ready to move out of our room. We took a special shopping trip to pick out new blankets and sheets for the beds so now there’s a whole lot of pink in the room.

Father’s Day was pretty mellow. The girls and I made Chris breakfast and gave him his homemade gifts and card (his “real” gift he bought for himself at the radio convention!). We had a mostly leisurely day and Chris got to watch his Sci-Fi shows practically uninterrupted.

This week is getting busier by the minute! I have lots of treasurer stuff to catch up with and I’m still doing half of the publicity for the preschool. This weekend is the start of the new session at the Y. LiliBee is taking toddler gym again and CareBear is taking her first dance class! We’ll also be out at Bill’s Fishin’ Hole in Orting for their Kids Expo on Saturday… our preschool has a booth there and I’ll be volunteering from 1:30-3. If anyone is in the area, feel free to stop by! It’s free and they’re even going to have raffles, stunt planes and a slime booth (whatever that is, I’m sure the kids will love it though). I’m hoping that our play dates actually work out this week, but I’m not counting on it!

You’re a great Papa and we love you!

We’ve returned to the regular world. Vacation was fantastic and we even had a couple of nice days!

We spent a week in Seaside for the annual Ham Radio Convention. Chris had a good time going to talks and buying technology. He even found a cheap laptop for our preschool’s financial records! We missed him while he was gone, but the girls and I managed to keep ourselves busy. He did take us to the local radio club’s spaghetti feed… the kids had a great time and we even won one of the door prizes.

We spent a lot of time on the beach. Chris made the girls a sand fort and blew bubbles for them to chase. I tried to convince them to wade in the ocean with me with limited success. The water was a little cold, but that doesn’t actually stop me. We also took a couple of walks along the river, did some window shopping, visited our favorite ice cream shop and rode the carousel. We went to the little aquarium, where LiliBee enjoyed the touch tank and CareBear talked to the octopus. We fed the seals and tried to avoid the splashing, though the girls weren’t sure of the raw fish chunks.

Around the middle of our trip, my folks joined us! They were in the cottage next door to us, which was very exciting fir the kids. We showed them all of our favorite places and had a picnic on the beach. We build “pools” of sand to play in and flew a kite. The grandparents brought some nice weather with them so CareBear, AliBoo and I all got a little sunburned… LiliBee just tanned, lucky girl. I’ll have to remember to double up on the sunscreen next time!

Chris and I were even able to sneak away for a quick date night (thanks, Grams and Pas!). AliBoo isn’t too keen on being left behind just yet so we weren’t gone long… just long enough for a quiet dinner and a walk on the beach. It was very relaxing.

We got our pictures taken at “Flash from the Past” in the carousel mall again. We love that place! They’re so nice and even seem to enjoy the chaos that is our family. It was a lot of fun.

And now it’s all over until next year!

The rest of the last couple of weeks was spent either getting ready for vacation or recovering from it! AliBoo had a check up (she’s healthy and up to 11 pounds!). We finished up this session of classes at the Y. And I became treasurer for the preschool.

This week looks to be pretty nice, weather-wise. We’ve been enjoying our meals outside and spending a lot of time on the swing set. The big kids will be having a play date with cousin H later this week and we might meet up with some of the preschool kids for some fun at the park. I have a dentist appointment and my first board meeting. I’m hoping to go to Meeker Days this weekend (I think it’s this weekend and, of course, there’s Father’s Day on Sunday!

Come to think of it, we’re busier than I thought!