Memories from my childhood...

This morning I came upstairs to find no children. After my initial feeling of panic, I peeked outside in the front yard to find them pestering a City of Everett worker. I ran downstairs to talk to them and found out they were going to have the fire hydrant running for a little while. The kids ran inside and threw on their swimsuits (just in case) and came back out in time to watch them start up the river of water running down our hill. They spent two hours laughing, wading, and playing in the water. It brought back so many memories from when I was a kid. I loved it!

At the end of the day we went to Mukilteo Lighthouse Beach Park. It was cold, cold, cold there. Really surprising considering it was 87 degrees at our house a few miles away. Another wonderful summer day...

Spring cleaning has started!

John and I were enjoying a nice leisurely morning this morning when we heard Nate and the girls talking about the laundry and how happy Mommy was going to be. I quickly went to see what was going on. He had started a load of laundry all by himself for the first time ever and all of the kids were watching his handiwork (staring at the washer in awe).

I went back into my bedroom to make the bed and suddenly started worrying about what else he had in mind for today. When I went back downstairs the smell of Palmolive was overpowering. Apparently while they were in the laundry room they noticed that the floor wasn't clean and they decided to clean it. They had gotten a load of laundry out of the dryer and it was spread all over Nicole's floor. The dining room was their next target. All of the chairs were piled in another room, the carpet was rolled up, and the vacuum cleaner was standing right where they left it in the middle of the living room.

We shooed them outside while we finished up all of their half finished (or just started) jobs. Guess what they worked on next?!! You guessed it! The van. Everything from the van was spread all over the entry way (which I had just cleaned), the yard, and the garage. So, I ended up cleaning everything up to get it back to where it was yesterday (in 100 degree heat with no a/c), and cleaning and vacuuming the van. I guess they do get credit for at least trying to help and getting me to jumpstart the cleaning effort!

Another busy day...

Today was another gorgeous day, reaching a high of 91 degrees! We went to a friend's house to celebrate her 7th birthday. We really enjoyed being able to visit with all of our friends from Northshore. We haven't seen them for a whole year!

Sunny and Gorgeous and Oh, So Special!

We had a glorious day today! John, the kids and I went to Seattle. We dropped Nate off for his last day of Robotics Camp. Then John, the girls and I ate lunch on the Seattle waterfront and went to the Seattle Aquarium with our friend Molly and her baby Kian. We took a couple of hours to walk through the aquarium, then we went to the Science Center for Nate's grand finale. He built two robots (including programming them using the computer). He was very proud of himself and excited to bring the crab robot home with him. After we were done at the Science Center, we went to the wading pool at the Seattle Center and let the kids play in the hot sun for a couple of hours. Then we ended the day at the International Fountain in the Seattle Center. The day was perfect!

Cloudy and cold today...

We had lots of wonderful plans for today. We were going to take Nate to his class, meet some friends at the park, play in the sprinklers at the park, visit the animals, and just generally enjoy what we thought was going to be another beautiful sunny day. Imagine our surprise when we woke up to clouds, cold wind, and another dismal Seattle day. We still made most of it though. We went to the cold park and had a picnic on the grass. The sun kept moving in and out of the clouds to make it hot, cold, in-between, then cold then hot again. The park workers turned the water on (when it was sunny), then off (when the sun disappeared), then back on again. You should have seen the kids confusion! Another weird day.

I got the menu created for our week at Seabrook. The store is a bit of a drive so we try to take everything with us that we want to eat, even condiments. Last time I forgot butter but I managed to scrape some off of the garlic bread to use. The kids are a little picky so I try to take the first stab at the menu.

John's taking the day off tomorrow. I'm looking forward to spending the day with him and the girls. We're going to see a friend from college and her new baby. Tomorrow is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous! I'll believe it when I see it...

Another day in the sun...

Today is the only day this week that I have to clean house (yuck!). I have a mountain of laundry to do, a dinner to make for John's work, and I have to go to Seattle to pick Nate up in rush hour traffic. Sometime, I'm going to have to work in packing for our Seabrook beach vacation (we leave next Saturday), preparing for my honored guests (still have a month for that), and packing for our huge San Diego trip. There is so much to do I just don't know how I'm going to get it all done.

The kids are desperate to find activities that involve the sun. Since we haven't had much of a summer so far it's hard to deny them.

I'm just going to keep reminding myself of what life could be like if I worked full time. I love being able to stay home with the kids.

Fun in the sun...

We had so much fun at the wading pool today! The forecast was for overcast skies and clouds, but the sun came out and never went away. We watched an IMAX movie, saw a few exhibits, and had a picnic in the sun with a group of friends. I think that summer has finally arrived!

We're off to the city!

This has been a very busy week for us. Nate has a robotics camp in the big city all week. We will be spending a lot of time at the Science Center since Nate has to be there anyway. He is having a fantastic time and is learning lots of new skills (computer programming and electronic assembly). I think he's found his passion finally!

Later today I have to make Gumbo and potato salad for two different parties at Daddy's work. You'd think life would have slowed down after I quit work but it hasn't happened yet! I still enjoy every moment though...