Summer Recap: Independence Day

I can't believe how fast this summer has gone. I guess I'll just have to recap some of the fun adventures we've had.

For Independence Day, we traveled to eastern Washington to Grandpa's house and went to a bump to pass race in Waterton. Before the race began the girls rocked out to the music:

The cars raced and crashed with abandon:After the race, they had a fireworks show. It was amazing!

The next day at Grandpa's house, Nate worked really hard on a new tractor that Grandpa got for him:

And drove it madly around the house (just like the racers!):All three kids really enjoyed playing on the swing:

Nate and Nicole really played in the mud:

And Miss Amanda made a great show of playing in the mud for the camera. As you can see, she does not sit down to play in the mud, and washed her hands as soon as the picture had been taken. Princesses DO NOT get dirty!

The kids had three baths / showers a day while we were there - and they LOVED every moment of it. They picked raspberries and blueberries, rode bikes, and just generally had a blast. What a wonderful start to summer!

Wordless Wednesday...

Weekly "Friend" Adventures - Week One

Yesterday was our very first weekly "Friend" adventure. We decided to make the trek to Monroe to tour the Reptile Zoo there. We saw snakes, lizards, alligators, iguanas, turtles, spiders, and Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. The biggest attraction for our kids was the two headed turtle:

This huge turtle was amazing too:

The girls took turns holding the snake: Just to prove that we visited the zoo:

Afterwards, we had a picnic lunch at a local park:

Our summertime adventures are so much fun!

Our First Summertime Adventure...

Last weekend John and his dad arranged for us to camp at Chatter Creek Campground by Leavenworth. The only catch was that the road to the campground had been closed a few years ago because the road was washed out. We decided to take our bikes into the campground, carrying all of our camping gear and food in our backpacks. We got there late in the afternoon. Amanda was so excited about the hike (have I told you that she loves to watch "America's Next Top Model" ? This is her "Fierce" look:
Nate had to carry the most gear of all the kids because he brought in food for the Boy Scouts who joined us later:
Nicole helped pitch our tent (and yes, it is hot pink!):
Amanda helped Grandpa pitch his tent. Notice how she's in a skirt - that's our princess:) :

First thing the following morning (at 6:30 am) we woke up to Nate and his crew "moving out" to the Boy Scout campsite:

While we were camping, we played games:

We went fishing:

And made s'mores. I'll add more to another post because I don't want to lose everything.

Hawaii - Day 11 (our last full day on the island)...

We had another amazing day! We finished up some last minute shopping for souveniers and then met Euvah, Steve, and my Aunt Jacque and Uncle Van at the City of Refuge. We had a cookout at the beach close to the City of Refuge (Uncle Van cooked some yummy steaks) and explored the wonderful tide pools in the lava on the beach. After our cookout, Euvah, Steve, and our family continued on to tour the City of Refuge and explore more of the area. It was amazing! We got lots of wonderful photos and learned a lot about the Hawaiian culture. What a wonderful ending to our trip:)

Hawaii Day 10

On Monday, June 7th, we went back out to the Waikoloa Resort Hotel and spent the day bouncing between their awesome pools. We also had lunch in Grandma's room overlooking the water and golf course. John and I really needed the time relaxing by the pool to recuperate from the rest of our Hawaii trip. The kids stayed busy for hours, going down the waterslide, playing in the sand, and jumping and swimming in the pools. We gathered the kids up late in the afternoon, and made our way back to the house for a restful night.

Hawaii - Day 10

We woke up bright and early and headed out the door on our first kayaking adventure ever! Aunt Euvah and Uncle Steve joined us on our adventure, as we rented three kayaks (one 3-person kayak and two 2-person kayaks) and paddled across a bay (about a mile) to the Captain Cook Monument in Kealakekua Bay. We had a picnic near the monument, and then went snorkeling for most of the day. We saw so many amazing fish, and were even able to capture them on film thanks to my sister Euvah's underwater camera. We went home exhausted after such a wonderful day and so glad that we went on this adventure together:)

Hawaii - Day Nine (Guest Post by Nicole!)

On Saturday morning, we got up and went on a sightseeing trip with Aunt Euvah and Uncle Steve. We went down to the Kona waterfront and walked along the water, taking pictures of fish, a memorial, and the family as we went. Nate bought a Hawaii shirt and we got some Hawaii postcards along the way. We had lunch in a small restaurant across from the water and then took them to Grandma's hotel up the coast. We showed them the Kona Pool, the Ocean Towers Pool, and took them on a boat and train ride around the resort. We had such a great time! Love, Nicole

Hawaii Day Eight (Guest Post by Nicole!)

We spent the whole day at Grandma's hotel today. First, we rented a paddle boat and went around the ocean. My mom and dad sat in the back of the boat and it tilted way back:) We decided that they needed to move forward in the boat. I would share pictures of this but my mom forgot to put a memory card in her camera. Grandma got pictures, so I'll try to post them later. We paddled around the private ocean bay at the hotel. We saw lots of fish, a sea snake, and five sea turtles. After we got done paddling the boat, we went swimming in the Kona pool again. We went back to the hotel in time for dinner, and got to see Aunt Euvah and Uncle Steve right before we went to bed. I was so excited to see them:) Love, Nicole.

Hawaii Day Seven (Guest Post by Nicole!)

Amanda and I always knew we wanted a Hawaii dress. We went shopping in an International Swap Meet, but they only had the types of dresses with elastic in the top that feels itchy. We finally found some Hawaii dresses at Target:) I got a yellow (cheese colored) dress and Amanda got a purple dress. After we got done shopping, we went to Grandma's hotel and went swimming in the Kona pool. The Kona pool has a water slide, several water falls, three hot tubs (one is inside a cave!), a set of caves, a suspension bridge, and a sandy pool. We loved playing there! The Kona pool is so big it makes a huge pool look small. I hope we come back again to this pool. Love, Nicole.

Hawaii Day 6 (Guest Post by Nicole!)

We woke up early today but spent some time in the house just playing games and reading. Then we went and picked Grandma up and hiked through a dead forest to see the petroglyphs. I didn't like the heat (it was more than 90 degrees and no shade!), but I loved seeing the carvings in the ancient rock. After that, we ate lunch at the Queen's Market Place. I had a meatball sub at Subway and then a banana split and ice cream cone. Then we took Grandma back to her hotel and went back to the Kona house. It was a great day!

Day Five In Hawaii (Guest Post by AMANDA!)

On day five we went swimming and snorkeling at Grandma's beautiful hotel. I was scared of a fish, it was white. I saw a bunch of fish and I saw a turtle. At the end of the day we went to a luau. The luau was great, when we sat down we saw are first course. There was a lot of food. Three of them were raw octopus, pineapple, and raw fish. The octopus was chewy and spicy but good. There was three courses. The hula dancers were awesome! I really liked the fire thrower and the snow goddess. Love, Amanda.

Day Four in Hawaii (Guest Post by AMANDA!)

Today we left Aunt Jacque's house and went to Coconut Island in Hilo, HI. We waded in the water there and looked at lots of Koy fish in the ponds. Me and my family went to the water falls (it was really hot hiking there!). We also went on a hike at the botanical gardens. At the end of the hike down we saw a beach. On the way back to the car we saw lots of sea turtles in the water. Then we came home and had dinner. Finally, we went to bed. My mom and I will post pictures to this post later. Love, Amanda.

Day Three in Hawaii (Guest Post by AMANDA!)

On our third day in Hawaii, we went to my Great Aunt's house in Volcanoes National Park. We saw an active volcano there. We also went through a lava tube. Then we went to a viewing area and saw the volcano erupt! After that we saw another volcano. (Nicole fell asleep in the car).

Finally, we went to bed. Love, Amanda.

Day Two in Hawaii (Guest Post by AMANDA!)

We went to a bunch of places with my grandma today. We went to the farmer's market and looked around. Then we went to a genuine Hawaiian grocery store and bought some different fruit. We bought a bunch of apple bananas (YUM!), a pineapple, and a coconut. Then we went to the ocean and had a picnic there. We also went snorkeling for the first time in Hawaii. We had lots of fun but didn't see many fish. The waves and salt water were a little scary to me. Finally we drove home and went to bed. Love, Amanda.

Hawaii - Day One (Guest post by AMANDA!)

I had to wake up at 6:00am this morning and ride a bus to the airport. When we got there I ate a quick breakfast. Then we went to my mom and dad because I had been with my grandma and Geri. When we got on the airplane it took a while to get in the air. When we were aloud to use electronics, I watched a movie on my dad's Zune. I also did some homework and listened to music. Finally, I got to play on my mom's computer. When we got to Hawaii we were really hot so we put on flip-flops. We finally got to the house and unpacked. There are lots of birds, dogs, people, and car noises here. It will take a while to get used to that. Love, Amanda

Surprise, surprise! I'm still here:)

I can't believe how fast life just keeps moving. I'm hoping to get back to really blogging this summer, with lots of exciting adventures planned with the kids and John. This month alone I've gone to Phoenix with John, gone to Great Wolf Lodge with the Girl Scouts and teh rest of the family, and I'm packing for Hawaii right now. Nate leaves tomorrow morning for 5th grade camp. What an exciting month!

I hope to post pictures from our many adventures, but don't expect to see any while I'm in Hawaii. I'm not sure we will have internet access in the house we're staying in.

I have to get back to packing if I'm ever going to be ready for our wonderful trip to Hawaii!