August wrap-up

 The rest of the month included things like getting ready for school, playing with friends and tearing down the shed in the backyard. 

We've been talking about getting rid of it for quite some time, and it was rotting from the bottom up, the decks were unstable, and it was filled with spider webs, a bat and who knows what else! Kyle has spent a fair number of hours working on it, and Friday and Saturday we had a few friends and my dad come over and finish the job!

It's all gone!

A huge thank you to Brandon, Tessa, and Dad for helping to actually get it taken down and brought to the dump. They dumped 2,900 lbs worth of rotted-out wood (plus a dresser or two that Brandon and Cristy were throwing away!)

Learning how to make noise with her new saxophone!

Look how delicious this tray of veggies looked!!

Our friends, the Potter's were in town, so we met at City Park and the kids played together as if they still see each other every day! It's always so fun to catch up and we never get to see them for long enough. 

Kim and I at the top of Alger Alp.

Anniversary Weekend Get-Away

 Our anniversary was on Monday, but we celebrated it a few days early with a trip to Canada. The girls all spent the night at my mom and dad's house and we stayed at a hotel in Pitt Meadows (not too far across the border) and did some hiking both Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. 

Friday afternoon we checked out Golden Ears Provincial Park. We did a short hike to some waterfalls. 

Friday night we went out for dinner and then went back to the hotel and read books, watched American Ninja Warrior and went to sleep by 9:30! 

Saturday morning we headed to a different park for another hike. There were signs all over the place to watch out for bears, carry bells and bear spray, and keep your animals on a leash. We didn't see any bears, but we saw several piles of very fresh bear scat!

Fun at the Fair

 Last week was the Northwest Washington Fair and the fairgrounds are only one mile away from our house (or 1/4 mile as the crow flies.) Needless to say, that meant that the girls were very interested in all things fair-related. Unfortunately, as much fun as the fair is, it can also be a rather expensive outing, so it did provide lots of good conversation, particularly with Annaliese, about how we like to spend our money and how long it takes to earn money! 

On Sunday, the local churches came together for a community-wide church service. It was very well done and the grandstands were packed! After the service, we roamed around, checked out all the animals, and made sure to stop and see Annaliese's lego creation that she had on display. After a few hours, we felt like we had seen enough for the day and were ready to head home.  

Doing pull-ups at the Marines display.

Annaliese did 8 pull-ups!

Haleigh also did 8 pull-ups!

Up on stage dancing with the group Powerhouse.

It's hard to see, but Annaliese built a house with a pool and a swingset and called it 'Summer fun with friends.' It won 2nd place!

 On Wednesday, I took the girls back to the fair in the afternoon. Ben, Kelsey, Mallory and Owen joined us. We agreed that they could do one ride and that we would spend most of our time checking out the shows that were happening around the fairgrounds. It was somewhere close to 90 degrees out, so we all appreciated the shaded activities!

Sitting in the grandstands waiting for a horse show to start.

The draft horses were the first thing we saw...they are incredible animals!

Watching the Lumberjack show (they weren't that impressed)

We walked through all the carnival rides trying to pick the best one.

They settled on 'The Enchanted Castle.' (Except for Lydia who decided she didn't actually want to do a ride.)

Since Lydia didn't want to do anything, we had a few extra tickets and Annaliese and Haleigh were able to go on a second ride!

And instead of buying ice cream at the fair, once we were all hot and sweaty enough, we left the fair and went to Edaleen's for ice cream cones. 

Wednesday night, we went back to the fair (again!) for the For King and Country concert. It was a sold-out crowd and they were incredible! Lydia and Haleigh weren't so sure about it, but the rest of us had a great time. 

The beginning of August

 The month of August is definitely a bit slower than the rest of summer. It's hard to believe that school starts in just 3 weeks! We still have some fun things to look forward to. 

We started the month off with VBS at church. The theme was Lava Lava Luau and the girls learned all about emotions. They had a lot of fun, came home with some fun crafts, and memorized a few Bible verses. At church on Sunday after VBS, Lydia's class led everyone in singing Jesus Loves Me and Annaliese recited her memory verse. All three girls also received awards for doing things during the week. 

Haleigh and her friend Alessandra

Lydia with her friends Charlee and Seraphina

The Preschool/Kindergarteners leading Jesus Loves Me. (During the week, there were closer to 15 kids in this class!)

We also spent a day out at Birch Bay. We had several days where the temperature hovered around 90 degrees, which isn't so bad if you have air conditioning, but makes for some uncomfortable sleeping when you don't have it! But out by the water, there was a nice breeze and it was gorgeous. There was also a sand castle competition that we checked out. (Technically, this was the last day of July, not August.)

Earlier this week, Kelsey and I took the kids to a small waterpark right across the border in Aldergrove. You have to reserve a spot, which means there is a limited number of people allowed at any one time. We had beautiful weather and the kids had a great time. They have a wave pool, a lazy river (that actually has a very fast current so probably is called something different,) several swimming pools and three water slides. 

Lastly, with the start of August, I also started working with Kyle. I am easing into things with a goal of about 10 hrs/week to start. It's been an adjustment for everyone, as the girls aren't used to me having to be on the computer during the day. I have also had to learn all new things and it will definitely take some time to become comfortable with all the new systems that Kyle has in place. But I can honestly say that I don't miss nursing at all and am very excited about doing something different!

Jay and Kelley sent me flowers to celebrate my first day!