Summer Fun

 As it is every year, I look at the calendar at the beginning of the summer and wonder what sort of fun things we are going to do. And then it slowly gets filled in with camping trips, play dates, and berry picking. 

This summer is no different! Last weekend, Kelsey and I took the kids camping out at Birch Bay. We checked in on Sunday and we were pleasantly surprised to find that the campground was nearly empty! Our campsite was shaded, but the beach was just a short walk away. Kim brought the boys out for the day on Monday and Ben joined us for dinner Monday evening. 

Playing charades

Four Square

Mallory and Haleigh

Getting the fire ready

Kim called and asked if we wanted to pick raspberries. Usually I say no to raspberries because they are so tedious to pick, but we needed something to do, so I said yes. They were huge and so easy to pick this year. It was incredible. We picked over 30 pounds! 

We also made a trip out to Grandpa's Farm for blueberries, but I didn't get any pictures.

And here's a few other fun pictures. 

Haleigh and Annaliese both spent a week at Camp Shiloh, on Lake Samish. There were games, crafts, 'adventure time', and chapel every day. They both had quite a few friends from school that were there and it sounds like they both had a great time! I found a few pictures of them on the Camp Shiloh facebook page, so I tried to get a few screenshots!

Haleigh, Mallory, and Sawyer

We've had so many deer wandering through our backyard recently!

Smokey and the deer

Fourth of July

 We had a very low-key July 4. We spend the day at home, doing yardwork, jumping on our new trampoline, and working on the shed. We kept up our Friday night tradition of pizza and a movie by eating homemade pizza and watching Independence Day. 

Our initial plan had been to climb up on our roof and watch the fireworks that our back neighbors usually have, but we decided that the trees were in the way and that we wouldn't actually be able to see that well. Instead we drove to Bender to watch the fireworks from there. Nobody is allowed to shoot them off from the park, but there is a great view of all the surrounding areas. It was a little chilly and a bit breezier than we expected, but the neighbors did not let us down and we had a great show, no matter what direction we looked!

Flying a kite before it gets too dark!

Malachi and Elias came over for a short while too!

A Weekend Trip to California

 We took a trip to California last weekend to celebrate Jay and Kelley's 70th birthdays, along with so many of their friends! They threw a great party, complete with cousins, childhood friends, and college roommates! 

After barely making our flight in Seattle and spending over an hour getting our rental car in Fresno, we finally made it to their house on Friday evening. Saturday we spent the day getting ready and the party was Saturday night. There were quite a few other kids, all the same ages, so the girls had fun playing games, telling scary stories, and eating as much dessert as they wanted!

Annaliese and Reed helping Donna, Kelley's college roommate, set up the tables

Giant charcuterie table!

All dressed up and ready for the party!

Sunday morning we finished cleaning everything up and played a few games. After lunch, we went over to Melissa's house to swim. The girls were very excited to swim, and it was 102 degrees, so this was definitely one of the highlights of this trip!

Kyle throwing the boys!

On Monday, Kelley went and picked up Reed and Kieran and brought them over to spend the day with us. 

And just like that, it was time to head home. The flights home were super smooth. Kyle flew to Seattle and then hopped in the car and drove to Spokane for some work meetings. The girls and I flew back to Bellingham, where Kim picked us up and brought us home.