Parks, Parks, Parks!

We have been to all kinds of parks this summer and they've all been within a 30-minute drive from home! One very impressive summer vacation if you ask me :) Here are some highlights from some of our favorite park memories...

Belleview Park - we enjoyed 5 hours of fun with the Marx family! We had a picnic lunch under a big shade tree and played in the creek for hours. The kids worked hard to move rocks all morning to create a dam and then Adyson & Lindsey constructed a beautiful castle for their rock princesses. Blake (a.k.a. Leonardo from TMNT) chased Jacob (a.k.a. Indiana Jones) and Zach (a.k.a. Kirby from Chicken Little) all over the park, while Drew went back and forth between the water and the Cheetoes.

Lakeside Amusement Park - As part of the local library summer reading program, all three kids earned a free pass with unlimited rides at a 100 year-old amusement park. We decided to count this as our annual "fair" experience - we can only handle "carnies" once a year! We had yummy fair food, rode lots of rides (including the Cyclone rollercoaster - sure hope that isn't 100 yrs. old), and had topped it off with cotton candy. We had a really fun time as a family. Adyson asked, "Can we come here EVERY day?" I think she enjoyed herself the most!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Pirate's Cove Water Park - the Friday before Adyson's 7th birthday, we travelled south to this fun park with 4 other moms and their kids. We spent the entire day in and out of the water and enormous sand box. I only lost track of Blake 5 times and he only had to be "rescued" by lifeguard once - wow! What a stellar mom I am! All-in-all an amazingly fun day in the sun!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

To catch up on the past month I'm going to break down our July & August little by little.

We had our first bit of girl fun at the annual Mother/Daughter Pajama party! We made tiaras, painted fingernails, decorated "girly" sugar cookies, ate lots of popcorn & treats and enjoyed karaoke at its best. I was also the lucky recipient of an incredible hair make-over - a one-of-a-kind creation by the talented Adyson. I hesitated posting these pictures only because I knew it would make you ladies out there insanely jealous :)

Our second wave of GIRL fun came with a visit from our good friends (well, may I say BFFs) Celeste and Hannah! They came to visit for a few days and we had so much fun swimming, playing at the Children's Museum, making crafts, chatting, and having a Saturday all to ourselves - no boys allowed!!!

Saturday morning Celeste & I treated ourselves to pedicures and some great shopping at the Nordstrom Anniversary sale! We returned home to pick-up our dates (Adyson & Hannah) for a mommy/daughter girls night out! We had a blast at the Build-A-Bear workshop, where Sleepy the Koala and Scruffy the Dog were born! Next we had dinner at Red Robin and stopped by the candy shop for dessert. Our last stop was at Claire's jewelry shop where Adyson the Brave got her ears pierced...and she didn't even cry! Way to go, Ady! Hannah held her hand the entire time - what a good friend! We couldn't ask for better friends...we love and miss you, Celeste & Hannah! Thanks for your visit!

Meet Scruffy & Sleepy!

Preparing for the big moment - thank goodness there were two employees there to pierce both ears at the same time!

You can't tell from her face, but she loves her pierced ears and is keeping good care of them!