Summer in Review

I was NOT very good about documenting our summer on our blog I see. It felt like a really long summer this year. Totally fun, but long. Finn didn't start preschool until this week, and we were both really ready. I'm excited for Fall. We finally have some order to the week.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE summer. We did so many things this year.  We sort of front-loaded it with vacations. And by the end of August, I was just not in the mood to blog. I mean who wants to spend time in front of a computer when you can sit in the warm summer sun of your back yard, munching on freshly picked strawberries with your feet soaking in a kiddy pool watching your kids splash around? I'm just saying....  So here we are, starting into Fall and I'm finally ready to put some summer pics out.  Why not.

It might get lengthy, so have a seat.

Camping in Fort Bragg
I love this part of the state. My hometown friend Char and I took our families up there for the weekend. This is where Char and I used to camp all the time when we were little with our families. The ocean is cold and wild there and the trees are beautiful and almost other-worldly.  I love it.

Finn and Carter had a great time. They are good buddies.
























The Family shot.

The four of us got good at sleeping together in a tent. Thank God for IPods.

The Echo Lake Trip
Shortly after the Fort Bragg trip, we headed up to Echo Lake with my extended family. We used to go every summer, and now it's less frequent so we didn't want to miss it. You have to hike in or take a boat to the cabin. It's a beautiful lake at about 8,000 ft and the melting snow is not far away. There are tons of other tiny lakes to hike to, there are paddle kayaks and canoes or you can just lay around the cabin deck reading and relaxing, playing cards. It's the perfect R&R location. There are more and more babies and kids now, so it's a whole different scene now than it used to be......a little less of the R&R now.  :-)

Cousins!

Swimming!
I got a job (working only a few hours when needed) in the daycare center of a racquet club nearby.  In return, we get a family membership and get to take full advantage of their 5 pools, gym, classes....and a discount on SWIM LESSONS! (It's a great deal)  This was Finn's first time in swim lessons. He started the summer with his usual hesitancy toward getting in the water. He got a LOT better during swim lessons, following instruction from someone other than Mom and Dad. And then weeks after the lessons were over, Finn would beg to go to the pool everyday, and he would practice swimming all by himself. And he did it. He can swim now! Just like that. I am floored by his swimming progress. My timid little boy cant get enough of it!

The first day of the lessons. A still timid Finn, waits nervously for the teacher.

The death grip.

Water wing! (Finn won't touch them now, thinks they're for babies.) He's big time now.

Selah jumps right in.

But she has a good death grip too.

This was at the beginning of the progress. I don't have a pic of the real swimming yet. Imagine a doggy paddle with only his eyeballs and nose peeking above the water. That's how he does it, and he is so proud! And so are we.

Soccer!
We also got Finn into a small Parks and Rec soccer class this summer for a few weeks. He thought it was pretty fun. He doesn't really have a competitive bone in his body yet...and I'm okay with that. I like that he just wants to have fun.

It is so cute to watch those little guys out there in their shinguards.

And it was at Finn's soccer practice that we discovered Selah's crazy talent for the sport. She can dribble it faster and better than any of the 4 year olds. She just likes it so much, and she wants to dribble it everywhere....fast!

It was a full time job keeping her from stealing the team balls when they weren't looking.

The geese were a good distraction.

 The Cabin Trip
The other cabin trip we went on this summer was just a couple of weeks ago, with friends from SB. This is an annual trip, and so much fun. The cabin is tucked into the mountains of Kings Canyon among the sequoia redwoods. This group is getting more full of kids and pregnant women.  There were a lot of games, some hikes, some naps and GREAT food.  I look foward to this trip every year. Thanks Jared and Jos!

The ladies, minus Liza who took the picture.

Goofy kids in the attic

No one was surprised to see this.

Look at God's creation.....I mean, seriously!

I love this picture. That water is FREEZING and Selah is seriously thinking about following daddy.

Liza and little Wendy

Bag-O.  The game of choice this year.