The Last 30 Days

What haven't we done in the last 30 days...
We've gone to the movie theater for the free movies and ate gobs of popcorn complete with sprinkles, we've been on numerous water park play dates, we've been fishing, and we've gone to the pool. If all those things weren't enough we also went to Grammie and Papa's for an 11 day vacation. We rode bikes, went bowling, and swam in their pool often.

Both girls can now swim the length of the pool without a life jacket.

And then we went camping in the RV and a tent for a few days...

We went on many many hikes around the lake.

Some of it was on some pretty tough terrain with a ravine on the side of us but we managed to stay alive.

Liv found a butterfly garden and spent an hour holding them and chasing them.

We fished both on and off the dock. You can't see it but Ava and I are on shore fishing while the pros are conquering the dock.

We camped in the RV the first night.

We swam in Lake Siskyou until we were tired and then Daddy chauffeured the girls around on their raft.

Some of got to drink wine while others of us weren't allowed and were very disgruntled. That would be me.

The girls really wanted to tent camp under the stars and given the good father Dave is- he obliged.

Then we fished on the boat. Everyone caught something except my dad.

At first Liv caught a dragonfly and then she shared it with Ava.

Dave caught the mammoth crawfish which was later boiled and eaten by the girls.

Liv's catch which was fried up and eaten by the fishing queen herself.

Ecstatic Ava caught herself some grub and cooked it and ate it too. Then we roasted our nightly s'mores and headed to...

watch the fireworks off the boat for the 4th of July. But like all good things we had to go home-

but the fun doesn't stop there. Once we got home we set up the projector in the backyard and watched a movie under the stars in the backyard complete with popcorn and cheesy sprinkles.

And one night for dinner we ate the beans in this picture for dinner. These beans were dried pintos that came home as part of a project in Olivia's class. What I didn't know was that she planted them in one of my house plants and Dave unknowingly was watering them. So one day when I noticed these plants growing with my palm tree Olivia told me she was performing an experiment. Dave came home that night and they replanted said experiment in the garden OUTSIDE and since then they have grown and flourished and have become part of our dinner. Way to go Olivia- you little green thumbs!!!

Here we are at the water park last week when Julie brought Yentl and the kids out. She also brought baby ducks with her so the kids and the ducks all played in the water.

Poor little ducks. They did all survive.

The girls with Hannah.

Over the weekend, the girls and I met Nick and Rachael at the park for some water play. They seemed to play more in the dirt. Go figure.

And this is a big karate week. Olivia will be testing for her Orange belt on Wednesday. She has practiced really hard and we are all really excited for her.

Beat the heat!

Slip and Slide!

Father's Day

To the Daddy that makes us proud each and every day... We showered him with gifts...

Everything he needed from handmade picture frames to handmade tumbler cups to A's paraphernalia. We made him fluffy waffles and hot cocoa, took him to the recycling center and helped him recycle the cans and bottles, and then we went to the pool for a nice long swim. He needed it. He works so hard for us. We love you Daddy!

Swimming

The kids went swimming with Jadon, Malia, Hunter, and Brooke. We stayed all day. If the kids had their way we would have stayed all night!

Nick

Nick turned 5 and had his birthday at the park. Here's some goofy pics of the kids being themselves.

Of course when you pay to get into a park to ride the rides all the kids want to do is fish for crawfish with a stick and a hot dog piece.

The girls riding with Joe.

After the party we all went to the outdoor movie night and watched Despicable Me. The kids loved watching the movie outside on the lawn and eating popcorn.

Olivia's Preschool Graduation

Last official day of school Olivia chose to bring balloons to share. She was very proud to give them away.

My baby graduated today. It's a scary thought that she will now be headed to school 5 days a week but she is ready to go and can't wait to meet her new friends and teacher.

Here she is being announced to walk out in her cap. Just for reference, it was a swim party and BBQ for the graduation party. That is why all the kids have on swim attire. Their real cap and gown photos were taken on a different day.

Liv's giving me the thumbs up that "She did it!!"

Diplomas received, let's rock!!

Olivia threw her cap right up into the air and was ready to celebrate!!!

Liv with her friend Grace.

Liv with Spencer.

Post graduation lunch because we all know when you graduate, your parents take you out to lunch!