Happy 4th of July 2013

 

I need to get caught up on the blog before summer is OVER and we are in the back to school grind! 

So, here we go…..back to the 4th of July.  This year we decorated the bike and scooter so that the kids could actually be in the Down Home Family 4th of July parade in Issaquah.  All of our neighbors joined us with their kids so it was a lot of fun.

Making our way to the parade staging area…..

Below is the whole crew – bigs and littles.  The Hoffmans, the Maybells, and Alexander and his little brother Vincent. 

We got most of the way through the parade before Brennan put two-and-two together – that he wasn’t actually going to be getting any candy if he was IN THE PARADE!  I have a feeling he will not want to be in the parade next year. 

After the parade there is a festival with bounce houses & food.  Caelan got a ride back up the hill with papa, and Brennan and I hung out for a while.  This is the park right by the festival.  It was a popular spot. 

Later that night we decided to stay local and go to the Fireworks display in Sammamish.  There is a great park that the kids played in right up until the fireworks started – which was nice to pass the time. 

As evidenced by the ‘rubbing of the eyes’ and double use of electronics you see below, the kids were getting pretty tired by the time the fireworks were let off.  It was a decent show but there wasn’t music accompaniment – which we definitely missed having.  Neither kid was super happy with the loud ‘booms’ – Caelan kept burying her head in the blanket and saying ‘time to go to the car now?’  I think music might have helped distract them from the ‘booms’ a little.   Next year, we’ll likely head back to our ‘ol standby at Gene Coulon Beach Park. 

Photo booth from Kindergarten End of the Year Party

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Brennan’s Recipe

I welcome you to come by anytime and Brennan will whip up his favorite recipe…..

So, the original version did not involve baking, obviously…..just a few raspberries on a pile of whipped cream on his plate….it obviously made a good impression on him!  

Last Day of Kindergarten!

I took Monday off so that I could be a part of Brennan’s last day of Kindergarten.  Unfortunately, the day did not go well for me! 

I biked with to school in the morning, and Brennan was pretty distracted watching out for me behind him.  He cut me off and got his tire stuck in a groove and we both ended up in a heap on top of our bikes.  My knee and elbow were bonked pretty good and one of my toe nails was torn off.  Ouuch! 

Waiting for school to start…..

This is the usual mode of transportation to/from school – Caelan is holding Sean’s gym bag as they were continuing down the hill to Sean’s gym and kids club for sister. 

On the way to picking Brennan up from school in the afternoon, I twisted my ankle terribly.  I would not let that stop me from being there when he got out of school – and it was worth it to catch Caelan giving him a hug as he left! 

Everyone teased me that I need to go back to my desk job – clearly I’m not cut out for the physical activity required for the picking up/dropping off of kids at school!

With Cassidy & Pace after school (sister of course wanted to be a part of the picture too). 

After school we went to the park for the last hurrah with Brennan’s friends and the other moms. 

Brennan is quite smitten with a little girl named Bridget (he is flirting with her in this picture, and showing off in the next few pictures). 

The next day, G&G left for home out of the front door, and I hobbled out of the back door for a doctors appointment and x-ray of my ankle.  Thank goodness it was not broken, but the healing process will take a long time. 

Happy Father’s Day 2013

On Father’s Day, Brennan woke me up early so that we could go on our mission.  I came up with the idea to get Apple Fritters (Sean’s favorite) from all 3 donut houses in Issaquah and have the “Great Father’s Day Apple Fritter Challenge” – testing Sean’s knowledge of where his favorite apple fritter might come from.  Unfortunately, one of the places didn’t open until 8am and we didn’t want to wait that long.  So, we had two contenders, and Sean knew right away which one was from Krispy Kreme (his favorite). 

After our feast we headed to Gene Coulon Beach Park to watch the kids play.  It was a beautiful day and despite the cold water temperatures and kids loved swimming around and playing in the sand. 

They were of course quite cold when they decided to get out of the water.

Caelan basically commandeered this hole that the boys had dug for her own personal hot tub.  She was quite happy sitting and playing there for quite some time. 

But was quite ready for a snuggle before it was time to get in the car to head for home. 

Grandma Carol & Grandpa Roger’s Visit–Part 2

A fun thing we got to do together this visit was to go to the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery for a show – a live taping of the Garrison Keillor radio show.  We had a great day.