Summer

The calendar is full. I'm tired, but full of happy thoughts of our girls having the time of their lives this summer. I'm sure there is so much more joy to come, and milestones to look forward to, but I'm in no hurry for this season to end or for these two to get one second older (okay, so there may be minutes here and there when age 2.5 isn't my cup of tea...).

I may not enjoy every second of every day (is there someone out there who finds joy in cranky toddlers? Not this girl), but it's all part of the big picture, and I do love that, time-outs and all. A difficult day, or part of a day, is forgotten fast enough to look forward to what is to come tomorrow. And I do; I SO look foward to this year off with my kids.

Summer highlights since the last photo dump:

Kaitlyn wanted to do "homework" outside while Austen napped. We still have some sheets from preschool.

We are enjoying many birthday parties this season. The girls love it, and it's a great excuse to see our friends as well. The girls have gotten into this routine of sticking together when they first get somewhere. Kaitlyn often takes Austen's hand to "show her what to do." Mama thinks someone is using this as an excuse to have a buddy until she's more comfortable ;)

I'm a sucker for these bouncy slide action pics. They crack me up every time!

This is one of Kaitlyn's creations before bed on the trusty Magnadoodle. She says, "This is a picture of my family and our house."

Jeff found a new spray park in Shoreline. We went to check it out -- approved!

Scopin' it out

K showing Austen the ropes, again.

Got into the costume bin...("smittens" are sock mittens, coined by my brother)

Amy was a bestie of mine in preschool (with whom I got into a fair amount of mischief with...), and our kids are around the same age. We headed to their new place for a play date. We pulled up and Kaitlyn said, "They have a playground at their house!" They do, indeed, have a very large property with lots of exciting things to explore. I say this all the time, but spending time with old friends and watching our kids play together as we did warms my heart :)

Kaitlyn's current "silly face"

Matthew showed K all of his "jungles" under the trees. They played in the dirt contently for quite a while, building bridges and rainbows.

More bouncy house fun for Paige's fourth birthday! 



Little miss dare devil!

Austen thinks big kids are pretty cool.

Birthday girl with her rainbow cake.

We've been hanging out with our friends, Makya (K's age) and Audrey (14 mos.) this summer. These girls love each other, and there's not much quiet when they are together.

This kinda sums it up!

And there's the silly face...

I have one more group of pictures that will have to wait. This post is happening during a too-long break from packing for the ocean. I'll be back next week...