Anniversary Camping Weekend

First family camping trip was a success! We ventured out to Long Beach, WA and set up camp on Friday and spent the whole day at the beach. Kids loved being able to see what a real beach looks like... with the soft sand, shells and huge waves. Saturday we ventured all down the coast, even down into Oregon to stop in Seaside and Cannon Beach. Sunday we packed up and drove over to Portland to see the sites and some tax free shopping before heading home. Can't wait to do it again next year.

Northern Lighthouse @ Cape Disappointment

Ethne looking chic at the beach.

Gwen making sandcastles

Tristan @ Cannon Beach near Haystack Rock.

Waiting for the waves.

SeaFair

This year I worked during SeaFair weekend and it was just as amazing as if I was down on the waterfront. The Blue Angels flew right over the cafe so we all got to see the whole show. People from all over came down to watch the show & see the Angels land one by one at Boeing Field. It was a great day!

Playing the Wii

Tristan... playing Lego STARWARS while wearing his STARWARS sunglasses. Future's so bright, he's gotta wear shades!

Cool New Shirts!

Filling up the Pool...

Good thing Tristan drank a lot of fluids this morning...

Pics of the Day...

Watching Cameron's baseball game.

Running in the field!

The Brothers!

The Little Stud!

The Goofball Sisters!

Ice Cream Cone or... ???

We stopped in to McDonald's to grab some cones. Kids all got plain vanilla, but I prefer the dipped cones. As I am sure you can imagine, the obnoxious comments that followed when the server handed us this delightful item. I think this should be the next poster child of the ice cream cone world...

Kids vs. Dogs...

Kids - 1... Dogs - Zip. Ethne has successfully turned Penny Lane into a princess puppy. What better to play dress up with other than the dolls... the DOGS! Penny actually didn't mind the dress... in fact, she acted like she didn't even have it on. Nigel on the other hand, couldn't quite figure out what to make of it.

Nigel didn't really want to even go near Penny.
Utter confusion.

Honky Erik on the Mound!!

Watch out! It's the trusty Ole' Lumberjack making his way to the mound. A man of many trades, as well as tattoos, can be seen here trying his luck at pitching for his softball team. Can he do it? All together now... "YES HE CAN!"

Special mention to the fact that he didn't
have time to flip me the bird! HA!!

Paper Hats... YAY!

Ohh my goodness... So EXCITING! Hold on to your hats, as today we made Paper Hats! Little bit of paper, little bit of tape, little bit of markers and a little bit of smiles.

Sounders Game

Saturday, I was able to attend the Seattle Sounders game with my good friend Kelly. Her husband Alex gave up his ticket so I could go. Alex and Brian had a great day playing in the pool with the kids, watching the game on TV, and eating everything in site.

Kelly & I got to leave early and go tailgating with a bunch of her friends. It was the perfect day for it too. The sun was out, no clouds in the sky and a slight breeze. We started tailgating around 11am and headed into the game at 1pm.

Sounders games ROCK! Everyone is cheering, singing songs and clapping to the beat. Amazing sense of camaraderie. I was there not even 2 minutes and everyone was hi-fiving and hugging me. My kind of people! The Sounders won 2-1 and I am hooked. We have to get a season pass next year!

Kelly & I getting our tailgate on!

We Won!!

Way to go Sounders!

Bunny Ears

Today we practiced tying our shoes... inspired by the cartoon "Little Bill", Gwen was determined to figure it out just as Little Bill had. The bunny ear method seemed to work the best and today we achieved sweet victory!

Loop...

Swoop...

and Pull!

4th of July

For the 4th we had a BBQ at our house this year. Most of the family came and it was a really fun relaxing day. All the big kids played whiffle ball, while the little kids rode their bikes and played in the pool. We had the usual BBQ fare and a wicked awesome strawberry cake that DeeDee made. Everyone took off to go attend their evening festivities and around 10pm we got an amazing fireworks show from the surrounding neighbors. Tristan was already asleep, but we got the girls up and sat in the backyard to see the fireworks.

Keith

Cameron

Mike

Daddy

Ethne & Gwen

Cuddling in the backyard.

One of 220 pictures I took that night. lol

Amanda's Birthday

June 20th, we all went down to our favorite watering hole, The Owl'n Thistle, to celebrate Amanda's next year in life. T'was a great night full of laughter, love, Guinness, dancing, Irish Car Bombs, and Jello Shots.

The green brigade. Here's mud in your eye....

Sharing

Ethne & Gwen are constantly in competition. Ethne is sounding more and more like Erik did when he was little. Ethne wants to be as big as her sister and grow up faster. Everyone was riding bikes and I look over and Gwen was being very sweet. She let Ethne ride her big bike and helped guide her around a few laps. Awww... those are the moments that rock.

Peas & Carrots