Beach Blogging

I'm on vacation.  The end.  

No, I'm just being silly!  I wouldn't do that!  

I'm way too into descriptions and adjectives to leave it at that.  

We are in CA visiting Joes family.  We have been chillin at Grandmas!  

Watching the hoards of hummingbirds that live in Grandmas tree.

We have visited our friends at Grandmas preschool.

We have been treated with essential oils.

We have built a cardboard shantytown with Auntie Vanessa.

And we've been playing at the beach!!  A lot!  I love vacation.  

Visitors, visitors!

So.  Where were we?  

The weekend before last, the crew and I drove a few hours north to spend an evening with our good friends camping.  

We weren't far from Leavenworth, WA which is a huge touristy place in the mountains.  There were lots of shops, restaurants, places to buy an ice cream cone... And it was Ali's 10th birthday!!

She's such a young lady.  I'm so proud of her... she's our "guinea pig kid" and it's so reassuring that we've all made it this far without any serious issues.  (Hang in there Ali! XOXO). 

So, Leavenworth...  We stopped at the Hat Shop.  

"You saved my life.  I am eternally grateful."  

"Where's Moose?!"

"Party hair!"

"I'm a Who!"  

When sushi bites back... And...

"Haven't seen her."

They're hilarious.  Eva wasn't into the hats, but she WAS into the ice cream!

After a fun sleepover in the cabin (and too much Staw-ber-ita in the hot tub), we had to say goodbye to our dear friends who were headed home to Nebraska.  

We headed home as well, but found ourselves on the outskirts of Seattle and decided to stop for lunch.  I loved sharing a trip down memory lane with my family!  

Pikes Place Market!  

Ivars!

I have such fond memories of eating fish n chips on the pier and watching the seagulls when I was Evas size! 

Eva did not care for my favorite shop.  

"Umm, mom?  You sure this creepy store was your favorite when you were little?"

"Yes, it was one of my favorites."

"Were you freaked out when you used to come here?"

"No.  Are you freaked out?"

"Yep."

Mia thought the 3 headed piglet was awesome and Ali still talks about Sylvester the mummy....  

We grabbed a Starbucks (duh!!) and made our way home.  It was a great weekend off-call!  

It's getting intense!

If I could remember which box I packed the old photo albums in, I would share pictures of a sturdy 2 year old girl juggling a soccer ball.  Ali says soccer is "in her bones".  

This is our first year of "select" soccer and the competition has gotten fierce.  Ali is a very physical player.  I am always proud of her, although I have to remind myself that playing hard soccer doesn't equal poor sportsmanship.  We have done a decent job of raising a gracious athlete, I hope.  We don't suffer her soccer schedule, we really enjoy watching her do what she loves.  She is a firecracker on the field!  

Let me tell you about #27.   #27 decided to take it upon herself to harass and antagonize #79.  She repeatedly got behind Ali and shoved her back, shoulder, side.  I was shocked!  When did this start happening?  Where is the stinking ref??  Right?  Joe told me to simmer down and see how Ali would handle it.  And handle it she did.  She handled it with a bit of sharp elbow and I sank down in my chair a bit afraid of what the other parents were going to say!  And #27 backed off.  

Ali is significantly smaller than the other girls in her age division.  But she is really scrappy.  Like the discreet handful of jersey she has there?  

She takes losses hard and personally.  She is her worst critic and I occasionally have to remind her to leave the game on the field.  I always love her smiles on the sidelines and the high fives and "good game!" that follow us all the way to the car.  

Cold on the 4th of July

This Independence Day was very different.. No sweltering heat, no cousins, no backyard water shenanigans, no Pop Pop and Uncle Matt's World Famous Barbeque.... The girls were nearly certain that we were going to be BORED and HUNGRY.  

Thank goodness Mom found the Berry Barn!  

It was a great small town 4th of July celebration!  There was a country store, live music, wine and beer sampling, grilled sausage, and a table with every homemade berry dessert you can think of!  There were chickens, sheep, goats and alpacas for the kids to feed and pet and more berry picking!   

We had special family time at this old-time country festival - sipping strawberry lavender milkshakes and hearing "the girl from Ipanema" in the background while filling buckets with blackberries.  It definitely worked for us and we were neither BORED nor HUNGRY!  

I found a fireworks display put on by the Forrest Grove Firefighters, and we decided to go that route as opposed to fighting traffic to see the big fireworks shows downtown.  It was lovely... Just like old times in Roanoke, TX!  Except that by the time the show started, the temp had dropped to 59 and the Texas Cuties were popcicles!  It's the first time any of us can remember being cold on the 4th of July!