August 2014

Heads up  - the formatting on this page is dreadful.  It's 11:30 pm and I'm supposed to be induced at 7 am tomorrow if I don't chicken out.  I just can't get it to look right but maybe it's just because I'm tired.  If I fix it, I'll remove this warning - If I'm too exhausted after I have a baby then you'll just have to deal with a funky page.

August was fun (but I guess it's not over yet) and it's not a dreaded month up here in Washington.  August is definitely the worst month of the year in Texas.  Anyways, Ashley headed back to Texas for 3 weeks to go to Pine Cove and visit her mom.  Autumn was not happy that Ashley was away for so long.

David took a Friday off so we could attend SeaFair.  SeaFair is a festival where you can watch the Blue Angels fly and watch hydroplane races.  Thankfully on the last day of one of the kids many camps, another parent told us that the best day to go is Friday because it's free and less crowded.  Sounds like the perfect situation for us.

Autumn riding at the very back of the boat
with her friend Alex.

Levi was not tall enough for the boat so
he road the swings instead

These dorky littles hats from SeaFair are prized
possessions.  I keep trying to throw them out
but Autumn keeps realizing they're gone as soon
as I take them.

Levi riding his bike around the house

Picking blackberries
They're so common here that you just stop along the road and pick away

The Mariners were giving away free bobble heads.
I think she broke it about 5 minutes after
she removed it from the box.

We are headed to another baseball game!

Dinner before the game.
Levi ate two platefuls of food, a bowl of ice cream
and a piece of pie.  I have no idea how he's so skinny.

Autumn taking pictures of me during Levis'
baseball practice.  I also had closeups of every portion
of my body taken but I won't post those.

She thinks she's an awesome photographe

Levi is busy building me another garden.
He says boys do stuff like that.

Movie in the Park - It was Monsters University tonight.
Notice how everyone had a jacket and we also had blankets.
There are at least 3 different free movies each week just in Bellevue.
Summer here is glorious!

Autumn loved Camp Sambica!

Enjoying a popsicle while Autumn is at camp.

Autumn lost another tooth!
Right below the first gap.

Levi and Autumn are about to head off to the zoo with the Millers and SkyeBlu.

Levi asked me to take this picture of him being a strong boy.
He's lifting up the new rug I haven't unwrapped yet.

July 2014 - Mt. St. Helens

We rented a cabin in Packwood for a weekend so we could hike around Mt. St. Helens inside the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.  David will be in this area during the upcoming hunting season so it was fun to visit and see all the wildlife and terrain he will hunt on.  We agreed that we actually would prefer to come here to hike than Mt. Rainier.  Our cabin was located halfway between the two mountains.

Our cute cabin.  Perfect size with 3 bedrooms.
Our dogs ran away the first night because we didn't realize
the screen door to the patio was broken.

Autumn is proud to be first!
Many many steps to the lookout point to see Mt. St. Helens.
Levi was quite upset that we couldn't actually climb on the volcano. 

Mt. St. Helens crater and Spirit Lake in the background

Ashley took a selfie of the whole family!
She's a pro at this!

Hike back down.
We had to give Levi a random rock and tell him it exploded out of the volcano before he would
calm down about the fact that we weren't going to actually walk on the volcano.

Olallie Lake with Mt Adams in the background
We stopped and ate lunch after finishing a ridiculously difficult drive.

Elk were everywhere!
Elk as we're driving through the forest.

Massive amounts of Elk off the highway at night

And Elk in the front yard of our cabin!
The boys really loved this!!

These two are such little troopers when it comes to hiking.

Levi takes every opportunity he can to throw rocks into water

We let the dogs run in front of our car
whenever we were in an isolated area and driving slow.

Both little ones were so exhausted both nights we were there.
Neither one were ready to go home on Sunday.
We'll definitely go back one day.

July 2014 - Skov's visit

The Skov's all came to visit for a week in July.  Unfortunately, it was record-breaking heat for our area while Texas was experiencing a fairly cool week.  We've discovered that A/C in Washington doesn't quite work as well as A/C in Texas.  Of course it was only in the low 90's but it felt hot since we weren't used to it.

My parents arrived on Saturday night and Rachel was arriving on Monday so we decided to visit Remlinger Farms on Sunday since it might not be the most exciting day for Rach.

We started off the morning picking Raspberries.  If I remember correctly, I think the 5 of us ended up picking almost 6 pounds in just an hour.  I also had pictures of this but I'm not quite sure where they've disappeared to.  Ashley did not want to come with us since she had plans with friends.

Autumn is such a pro that she wouldn't
let me walk with her.

Waiting patiently for his turn

Levi was pumped to sit on the tractors.
He talks about his daddy's tractor in Texas all the time.

He was sooo happy to drive his daddy and mommy around.

Autumn drove Grandma and Grandpa

The roller coaster looked entirely too bumpy for a preggo mommy.
Thankfully Grandpa rode with Autumn and David rode with Levi.

After Remlinger Farms we drove to Snoqualmie Falls to eat our picnic lunch and check out the waterfalls.

During the rest of the week, we visited Seattle, Mt. Rainier and went hiking by the Snoqualmie Pass and on Cougar Mountain.   

Playing in the cold water near Franklin Falls

Levi was upset with me because I wouldn't let
him venture out as far as Ashley & Rachel

Rachel is in orange close-by but that orange shirt further out there is Ashley
checking out Franklin Falls

Posing with Aunt Rachel

Silver Falls in Mt Rainier National Park 

Levi showing off his massive rock he's about to throw.
We ventured into this water and it was freezing!

Fallen tree in the Grove of the Patriarchs
in Mt Rainier National Forest

Posing on that same pig at Pikes Place Market in Seattle

Levi found a different pig

First time he's fallen asleep in a stroller since he was a baby 

Ballard Locks
It's more interesting to watch the boats come in and
cross over form the ocean to Lake Union than I anticipated