Puyallup Fair

We spent some fun family time at the Puyallup Fair this past weekend. Despite the fact that both Jeff and I get free tickets from school and we live just minutes away, we still have a hard time finding the time and motivation to go the the fair most years. But this year we wanted to start the tradition of taking Lily to see all the animals. We did wait to the very last day, but we made it and even scored free parking. It ended up being a nice was to spend Sunday afternoon. Lily loved it, especially the pygmy goats!

On the Move

This little girl of mine constantly amazes me! She is so active; constantly changing and learning new things. Her bottom two teeth came in and I keep expecting more to pop through any day. I do miss her precious toothless grin, but those little teeth are very cute...and sharp!

Lily has also started crawling. Since she has figured it out she has been constantly on the go. Within two days of crawling she learned to pull herself up. She is so pleased with herself every time her head pops up over the coffee table or ottoman or chair or toy or whatever...she is so strong and can pull up on anything. She also loves the stairs. I naively thought she would stay contained in our sunken living room for a while after crawling but she proved me wrong. In now time she mastered going up stairs and can now quite quickly climb both flights of stairs. She loves escaping. She will crawl a few paces (or up the stairs and out of the room) real fast and then look back waiting to be caught.

How she eats is changing too. Lily is no longer satisfied being fed, she wants to be in charge of her eating. She loves finger food and I am quickly introducing new foods for her to eat and finding new ways to cook other foods so she can feed herself. Meals now take a lot longer but we just sit at the table eating together and "chatting" about the day.

Everyday she is growing and changing and I just can't get enough of her!

Camping in the Sun

One of Jeff's favorite memories growing up is the Melvard family vacations to Sun Lakes. Since we started dating, Jeff talked about taking me to this special place. This summer, with Lily to share in the tradition and memories, he insisted we go. We took advantage of Jeff's parents being in town for a few weeks and headed east for a long weekend. It was the first time I filled my memory card...so there are lots of pictures to remember our fun time there. The whole trip was filled with stories about the infamous Melvard vacations and it was fun for Lily and I to get to experience a few of the traditions, too.

While Jeff and Scott went golfing, Karin, Lily and I met up with them to walk the course.

Jeff's family used to pack up coolers and beach supplies and spend the day at Summer Falls. We did the same and enjoyed lounging by the water, fishing, and hiking around the falls.

There was plenty of time to relax and hang out around camp. We went for walks, played in the water, played games and just enjoyed time together.

Lily enjoyed Grandma Kay's cooking tools.

Lily wasn't sure what she thought of the water, but Jeff loved sharing his special places with her.

All tuckered out!

A shot of Sun Lakes from above...Isn't it amazing?

This was Lily's first time in a motor home. It was my first time, too!

Notice the horses in the background.

Lily playing in the tent waiting for everyone else to wake up.

Lily and Papa had lots of fun playing together. Papa was particularly impressed when Lily had an explosive diaper and got poop all over Jeff.

Looking forward to doing it all over again next summer!

Neskowin

Neskowin is a little town on the Oregon Coast of little consequence except to those lucky enough to grow up there. My dad went with his family as a boy, and I have been going to Neskowin almost every summer since I was just a few years old. This year I had the joy of continuing on the tradition and sharing the ocean with Lily. Going to Neskowin is always a special time for me. I love bundling up to go for walks in the sand (because Neskowin is almost always encased in fog), chasing waves, watching sunsets, eating at the cafe, shopping, playing games, and being reminded of how great and powerful God is through his creation; but most of all I love the time I get to spend with family.

On the way down, everyone stopped to have a picnic with Nana Bea.

Lily loves spending time with her Grandma and Boppo!

Fun on the beach...
Lily was most interested in eating the sand, so she didn't spend much time on the ground.

This year we had a campfire on the beach with smores. Hopefully a new yearly tradition!

The dogs love the beach, too!

Lily got tired shopping and fell asleep sitting on Boppo's lap. So sweet!

In the evenings, after the little ones had gone to bed, we would play a game to earn money by answering questions. At the end of the week, we use the money we have earned to bid on mystery items at an auction. I did very well this year because I submitted the most questions.

Thanks Boppo and Grandma for another great year at the beach filled with so many fun memories!

Lake Cushman

At the end of July we went with some amazing friends to spend a long weekend at this great cabin To enjoy this beautiful lake...and our own private cove.Jeff and Lily had fun playing in the water.Sadie was certainly the happiest of all! Jeff would throw her Frisbee off the deck and then Sadie would run down the path, jump off the dock, and swim to retrieve it back.Lily and Bridgett had lots of fun playing together. They are looking forward to next summer when their new friend, baby Dekokker, joins them!
The boys had fun playing ping pong on the grass.And we all enjoyed some time hiking.

Lily loves being out in nature and exploring all the plants.

Bridgett had too much fun and needed a little nap before continuing on.

This is the second summer we have been blessed by the Klein's to enjoy their cabin. We cherish this time to get away with our good friends, relax, play games, and laugh together. Now we have the fun of watching our kids share in these experiences and become friends too.

What a great weekend!