"Insta"-replay #85, family camping!

Last week was a much overdue vacation!  We managed to get away from everything and just relax (well maybe not just relax)!

The week started out with a huge change for my younger daughter.  12 inches were cut off and donated to locks of love.  She was a bit nervous but very proud of herself.  The shorter hair was appreciated in the current heat wave.

Next we were off to camp.  Merry was the only child for the first night.  She made do with her dolls since there was no one else to play with.

Soon enought there were cousins and sister to play with.  They rarely stayed still long enough for a photo.

A highlight for me was teaching my girls to play chess, and realizing that they might be good at it!

Sight seeing as a family was great fun too.  We explored lava tubes with the extended family.

Hiked around a cinder cone, the veiw was amazing.

And spent an entire day learning at the High Desert Museum.

After all that "relaxing" I may need another vacation.  Seriously though it was a great week spent with my inlaws!

"Insta"-replay #84, out and about

Summer is in full swing but last week was more of a calm before the storm.  I caught up on reading, kids played with blocks, DSes were on often.  Since this week will be go, go, go, last weeks break was nice.

We didn't just sit around the house though.

We went to a dollar movie at the local theater.  Saw Paddington Bear which was much better than expected.  It was funny and heart touching.  As an added bonus Merry had just finish reading the book it was based on.

I also took the girls along as I walked down memory lane, sharing one of my favorite childhood traditions.  Growing up our car didn't have air conditioning so if you went grocery shopping with mom it meant a half hour ride in the hot car, it also meant icecream to eat on the ride back.

And we had a great "right place at the right time" experience.  Walked into the mall and were told, "free stuffed animals to the first 50 people down stairs."  Merry especially loves stuffed animals and I especially love free stuff!

We had a great week but now to the go, go, go!

"Insta"-replay #83, ya-hey, what about the heat!

Oregon is known for many things, hot dry summers is not one of them.  Yet that is what we've been having.

As a result we've been spending more time out and about enjoying air conditioning and iced coffee.

After a lot of cleaning we finally got the house ready to bug bomb, that was an ordeal!

We spent some time at the local Children's museum.  Having the membership makes it easy to just stop by for a little bit.

Of corse my favorite part of the last few weeks was a road trip to California!

We went down to see old school mates, mostly because those old friends are also my current friends and family! 

Even though it was even warmer down there we managed to have fun and stay cool.

Last weekend was of corse 4th of July we enjoyed a small town celebration complete with a parade.

Them watched the fireworks from afar.

Summer is half over!  Hope you are staying cool and having fun.

"Insta"-replay #82, dance recital week

One week every year seems devoted entirely to dance!  This year was no exception.  

Every evening (except Friday) they got ready to spend more time sitting than dancing, as teachers worked on last minute staging and making sure students knew where and when to come on stage.  

We managed some non-dancing fun too.

We hung out with Aunt Kim while she babysat the Ward cousins.  Kids love cell phones.

We took our own turn babysitting, playing outside since inside was too warm.

When the weather got too hot we headed to a nice air conditioned play place.

We saw our other cousins too, played inside because allergies.

I managed to do one crafty project, an embroidered doll vest.  

Then finally it was recital day!  This year we were up and ready to go early so I even managed to get coffee before helping backstage.

After that week of "go, go, go" I'm glad for a week of rest!

"Insta"-replay #81, almost missed two weeks in a row!

Did miss two weeks in a row, oops, I wrote this but didn't post it last week so looks like there will be two blog posts today!

The last two weeks have been packed!  Summer is starting with gusto.

Charry and Merry "bridged" to the next ranks of Girl Scouts.  Our troop leader is a sweetheart and always makes sure to have at least a small ceremony to make the day special.

We had a blast with all the ward and burks cousins at the Enchanted Forest.  It is a cute little theme park in a wonderful wooded area.  Even though we cut our visit short because of pouring rain it was a great time.

Merry and cousin Lidi both got to take their end of the year tests for third grade, in our state this is the first required testing.  The girls were happy to have a familiar face taking the test also.

Last week was also dress rehearsal for dance.

We spent a lot of time at the studio with out high buns!

My week finished with a ladies night out!  I went to hear my mom and Bill sing show tunes with the "festival chorale". The music was fun but the costumes are what really caught my attention.

Recital is coming quick so you can expect more pictures of little dancers next week.

"Insta"-replay #80, beach trip!

Last week went slowly by, until the weekend which past quickly!

The girls are working hard to finish up school.  Now that some subjects are done the end seems near!

We started our weekend with a trip to the local DQ.  It had been a while and I had coupons!

We had a quiet day at home, enjoying non-electronic play.

Then enjoyed a day exploring at the aquarium!

The girls could have spent the entire day just watching the sea birds.

We ended the weekend with a BBQ at the beach.  The girls played in the sand with cousins until it was time to head home.

After all that relaxing we are back to working hard! For a few days anyways.

"Insta"-replay #79, what made this week special

Last week I only took pictures of the unusual so here's what was different for the week:

 Aunt Kimie came to distract the littles during piano lessons.  Her smart watch was very effective.

Merry showed off her fashion forwardness. To be honest I was more confused than impressed but she has better fashion sense than me so maybe it's time to clip birds to hats.

We ended the week at an Engineering expo!  Seniors at OSU had their projects on display and many had candy out too.  I made the kids think of one question about the projects before they could ask about candy.

It's been a good week, now on to the next!