Summer part 8: The end

I am going to end the summer series with odds and ends.   Event  to remember...  I am still waiting on a picture from my grandma's 95th birthday, but here are some events that also made the summer memorable.

Mimi and all the cousins. Family is always a highlight of our time home.   We love them ALL.   

American Girl!  Amelia loves them and helps that so does Macie.  They celebrated Macie's birthday at the American Girl store.  

Summer of family.  Aunt Kathy came for  week.  We were able to escape to Vancouver, BC for a night.  

End of an era.  We sold the Explorer.  I loved that car. I will get a new one upon our return. 

Time with friends.   We just pick up where we left off.  I wish I had pictures of my other great friends here too!   Love you all. 

SAS 2015-2016

This year Amelia goes into 1st grade and Liam Pre-K.   Once again, I find myself cursing time and wondering where it went.   The year has started great and both kids wake up each morning excited to learn.  What more could a parent want.  I guess Wade and I are doing something right?

Amelia has Mrs. Clark.  Another Aussie.  Wade and I wondering if she is going to develop an accent.   She loves books and is becoming a strong reader.   She is participating in gymnastics and soccer after school.   When she grows up, she wants to be Taylor Swift.  According to her, "I started performing at four years old!"

Liam has Ms. Lyndsey.   He says she comes from the country with the red leaf on it.   Like his sister, he loves books.  We are working on letter recognition, but he does know L - I- A- M.  He will play soccer this year and is PUMPED!   When he grows up he wants to be a cowboy...pilot...fireman...army guy....superhero....

Summer part 7

Summer wouldn't be considered summer if horseback riding wasn't involved.   Both kids love horses and adore that their grandpa is a REAL cowboy.   Liam lived in his summer "uniform" while in Bellingham and it had a similarity to whatever Grandpa was wearing.

This summer was extra special because Grandpa arranged for lessons where they both learned to solo ride.   They were able to use an awesome horse name Cisco.   Amelia and Liam were a little timid at first, but once they realized they had control, they were sold on the new freedom.  Amelia didn't want to get off.

I think Grandpa needs to but Cisco :)>

Waiting patiently for his lesson. 

She was a pro.   Up and over the bridge while controlling with her feet. 

Liam's turn. 

Summer part 6

 This summer we spent a lot of time doing water activities.   It was nice that we had access to lakes, boats, and boards.   We loved paddle boarding and Amelia got really good at it.  It is something we can do in Singapore as well.

On Lake Washington with cousins. 

My sister got a paddle board this summer that we used a ton.  Amelia started to be a show-off. 

We spent a couple days with the "god-family" in Moses Lake.  

More showing off.

These two!  Brett made a comment that I agreed with, "We are domed when they are teenagers!"  

Summer part 5

We were lucky to have my cousin Kaitlin in town at the same time we were.  It had been a couple years since we last saw her.  It was so much fun to have her hang with us and a great reason to play tourist ourselves.  I hope it becomes an annual summer tradition.

The kids have a book in Singapore about a dog that gets lost in Seattle: Larry gets lost in Seattle.  The story is set throughout Seattle and the kids have memorized a lot of the places.  We decided it was time to see some in person and set out on an adventure.

We didn't find every scene and we added some new ones, but it was great fun.  Katie R was our guide and made the most of the four hours we had.   We also snuck in Red Mill Burgers for lunch.

It was a good day!

At the Ballard Locks

Pike Place Market

Gum wall.  Katie bought the kids a pack of gum.  Man did they have fun chewing and placing.  YUCK!

Pure Northwest.  My favorite food.  Earlier that week my dad and Uncle Paul went to the market and got us crab for dinner.  Probably the best Dungeness I have ever had. 

Kaitlin loved seeing the first Starbucks.  However, the line was way too long to go inside and order.  I am still on lookout for the Seattle Starbucks mug. 

Fremont Troll.  I have never seen this before and it was pretty cool.  It was probably Amelia and Liam's favorite stop.  I also didn't mind the side trip to Fremont Brewery for an IPA.

Summet part 4

As summer tends to do, it went fast.  June turned to July and half our trip was almost over.  The weather continued to amaze us and we ate up all the daylight possible.

However, with good, there also comes bad.  The beautiful Mercury La Sable that we were buying from my grandmother found its end.  Parked outside my parents house, a drunk driver totaled it while 3x over the legal alcohol limit.  The good thing was nothing was hurt except our mode of transportation for the rest of our stay.

We then experienced Americana at its best by celebrating 4th of July with neighborhood parades, BBQs, and fireworks...with only one burn and 4 lawn fires.

The car after the wreck.  It was pushed into the neighbor's yard. 

My sister's neighborhood has an annual 4th parade.

Cold treats.

The White clan with Derek's new dog, Ludo. 

BBQ buddies. 

Onto another year...

SAS just released this year's promotional video.  It has us getting pumped for the start of school next week.