The End of Kindergarten

 The last few weeks of school were kind of a whirlwind. In part, this was due to the broken arm and the care that required, but the whirlwind was also caused by ALL that was going on from May to June.

This girl ran her very first Fun Run for our school, raising over $200!

 Here she is enjoying a post Fun Run snack with her extraordinarily sweet class and her amazing teacher.

 Here they all again at a field trip. Clem had JUST gotten her cast off and was feeling anxious about walking on the slippery rocks at the beach while protecting that still delicate arm. Hence, the sulky face.

 It took her a bit, but she warmed up. Her buddies kept coming over to show her sea stars and crabs, cool shells and rocks they knew she would like.

 And then she realized that, with her new sandals (thanks Yaya!) she could walk through the creek and that is where she camped out the rest of the day: standing in the middle of the creek.

 A few weeks later, was her end of Kindergarten celebration (NOT graduation) and I worked extremely hard that day to keep it together. I was so proud of myself for not crying when they sang all their touching songs.

 And I even didn't cry when she posed with her awesome teacher with her necklace reading "1st grader."

The next day was the last day of school and I started doing the ugly cry right here at this point (and pretty much carried on the entire day). My girl has grown so so much since we posed for this pic a year ago. We are so so proud of her. She's reading well over a year ahead, she's made lots of new friends, she has learned to stand up for herself and has been loved, loved, loved by her new friends and every adult at our school. It was everything we had hoped a school would be for her and we wouldn't change a thing (except maybe that doozy of a broken arm.)

Dutchy, You're too Much-y

 This boy of ours is a little bit wild. He's picked up a few feral habits, don't ask me where. He keeps us on our toes but his silliness always has us laughing. He's our sweet hearted wild child.

 On this day, we had come home from running errands. While big sister colored, Dutch wanted in on the action. "Colors go on the paper," we recited together over and over. He had the idea down, so I thought, and I went to empty the dishwasher.

 "Dutch, is your color STAYING on the paper or are you eating the crayon?" I ask.
"No eating crayon." he replies.

 On the back deck, Dutch likes to drive his buggy in REVERSE only (or from his perch on the roof).

 My personal favorite series of Dutchy pictures. While Cam was on the phone with his parents after dinner one Sunday, Dutch was still finishing eating his quesadilla and avocado. While Cam chatted, Dutch picked up his quesadilla phone and made some important phone calls, too.
Holding the quesadilla to his ear he, too, called Grandma and Grandpa!

 And then ate his phone.

Last week at the aquarium in Newport Dutch found a wooden walrus sculpture and would NOT quit kissing it. He kept running back over to the walrus to give him kisses (see? sweetness through and through!)

Adventurin'

 

 I love adventurin'. We try to squeeze in some adventure each weekend as it serves multiple purposes: a well timed adventure can get Dutch to take the nap he wouldn't otherwise. Also, I love being outside and exploring new places.

 

On this day, Clementine volunteered to pack a snack for each of us before going adventuring. While I wrangled up shoes for everyone and Cam changed Dutch, Clem was packing a banana for "bruthr," kibble for Taco, a single strawberry and apple for both Cam and I and just strawberries for herself. We each had our own labeled baggie of food to enjoy. I love this girl.

 

 

Seriously, I just love this girl.

 

 And these two hooligans.

 On this day, we had no destination in mind, just out to adventure (and get Dutch to nap). We ended up in Anacortes that afternoon. This was the day I found a fancy camera lens on the beach (you're welcome Sissy!).

 But the real find of the day was this cute cantina. Clem had just discovered the art of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. She was into it. When we stopped for lunch randomly, we thought the place was named for the cook! Instead, we were happy to discover it was wall to wall art of Frida Kahlo! And super delicious food. Seriously some of the best Mexican food we've had.

 

 On Mother's Day, we went adventurin' on the hope we'd make it to Diablo lake (this was our 2nd attempt). We didn't make it all the way there--we stopped at Rasar State Park which was even better! We traipsed along the trail down to the Nooksack River and back. It was such a beautiful day and this was a great park to explore.

After our little jaunt, we discovered a perfect Clementine and Dutch sized playground! The kids got their goofballs out before hitting the road again.

Rockin' Out in Rockaway Beach

 You guys, we did it. We went on an actual FAMILY VACATION. The four of us have dipped our toes in the water of staying someplace over night, but never like this. It was perfect, crazy and unforgettable this almost getaway. We had the MOST fun.

The first day we drove and drove and drove and drove, stopping every so often to walk the dog, get water and stretch our legs. Finally, we reached Oregon and stopped first off just outside of Ecola park near Canon Beach. We walked Taco and got our first real glimpse of the Oregon coast.

 After we dropped stuff off at our rental, we hightailed it a few miles south to the Tillamook Factory! Forget the cheese, we dove headfirst into the ice cream section (although Cam brought a brick of cheese home with us).

 The next morning, the sky was blue, the temperature hovering on "Seriously guys get outside now," and so we did.

 Dutch was so tripped out by the warm fine sand that he did this pose over and over again. He scooped up sand by the handfuls and then held it over his head, letting it loose very slowly in the wind.

 The beach was lovely and once we were all covered in water and sand, we headed elsewhere.

 

 Clementine maintains that the arcade in Seaside was  her MOST favorite thing we did on vacation. Snort.

 On the one foggy, overcast morning we were there we decided to head south for better weather. And we found it in Lincoln City where we stopped for lunch. The rugrats colored while we waited.

 After lunch, we continued south on the Coastal Highway (and I fell in love) all the way down to Newport. It was SUNNY and HOT and this crew had plans to  hit up the Newport Aquarium.

 This day was momentous as it was the first time Dutch willingly (not really) sat in a stroller for more than 5 minutes.

 Newport  had lots of fun things to see--otters and sea lions were performing while we were there. But the big attraction has to be the serious of three tunnel aquariums that we got to walk through. We were surrounded on all sides by fish, sting rays, sharks and eels. It was really cool, but really hard to photograph.

 I convinced Clem to pose between a Megaladon Shark's jaws by bribing her (and brother, of course) with a stuffy from the gift shop.

 Near the end of our time there, Clem got chosen to be a junior fish feeder and got to drop fish food into the tank below. There was a perfect size window for Dutch to watch from his stroller down below.

We wrapped up Newport and headed back to home base in Rockaway where things were still overcast, but warm enough to be at the beach (and warm enough to drop your shorts if you're two and have adorably chubby thighs.)

 "I can't believe this is my life!" exclaims Clem.

 Our last full day on the coast was my personal favorite day. It was cloudy but still plenty warm to be out and about. We drove up to Canon Beach to Ecola State Park (where much of the movie Goonies was filmed!).

 Can you see Tillamook Lighthouse behind them?

 Then we made a pit stop in town where Dutch nearly OD'ed on pizza.

 But he made a quick recovery and played in the sand.

 Clem discovered "quicksand"

And somehow ended her day with a sand beard.

The next day, we headed home with all five of us (yup, Taco went too!) grinning ear to ear. We had so much fun on our first family vacation. (The last several hours of our trip home were spent telling "piggy stories" in the backseat. These two set my heart a-flutter, honestly.)