I LOVE this Fair!

 Every year I end up taking Clem to the fair on the HOTTEST DAY OF THE YEAR. This one was no different. Yesterday, Sissy came up with her boys and we took 75% of the kids to the fair (Dutch was at school). The temperature when I left the fair at 3:30 was 95 degrees. It was nuts.

 First we sweated in the barn, checking out the animals.

 Then we took this party outside to sweat on all the rides.

 Nolan took a while to warm up but not Clem, she was ready to go on every single ride. A few times, Nolan hung back to watch Clementine the first round, then he would join her for a second or third ride.

 They seriously went through this little fun house 15 times (at least)

 Miles used the power of NO! when it came to sharing strawberry lemonade. Thank goodness for $1 refills! We probably abused that system a bit.

This is when things got REAL hot. You can tell it's hot by looking at poor Nolan's face!! It was too hot to take any more pictures so we called it a day.
I am SO glad my favorite nephews came up to enjoy the fair day with us! What a blast the big kids had!!!

Silver Lake

 

We were able to check another box off the Summer Bucket List with our first--definitely not last--trip out to Silver Lake. This play/camp-ground is about halfway between our house and Mt. Baker. We had a blast and will definitely be back!

 In addition to trails, lake and camping spots, Silver Lake had a great playground! Our kids loved it--although on this hot day there were spots that were just too hot to really enjoy (like the scorch-your-butt slide).

 

 There was a lovely, picturesque walking path with a bridge that took us up and over the lake. Paddle boats and canoes passed under us as we went across.

The water there was very clear and lots of folks were either on or in it. This mama didn't know that it'd be such a great place for swimming! Our poor kids were directed to go no higher than their knees. (Guess how long that lasted??) 

Our Annual August Artist Point Trip

August is hot around these here parts. And this August seems to be hotter than ever. So for our most recent Sunday adventures, we headed up high. As high as you can get round here. We drove to the top of Mt. Baker!

Speaking of hot, look at my mountain man! Hubba hubba.

 Clementine has been carrying around this squirrel with her for the last few days. He loved the adventures in nature on top of the mountain, for obvious reasons.

 Dutchy is still just too unpredictable to trust on top of a mountain with trails that twist and turn. So this little fellow got to ride on my back--probably for the last time up at Artist Point!

 Because he is the tenderest tender soul from tender town, he kept kissing the back of my arms, rubbing my back and letting out a big sigh as he rested his head against me. He's incredibly loving.

 Which is good, because tenderness doesn't make this load any lighter.

 We were surprised at the amount of snow left over at the top. There were kids sledding and throwing snowballs up there. It was pretty much the best way to cool down on a such a hot day.

And the views were pretty beautiful, if I do say so myself!

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.