Sammamish Summer - Week 2

**Warning: The Second of Three Hugely Long Posts**

THURSDAY: We found a Groupon for the little theme park at Remlinger Farms and went out for a day of family fun. Our kids are at the perfect ages for this place and they had a wonderful time. Davey rode his first roller coaster (three times!) and Sophie hopped up on a horse without hesitation, even after yesterday's biting incident. We have such brave kids! Other favorites included the corn flyers, the train, and the hay maze. Charlie also went on a few rides, but was mostly just happy to be there.

Sophie rode "Rhubarb," and Davey got to ride "Bean." He returned from his trail ride in Dave's arms, so I guess that tiny pony was too threatening. 

On the train ride

This horse was more Davey's type

FRIDAY: My mom and I took the kids back to Remlinger Farms to pick raspberries. It's nearing the end of the season, but we were still able to bring home a little over 9 pounds, most of which went towards jam. While we were picking berries, Dave went golfing with my dad and brother. As you can see from his scorecard, he struggled a bit on the back nine, but said he still had fun overall. Later the whole family went over to the country club for dinner and to hit a few balls on the putting green. Sophie was thrilled the first time she got a ball in the hole, and said "I scored a goal!"

Sophie was super excited (even though her face looks pained) to show me these two "twin" berries that she thought looked exactly the same 

Charlie got tired of his stroller toward the end and wanted to be held, which added a new level of challenge to the berry picking

This "digger" shovel was over in the field near the patch and the kids enjoyed checking it out

The girls out on the green

Putting with Paco

Dave's golf outing at Sahalee earlier in the day

 SATURDAY: I have become the resident jam maker and spent the morning mashing, mixing, and pouring. We took six tubs of jam home in our suitcase, which will hopefully be enough to last us until next summer. Down at the lake Dave surfed, and Sophie tried kayaking on her own for the first time. She did awesome on her practice run near the dock. Davey was there for all of it, but I guess he never made it into any photos - oops. And little Charlie spent his time snoozing and chewing on a delicious bungee cord.

We used to all make jam together, but "too many cooks in the kitchen" just led to mistakes and ruined batches of jam. I've taken on the main role, but am always grateful for my mom's assistance!

Dave has really figured out surfing and can go for hours 

My little Moana is ready to take on deeper waters!

SUNDAY: We made it to the mountains!! After church we drove up to Snoqualmie Pass to spend some time at the cabin. Before bed we drove over to Gold Creek Pond for a family walk. It was so refreshing to be surrounded by green after a year in the flat, yellow grass of Amarillo. My soul was refreshed!!

Charlie chillin' in the bean bag

Sophie and I did puzzles together

Love these cuties!

MONDAY: We went on a family "hike" to Franklin Falls this morning. The actual trail is a couple miles long, which we thought might be too much for Davey, so we parked at a spot further along the way. That ended up putting us so close that we reached the falls after only 5 minutes, but I guess too easy was better than too hard!

My wild girl in the wild flowers

Davey and Paco in their Seahawks shirts

TUESDAY: Today went back to the Animal Sanctuary so Sophie could forgive the pony who bit her. She was nervous, but walked up to him on her own and I'm glad they could end things on a positive note. Afterward we fulfilled Sophie's dream of visiting a butterfly house 🦋 She has been looking forward to this for months and loved it, even though one never landed on her head like she hoped would happen. We were also able to have fun with a few other exhibits at the science center before our parking meter ran out. Two hours sure went by quickly!!

Forgiveness and trust are different and this time she fed the animals with tongs :)

In the dinosaur hall that hasn't changed since I was a child

Building bugs with daddy

Checking out the bee colony

The kids enjoyed these water cannons

Upside down mirror and trying to lift a huge weight

 Turning the water wheel

WEDNESDAY: We had lots of adventures today, including a ski lesson for Sophie. My siblings and I practiced at this same facility 20 ago and it was strange to be back. In her lesson Sophie learned how to control her speed, stop, and get up after a fall. Hopefully this will help speed up the learning curve when we have her ski on real snow at Christmas! We also went to a fun children's museum this morning (free with our ASTC card), and then down to the lake again before bed.

She's skiing!

Sophie is exactly 5 basketballs tall!