This was our second time participating in the School's Out Shaving Cream war. Last year it was cancelled due to Covid, and this year it had to be postponed due to weather, but at least it still happened! We gathered with friends at the nearby splash pad and then let the kids go at each other. Sophie and Davey jumped right into the fray when the war started, but Charlie was just a baby last time we came, so I wasn't sure how he would do. He can be nervous about new things, but handled the mess and chaos like a champ. This is such a fun way to kick off summer!
Group photo, except I don't know where Charlie or Davey went when this was taken
Griffin did not participate, but he put on some protective goggles just in case :)
Sophie was such a good sister and kept pausing to help squirt more cream into Charlie's hand
August is a transitional month for us. We spent the first half having fun in North Carolina and Dallas, and then the second half starting school and putting our routine back together. Here are a few mother moments from our month:
We got back from our summer travels to a few problems at home. Our AC had gone out amd the house could barely stay below 80 degrees, the battery on Dave's car had corroded and needed replacing, one of our garage doors had a fried circuit board, and our internet cable had been severed - yikes! I guess that's what happens when you go on vacation and neglect real life for a month.
Sophie lost her other top tooth! She has such a cute smile and was excited to be able to drink a smoothie without opening her mouth.
Our pools close the second week of August, even though it's still 90-100 degrees here until the end of September. Since we can't swim, we often hit the splash pad to beat the heat.
Charlie loves to say "CHEESE!" and pose for the camera. He has the cutest little smile.
I brought Charlie into the front seat with me to ride through the carwash because it scares him. While he didn't cry sitting with me, he was still slightly terrified!
Family bowling night at WT! I almost rolled a turkey on the last frame to beat out Dave.
Chalk fun at the library
These two hardly ever get along (Davey loves to push Charlie around and take everything away from him) but every now and then they have sweet moments together.
Our summer trip to Washington this year was during the month of July. We had just over two weeks, which always seems to go by so fast. I have well over 100 photos from our summer trip, even after whittling them down to the essentials, so this is going to be quite the marathon post - I guess we were having too much fun!!
I flew out with the two boys from Amarillo on July 9th and all our family's luggage. We had a marathon day with layovers in Las Vegas and San Jose, but luckily got an empty seat on all three legs for Charlie. The boys were actually really good, except nobody slept, even though we left at nap time and landed at 1 am Texas time. Dave and Sophie drove to Dallas the next morning to drop our van, and then caught a direct flight that evening to meet up with us in Seattle.
In pajamas, it's dark, it's late, yet they are still awake
LIFE IS BETTER AT THE LAKE - the main focus of our summer trips is the lake! As the kids get older it's easier to spend more time down there, and they love it! Sophie begs to swim and go tubing any chance she can get. Davey is still warming up to the tube, but loves the kayaks, riding on the boat, and going out on the waverunner. And Charlie is happiest on shore where he can throw rocks.
He was not a fan of the life jacket torture device
This is Davey's classic "Thumbs up, dude!" pose
Warning - a nude sunbather was often present after a lake outing!
KIDS QUEST MUSEUM - this is such a fun place to take the kids and since we get free admission with our ASTC pass, it's easy to take them here every time we visit!
Charlie was so happy at this car wall. I need to get something like this at my house :)
Sophie running a pretend popcorn stand
Davey worked so hard to build this dam in the waterworks area. I rarely see him get so focused on a project and it was fun to see his hard work pay off.
WELCOME BABY WILLIAM! - the biggest surprise was the arrival of Derek and Fayey's baby! He wasn't due until August, after we had left and I'm so glad he decided to come early so we could meet him! Faye went into labor right after an earthquake that shook our region during the night and a few hours later, William was here! Before we left they held a baby blessing at their house while the whole family was in town to celebrate him.
SO MANY FUN PARKS - Amarillo does not have the best parks (or weather for playing at them) so we always like to try all the fun places in Washington when we visit.
This was a fun, new playground at a nearby elementary school that had lots of great climbing structures and a big soccer field to play on
On a rainy day we drove up to the mall to play at their indoor playspace
The nearby Seahawks playground is always a favorite because it has a zip line, swings, and a fun airplane. Everyone was wearing hats that day so we took some pictures to document!
We went to the Orca splash pad even though the weather wasn't great. The kids didn't seem to mind though! They still ran through all the fountains and got wet even though it was 69 degrees and overcast.
FAMILY NIGHT AT SAHALEE - the night we went to dinner at Sahalee also happened to by a Family Fun night! They had a whole room set up with lawn games (ladder golf, corn hole, ring toss, etc.) and since we were there early, we had it all to ourselves for awhile. After dinner they also had s'more making stations for dessert!
HIKING THE BUS LOOP - we did a new hike with Grandmari called the Bus Loop. It was about a mile long on a gravel trail, which worked great for the stroller. It takes you to an abandoned bus in the middle of the forest. Most of it has decayed away, but it's fun to wonder how it ever got there!
Sophie took on a dare to pick up a slug, which turned out to be surprisingly sticky. It took me forever to wipe all the slime off her hands.
Charlie was asleep when we started the hike and was very confused to wake up the forest
At the old bus
We found trail markers with numbers and the kids had fun finding their ages. For some reason there was no #1 for Charlie, poor guy.
THE CABIN & GOLD CREEK POND - we were able to spend one night at the cabin during our trip. The wildflowers were in full bloom and looked so pretty. In the morning we did our traditional walk around Gold Creek pond before driving back down. The boys had a great time throwing rocks in the water and Sophie got to walk Jobe for part of the loop.
RASPBERRY PICKING - we almost ran out of time to pick raspberries on this trip, which would have meant no jam! We finally found a day that worked though, right at the end of our trip. We brought back four boxes and then made jam that afternoon. So yummy!
COUSIN TIME - the kids love getting to see their cousins. Sophie looks forward to her time with Anne all year. They are still the only girls on the Lambert side and it's so nice that they have each other. They had a ton of fun playing together.
These two boys are growing up! They don't know they're destined to by buddies yet, but hopefully will start to play more with each visit.
BUT WAIT... THERE'S MORE!!
Charlie loved to torment Jobe by sitting in his bed
We arrived just in time for 7/11 day and free slurpees!
Playing shuffleboard on the sport court
We got Bundtlet cakes to celebrate Paco's birthday. Davey was so excited for his cake and carried it around the whole day in anticipation. It was pretty easy to see which was his when it was finally time to sit down and eat them :)
Playing games with Grandmari! Sophie started to learn how to tell time on this trip thanks to some lessons from Aunt Nat and this fun Timing it Right game.
The neighbors let us swim in their pool that overlooks the lake one afternoon
We went to the new Lion King movie as a family. The babies really struggled and Amy, Nat, and I spent a lot of time in the hall with Jack, Briggen, and Charlie, but the rest of the family liked it.
After the movie we ate dinner at Crossroads and let the kids do the quarter rides. Charlie liked this part much better than sitting in a movie theater.
