the 4th at the beach.

Well, better late than never! How the heck is it already the end of July?!? Summer is halfway over and I feel like it just started. Every year this happens and I just shake my head that my favorite season flies by so quickly. 

June was super busy with Simon's 1st birthday, the end of soccer season, the end of school/preschool, my birthday and making our summer bucket list. And then Matt left for a week of fishing with his dad and brother. I'm so glad he had the opportunity to go spend some guy time with family, relax for a while, get away from his busy work schedule and catch some huge fish! They stayed in this beautiful cabin in a remote village somewhere in the middle of nowhere (seriously) and even though a few days weren't the best weather to catch fish, overall they had a successful week.

 While Matt was gone me and the kids had a busy (but fun!) week. I took them to the beach one day, out for a froyo treat another day, played in the swimming pool and had a playdate with friends. Weeks Matt is gone are never easy and I feel like I can never catch up or relax but mentally I push through and the kids are so patient and understanding. Plus, if I schedule fun things for us to do it makes the time go by so much faster!

 To prep for our 4th of July weekend away I decided to make a berry cobbler too....so yummy!

 The day before we left for the beach house for 4 days the kids had a playdate with some of our best friends. Even though I had 6 kids to watch it somehow was easier since they all entertained each other. 1 hour spent playing hide and seek (yep...one whole hour in our non-gigantic house...so funny!), 1 hour outside and 1 hour of legos/snacks/dancing. Love these kids! I gulped down some extra coffee since I was running on little sleep after day 4 of single parenting and had a million things to pack for the weekend. But coffee on our deck while kids play and a baby naps...not so bad!

 We finally arrived at the beach house and began to relax. Kids pulled out their favorite toys while Simon wandered around. And around. And around! Oh my goodness...he is now officially in the "good thing I'm cute because I'm going to get into everything because I'm curious and this is how I learn but I'm so so so so so so busy" phase. Whew!

 Matt and the boys got home late Saturday night just in time to take over some parenting duties. We spent the next morning on the beach exploring which is always fun for everyone.

 More playtime outside!

 An early morning run around the neighborhood with my favorite running buddy. I sort of love waking up early and taking this little one with me for a workout while the rest of the family sleeps. Plus the view isn't too bad either!

 And then the 4th! The kids had so many patriotic outfits I think they were able to wear some version of red, white and blue every day that weekend!

 We then got ready for the 2nd annual neighborhood parade. Last year we weren't too prepared but this year we made up for it. Flags, glasses, leis, necklaces and even a bubble machine strapped to Lucy's bike!

 It was pretty exciting when the local fire department came by to lead the parade. Such a fun, new tradition!

 We came back, relaxed, had a great dinner and enjoyed some late night fireworks. And Simon kept us all busy chasing him around!

Another fun 4th of July and a great start to summer!

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Here's just a sample of what we've been up to this past week.

More swim lessons! The kids' teacher is so good and really pushes them to learn proper stroke technique all while having fun.

 Our sitter sent me this picture of Simon the other day while I was at work. He was insisting on climbing in her kitchen drawer all day long. The kids have so much fun at her house each week. She has 2 kids who are great friends with our kids and even better...she lives just a few houses down from us!

 We love our local farmers markets! The kids love looking at each booth and surprisingly do very well just looking and not grabbing every single thing they see. I love the opportunity to teach them about buying local, especially produce. A few days ago we were in need of an afternoon snack and local berries were the perfect choice!

 Then it was time to do a little grocery shopping. Shopping with 3 kids isn't always my idea of a fun time. But, pushing the massive car cart to contain 2 kids while the 3rd is up top with me helps. Well, that and the free cookie they get from the bakery!

 Carter (and every other young boy we know) is big into Legos. He even gets a Lego magazine each month. The last issue he noticed a contest he could enter to win more Legos. So he spent time thinking about what he should build and spent a solid hour in his room creating this "Hawaiian volcano" to enter into the contest. I hope he wins!

 Yesterday we spent the morning at church but since it falls right during Simon's morning nap he ended up refusing to go into the nursery and hanging out in the preschool room while Matt and I taught Sunday School. That meant a later in the day nap when we got home which eventually led to cuddling in my arms for the last hour. It was a nice little break for both of us!

 After he woke up from his nap we headed up to the Everett AquaSox game. Matt had tickets and a group of people from work were meeting there for pre-game catered food and fun. This really is the perfect way to bring our kids to the game. Closer to our house, cheaper tickets, a huge grassy field to run and play, free parking, bounce houses and Felix happened to be pitching last night, which was so fun to see! The kids could have spent the entire time in the bouncy houses but they still enjoyed watching the game and eating some kettle corn.

 Simon did pretty great too, considering he's officially a squirmy toddler who is more interested in walking everywhere than sitting in a seat in a crowd of people. It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon for a baseball game and another thing we could check off our summer bucket list. Happy July!

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34.

To celebrate my birthday last week (officially in my mid-thirties!) we decided to go out to breakfast. Going out to eat with 3 small children as a birthday gift? Yes, not exactly the image of a calm, relaxing morning but we went for it. We never go out to breakfast and really rarely go out to eat at all. But, we've heard over and over again that the Maltby Cafe is absolutely delicious, so much so that there are lines out the door every weekend. Since Matt took the day off work for my birthday we figured a weekday would be safe to try it out. And it was so delicious!!! I completely forgot to take picture of the amazing cinnamon roll french toast I had but just picture 2 huge slices of warm, gooey, cinnamon-y goodness topped with a drizzle of maple syrup....oh my goodness. The kids love breakfast food and devoured their french toast too while Matt enjoyed some homemade biscuits and gravy. The perfect start to the day!

 We came home around 9am (early risers mean early breakfasts!) and I headed out for a little alone time to go shopping. I don't get much alone time so as much fun as shopping can be with a friend it's sometimes even better all by myself. I love to just wander the aisles, try on clothes slowly and buy random things. Any mom knows that there are few things in life better than a solo trip to Target.

 After lunch I had to get practical and do some grocery shopping. Luckily there is a nail salon right next door! I had a certain someone who was eager to tag along for her very first pedicure. She was so funny. She asked SO many questions about how the whole process worked, kept wondering why all the other women were sitting quietly reading magazines and we were just talking and talking and talking. She was ticklish during the massage and thrilled when she saw the purple glitter nail polish. Needless to say, I have a feeling she's going to want to do this again sometime soon!

The day ended with a home cooked dinner, swim lessons and tired kids. But it was a simple celebration spend with those I love. I'm loving this season of my life and all it brings, here's to another great year!

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