our bucket list.

 Every summer we make a bucket list with the kids. A long list of things they want to do, places they want to go and memories they want to make. And then each week we try to check a few things off! It helps when we have those free days and need a ideas on what to do and makes it easy to plan out weekends for family time. One of their items was a backyard campout! This was easy peasy. Planning out a family camping trip at a campground is much more involved. But in the backyard I hardly had to do a thing! We started with a delicious dinner of bacon cheeseburgers and fresh fruit and then Matt and the kids set up the tent. We ended with s'mores over the backyard firepit and then Simon and I headed indoors for the night while the big kids slept with Matt. (I would have totally slept out there with Simon except we really need a bigger tent for our family of 5!). The kids did great, loved it and in the morning headed indoors for a giant pancake breakfast. So fun and I loved their idea!

 Another item on our list? A Mariners game! Our church goes to a game each summer as a big group so this was the perfect opportunity to buy discounted tickets and sit with a bunch of people we know. Matt and I had very low expectations and assumed we'd be walking around more in the kid zone than actually sitting and watching the game. But the kids totally impressed us! We got there early to go to the team store and grab a quick snack before finding our seats. And then, we sat and watched almost the entire game! Even when I offered to go to the kids zone with Lucy she politely declined and said she'd rather keep an eye on the Mariners. Ha! It was such a fun day and the best part? We made the jumbotron!!! After all these years of Matt attending major sporting events he's never been on the big screen. But it was so fun to have our entire family on the screen waving and screaming. Huge highlight of the day.

Up next? Possibly a zoo trip, thai take out picnic dinner and a family bike ride. We LOVE summer!!!

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beach life.

I think when we look back at the summer of 2017 we will remember the beach. In the past 5 days we've been to local beaches 3 times and the kids keep begging to go back every time we have to leave! The water, the sand play, climbing on old driftwood and searching for crabs makes all three kids happy and they usually meet some new friends to play with throughout the day. It's pretty easy to pack a few snacks, some sand toys and a towel and jump in the car.  Plus, it's free! 

You really can't beat summers around here and we feel so lucky to live where we do. It's beyond beautiful.

The other added bonus of beach trips? Local Farmer's Markets literally right next door. Last weekend we hit up the huge summer market in Edmonds, met up with some friends and ate a few snacks along the way. Considering I had all 3 kids with me while Matt was out of town and we timed the market during the crazy lunch rush they were all amazing browsing the stands and waiting in line. 

 We picked up a popsicle treat to cool us down before heading down to the beach to play. Such a simple Saturday!

 Simon is obsessed with sports. All sports. Anything that has a ball he will play, learn about, read and watch. I happened to pack a baseball in the beach bag and he found an old stick to use as a bat. Then a sweet woman who happened to just be on a walk stopped to say hi and suddenly was handed the baseball by Simon and forced to play with him! He wasn't shy one bit in throwing her the ball over and over again to keep playing. Such a funny kid.

 I don't think the kids truly realize or appreciate how amazing it is to have these beaches within 20 minutes of our house. Where else do you get a playground with this view?!?

 We headed to another beach on Sunday, this time in search of crabs!

 And watching the ferry boats go in and out is always a fun break.

 Yesterday we headed back to play and visited another local market before heading home. The kids chose a snack of local raspberries freshly picked that morning and I couldn't pass up these beautiful flowers. A huge bouquet was only $7! The kids want to make this a weekly tradition for the rest of the summer and well...I'm totally on board.

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what a week!

 Every year I tell myself around March that we should just have a mellow, lazy summer and every year around July I realize I failed. It's not that we aren't relaxing and having fun....in fact we are loving our non-scheduled days and doing super fun things from our summer bucket list. But, in the midst of all those activities...we had an incredibly busy week!
After coming home from a week at Seabrook I had to turn around and work the next day and then Matt and I spent the following day car shopping. No one really likes car shopping. I mean, coming home with a new car is always great but the actual process is just ridiculous. Hours upon hours of research before even going to a dealership only to then have to talk and talk and talk with the salesperson. We hadn't planned on buying a new car this year but after a few things started breaking down on our Pilot we realized we needed something sooner than we had planned. We were pretty particular with what we wanted but knew finding those things in a newer, used car wouldn't be easy. But, after a lot of negotiating we stuck to our budget and came home with......a minivan! We are officially middle aged parents with a large family and a sporty minivan.

My before picture as we dealt with car salesmen who didn't want to budge on their price.

 And the after when we got the deal we hoped for sitting in our new van!

 The kids are pretty excited about it too. The novelty of sliding doors and push button screens is pretty fantastic and there has been lots of arguing over whose turn it is to close the doors. ha!

 After that fun adventure I prepped for the week ahead. We came home from vacation to find a bounty of delicious fruits and veggies from our mini garden. I love when the kids can just run outside and pick a few things for an afternoon snack. I'd love to have something much larger but for now, this will have to do.

 Summer is best spent in the backyard and that's what we've been doing. Lots of swinging, pool time and sports. Simon can't get enough baseball right now. He'd swing that little bat for hours if you kept pitching the ball to him!
And, simple dinners - thank goodness for pizza night! I even had the kids make the whole thing so I could get a few things done around the house. It was delicious!

 The next day we headed up to the beach house for the 4th of July. We made it just in time for the 3rd annual neighborhood parade. Each year I think we've improved on our decor and attire. I have to say they were pretty darn cute.

 The parade was the highlight of the day - there were probably 3x as many people walking the parade as there were watching but the kids didn't care. They had so much fun seeing everyone dressed up and loved climbing in the firetruck at the end of the route.

 The rest of the day was spent napping, playing and going for a family walk before staying up super late to watch fireworks over the water. The fireworks are always so beautiful and we love being able to just cozy up on the couch inside and look out the windows.

 The kids lasted until 10pm before we sent them off to bed (so I could go to bed too!)

 The next day was a quick turnaround to come home and have Matt leave for a long weekend to attend a friends wedding in the midwest. The kids always have such a hard time the first day he leaves so I try to make it a fun day to keep their minds off of missing Daddy. Swimming at our local pool and a park picnic for dinner was perfect!

 Can we just stop and see how tall Carter has gotten this past year?!? My 7 year old is growing way too fast!

 Now that the weekend is here I'm looking forward to a beach day, trip to the farmer's market and maybe even some berry picking before Matt comes home and we prep for a much simpler week ahead. Happy July!

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