God Bless America!

 July 3rd we went to the Hops game, it's Hillsboro's baseball team, Brian got tickets through work and we were really excited about taking the girls.

 Before the game the girls got to run around and play a little, we were nervous that 9 innings was going to be waaay too long for them, but we had to make it the whole game because there was to be a fabulous firework show afterwards.

Taking it all in

Brian and I enjoyed some refreshing beverages, Baseball and Beer go together so well

 We were smart and brought the girls their ear protectors. They are notorious for hating loud sounds and this was the perfect solution. Bria wore hers nearly the entire time...

A picture with Barley!

The girls did pretty well, around the 4th inning we started taking turns walking them around and letting them run free. The Buell's also had tickets so we met up with them for awhile.

Love my Amanda!!

 Bria also saw her preschool friend, Ella, and was ecstatic! They were so sweet with each other.

Finally the game ended (we won!) and the fireworks started!! The girls were in AWE. Seriously, Reese did not move the entire time and Bria was ecstatic, ooohing and ahhhing over all of them. It was soooo worth it to make it through the whole game and ultimately have them up 3 1/2 hours past their bedtime. It was quite the spectacular show I must say. And much to our amazement, the girls slept until 9 am!!! What a great way to start the 4th... 

Good ole' summer BBQ

One of my all time favorite summer activities is just BBQing with friends. I love impromptu BBQ's, they just make me happy. A couple days after we got back from the beach that is exactly what we did at the Buell's.

They see me rollin'...

My cautious Bria was so nervous about going fast. Then when she tried to drive up on the sidewalk again she started freaking out because she was driving up on the neighbors grass. All of us adults were laughing and then she screamed so serious that she looked possessed. I was not happy with her little outburst so she had a time out. On the drive home she said to me, "Mom, I didn't like when you were all laughing at me, it hurt my feelings. That's why I screamed, because you weren't listening to me."
I felt horrible. I can so related to that feeling and it's a horrible one. I apologized profusely and let her know I won't do that again. But man, I felt just awful.

That was at the very end of the night though, so lots of fun was had before that :)
The next day Erin and the kids drove up and we all went swimming at the Buell's neighborhood pool. Roxie and Gracie came too and the kids had a blast. It was a scorching 97 degrees that day so we needed to cool off in the pool!

It's HOT!

Bria and little Lucy

Camera shy

Gracie...and some old guy haha!

The kids always enjoying taking a dip in the pool and it's a little challenging to get them out. Fortunately Bria is taking lessons and they are outdoors so 3 days a week she gets to take a dip.
Bria's soccer ended and while she liked it a lot, she isn't sure she wants to do it again. I might have her do a team one in the fall just to be sure.
Tap is going fabulously and it's her favorite class by far, I'm looking forward to the last day when they do a little recital!
And of course swimming is great. She is doing pretty well, focusing on keeping her legs and arms straight while doing her strokes. But she has better form than I do already and can swim pretty far on her own.
Reese wants to do all things her sister does so I'm hopeful this fall I can get her in some classes to try and find her passion. :) She is currently having a rough time and throwing massive fits about everything, anything, and nothing. It's challenging to say the least. Really hoping this phase passes and we all survive it...

To the beach we go

The weekend of June 27th we had planned a big camping trip with our friends and their families, we were looking forward to camping with the girls and using the tent trailer my siblings and us share. However, true to Oregon the weather was not holding it's end of the bargain so at the last minute we changed and headed to the coast and stayed in a huge house. I think we made the right call.

The house had plenty of room for everyone and we stayed nice and dry. My cousin, Brett, and his wife Jen live in Newport so we got to meet up with them and their sweet kids which I loved. We showed them around the house and then got to hang out for awhile as the kids ran around.

So overall it was a fabulous time, however, little Reese had croup which put a damper on the fun for her. Saturday was her worst day by far, she was super lethargic and just slept most the day. Fortunately that night she slept for a long time and woke up Sunday feeling a little better and even played a little bit. It was good to see her up and playing.

Reese loved Ian and cuddled with him when Brian or myself were not available

 Although the weather wasn't perfect, Bria would not stop asking to go down to the beach on Friday when we got there. So when there was a break in the rain we headed down:

This picture of Bria cracks me up

 I'm glad we did because it was a lot of fun. There were tons of tide pools so we got to see different sea creatures.

Matt, Brian, and Linus (Reese was perched on Brian's shoulders most the weekend)

The kids chasing the water

In beach heaven

Saturday we took the kids to the museum to look around and Bria really enjoyed it. We spent a good 20 minutes in the theater room watching a movie about birds. I could not believe she was so into it, she didn't want to leave. We also walked around Depoe Bay and had lunch at Moe's, cuz you can't go to the coast and not eat at Moe's, I think it's the law or something.

A gang of kids :)

Reese's perch

 Ian and Angelina's little girl is also 5, Bella. Her and Bria had a great time playing together and were so fun to watch.

That evening was hot tub time for the mommies and it was fabulous, nothing like being in a hot tub with a beautiful view of the ocean.

And Sunday we wrapped it up with another trip down to the beach and then to Moe's on the way out of town. The weather was awesome that day, warm and sunny!

Bria and a starfish!

The Yaquina lighthouse

Bella giving Reese some love

We headed home, exhausted from all the fun and looking forward to the next family trip we do.

Takin' it back a few weeks

We are going to go back in time a little bit so that I can try and play catch up. Brian is none to happy with my lack of blogging so I'm going to be doing some major catch up.

Brian is a Godfather to Nate and Amy's little girl, Charlotte. She was baptized two weekends ago so we got to go down and be a part of her big day.

Afterwards we all went to the Bauer's for some food and drinks and socializing. The girls stayed pretty entertained while we were there which was nice, there were other kids running around and they also had Frozen, so ya know...

Amy framed pictures of the Godparents with Charlotte, so cute.

Hands and feet are covered in dirt...church attire doesn't stop this girl from having fun

My rule follower

Once summer officially arrived here in Oregon I wanted to try and do at least one fun "sumer" thing each day. Once Bria starts school our flexibility will be limited and I think I have taken for granted how easy it is for us to pick up and do something whenever we want. So, let's hope I can keep the momentum up...

Day 1: Old fashioned sprinkler in the backyard

Rain boots and swim suit, I love her fashion sense

 ...and popsicles...

 And I think our summer fun was a success already because this happened:

It's exhausting trying to have fun!

Day 2: Bike ride and chocolate milk

Cheers!

Day 3: Party hats, tap, swim, and Red Robin:

Waiting patiently for Bria's tap class to get out

Lunch at Red Robin for my birfday!

These two....

That evening Brian and I went out to dinner and walked around the outside mall while the Buell's watched our girls for us, we have some awesome friends!

I also went out with my girls a few nights before my birthday...

Love all these girls! (From left: Roxie, Amanda, Tiffanie, me, and Randi)

I'd say my birthday week was a success :)