river

There is a major river that runs through our city. We love it. We usually find ourselves along that river once a week, eating a picnic dinner while throwing rocks into the river. This time we indulged the kiddos and let them actually swim in it. Andrew was nice enough to go in with them...it is pretty cold, even in the summer heat.

yakima

My father is buried about an hour away from where we live. Of course my father's passing saddens me, but I like the fact he is buried so close. We usually venture over there about every other month and visit "papa's place." I have already mentioned, but my mother and grandparents are from Yakima and they lived just a few blocks up from the cemetery. To me it is a beautiful place filled with happy memories of summer days spent feeding the swans and taking long runs on hot summer days through the cemetery's rolling grassy hills. I love that my kids enjoy it too. They look forward to packing a loaf of bread for the swans, visiting my father's grave site and running through the cemetery's grassy fields.  I am also getting a kick out of Tank chucking a whole slice of bread into the pond, for one lucky bird in the picture below. 

boating

We just got back from visiting Andrew's family and of course we spent one day boating! The kids, and Andrew, were very excited this year. Bug had been talking about going boating for months and with all the talk, Tank knew it was something fun. All of Andrew's family was there, so this time we took turns going out on the boat. Little Bug and Tank loved waiting at the beach. There was water and mud, so both kids were in their respective elements. Tank also loved the boating snacks, particularly the frosted animal crackers. Here he is sneaking.

But who could reprimand such a cute face?

Waiting to tube with grandma Laura. I thought this was a pretty fun set up.

Waiting some more

And finally tubing! Tank loved riding in the boat.

And was ok getting on the tube.

But in the end, he was not a huge fan. Luckily, he thought riding in the boat was still a blast.

I just thought their faces were pretty funny here. 

They're both pretty happy about being on the tube.

And had a blast riding it!

It was fun day! 

soccer

Little Bug joined a soccer team this summer with a few of her church friends. She was so excited and Andrew was just as excited. It was so fun to watch her play! She loved defending the goal right from the start and quickly caught onto scoring. Here they are getting a pep talk.

Scoring

Defending