first day of school

Bug is a 3rd grader this year and Tank started Kindergarten! Bug is so excited to have a sibling at school with her. It is really sweet how she's looking out for him and I love that they are there together.

The Kindergartners here start 2 days later than the other grades. That was a rough 2 days for Tank! He kept saying he couldn't wait for school to start. He woke up early the morning of his first day and briefly mentioned being nervous to ride the bus, so I told him I would be happy to drive him. He quickly responded with a "no." About halfway through last year, Tank was pretty sure it was his destiny to get on that bus with Bug! So there was no denying him that this year. When walking down to the bus stop on his first day he was pretty confident and only slowed just a bit when approaching the stop. But just as we arrived, his sweet neighborhood friend came up to him, gave him a pat on the back and very emphatically said, 'its your first day of kindergarten.' The bus then arrived and he sweetly took Tank's hand and walked with him onto the bus. And that was that. I had lost another child! Fortunately, he was ready and longing to go.

 Since starting, Bug has been coming home happy, Tank came home just as excited as when he left and Bitsy spent her first day without the big kids around listening to, 'Let it Go' on repeat without anyone getting annoyed. All in all, I'd say everyone's pretty content and we're all hoping for another great school year!

This picture makes me laugh only because it is a prefect representation of Tank's life. Life sandwiched between these two girls can be challenging. They also have just discovered the joys of photo bombing. oh boy. 

coeur d'lane

We took a quick weekend trip to Coeur d'Lane to play at the lake there. We just went to their city park and beach, but it was beautiful! It reminded us of Bear Lake. We didn't do much exploring beyond playing at the beach, but had a pleasant time. The kids sure do love beaches. I'm sure there are a lot of other things to do and see there, but that will have to wait for another time. We were just glad to squeeze in another little trip together.

california

My sister got married earlier this summer in Northern California and we were glad we could make the trek down to come. It was a really beautiful day and we were so glad to all be there. We ended up coming a few days before the wedding and staying a bit after to have some fun! 

The first stop was to Rita's. We ended up going 4 times while we were there! Which makes me laugh. Such a yummy treat, and clearly we all enjoyed it.

Going to the Oakland Zoo is always a must for us. Bitsy adored the zebras and watched them for quite a while. She was really missing wearing her zebra shirt for the occasion. And Bug and Tank thought the giraffes were pretty cool.

The kids were quite enamored watching the goats you can rent to eat the weeds on your hill. 

We all enjoyed some mini golf and Tank made the crazy last hole to win a free game!

And finally, we made our way to Pacifica and found a really beautiful and quite secluded beach to enjoy for the afternoon. It was really refreshing to be there and great to let the kids get some running in before we made the journey back home.

annual boat/camping

We did our annual boat/camping trip with the Christensen's. We went to a place called Wind Dust and loved it! The park was well maintained and it was in a really beautiful spot. We did our usual set up camp, eat dinner and boat. The Christensen's brought their kids wake board and all the kids loved trying it on and jumping in the water with it. They were still too nervous to have the boat tow them with it, but they had fun being hand pulled in the water. I'm pretty sure all the adults are anxious for the kids to give it a real try! We're crossing our fingers for next year! Unfortunately, while docking the boat the prop scrapped up against some rocks and got damaged. This also meant we couldn't boat the following day. However, it didn't stop us from having fun with our glow sticks and cooking up some s'mores' that evening. And the following morning the kids had fun playing at the dock and spying a couple barges.



Bug and her friend taking pictures of each other taking pictures!

Mr's favorite spot on the boat. 

It cracks me up, year after year, how entertained the boys are tossing the rope into the water and pulling it back up.

The kids got up at 5:12am and this is how we all felt about it.

A little smile

Till next year!