Pickleball & MOA

No trip to see my family is complete without a pickle ball tournament and this one delivered. It also included water balloon fights, ATV rides, margaritaville and more. It was a good break between Lake time. We also hit up Mall of America for the first time ever with the kids! We stopped on our way to the airport and the kids were in awe at how much was there. I think we will definitely have to plan another trip to go back when we have more time. Addy would like to shop her way through it and Cam wanted to check out the park, rides and activities. Addy got some new clothes for school and Cameron got to experience black light mini golf. A very successful outing! 

Lake Time + River Kayaking

The weather wasn't "best week ever" material but that didn't stop us from making the most of all of our favorite water activities at the lake. Sunset cruises, tubing, fishing, paddle boarding, jet skiing and of course water skiing. No one improved more than Addy on this trip, she waterskied every chance she got and on her last day she water-skied for about 25 straight minutes without stopping or falling. It was incredible! She really looks good out there and is working her way toward trying to go on one ski. 

On our last day we went kayaking down the St. Croix. It was a similar trip from a few years ago but we cut it a bit shorter since 5 hours was a bit long. Cameron was far less scared this time and had a lot more fun! Addy was my kayak partner and we had a blast. Brian got to work on his German as he took turns with each of the kids. 

Willkommen!

We are back from our Midwest trip and this one was even more action packed than usual- mostly because of 6 extended family members from Germany! Lennard, his wife Julia and their three kids Louisa, Clara and Lucas and their godson Jan were all visiting while we were back. It made for a lot of fun, a ton of noise and non-stop eating and drinking. We all were up at the lake and got all of our favorite activities in + some new ones. We had a tribute to Grandma Ruby day where we all made her favorite foods and my sister organized another Olympic lake game challenge which had lots of new games for the Germans to learn- including minnow races! 

Canoe Camping!

We just got back from our only camping trip of the summer and it couldn't have been better. The views of Mt Baker and Mt. Shuksan were absolutely picture perfect and we stayed on a campground next to Baker Lake. We went on beautiful hikes, the weather was perfect and the water was a stunning turquoise. The kids had the best time swimming, kayaking, canoeing and even discovered a rope swing that they successfully conquered. The swimming area had these logs that the kids loved walking across, Addy "walked on water" and made it all the way across the lake! It was an absolutely perfect camping trip, except for the mosquitos! Poor Addy was exhausted of being eaten alive by them.

Beach Camp

The kids both did their first beach camp this summer. Addy did the week long sleepover camp which was 6 nights and 7 days and Cameron did the week long day camp. I was so impressed with what they get to do all week. The location is right on the Puget Sound and Addy actually slept on the building that is on the pier on the water. Although, I'm not really sure how much she actually slept, there were 15 girls in her "cabin". The activities were amazing and included paddle boarding, kayaking, boating, snorkeling, a trapeze swing, and more. Addy did the cliff jump into the water and Cameron caught a fish with his hands! The kids basically lived in a wetsuit all week and were constantly in the water. 

We really missed Addy since she was gone all week, although Cameron liked to pretend he didn't miss her at all. He did like the extra attention and Addy liked having time away from us. I think they will both do the sleepover camp next year. 

First Week of Summer Break

The kids just finished their first week of summer break and it was a pretty exciting week. Addy went to her first "real" concert. I took Addy, her friend and her mom to a Shawn Mendes concert at Climate Pledge Arena. We bought the tickets forever ago and it was so fun to finally be able to go to a big live show. Addy loved it and it was special for me to be able to join her. She seemed very grown up at the show and loved all of the lights and special effects. It was extremely entertaining. 

The very next night Cameron had the championship game of his baseball tournament. His team had unfortunately lost the first game of the tournament but they battled back through the loser's bracket and won 7 games in a row. They had to beat the other team twice since they had no losses and not only did they do that, but they ten-runned them in both games! They won 11-1 in the first game and 20-9 in the championship! It was so exciting to watch, and nerve racking since Cameron was pitching in the final game. I'm so proud of this team because they worked incredibly hard and kept a positive attitude all season and really deserved to win the championship. Cameron was the youngest kid on the team and the only 3rd grader, but he made some good friends and really contributed to the team. 

Big week for both kids! Hard to believe it's already July.