Aunt Madison

Madison stayed with us for a week in July and we had a blast!  I took some time off work while she was here and we kept the kids busy, busy with all kinds of summer activities.  We went swimming, had beach time at Tahoe, took the kids to the library, went parasailing, watched 2 local bands, and the two of us enjoyed a spa day at the Atlantis in Reno.

Madison swimming with the kiddos

We also took the kids to Wild Island water park one day.  The water was a little too cold for my liking, but we still managed to enjoy ourselves!

Miss A chillin' in the pool

Owen going down the slide!

Owen playing in the wave pool

Adler taking a cozy nap at Wild Island

Tahoe Time!

Here are some pictures from our beach day when Aunt Madison was visiting.

Owen is not a fan of the cold Tahoe water (takes after his mom), but he does love to dig and build things in the sand.

Adler & Owen feeding the geese

Adler and her Aunt Madison!

 About once a year we meet up with our friends, the Brooks family, at the beach. They just moved to the Bay area, so hopefully we will see more of them now!

Natalie, Adler & Audrey

Owen & Natalie enjoying each other!

Adler & Owen taking in the view

Adler LOVES the cold Tahoe water and will swim in it all day if Micah allows!

My sweet Owen.

Parasailing Tahoe

My sister Madison graduated from high school back in June and for her graduation gift I told her I'd take her parasailing.  As promised, during her visit her last month, we took the ride.

Getting ready to take off....Madison a little worried

Love that blue Tahoe water!

My sister and me!

My only complaint about this ride was that is was WAY TOO SHORT!!!!!  We had such an awesome time though!  Thanks Madison, for graduating, so we could experience this together!  :o)

Owen's Triathlon

I'm a little behind, but had to share Owen's second triathlon experience!  A few weeks ago he competed in the Capital City Kid's Triathlon.  I honestly wasn't sure he would participate because in the week prior to the event he kept saying he didn't want to swim or run......he only wanted to bike.  The water in the pool is too cold for him and he remembers the run being too long last year, so the only event he really wanted to do was the biking.  He finally agreed to do the entire race but ONLY if his daddy did it with him......NOT me.  I can't lie, that crushed me a little bit, especially because I am currently training for another sprint triathlon myself and I had a blast doing 2 events with him last year.  But at the moment he is a little shadow of Micah, which I really can't complain about.  So the deal was made.  I was the photographer.

Before the race, all the 4-6 year old participants listening to instructions.

Once we made it to the park and he saw the the older kids racing, Owen was IN.  I felt like a switch turned in his mind and he became a fierce competitor.  There was absolutely no hesitation as he jumped in the pool to swim.  And he proved to us that he can swim an entire 25 yards all by himself.

Micah was in the water with him the whole time, but the only time they even touched was when Micah got in his way and Owen swam right into him.

Here we are in transition, getting ready to bike.  Owen refused to dry off or put on socks.  He was frantically hurrying so he could move on to the next event.  This kid was serious.

Walking his bike out of the transition area before riding.

Owen & Micah finishing the bike portion of the race.

When Owen finished the bike race, he dropped it on the ground and took off running!  Micah tried to pace him a little bit so he could run the entire thing.

When Owen crossed the finish line, he was exhausted.  He immediately sat down on the ground to catch his breath.  For a second I thought he might pass out, but we got some water in him and a few minutes later he was running around with his friends.

All the kids did great!  They completed a 25 meter swim, .4 mile bike ride and ran .4 miles.

Leo, Owen, Ryder, Sofia and Ethan relaxing after the race!

Ethan, Owen & Ryder sporting their new tri shirts.

Camping at Stampede Lake

We went camping a few weeks ago to Stampede Lake in California, not far from Reno.  It is a beautiful lake and was nice to explore a new area.  We met our friends the Jennings Family there, along with a bunch of their friends.  There was a boat, a large group of kiddos, loads of crawfish to trap, bats flying around at night, deer sneaking by our tent at night, and did I mention the crawfish???! 

This was the view from our tent.....right on the water.

 The kids absolutely LOVED riding in the boat, and I have to say, it was the highlight of the camping trip for me.  I had forgotten how much I love a boat ride! 

Theo, Adler, Owen and Brock

Owen and Brock taking a little ride behind the boat

Miss A enjoying the ride

We spent a lot of time lounging around the shore in the blow up boats.

 Pure JOY.  This kid has the best laugh ever.

 Stampede Lake was full of crawfish and Owen spent most of our 4 days there trapping them, harassing them, playing with them, dissecting them, and watching them.  Despite this photo, he actually refused to eat them.  But the rest of us ate them for two nights in a row. 

The boys even got in a little fishing, but they had way more luck with the crawfish!

This was one of those trips that Owen may remember for a very long time.  He had an absolute blast and begged us to live there forever.  I definitely see another camper and possibly a boat in our future.

Summertime

Summer kicked into full gear in June and here's a look at what we've been up to.

 Owen started Summer Kamp after he graduated from preschool and has been having a blast!  He's been taking swimming lessons, goes on weekly field trips, does lots of art projects, and plays with the BIG kids.  He even rode a school bus up to Zephyr Cove and spent the day at the beach.  Of course Micah and his parents met him up there to supervise.  But it was very well organized and supervised by the staff, so that gave us piece of mind.

Summer Kamp field trip to Zephyr Cove

Adler taking one of her babies on a walk

Pool Time!

Love this photo of Micah & Adler, riding the train at Mills Park!

Celebrating Father's Day with the best dad EVER.

 Of course, our favorite summer activity is hanging out in Tahoe!

Now that's some cold water!!