Cousins

Then on Monday, my parents hosted a cousin family night with dessert, and we had a blast. It was great catching up with my cousins, and I saw one cousin I hadn't seen since I was in high school, Will. I also got to meet his fabulous wife and beautiful sons. 

Beautiful. 

Declan and me at the cousin night.

Declan showing his football skills that night.

Happy birthday Paul!

My brother Paul's birthday happened to fall during our joint visit. He lives in Utah, but came out to visit so the family could all be together while I was there as well. Below Paul's picture is my brother Kenny, who lives in the area, but we don't see much, so it was nice to see him a couple times on our trip.

Family dinner

The following Sunday, my whole family (siblings, parents, nieces and bonus Grandmother Carol) got together at Laura's for dinner. We got to take a few pictures to remember this rare occasion of being together.

My parents, siblings, their spouses and kids. And us.

Four generations: Grandmother Carol, my dad, me, and my children.

My siblings, my grandmother, and me.

From another night, my two grandmas. Gayle and Carol.

Seattle

The famous pig. We also saw a few fish flying!

The first Saturday that we were in Puyallup, Mr. B and the kids and I headed up to Seattle to walk through Pike Place Market (eating berries and chocolate covered hazelnuts), and then we met our college friend Natalie and her kids at Ivar's on the pier. Yum. I love Seattle.

Kristin!

This is one of my college roommates, Kristin! She is wonderful. She also lives in Washington, and she brought her kids down to my sister's house a couple times while I was visiting. The kids swam, the grown-ups chatted! It was so great to see her again. And her three kids are adorable!

Laura's pool

Laura's husband Alex put in a pool in their backyard this summer, and my kids had a blast playing in it almost every day. Well, Audrey and Ian anyway. Declan wasn't too keen, and the kids usually swam during his naptime, so it worked out.

Declan, Lindsey, Elizabeth

Jamie & Audrey

L to R: Lindsey, Audrey, McKenna, Ian, Ben

Alki beach

After we saw the Fremont troll, we headed over to Alki beach, where we had a picnic lunch and enjoyed the Puget Sound. While some of us hung out, Laura went to get Paul from the airport: then the whole Rood clan was in Washington again!

 My youngest brother Ben is quite the naturalist. He found several dead jellyfish for the kids to look at, and he took a couple of them out to a sandbar. He is a fun uncle and a great brother.

The Fremont Troll

I've always wanted to see the Fremont troll in Seattle, well, ever since I watched 10 Things I Hate About You in high school, but hadn't had the chance until this summer trip to Washington. It was fun.

 Also, a few years ago, I heard about this statue in Fremont called Waiting for the Interurban, so we headed over to see it too. It's a bit bizarre, people waiting for the bus, plus a dog with a human face. I guess locals sometimes dress them and decorate them. They were pretty plain the day we went, but in the winter they will have scarves and hats and such. 

  Mother and baby. Declan's dazzling, but rare, smile.

  And here's what he really thought about it all.

Longview

From Monterey, we drove/stopped/drove for 16 hours, arriving in Longview at 11 pm on a Tuesday. It was a miserable day of driving, and Mr. B took the lion's share while I slept in the back with the kids. But being in Longview was very relaxing. We mostly hung out at the Briens' and the kids enjoyed hours of being outside.

Aunt Amanda showered the kids with gifts, including this fun drum set. The kids were adorable on it, especially Declan who was a natural. Unfortunately, we couldn't fit it in the car, so we left it as a grandparent toy. 

Life is better when it's a Washington summer.

Rolling down the hill.

Grandpa helped the older two kids put together and paint birdhouses.

 We also spent a fun Fourth of July with the Briens. Mr. B and the kids and I spent the day downtown at a really fun festival, eating food, playing on bounce houses, doing a petting zoo, carnival games, listening to music (one of Mr. B's old school friends was performing) and playing on a playground. Here is Declan going down the slide that day. We ended the day with a bbq and fireworks at the house.

Monterey, CA

Our first leg of the trip was driving from Surprise to Monterey, California. We left at 6:45 in the morning on a Saturday, and drove/stopped/drove for the next 14 hours, arriving at the Eger's home at 8:30 p.m. They live in Pacific Grove, and it is beautiful. And they bought a charming house! We felt so welcome and loved. Here's Audrey in Meri's garden:

 The next day we went down to the beach in Monterey. It was pleasant weather, but the water was freezing. We didn't put on swimsuits, but Ian felt the need to strip down anyway. The kids got so dirty, we should have just done swimsuits for sand play, even though it's too cold to swim. Next time.

 The following day, the Egers treated us to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and lunch! We are so spoiled. The aquarium was great, and the kids had a blast. We headed home for Declan's nap (and Mommy's), and a bit later Spencer and I took the kids to a nearby park. We just fell in love with Pacific Grove, and it was so great to see the Egers again after a year. It's the most blissful place we ever go; whether in Atlanta, Tallahassee, or Pacific Grove, the Egers' home is magical because Robert and Meri make it so!

Summer in Arizona

Summertime in Arizona is hot, we know. School got out near the end of May, and I made sure that I had some fun things lined up to keep the kids busy. We still went on walks and to the park in the evening, until June hit. At that point, the heat was brutal all the time. 

I signed Audrey and Ian up for a few morning day camps. They did a one-day art class and a one-day dinosaur camp at the house of a preschool teacher we know from church. They also did a theater camp at a local studio. Ian's camp was one week, and Audrey's was two weeks, with a little performance at the end. It was fun. She said it was a lot of work too!

My goofball kids love to play in the car. Here they are trying to fit in one seat. This was their idea. I think they are hilarious, but also I am usually thinking, "It's HOT. Let's get going!" This particular day merited a picture before booting them out of the car.

 Here's my beautiful Audrey, posing outside of Red Robin. I had spent that day cleaning the house and packing in preparation for our big summer road trip, and I couldn't bear for anyone to make a mess, so we went out to dinner.

 Mostly we spent our month off of school in Arizona going to the gym, hanging out, watching TV, playing video games, and hosting a few playdates. We were excited to head to our big adventure: a road trip to Washington state.

Las Vegas

 Mr. B and I went to Las Vegas for a little getaway a few weeks ago. Mr. B's parents came out for a long visit, which was wonderful and we had such a good time with them. While they were here, Mr. B and I escaped for a few days of grown-up fun! We got to walk around Vegas (we'd never been) and experience its wonders, rode this roller coaster which was so fun and gave us a priceless photo, ate a couple of fabulous and extravagant meals, saw two movies, went to the temple, swam at the pool, and did lots of relaxing. It was heavenly. I loved spending time with my favorite person, no interruptions or schedules.

At the temple

Last day of school

 Audrey finished her year of Kindergarten, and Ian finished his first year of preschool. They both had successful years with fabulous teachers. I was fortunate enough to volunteer in Audrey's classroom, and it was so fun and I love those kids in her class. She had a great group of sweet kids. Ian also made some neat friends that we continue to see. I'm so glad my kids have had positive school experiences!

Miss Jaime with Ian, last day of preschool. 

Audrey at her Kindergarten picnic

Audrey with her Kindergarten certificate

Audrey with the best Kindergarten teacher ever, Ms. Ponczoch

Audrey on the very last day of school (it was superhero/princess dress up day)

She has grown so much, has grown-up front teeth, can READ and do basic math. She has changed so much this year.

Audrey on Rodeo day, one of the last days of school.