Summer Activities

Since fall has now arrived, I decided I had best sit down and get my summer-catch-up post up before it's too late and before I start posting any fall activities. :) I alluded to "busy and difficult" times in my last post and that aptly describes our past summer. Even with Kevin's well-thought-out and wise decisions concerning the purchase of his new boat, no one could have foreseen that this tuna season would be one of the worst in decades (one fisherman said it was the worst he'd seen since 1975!). Additionally, Kevin faced numerous breakdowns, repairs and setbacks that occurred so frequently it was almost hard to believe (We said to each other several times, "Surely, nothing more could go wrong!" and then it did.) We learned in new ways what trusting God meant, knowing that we could (and still can) lose the boat and be forced to move from our home, if that is God's will. He is sovereign over our lives and does not promise to make things easy! Yet He provides all that we need (that was need not want) and we remind ourselves daily that all we really need is Him and each other. Some days it is easier to grasp these truths and other days I have found myself bogged down with worry and fear. When the tuna finally started to bite a few weeks ago (about two months later than normal), we all breathed a sigh of relief. With enough money to make it another month, we're scratching by and praying that Kevin catches enough fish during the rest of the season (until the end of October) to give us enough money to make the boat payment and live on until crab season starts up this winter.

Suffice it to say, when one is worried about "losing it all" one does not feel much like blogging. :) That is one reason I haven't been on here much. The other reason is that fishing season also means I am so much more busy since I am solo-parenting most of the time. It's amazing how each day flies by with me getting so little done and blogging got pushed way down on the to-do list. But in order to record at least some of our summer activities lest we not forget that we did have quite a bit of fun too, here is a smattering of pictures taken throughout the summer in no particular order...

The big kids stayed up late to welcome their Daddy home after his longest absence (19 days) from us so far:

Sometimes when Kevin does come in from the ocean, he gets stuck down at the docks working on repairs and can't make it home to see us, so one time we went to see him:

That day trip ended spontaneously with Abby staying the night at Kevin's parents out in Grayland while the boys and I headed back home. It was Abby's first night away from home without me (sniff, sniff). She did fabulously and I surprised myself by not crying even once. :)

One last look before driving away!

Not too long ago, we drove out to a friend's house in Tenino to pick blackberries. Between a fussy baby, slapping mosquitoes, Ben dumping a full bowl of blackberries on the ground, fading daylight, etc, we didn't get very many blackberries picked. But we had fun visiting and the kids loved watching the trains go by down in the valley and playing with their friends.

We shared a lot of fresh berry smoothies throughout the summer. Mommy often sneaks in a handful of spinach, which is about the only way to get picky-eater Ben to have any type of vegetable. ;)

We minimally participated in my mom's garage sale (I was hoping to get rid of tons of stuff, but came down with a case of mastitis the week of the sale) and said good-bye to the moose that has graced our living room wall for 10 years. I have been wanting to get rid of him for years since I got tired of staring at snow all year around and no longer like the lodge theme, but Kevin was quite fond of it and without a decent replacement picture it was hard to give it up.

We spent a good deal of time in the backyard: playing in the swimming pool, eating dinner outside when the house got too hot (broken a/c this year and no money to fix it!), and playing with toys and dirt. Well, "we" didn't play with dirt - that was just Ben! ;)

One particularly hot summer evening, Kevin and the kids tried to stay cool by a fan and without shirts as they watched a movie together.

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We tried out several new parks this summer:

Sunrise Park

One park out on West Bay Drive turned into a new favorite and we returned several times. Located only a couple miles from our house, this newer park is located next to the waterfront and actually juts right out into the water giving one a great view of the Olympics, the inlet and the Capitol. There are no toys and unfortunately there are signs posted that say to stay out of the water because of pollution (I played in that water all the time when I was a kid!), but we the view and the surroundings cannot be beat and we just bring our own toys. I always leave feeling refreshed. We met my parents there, took my nephew and niece a couple times, and one time we even got Kevin to go with us during one of his short stay-overs. The most memorable visit had to be the time we were serenaded by a group of string musicians - incredibly romantic and calming!

Flying a battery-operated airplane with Daddy.

Throughout the summer, we also went to several of my brother's son's baseball games. Solomon spent most of the time goofing off (as many kids do at that age), but it still made for some fun outings for us.

And speaking of outings, one of the big highlights of the summer had to be going up to the Museum of Flight in Seattle with my parents, nephews Ted and Solomon and niece Hannah. Although it was crowded (we went during the one evening a month when it's free!), we had a wonderful time! My dad is obsessed with planes and flying, so he became our personal tour guide. :)

Another fun trip was going to the county fair. Again, we went as a pretty big group. :)

Horse-drawn carriage ride!

Ben and Abby switched spots for awhile!

The kids got to make ice cream - perfect on such a hot day!

Back in July, we did the whole Lakefair thing: kid's day with my friend Shauna, the parade with the grandparents and cousins, and then watched the fireworks from our front lawn.

Abby getting her face painted while Shauna and Ben look on.

My 30th birthday came and went with very little fanfare (I used to think having a summer birthday was great until I married a fisherman!!). I was a little perturbed when my mom didn't even make me a cake (she said it was too hot to turn the oven on!), so I talked her into making me one the next day when the weather was cooler. And, of course, I let the kids blow the candles out...multiple times...with slobber.

Can you see the slobber flying?

Although my couponing adventures have decreased much since Jake was born, I did have to do a bit of running around during all the back to school sales to stock up on office supplies for the year. I can't remember the exact price anymore, but I think the deal below was less than $5.

We enjoyed spending time with my nephews Donny and Ted who were here for most of the summer and were sad to see them return to Montana to live with their dad for the school year. The kids especially enjoy Ted and he enjoys them a lot too.

And, just so you don't think we ran around everywhere all summer long, we also put in a lot of hours at home just relaxing and doing nothing. Sometimes it's just easier to stay home when you have three kids in car seats!

So, there you have it, our 2011 summer in a nutshell!