Seattle Triumph

We went to Seattle last week and returned with a certificate 14 years in the making.

Almost

These days we are almost in over our heads.... 

More blogging when we can get to dry ground!

Summer List

At the beginning of the summer I asked the kiddos what they wanted to do and on the top of Mimi's list was seeing the baby polar bear at the zoo.  This is no easy task!  Because the baby is a baby she is only out to be seen for an hour or less and we have to be there early to get in line!

We made it one day and got a good look

Olympics Day Camp

While Parker was at Boy Scout camp I signed up the younger kiddos for a 1/2 day Day Camp.  It wasn't the best decision (just being honest).  Again I thought it would be fun, but it turned out to be another chance for more athletic children to get frustrated at my kiddos lack of athleticism --ugh!  

But here are some highlights of the good times....

 Mimi rocking out in 3rd place! 

Cleaning up the mats at the end, such good helpers! 

Track and Mimi

In her age level, Mimi finished 4th over all in Discus, tied for 3rd place in Shot put!

She also was right in the middle of pack for Long Jump and finished 19th our 26 in the 100 meter.  Her goal was not to be last this year, so she's improving!

But Hello!  3rd in Shot put!  Just imagine if she had any muscles!

Girl Scout Day Camp

Mimi and I attended Girl Scout day camp last week.  Thankfully it's in the shade mostly so we weren't melting from the heat.  Yoda was able to attend the 'brother camp' so we saw him a lot too.
Here are some photo highlights...

 

Pancakes

As Yoda helped mix the pancake batter on Sunday he said, "Sure looks like pancake sauce!"

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Mimi is doing track again this summer.  It's a chance for her to learn something new in a low pressure environment.  They don't compete against any other school, it's supposed to be --dare I say-- FUN?

Little did I know how competitive it was going to be after all...

A disappointed girl on Mimi's relay race team, "Mom, we got second!"
her mom, "oh, that's OK, you'll do better next time.." 

Mimi, "Mom, we got second!"
Me, "that's great!"

She then mentioned that Mimi might not be coordinated because she grew so tall so fast!  Ugh, seriously, what does she know?!  She's uncoordinated probably because she's related to me, ha ha...

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In other news we got a new computer, and Greg built it with parts he got at the computer store.  

 Yoda was fascinated by the mechanics of putting pieces together. 

Parker, though, was offered $20 to put all our computers and the printer on a network.
(Parker is not usually swayed by money, but I think the computer challenge was fun for him.)

From the files...

Happy Birthday, America! 

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Found some quotes from our vacation last summer:


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Yoda, trying to take pictures of the Smoky Mountains, "I want to take pictures of the mountains, but the trees are so blocky!"

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Yoda seeing this:

Yoda, "I saw the Lizard of gecko"

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Yoda saw this and wanted to get some dinner:


Yoda, "We can go to the pepper store!"

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While planning what we will do at Disney World
Me, "are you worried about meeting a princess?"
Mimi, "I'm not afraid"
Me, "I mean, are you hoping to meet one?"
Mimi, "Well, what do I do with them?"

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Me, "Nice hair cut"
Yoda, "it looks like I have a crown.."

Mind

Yoda, "My mind is shaking"
Me, "your mind is shaking?"
Yoda, "Yes, sometimes my mind shakes."

Plants and something awesome

Me, "I bought snap dragons, but I neglected them so they died"
My sister Tina, "You're a dragon slayer!"

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[video]

Yoda, "I'm gonna do something awesome!"  *Bam!*  *Squeak!*
Me, *giggle*

Summer eggs

We have fun with egg recipes, here's one we're trying this summer...

Shirred Eggs with Toast Soldiers (recipe here)

Me, "I can't remember what the eggs are called but the toast is called 'toast soldiers.'"
Parker, "Why is the toast called 'soldiers'?"
Me, "Because they are little lines like soldiers."
Parker, "Well maybe we should call these 'Army eggs' then."

 

S'mores

 Yoda posed like this

 Look at the concentration on that face!