Camping at Stub Stewart campground

 We went camping Friday/Saturday night. And by we, I mean Nick and Benson and Emery slept over while me and Kenzie went home to sleep and came back in the morning. It was not fun. Maybe when the kids are older. Poor Nick had to deal with kids wetting the bed all night long....

 But we finally got to put up the hammock and try it out which was a lot of fun. 

 The kids made fairy houses for fairies to sleep in at night.

Summer Classes

I signed the kids up for a bunch of classes this summer since we're sticking around and not vacationing anywhere. Kenzie and Benson did swim, and loved it. Now they're in hip hop and gymnastics and Emery is in 2 dance classes. She is always singing and dancing and being a little princess. It's so fun and adorable. 

Boating

Our really good friends, the Larsens, invited us out to go boating with them. We had a blast! I didn't take many pictures, but it turns out the kids are little dare devils and loved going super fast. Benson and Kenzie had a blast on the jetskis and Emery kept saying go faster on the tube behind the boat! Who would have known. I prefer tanning and chatting or reading a good book on the shore, but did go out once with my friend Stacy. It was fun, but I think I'm getting too old for the bumps and jerking around!

Grateful for good friends and good fun! 

We got a Kitty!

We bought a house and can finally have pets! So I've been looking for awhile on craigslist for an orange kitty, but they go really fast because they have the sweetest personalities. I finally found one and knew he was going to be the perfect kitty for us. We drove an hour to pick him up and adopt him. His name was bob, but after many days of debating his name we decided on chito (which means cool in spanish or short for panchito, a mexican name). 

 He is so purrrfect! He purrs all the time and lets us all hold him and bug him and love him. He's very playful and sleepy and is litter trained and so great. 

 I absolutely love his markings. They are so beautiful. He is a medium haired kitty and we all just love him so much.

He is such a pretty kitty

The kids are all obviously obsessed.

 We have a photo of Aunt Kayla when she was little with our family kitten, Franky, just like this one of him in a stroller.

 Whenever he falls asleep Emery piles toys around him

He's such a good kitty.

Fourth of July

 We started our Fourth of by a town parade with friends.

 Then we hosted a family bbq and sprayed Benson's hair red.

 Great Grandma Harrigan wanted in on the fun.

 Everyone got a little festive red in their hair

 Then we ended the day with glowsticks, sparklers, and fireworks with friends in Banks

Wings and Waves

We went to Wings and Waves Waterpark. It's about an hour from our house, and it's so awesome. It's a waterpark with a huge airplane on the top of the building and the slides come out of the airplane! We stayed there all day and the kids had a blast. Kenzie and Benson took swim lessons right after school ended for about 2 weeks, and they loved them. They have all become little fishes. I love how much they love the water, because I grew up swimming and playing in the water so much.

I woke up that morning with a migraine and was afraid I wouldn't be able to go, the kids made me these sweet pictures and notes. They are so thoughtful and kind and I love their pictures they give me.

We got there right when it opened and stayed until closing!

 In the little kid area, a big bucket would dump every couple of minutes. Emery was not a fan. Neither was I.

Here is the outside of the waterpark! Such a fun family summer day. 

Neskowin Beach House Day 2

 Vacations make us sleepy

 Had fun learning a new card game, dominion

 Emery loved walking Mia dog

 I think she might need a bigger swimsuit, but that little tush is too cute!

 We packed up and headed out to Neskowin beach and it was beautiful. I love that this year we have explored so many different beaches already. The Oregon coast is beautiful and I feel so blessed to live so close that we can go there quite often.

 Benson sure loved this beach :)

 I love them. They are in their happy place when we go to the beach. Endless sand to run and play on

 On the drive home we stopped at the Tillamook factory. It's being redone and is going to be much bigger, but in the meantime they still have a pretty nice set up. We sampled cheese and got ice cream. It's tradition!

Neskowin Beach House Day 1

 We stayed at an amazing airbnb in Neskowin that had an incredible view of the ocean. We woke up to find a herd of elk down in the field below our balcony. They stayed there the whole weekend. 

 Our ocean view

 Great Grandma Harrigan brought her Mia dog and the kids were obsessed with her and Emery kept walking her around the house.

 The dining room view was spectacular and we played lots of board games here.

 All the kids had to take Mia dog for a walk

 We finally made it to Pacific City's beach and the famous, huge sand dune. Friends had told me how fun and big it was, but oh my it was much bigger than I thought! When I first saw it I thought, there is no way my kids (or Nick after his ride) are going to be able to climb that! But they did! And the kids were so cute about it. They kept chanting, "I can do it! I can do it!" And we all made it to the top and the view was breathtaking. 

 We climbed that!

 haha, Benson making a sand angel

 Exploring the tide pools, we found star fish, sea anemone and sea urchins. 

 We got some fun kites, and it was a perfect day for flying them

 This little one snuggle napped me and it was my favorite

The whole gang up at the top of the sand dune. I want to make this a yearly tradition!