whoa -- its august??!

so yes, i have been a bit late... we have been running around like crazy people... lets see, lets see... events that hold major importance these last few weeks:

the lovely mya papaya turned 4!! she had a great party with all of her awesome friends. we did another water party since it has been the same temperature here in seattle as it is, well, in hell. mya's party theme was an ice cream social. it was really great to get all the kiddos together and build sundaes just to run it all off in our new backyard. pictures to follow...

the good family 4 does newhalem, wa.! that right folks -- we took the challenge and succeeded. the four of us headed out camping for the fourth of july. it was our first time out and we did it big. with as little notice as possible, greg lets me know he made reservations and we need to start planning a 3 day trip (thanks dear). we packed up the house and set out on thursday the 2nd. we headed up north to a small town called newhalem. although i am not a fan of long car rides, this one in particular was rather beautiful. we did a lot of hiking through the nearby trails, took drives through the nearby 'off-road' spots and swam in the river. the river was freezing.

roasting marshmallows for the first time with the kids totally RULED. smores became an every 3 hour event. we ate a bunch of weird camping appropriate meals while the bugs ate us.

the kids each had their own disposable camera to record their memories. once the pics are returned from the photohut (jk but you get the idea) we will be able to view through their eyes. please overlook the pictures of me running at the camera lens, im really not angry, it was just a bad angle.

....all in all, it was a stellar first camping trip.

seattle caught on fire. yes, our dear, unprepared city felt the scorch of the hot, blaring UV rays of the sun. it was a rather long week in addition to being flame broiled and/or sweated to death, greg was chillin' (literally) in his air-conditioned hotel in tuscon az. greg still hit temps as high as 104 in arizona while he was there for work. however, seattle was at a whopping 56% humidity. it was not fun. lucky for us, we have friends in high places -- ones who have sweet swimming pools at there house. we are also lucky for lake washington -- denny beach in particular. the kids and i practically lived on shore for a solid 48 hours. the kids and i had a love/hate relationship with the weather that week, loved swimming, hated attempting to sleep.

greg finally got the bike of his dreams. the long awaited battle has finally been won. i was a little scared but the xanax is helping. who am i joking... im scared outta my skull. he and uncle bob set out on a motorcycle shopping spree and picked out a 1999 TLR1000... yes, 1000. its a big one -- a big LOUD one. greg is really happy about his new toy. i am happy for protective riding gear. jake thinks his dads bike is so cool -- i catch him peeking through the kitchen/garage door now and again.

its getting close the the school year and we are slowly prepping and growing more excited about jacobs new school. he will be attending robert frost elementary in kirkland. they just recently tore down the old school and have built a brand spankin', shiney and sparkly new two-story building in its place. the four of us have been walking at night to check the progress of the build. we are all stoked to see the doors open. jake has been enrolled on a soccer team with one of his best buddies - whom he will be going to his new school with next year.



so theres the update -- im working on this darn camera thing so pics to come soon. my camera is broken and i am currently shopping for new deals :)

peace&love.