Northwest Nationals

Free Tickets to the Northwest Nationals?  Yes. Please.
The GM at Pasco actually bought us tickets as a thank you for all of the work and time Chris spent over there this past year.  So kind!  We were excited to go and couldn't wait for the boys to experience the races.

We arrived early and had time to walk around the pits looking at the cars . The boys got to sit in one of the local drag cars.  Huge smiles!

We walked the track, which was a great experience.  I didn't realize how sticky it was.  Many shoes were pulled off of peoples feet!  After that, we were able to get a front row spot for driver introductions.  It was pretty cool to be up close to all of the drives we watch on TV.

John Force

Courtney Force

Ron Capps

We had good seats and the boys got to experience what 10,000 horsepower (times 2 cars!) feels and sounds like.  There is nothing like it and it's something you just have to be there for to even understand!

We had a great time and it was a wonderful experience for the kids.  They didn't complain once, even though we were there all day long.  Of course, kettle corn, ice cream (for Cannon), shaved ice (for Colson) and some other treats helped!

Enjoying every moment!

2016 Photoshoot

At the end of June, we had family pictures taken again.  Chris groans at this, but I know he appreciates it after the fact.  I'm glad to professionally document the kids growth as well as our family.

We had one of my former first graders take the photos.  She just graduated in 2016 and is headed to PLU!

Here are a few of my favorites.  It was hard to choose because they all turned out so great!

Enjoying every moment!

Lake Time

Hello vacation!
Hello Lake Roosevelt!

There is nothing like being at the lake to visit mom and dad and for vacation.
I love the views.
I love the lake.
I love the smells.

We enjoyed many great days at the lake just relaxing.  It's a true vacation when we go there.  We walk. We go to the beach.  We hang out.  We go back to the house for dinner.  We relax at home. Then we do it all over again the next day.

The boys had fun playing games that Auntie Karin brought.  I came down the stairs one morning and they were in the middle of a Monopoly game!

Colson spent quite awhile reading words and making sentences with Auntie.  They also played Uno Stacko, a very interesting version of Uno!

We went to a different beach every day.  The boys played and played and played.  Cannon loves his Kayak!  Both boys swam a lot. It was pretty warm each day (90's) so being in the water felt good!

Enjoying every moment!

Musical and Baseball Kind of Day

July is when this happened.  Somehow in the wonderful craziness of summer, I never finished the blog post on it.
So here it is, just a month or so late!

We went to see Shrek the Musical, Jr. at the Auburn Theater.  We try and expose the kids to different things and events and I believe this was Colson's first musical play.  Also, it feels good to support the local theater and this performance was all put on by kids!  The boys had seen the movie and the play followed the story line for the most part.  It had good acting and singing and great humor, too!  The theater was small, so we felt like we were up close.  It was a great experience for all and everyone enjoyed it.

After the musical, we came home for a couple of hours and then headed back out to take in a Tacoma Rainiers game.  Everyone had been before except for Colson.  It was a nice night for a game, warm and sunny.  We received free hats, as well as a hotdog and chips.  Our seats were close and behind home plate.  And the Rainiers won (even though we didn't stay for the entire game!)

Fun times as a family!
Enjoying every moment!

Hog Wild

What:  Hog Wild Motorcycle Rally
Where:  Ocean Shores and Quinalt Casino
When:  July 29-31

Chris planned a long weekend for us to attend a motorcycle rally in Ocean Shores.  We didn't go on a big motorcycle trip this year so this was our chance.  Julie was kind enough to drive the kids to the ocean and stay with them as we attended some of the activities.  Karin also drove over, bringing her motorcycle in the back of dad's truck.

 
Off we go!  We left early afternoon on Thursday.  It was warm, nearly 90 degrees and a great day for a ride to the beach!

We were lucky enough to stay at a friends cabin.  The boys found the paddle boat right away and they were out cruising the canal when we arrived.  The paddle boat was one of Cannon's favorite part of the trip!  He took me on a ride and Chris on a couple of rides.

We went to the beach a couple of times and they boys went more.  This was the first time the Harley had been to the beach and she loved it!  Playing in the sand and the water is what they all (boys and dog) wanted to do!

A couple of selfies of us enjoying our trip.  We listened to some good bands throughout the weekend and browsed the booths.  (Hells Bells and Lucky Tongue were our favorites.) We also took a couple of nice rides to see the water and tour the coast.  We found the resort town of Sea Brooke by chance and stopped for lunch there.  It was a pretty cool place!

Julie took the boys to a rodeo in Longbeach on Saturday.  They had never been to a rodeo before and really liked it.  They learned a lot about the different parts of the rodeo.  Cannon got a really cool dragon painted on his face!  Colson didn't want one, but then changed his mind later (or got brave enough) to have the dragon drawn on his leg.  Ice cream was also a hit, of course!

After the rodeo, they went and drove go carts, bought sweatshirts and each got a fun toy!  What a great day for them!!

Fun weekend.  We're ready to do it again!
Enjoying every moment.