Camping on Orcas Island!

Well, we survived Brian being gone on another work trip, yay us! Brian got home on Wednesday and didn't have a lot of recovery time before we left for camping the next day. Getting ready for camping is so much work - you just have to keep telling yourself that yes, it will all be worth it! We did have a great weekend camping on Orcas Island. The ferry ride over was fun, and we had fantastic weather all weekend. Friday morning our whole group (Daveys and Vanees were camping with us) headed down to the beach close to our campsite. We rented a few canoes which was a lot of fun, unfortunately Adam would not give them a try (not terribly surprising). Nathan loved it though! Lynsey and I took off on our whale watching trip in the afternoon and had such a great time! I wasn't sure if Lynsey would get bored but that was not an issue at all. We were on this boat that went really fast and she thought it was a blast (it also got us wet a few times!). Seeing the orcas was really cool - definitely an experience! Didn't get too many good pictures, although I did get a decent video, perhaps I will post it later if I can figure out how to shrink it down. When we got back, everyone was going to this bridge where you could jump off into the water - Lynsey just couldn't muster up the courage to do it, although we could see she really wanted to.

The next day (Saturday) our family split off from the rest of the group because our boys really wanted to go back to the beach in the morning. We got another canoe for about an hour and just let the boys play on the playground. After that we went on a drive up to Mount Constitution - spectacular views! So beautiful, I could have hung out there just looking out all day! Of course that wasn't what we did, but you get the picture:). When we got back to camp we heard that the rest of the group was back at the bridge so Brian took Lynsey and Adam back out there - this time Lynsey *sort of* jumped off the bridge! She was lowered in a few times, and one time I think she said she sort of slipped and fell in . . . it still counts, though! I was proud of her for being determined and trying something so scary - you can bet I didn't do it myself! Great end to the day, especially for her:).

Sunday we packed up and took the ferry back home. Had a great weekend, but of course it was nice to get back to clean showers and a nice comfy bed! It was our first time camping for 3 nights and I think it went pretty well. Would probably try it again next summer, especially with the Daveys and Vanees since they are so well prepared for everything. I am learning a lot camping with them! We ate so well all weekend, if I was camping alone we would be having hot dogs more than once I'm sure!

This week, I am hoping to get a few more house organizing things knocked off my list - buy shelves for the garage and get Brian to trim the shelves for our Lego table so I can put out all the games and get rid of the boxes in the family room. If I can achieve those two things, I will be doing well! Oh I also have to get Lynsey registered for school tomorrow! It's all coming together, slowly but surely!

More summer fun!

Summer has continued to be busy! We went camping the last weekend in July with our friends Jaqui and Joey. It was a really nice weekend! We had great weather and the kids had so much fun playing with their friends. I felt a bit frazzled getting ready for camping while we were wrapping things up at the rental house, but it ended up being a really fun time. Speaking of the rental house, after all that micro-managing from her about the cleaning and painting and on and on, the walk thru was pretty easy - we are supposedly getting our whole deposit back! She claims to have mailed it today so we'll see if it's the full amount when we get it (I just have this paranoia that she's going to pull something on us) but what a relief to be done with that house (and that woman).

What else did we do . . . Lynsey had day camp at Camp Sambica last week! She loved it! It's a Bible Camp right on Lake Sammamamish so there was a lot of water sports. Adam had the week off so he hung out with me and Nathan, did great going to the new gym childcare several times, just enjoyed his week off. Last Tuesday, our neighborhood had a little party at the park and we got to meet a bunch of our neighbors. We have some super friendly neighbors, I love it! The lady that lives two doors down from us actually knocked on our door the day before and brought us some brownies, personally welcoming us to the neighborhood and inviting us to the get together the next day. We have never had a neighbor reach out like that before! I think we are in the right place:). On Friday, we went to Fox Hollow Farm for the Facebook family picnic - so much fun! It wasn't too crowded so the kids got to do everything without having to wait a long time which was really nice. We took the weekend at home to get a bit more set up, Brian put up the TV which was just a great finishing touch for the living room. I will get pictures this week! I just have to do a better clean up first! Stay tuned:).

Brian left on his trip to the Philippines on Wednesday. The kids and I have been taking it very easy, went out for dinner Friday, but mostly just hanging out at home. I went to a neighbor's house on Tuesday for a playdate that went really well! She has two girls that are 8 and 7, and since that day Lynsey has been playing with them almost every day! She was there for 4.5 hours today - I think it's safe to say that her concerns about not meeting kids in the neighborhood that she can play with have subsided! She has also played a lot with the girl that lives right next door, she was just at camp this week so she hasn't seen her in a bit. All in all, the kids seem to be settling in really well in our new house and new neighborhood!

We had a meeting with Adam's teachers a few weeks back that I haven't talked about yet. It wasn't overly encouraging. It would seem that his last assessments didn't reveal huge progress . . . and while I definitely don't take assessments to be the be-all and end-all, we were a bit disappointed to see it. We had been thinking for a while that we would be transitioning him out of RSA this year, and I feel like maybe that decision has been confirmed, like it might just be time soon. He might finally be ready to move to public school, I guess we'll have to talk to the psychologist at Horace Mann Elementary and see if we can come up with a plan. Scary, but it had to happen sometime!

Don't really know what else to report at this point, Nathan continues to to grow up and is quite the little guy! Today he was upset because he had said that he would play a game with Lynsey and I IF we first played a different game that HE wanted to play (he's becoming quite the games player!), but when it came time to follow through on his commitment he didn't want to. I told him that he needs to keep his word, and that it wasn't fair to Lynsey who was trusting that he would play her game if she played his. It took a little while, but eventually he did come around and agree to play not one, but two rounds of the game Lynsey wanted to play. I was pretty proud of him for showing that maturity, definitely something new we are seeing from him. Still very emotional, just slowing learning to think about others:).

Brian comes home from the Philippines and Indonesia on Wednesday, and then we are off to Orcas Island for camping on Thursday. Should be a lot of fun! And just like that, summer will be over! So many people have already done their school supplies shopping, yikes! I did order Lynsey a bunch of new clothes and a new backpack and lunch box, so I guess that counts as starting?? I'm sure we'll be ready, we have always managed before:).