Summer 2016

We spent a lot of time at the beach this summer. I was determined to go and that meant I had to go by myself a lot, and that was very intimidating, but I did it! The girls had to spend more time digging in the sand than they preferred, and Jake had to spend more time jumping over the waves than he preferred, but life is about compromise and we all had fun. Best of all, the girls were great listeners and very helpful setting up the tent and getting everything cleaned and ready when it was time to go. I have been so proud of them this summer, especially on our big trip in July. So many people have remarked how well behaved all 3 of them are and yet I know they are still happy and having fun and it makes my heart swell.

When the tide was out it was the best! There were enough tide pools for the girls to be able to dig small holes to fill up with water and splash, and enough drier sand for Jake to dig, and enough very dry sand for me to relax on within 3 feet of them. Perfection!

We decided that the girls needed to try a team sport and they played T-ball this summer. It isn't really a sport for Catherine, the kids all run to the ball and get in her way, but she's good at it. The coach pitches to her and she hits it into the outfield (T-ball outfield), and Sam's pretty good, too. Both prefer to play 1st base because they are guaranteed to touch the ball, and I think if Cat was DH for both teams she'd be in heaven. Maybe soccer next time, so she can use her speed to get around the other kids with the ball.

Jake loves to play, and is pretty good off the tee, too. It makes him so mad to go to the games and not be able to play, so we do our best with a ball on the side and make use of the playground when I can pry him off the field.

Kristian taught the girls and cousin Alexa how to do the Whip at Great Grandma's birthday party :-) 

We went to the museum a lot and played a lot of dollhouse, which I discovered recently is much more fun when it is Superhero house. We baked cookies and picked cucumbers to make pickles and played in the sprinkler and got hot and sweaty most days (which wasn't hard because this summer was kind of brutal!). We went to bed late, caught fireflies, and danced.

At the very end we went to visit Uncle Mike, Aunt Alyssa, Lily and Cooper in D.C. We went to the American History museum and held up the Washington monument and saw where the President lives.  The kids were so tired (it was 95 that day!) but we made it and had a good time, though I think their favorite part was simply visiting with their cousins and bouncing on their trampoline.