Summer in the pacific northwest is seriously the best! I enjoy living here always but I especially LOVE it in the summer. This summer was especially fun because we got a couple of paddleboards and a kid kayak and we all had a blast exploring the sound with our new toys! Bry and I spent a lot of time on the beach with the littles while the big kids had fun exploring.
We had Maggie’s 8th birthday on the beach with friends. This is her favorite way to spend her birthday!
Besides spending time at the nearby beach we also had fun exploring Ruby Beach on the coast. We went last summer and had a blast and saw that it was going to be sunny so we went for the day!
The kids love checking out the starfish and other sea anemones at this beach!
It’s also amazingly beautiful and so fun to hang out as a family there!
The kids always love playing in the never-ending driftwood.
And they love making castles and streams on the beach.
Vivi and Reese even napped on the beach!
The kids loved checking out the waves.
And always love getting dirty!
It was such a fun day!
A few days later Mimi came to town and took this pic while we explored another beach.
She helped us pick out plants to spruce up our yard and had some great little helpers!
We went out paddleboarding another day while she was here.
I love this pic of these two on the beach that day!
Got a good pic of our family + a neighbor friend.
A few weeks later we went camping with friends.
We went to Fort Worden which was used in WWII. There were lots of cool old bunkers to explore and the kids were in heaven with their flashlights and headlamps. We played hide and go seek and walked through tunnels and dark rooms.
Then we spent the afternoon at the beach. SO much to do at the campsite that we stayed as long and late as possible.
It’s so fun to have friends who grew up around here and know all the fun things to do! We love exploring this area with these friends.
It was also fun to have Jenna in town to camp and explore with us!
The kids love spending time with Aunt Jenna!
If I had to choose a favorite place to explore around here it would be Mount Rainier National Park. We went twice in August and I wish we could have gone more!
There are so many amazing wildflowers and to me it epitomizes paradise.
We are lucky that the kids are willing to hike!
We got to go with friends the second time and the kids all had fun looking at bugs!
And playing in the snow while it was sunny!
Luckily we happened to have our shade stand in the car so we set it up to eat lunch together after the hike, while still enjoying great views of Mount Rainier!
Another day the kids and I explored a Nature Reserve with friends and had a blast!
The last thing we did this summer was meet my parents in Eastern Washington for a rodeo where Hank and Wendy got to Mutton-Bust!
Wendy beat all the girls and Hank beat all the boys and they were both thrilled to get first!! Grandpa was also excited! 🙂
We found out that they qualified for the finals the next night and so we hung out at a nearby park the next day while waiting to go back to the rodeo.
Grandpa was giving Hank some pointers on how to hold onto a sheep and Hank thought it was pretty entertaining! They ended up both getting second in the finals and we all had a great time!
Here are a few more random favorite pics from around the house this summer!
I love this one of Maggie dressed in costume and pretending to mix potions in the backyard. This girl’s imagination is one of my favorite things about her!
I LOVE this pic of my oldest 4! They are such good buddies and I’m so glad they have each other!
These two made flower bouquets wherever they went this summer!
Maggie being a good big sister to these two!
Vivi loved crawling all over the grass all summer!
And we learned Hank’s hair can get really WILD after playing hard and napping hard!
Reese perfected her mischievous grin that was very fitting for a toddler on the loose! 🙂
And mostly, the kids were all smiles as long as they were outside!
Viv loves being outside as much as the older 4 kids and we certainly live in such a great place for that! I’m obsessed with the summers here and all the fun things there are to do. We make bucket lists every summer and never can check off everything but we made a pretty good dent in it this year!
