Reed's Eight Year Old Birthday Party

Reed celebrated his eighth birthday with all his friends at the Aqua Club. We had swimming, diving, basketball, running around, and other shenanigans. It was also fun to see the older siblings create their own fun. I just love how big Reed's smile is in every single picture! Happy birthday, Reed!!!

 

Family Summer Birthday Party, School Start Up, and Time at Aqua Club

We met up with the family in Bellingham to celebrate our summer birthday boys: Floyd, Edison, Izaac, Alex, and Reed. Edison has surpassed his Nana in height and he's not looking back. Charlotte and Reed had a blast with their little cousins, especially Izaac who is super mobile and very curious about everything.

We had our ASB work day and then our teacher back to work weeks. Mostly the same as past years, but with masks and trying to stay distanced as best we can. I was so anxious about going back, but being around the amazing students and my colleagues reminded me that I actually LOVE my job!

And we wrapped up every evening we were able to at the Aqua Club. Often with the pool to ourselves. Bonus!

 

Still Summer - Cabin Fun with the Birgfelds

We got thunderstorms and overcast skies, but we made the best of it. Still got on the river with the help of wetsuits. And lots of time for games, good food, and running around in the woods. This is everything summer should be!

 

Karen's, Middle School Here We Come!

I got to spend a lake day with Karen - it was so wonderful to catch up! And we got to fun stuff like hang out on this giant water pad and go paddle boarding! So awesome! 

Charlotte is joining Edison at Kellogg Middle School this year. This was orientation with her 6th grade friends! Here we go!

Glacier National Park - Day Six: Avalanche Lake, Lake McDonald, and Fish Camp

Our final day of exploring in Glacier and we used it to hike Avalanche Lake - I'd given up on Hidden Lake at this point and Avalanche seemed like a great alternative. We almost couldn't find parking even at 7:30 AM, but ended up finding a hidden spot and we were good to go! The trail begins through a neat gorge section before heading up to the lake. The kids are pro hikers by now and I think we hiked around 20-25 miles total on the trip. I'm excited for possibilities for upcoming summers of hiking with them!

Back at camp we had a lake day and brought all the toys down to play with. It was a little windy which was the only bad thing - we finally got some hot weather.

We went into the tiny town of Apgar and explored a little bit down there, too, before coming back to camp. At this point, late in the day, the wind had started to die down and I finally got to go on the paddle board, something that had been a vacation goal that finally got realized!

One last night at camp included aa big dinner - gotta cook everything that's left - bike tag, and a Farkle competition. We also prepped for an early morning departure. We were able to leave by 7:00 AM and made it back to Seattle by 3:00 (time change gave us an extra hour). We had time to go to Aqua Club and clean up from the trip. Bonus! What a great vacation together! We are busy planning next year's trip and have a few spots in mind to start researching!