Yet Another Birthday

This girl is now 17 and a senior in high school. She has a shoe shopping addiction, a Trader Joes addiction, works at a local ice cream shop, and still manages to bring home great grades. I am floored at how fast she has grown and impressed with the person she is.

We had a few friends and family over for her birthday, and even a visiting frog. He was a pretty polite guest before he went hopping off.

I hope this year is amazing. I can't even fathom she is less than a year away from graduating high school and then is headed for college.

Vacation Plans

August 10 we were all set to leave for Wallowa Lake. We had a campsite reservation made 6 months in advance, we had the food purchased, and planned on waking up in the morning, loading the car, and heading out for a week of fun and relaxation. 

At 3 a.m. Grace crawled into my bed, saying she felt ill. Her throat hurt, she couldn't swallow, and she was burning up with fever. I gave her some Advil, sent her back to bed, and waited for morning. 9 a.m. found us at urgent care seeking a diagnosis. I was really hoping for strep throat. We could treat her and still leave 24 hours later. Alas, it was not strep throat, despite the rapid onset and inflamed throat. All of her tests came back negative, so we tucked her back into bed, and canceled our camping trip. 

That evening Michael and I went for a bike ride. We needed a little reset and a chance to come up with a new plan. We happened to find a kayak someone had thrown away, and Michael was pleased to strap it to his bike and haul it home.

Meanwhile, Grace was still sick. She pretty much spent the next four days in bed. Her fever would go away for a few hours, but then come raging back. She was a miserable little girl.

This was what we did instead of camping. A whole lot of nothing. But we did it together, because we all managed to get the time off of work.

By the end of the week, Grace was feeling a little better, so we decided to head up to McCall for the weekend.

 

We even had a couple cousins come with us. Grace was still not 100%, but she was feeling well enough to join us for most activities.

We had a picnic lunch in Charlie's Garden, outside of McCall. The greenery was stunning, the flowers were blooming and there were even a few ripe huckleberries.

After Charlie's Garden we headed for the lake, with our paddle boards, our trash kayak, and my niece's two-person kayak. Parking was a nightmare, and the beach was packed. I was ready to turn back, but my nieces pointed out we had come a long way and they wanted to play. It was crazy when we first got there, but soon a couple of huge groups left, and the lake became much more pleasant. We spent hours paddling, swimming, and lounging around.

After we got everyone and everything back to the cabin and ate dinner, we took everyone down to the nearer beach to see the sunset.

We were only able to spend one night in McCall, but we got plenty of lake time, plenty of ice cream, and plenty of family time. It wasn't the vacation we planned, but it was still nice.

Ode to the 90's

Grace wanted to make a friendship bracelet, but was struggling with the directions. She asked if I knew any patterns. The only method I remembered is from the 90s and the one we used to put wraps in our hair.

Grace took to it easily and started churning out bracelets. 

Libby questioned how it would work in hair. I started a wrap in her hair and she was off. By the end of the day she had three wraps and by the next day all of her friends were sporting them as well. 

The 90's are back and taking over my house.

Summertime

Summer feels like a time to slow down and appreciate the little moments. So here you go. Here are some of the little moments of joy. 

Libby's perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich, while camping.

The fireworks at the park.

Perfect sunsets along the river,

where just a little shift in the light changes the whole scene.

Proud birds posing for photos.

The lily pads in the park finally blooming.

Little kids saying, "Pwease, Aunt Katie".

And enough fresh raspberries for everyone to enjoy (although there are never any left over for jam).

Not Quite a Teen

Despite my protestations, Sam decided to have another birthday. He turned 12 and is ready for junior high. He loves computer games, books, and gloating he is now taller than me. 

This year he wanted a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, topped with wafer cookies and chocolate dipped strawberries. That I can do! I can't make sugar icing roses or fondant animals, but I can pile things on a cake with the best of them. He was happy.

My co-worker brought in zucchini to work and suggested I take one home to give Sam for his birthday. Just what every 12 year old wants in his life!!

We are all getting a little older.

Lock picking set,

Harry Potter Legos, and a Banksy print. He was a well satisfied pre-teen. Currently all of my locks are still in working order, but only time will tell.