A full summer...

I absolutely cannot believe it is August! We have lived a full summer so far! Preschool, Coldplay at the Gorge, camping at Lake Chelan, surviving 100 degree Seattle weather, a baby shower for our next one, a bachelorette party for my sister and the anticipation of my brother's family bringing home their newest son from Ethiopia. All within the last month. Whew. All wonderful, but packed! Not to mention it has been the HOTTEST summer in Seattle since like 1800 and I'm 9 months pregnant! I'm just saying....

Starting with the most recent, here is what we have been up to!

This past Tuesday Mia started preschool! We had decided to enroll her for fall since she is so social and "ready" to learn. But, I have also really been enjoying my time at home with her before the baby comes, so we decided to have her just go one half day this month so that she could get used to the idea of going in the fall, and without too much of a surprise! Since she will already be adjusting to being a BIG sister and all....

I tried prepping her a lot for her first day at Ms. Tara's. When we walked up to the school I asked her if she wanted to hold my hand, she said, "NO mom, there's no cars coming." Sniff, sniff. Then, I took her inside and introduced her, of course, showed her around. When she seemed fine with everything I said "Mommy's going to leave, do you want to give me a hug and a kiss?" She replied, "No thanks, mom." My heart about broke. Isn't that supposed to happen when they go to middle school? Well, I guess I was thankful she wasn't balling when I left, and it certainly supported my notion that she is ready for social interaction! Her first day was great, and she especially enjoyed talking about "Speedy" the preschool pet tortoise.

Last week Seattle hit record-setting temperatures... the hottest day being somewhere around 105 degrees. I tolerated the first few days of the week then decided, "I gotta get out of here!" My great friend Michelle and I headed up to Bellingham to stay with my parents at the lake to get some relief from the heat. It was still super hot up there but at least we had the lake! Madelyn and Mia are like sisters... they love and hate each other at the same time... but it is so much fun to spend time all together!

Here's Mia showing her "wild" side.... asking grandpa to drive "faster, faster!' on the boat.

Michelle and Madelyn with my parents house in the background!

Mia busting up about something, I'm not sure.

Having a blast on the boat with Grandma!

My dad found these killer fans with "cooling mist..." needless to say I spent a lot of time in front of it to cool me and baby down.

Last Saturday was Alesha's bachelorette party! Her wedding day is fast approaching and I am the lucky maid of honor! I am told since I am married I am technically "matron" of honor but I refuse to give myself that title. Here is my sister wearing a tiara and veil I bought for her.... this is a rare shot since veils are not really her thing! She was quite a sport, going along with it all! We had a great time getting our nails down at JULEP, downtown Seattle, then attending dinner and a show at Pike's Place Market.

All the gals at Pike's Place after the show!

What a good sport! She will be such a beautiful bride.

During the weeks we have spent a lot of time at the lake or in wading pools to stay cool! Mia is a BIG fan of the water these days. Here she is with 3 of her other stooges.... from left, Micah, Mia, Madelyn and Emma. I love how Emma is dumping water on Madelyn with the cup. Her buddy, Micah. They seem to have taken a liking towards each other!

IN Mid July we took a random camping trip with the Biedermans to Lake Alta and Lake Chelan. Wow, camping with 2 toddlers while very pregnant is certainly not "easy" but some very precious memories were made. Thankfully the men did a lot of the grunt work as far as cooking, setting up, etc. This was both of our families' first camping trips.

Here are Mia and Maddie reading books outside our tent.

At Lake Alta

Buds on the beach!

Love those camping chairs.

Lake Alta
So much fun from a $2 floaty.

Snuggle time with daddy after breakfast smores!

An interesting outfit.... but beautiful Lake Chelan water in the background!Our family of 3, soon to be 4!

Just prior to leaving our 3 days camping... Kurt, Michelle, Me, Trevor.

In early July Trevor and I stayed overnight in Wenatchee and went to the Gorge for a Coldplay concert. Initially it was supposed to be an "early" anniversary present to ourselves... since in September we will celebrate 5 years, but we ended up meeting up with several different couples and friends who were also at the concert. Maybe we can still get another celebration in for the big 5 year.... we'll see!

The concert was amazing! We had great seats too.

Lots of confetti... very festive!

With our friends the Wileys.

Trev and I!

Finally, Troy and Heather have been overseas since last Tuesday.... picking up their newest son, Luke Mamush from Ethiopia! It has been a LONG process. I am so proud of them and their commitment to following Jesus in this matter. They made it safely and here is a picture of Heather and Luke during their first day together. They were granted a visa to bring Luke home and will arrive back in the Northwest this Friday morning. Pray for smooth adjustment with the rest of the family! We all cannot wait to meet him and make him a part of our family. Luke will turn 2 on August 10th! What a beautiful boy.

Welcome, Luke!