Lamens Family: July 2012

Monday, July 30, 2012

Sunriver

Growing up, Sunriver, Oregon was one of my very favorite places that my family would vacation at every few years - I have such fond memories of swimming in the pool for hours, riding bikes on all the trails, rafting the Deschutes river, going to the Teen Dance, visiting Goody's, mini-golf in the village, and spending quality time with my family. It is so special to me to now to get to bring my family there and create new memories with them. Cody has been there two other times with me but this year was extra special to get to share it with Ella. I am so thankful that my parents love continuing these traditions and invited us to come along with them again. Ella of course was in heaven getting to spend 24/7 with her grandparents and also getting to see Uncle David and Auntie Emily who drove over from Eugene for a few days while we were there. Ella was spoiled with ice cream from Goody's, bike rides to get donuts at the village bakery, swimming in the pool every day, sun bathing with Grandma, and early morning walks with Grandpa...what could be better?

Ready for a morning bike ride

We stopped along the ride to get iced lattes...Ella was impressed with David's ability to skip rocks

Ella LOVED the pool and requested to go swimming every day, multiple times a day

Family bike ride to Goody's for ice cream

Train ride through the village

We attempted a trip to Mt. Bachelor but found out when we got there that the lift was only open on weekends. We made the best of it and found a cute nearby lake to have a picnic at with the mountain in the background.

Miss Independent often insisted on putting on her floaty wings and helmet on her own ;)

Morning bike ride with "Gwamma" and "Gwampa" to get donuts in the village

And a few more favorite pictures...

Had in include this picture of Ella under water...she got so brave by the end of the week going under water on her own and swimming to us!

Friday, July 27, 2012

Summer...so far

It's always amazing to me how fast summer goes by. And after this school year, summer couldn't have gotten here soon enough! We've had some decent summer weather and we're getting into the groove of laid back summer days, busy weekends, quick trips, and fun outings. However my stress level goes way up when I walk into Target and see their Back-To-School display all set up with lots of people browsing through. I feel like summer just started so it's hard to wrap my mind around the fact that it's already more than half way over! We've made so many fun memories that I didn't want to forget. Here's a quick recap of what we've been up to so far...

My mom and I took Ella to Jetty Island, a beautiful stretch of sandy beach that requires a quick ferry ride to get to the island. We packed a picnic lunch and enjoyed the sunshine and sand. Ella wasn't too sure about her feet getting stuck in the wet sand ;).

We spent a relaxing weekend up at Lake Ki when Eric and Cassie were in town. The lake was a bit cold, but the kids enjoyed splashing and playing in the little pool.

Nathan and Ella wrestling on the trampoline

Group shot - love our friends!

Ella and I met up with Alison and Nathan for a walk along the Kirkland waterfront and a picnic lunch at the park. Love these sweet pictures of the kiddos in their boots!

While Cody was in San Diego, Ella and I took a quick trip to Spokane to visit Carly and her family so I could go to Carly's baby shower. We can't wait to meet baby girl Pickering the next time we see them! We went for a walk downtown to visit the falls and ride the carrousel, but didn't last too long outside as it was really, really hot.

Neal watched the four kids so Carly and I could have a much needed girls night out with shopping, dinner and a movie. Thanks Neal!

Carly and I met up with our friend Meghan and her daughter Kendall at a park/splash pad. Meghan and I were college roommates for a year and Ella and Kendall are about 3 months apart. So good to catch up with friends!