Laughlin!

We recently returned from a 40th birthday celebration trip honoring our good friend Sean!

Dave and I created these T-shirts to wear on the airplane and on our first night in Laughlin. I think they turned out way better then my original idea of using puffy paints! If you ever want to have conversations with the most random people, I suggest you wear a shirt with someone else's face on it! We met lots of new friends our first day in Laughlin!

From L-R....Dave, me, Jen, Eddie, Sean (b-day boy) and Krista!

It was H-O-T in Laughlin- the kind of hot that takes your breath away. Dave and I loved the heat and spent our days outside next to (or in) the pool! This is one of my favorites of Dave!

Occassionally, our friends would make an appearance in the pool! The heat they claimed, was just too much for them...they found a fun bar to hang out in, instead!

I was a happy camper! I love the S-U-N!

On our way back to the airport in Vegas, we decided to detour and visit the Hoover Dam. I am so glad we did. Although, we only had about a half an hour to explore it, it was well worth our time!

I was glad I had lugged our big camera around all week just for these pictures. Now, if I only would have packed the big lens!

Rain, rain go away!

While cleaning out the pantry the other day (one of my "jobs" on my to-do list for the summer) I discovered two gift certificates that the girls had gotten at Christmas to go to the Painted Plate. The weather has been so off this summer that I told the girls that I was going to take them that day. They were very excited about it until this arrived.....

Who can compete with a new BBQ that has to be put together?

Especially when it arrives in this?

So, the girls spent their afternoon playing in the box and requesting to be taped inside. And what mom is going to say no to that??

It always amazes me how easily entertained they can be!

So, we waited to go to the Painted Plate until the next day when we awoke to pouring down rain.

Both the girls chose to paint these Chihuahua's.....

Prepping before painting.

I told Dave that they actually spent time deciding how to paint their dogs this time instead of slapping on paint and calling it good.

And while I visited with the girls and watched them paint I got to enjoy this yummy drink! Life is good!

Aladdin!

Dave and I surprised the girls with tickets to the 5th Avenue to see Aladdin last weekend! What a fun experience for all of us! The girls had a wonderful time from getting dressed up in new outfits, putting on a little bit of make up and seeing the beautiful 5th Avenue for the first time! They were in awe of the ceilings and when the musical started their mouths literally dropped! It was a night to remember for sure!

I love this picture for some reason! The girls and I had just gotten dressed and had put on a teeny tiny bit of make up and they were truly thinking they were HOT stuff :)

The girls and I all dressed and ready to go!

Dave and his girls!

Yes, we even had a very gourmet dinner.....

Taylor!

Maddie!

A New Job!

At the end of June Dave interviewed for a Vice Principal job at Black Hills High School in Tumwater. We were ecstatic when they called him back and offered him the job! He has been driving for the last 6 years to Yelm- a 55 minute commute to and from our house. And he is thrilled to be back in the high school where he feels his true connection with kids is! We are so proud of him and oh so happy to have him back in town!

On Wednesday, the girls and I went to his new office to help him decorate!

He still needs a few things to put up behind his computer but all his walls are filled with family pictures and of course Cougar "stuff"!

The girls were thrilled to see daddy's new office but loved the new gym even more :)

Mayfield Lake Resort

Dave and I have been wanting to take the girls on a camping trip in the motor home for quite some time now. It's had lots of use this year with football games and concerts, so we were anxious to see how we would do as a family camping in it. So a few Fridays ago, when Dave got off work, we loaded up the motor home and drove about an hour south of Olympia to Mayfield Lake Resort. We were not disappointed! Although, not your traditional in the woods, no one around you type camping it was the perfect setting for our first camping trip together! We would highly recommend it and we are looking forward to going back! Here's what I loved about this particular camp site......

1. Camp Fires....does anything get better then that? Smores, staying warm, visiting and laughing!

2. Time with my guy! The way our camp site was set up we could see the girls wherever they went- we were right next door to the playground and the Lake! It allowed Dave and I some down time to play crib, read and catch up.

3. The Parks. They had 2 of them- one which was right next door to us. The girls LOVE parks and they were as happy as can be!

She's into climbing anything and everything right now!

And Maddie spent a lot of time on these unique swings.

And both girls hung upside down quite a bit over our long weekend!

4. The lighthouse. The campsite has a little island with this light house on it. We hiked over to the island to investigate the light house. The hike was perfect for the girls- short and sweet.

The lighthouse itself was a bit disappointing...you couldn't even go inside it but Taylor thought it was still pretty great none the less!

And the island made a gorgeous back drop for a family photo!

5. Fishing. Taylor in particular has been dying to try her hand at fishing. Jerry and Carolyn drove down to the camp ground for a day and Jerry brought fishing gear for he and the girls. Taylor enjoyed it. Maddie really could have cared less! Although she did become the designated "worm getter" as this was as close to the worms that her sister would get!

They had taken old bus seats and put them along the dock so that people could sit and fish (or visit)

I have to say that Taylor didn't catch a fish but she lasted a long time actually waiting for one to go on her line.

6. Horse Shoes. Oh My! The girls loved playing this and after the first few games kind of caught onto it! Super fun!

7. The Dance. Apparently, every Saturday night they have a dance in the pavilion. It was very cute and the girls and their daddy never turn down a chance to dance!

8. The motor home. You can't do this in any other car on the way home with 2 tired girls!