Addition by addition

85-100 degree weather + lake + family + lots of good food + 80 games of Sequence + the Olympics =
one great vacation week!

Seriously, we had such a great vacation! We are so grateful to my dad and bonus mom for inviting us out there. It was so relaxing and a nice break before I started working again. We had delicious food everyday, we swam, we watched Michael Phelps win 8 gold medals, we played boys vs. girls Sequence all week (girls lost for the 2nd year in a row... we really need to revise our strategy), and we had a plain 'ol good time hanging out together.

This shows what we did all week - AB playing in the sand and Trev floating in the lake

Movie star pose!

Belle's new best friends! She carried Boots and Dora everywhere! She is really into Dora right now. She also has a Swiper figure, but she would often leave him behind somewhere in the cabin. I think she recognizes that he is naughty. Haha!

We had a purple sunset one of the nights. Lovely!

My apologies

I am so sorry that I have been such a horrible blogger lately. Life has been crazy! I will do my utmost to remedy the situation. Here is the biggest piece of news in our family:

- Trev quit his job a couple of weeks ago. A few hours after he quit, my good friend Anne Marie offered me a job at the company I used to work for. She has been the executive assistant to the CEO at La Belle for almost five years and is now leaving to travel in Italy and live in another city for time (hopefully just for a time... I, of course, want her to end up back here in Bellingham eventually). Anyhoo, Trev and I prayed about it and decided to swap roles for a bit. I am now a working woman again (outside of the home, that is). I will be working full-time, but will be part-time in the office and part-time working from home. Trev is taking care of Belle right now until I have a regualr at-home schedule and then he will also be looking for some part-time work. Crazy! Totally not what we expected or planned, but definitely a blessing from the Lord. I mean really, he quits his job and later that same day I am offered a job??!!! Not just coincidence. Now we are just adjusting to this new schedule. So far, so good. :)

Awake ye timbers! Now is not the time for slumber!

Hiking

The three Maussketeers hiked to Fragrance Lake in Bellingham this morning. It's only about 5 miles round trip, which actually feels kind of long when you are hiking with a babe on your back that weighs close to 30 pounds. Trev is my super cool strong man and carried her all the way up the trail and I was semi-cool and carried her back down.

Apparently it is quite exhausting to be carried around. AB fell asleep briefly on the way up AND on the way down.

The lovely lake that awaited us at the top after all our hard work. Woohoo!

Putt-putt

We played putt-putt in Leavenworth!! I really like playing mini golf. They even gave Belle her own little pint-size putter and ball. Most of the time she just carried them around proudly instead of actually playing with them. We split up into two teams to make it easier to get around the course. We had a lot of fun and all played pretty well too!

The other team: Ryan, Andi, Levi (in the stroller), Jess & Nick

Haha! On this hole you had to hit your ball up the ramp and then it would come out the bottom. Trev's ball got stuck so he had to crawl under to find it. Art insisted that Trev play the ball from where it was, because those are the rules and they are unflinchingly rigid. It was pretty funny!

I really like this picture because Belle looks super tiny. Our little mini person.

The Leavenworth Hat Shop

Leavenworth is the little Bavarian-like town we visited while we were camping. I used to go to Leavenworth every summer. The place I remember most was The Hat Shop. It is filled with all sorts of hats and wigs for all ages. Of course we had to stop there! Here are some of our modeling shots...

AB kept this hat with her most of the time we walked around the store.

A future Jack Sparrow?

I've gone blond!

Camping!!

A few years ago I bought a tent for Trev. This last weekend was the first time we used it! We went camping with Art & Diana, Nick & Andi and Ryan, Jess & Levi. The camping trip was to celebrate Art and Nick's birthdays, which are both this week. We camped near a river in Leavenworth and we had such a great time! Belle did a pretty great job camping, except for not sleeping well the last night... but the rest of the time was great! We ate smores, sat around the campfire, visited the town of Leavenworth, visited the river numerous times and much more!

Diana, Andi, Jess & Levi

AB borrowing mama's coat

Nick & Andi

Trev was most excited to go on a river walk. He and Art are scoping out where they think they should cross.

AB the photographer

Annabelle took this picture of my cousin Katie and I a few weeks ago. What skill! What talent! I think she meant to cut off the top of my head. It was an artistic decision.