July Flashback.....

Wow, I managed to go almost the whole month of July without blogging.... I'm horrible!! I will say however, that I've had a lot going on. So, I guess here's a quick flash back on everything that's happened and it's all mixed together in the slide show above. :o)

July 2 - Kylie's Birthday!!! Kylie turned 3 on the 2nd and we were able to go to Dairy Queen for a small birthday party, as well as a final goodbye to Grace, (her birth mom.) It was a fun time, but a hard goodbye for that cute little girl. She has managed to recover well and Rhonda and Andy are definitely Mom and Dad!!! She got lots of fun presents and an ice cream cake that was too frozen to cut! :o) ha ha ha.... After waiting about 30 minutes we were able to enjoy it!

July 3 - Kirk didn't have to work and we went to Seattle for the day to actually celebrate Kirk's birthday a little late! We went to the Ballard Locks, which were amazing and it was fun to see something new. Here is a quick insight as to what the locks are....

The locks and associated facilities serve three purposes:
To maintain the water level of the fresh water Lake Washington and Lake Union at 20 to 22 feet above sea level.
To prevent the mixing of sea water from Puget Sound with the fresh water of the lakes (saltwater intrusion).
To move boats from the water level of the lakes to the water level of Puget Sound, and vice versa.
The complex includes two locks, a small (30 x 150 ft, 8.5 x 45.7 meter) and a large (80 x 825, 24.4 x 251.5 meter). The complex also includes a (235-foot, 71.6 meter) spillway with six (32 x 12-foot (3.7 m), 9.8 x 3.7 meter) gates to assist in water-level control. A fish ladder is integrated into the locks for migration of anadromous fish, notably salmon.

When we first got there we had a little picnic on the beautiful grassy area. Then we headed over to see all the boats. It was very cool and I think Erika enjoyed it, and I know Kirk and I did. After spending about 2 hours there we headed into downtown Seattle to ride the Ducks. The Ducks are a World War II bus/boat, which you ride on for a 90 minute tour of downtown Seattle and Lake Union. It was a fun ride and we are glad we did it. Erika and Kaden got duck quackers, similar to a whistle, and they had a ball with them! We ended the night by meeting up with Rhonda and Andy in Graham for a firework show! Which was pretty darn good. All in all, it was a great fun filled day!

July 4 - The Swainston's invited us over for some BBQing and then we went into the Indian Reservation to buy some fireworks. We then went back to the Swainston's and did fireworks for about 3 hours. :o) Thanks for having us over! It sure was a lot of fun!

July 10- Kirk and Erika went "camping" out in the front yard in a tent. She was so excited and thought her dad was the coolest thing ever! She actually made it all night, I was pretty surprised.

July 11- Kirk got this slide last year, I won't go into details on how he obtained it. :o) ha ha ha... Anyway, he jimmy rigged it so Erika can use it to slide into her pool. She's been having a hey day with it!!

July 13- After coming home from watching the Bachelorette at Jennis' house, (YES, I LOVE IT!!!) I went into to check on my sleeping babies to find them sleeping in awkward positions. I thought it was hilarious and took the picture of Erika hanging half way off her bed, and Kaden crammed into the corner with his feet up! :o) Oh how precious they are when they are sleeping and can't talk back!!!

July 16- We have a church playgroup every Thursday and Karen Peterson was so gracious to invite us to her home where we had a water party! The kids had a blast, there was the rectangle pool, 2 different fun sprinklers, a swing set and a sand box. The kids had so much fun, and it was fun to visit as always.

July 17- After repeatedly telling Erika to get into bed for her nap..... After she had dressed up and got in trouble for being out of bed.... I walked in 5 minutes later to find.... my very own Sleeping Beauty! She was so cute in her dress-up dress, with her shoes by her head and her crown still on. I couldn't resist snapping a picture.

July 24- Jennis came over to do a workout video and as they were leaving I walked outside to find Lucas naked. He had stripped down so he wouldn't get in trouble for getting his clothes wet and he was sliding down into the pool. It was too funny to get mad at him. And all day I wished that we lived in Utah so Kirk would have the day off to celebrate Pioneer Day with the family. :( But nonetheless, I am grateful to those who came before us, who gave their lives and their belongings, and made so many sacrifices, so we can be here today.

July 25- As many of you know Rhonda and Andy are in the process of adopting a little girl named Kylie Marie Elizabeth. She is absolutely adorable! So Saturday we had some fun and I got to throw a shower for Rhonda. Thanks to everyone for your help! And thanks to everyone who came and made it such a fun party!

So, after that novel, that's what we Smith's have been up to in this fabulous month of July! I am loving the HOT weather! I am loving my kiddos, my husband and this wonderful country that we live in! I am loving my freedom and I'm so thankful to those who serve our country in so many different ways. Until next time...... Have a great summer!!!