August fun

Summer has come to an end for me, as I returned to work on August 19th and the kids go back to school next week.  We made a lot of great summer memories in August and are ready to welcome a new school year with our 2nd grader, kindergartener, and preschooler!

Camps:

Nate at Salmon Science camp with friends

Riley & Isabella at art camp

Riley and the girls at dance camp - led by two awesome 10 year-olds!

Fun around town:

Issaquah splash day

Neil Diamond tribute band at a local park

Pine Lake Park

Ben wearing Nate's swimshirt and Riley's extra bathing suit bottoms - the only dry things we had after he decided to run into the lake after changing into dry clothes.

Last minute after dinner trip to Seattle just for fun.

Snoqualmie Falls w/ Gramps

Nate really wanted to hike to the top of a mountain, so we did! He did great on our hike to the top of poo poo point (yep-that's the name), the launching pad of paragliders that we see every few days throughout the summer.

Transitions:

A little love before mom heads to work

Ben's meet the teacher

Our big second grader checking out his new class.

Someone is very ready for Kindergarten!

East Coast Trip Part 2: Cape Cod, Old Lyme, and Rochester

The second part of our trip was how all great trips should end, in the comfort of the homes of the grandmas, truly GRAND moms, Noni and Badamma! And in the middle of it, Ramesh and I got a night away to attend our college friend Jermaine's wedding.  

Cape Cod:

beach babes

The kids loved the chickens at Auntie Pam's house.

 

It was so great to catch up with Elana, another friend from our freshman year hallway.

Old Lyme:

So fun to run into Jermaine as soon as we drove into town.  We literally drove by him and I yelled out the window to him and then we pulled over and ran to see each other.  We haven't seen Jermaine in years but we will always be best buds.

Enjoying an outdoor concert before the wedding.

It was a beautiful outdoor ceremony uniting two wonderful people.  It was an honor to finally meet Katherine.

 Rochester
After a very long drive, we ended our trip in Mesh's hometown of Pittsford, NY.  The kids were tired out by this point, so we mostly just stuck close to home and enjoyed the outdoors.

The road trip from Cape Cod to Pittsford was a long one, and oftentimes not very fun (whining, too many bathroom stops, a steady stream of  questions such as "Are we there yet?"), but I did manage to capture this moment between Riley and Nate.  And this is the moment I will choose to remember...though it may take a while to erase many of the other moments. ;)

Wegmans is Mesh's first and favorite stop when he returns to Pittsford. It is a grocery store but so much more.  This man seriously loves to eat and this grocery store is huge.  

This is what you get when you wait until the last day of a 2 week trip to try to get a family photo. :)

We arrived home tonight with tired bodies, happy hearts, and minds full of wonderful memories. It had been sunny here while we were away but we arrived home to a rainy, gray night.  You know you are a true Washingtonian when this was the perfect homecoming.  Time for a cup of hot chocolate and an early bedtime...because we know that adorable trio will be up way before dawn.