Soccer Jamboree

Before the official season begins, Brady's soccer league has a jamboree.  Teams play three games in one day during the last weekend in August. Brady's team did great - winning all of their games - and Brady contributed with 4 or 5 goals. So proud of my guy!

Love this face. 

After each goal, he immediately looks over to the sidelines to make sure I saw his goal. It's some of my favorite moments of the game.

Posing for the camera.

Fire!

As most of your know, whenever we go on vacation we generally experience the Doehne curse. It usually results in someone becoming ill, however this year it did not come in the form of sickness, but rather fire.  A few weeks before our trip to Lake Chelan, a huge wildfire started near the town of Chelan.  For days before our trip, we debated whether we should go or not.  The air quality was varying from bad to unhealthy. We postponed our trip by a few days then decided to head out with the understanding that we might have to head back home if conditions were too bad.  Luckily, the roads in and out of Chelan were not affected; but the town of Chelan, which is normally a bustling summer town was somewhat of a ghost town which left a strange, and almost surreal feeling.  Instead of boats in the water, we watched firefighting aircraft most of the day and into the night. All in all, it turned out to be ok and we decided to stay for the remainder of the week. It was definitely a reminder for me and lesson for the kids of just how devastating a fire can be and how grateful we need to be for all the firefighters risking their lives each and every day. 

                                    

                        

We promised the kids a trip to Slidewaters with the Worsley family so we picked the day with the best forecast and crossed our fingers it would work out.  Surprising, it ended up being one of the better days in Lake Chelan that week and as a bonus, there were no crowds. Crazy to think less than a week before we were there, the fire was just feet from burning down the park.  Again, many props to those tireless firefighters!

We found some fun activities inside during the bad smoke days 

and took short trips to the pool when the air quality cleared up.

My Little Mermaid

Busy Little Bees

The month of August seems to always be a crazy one as we try to fit in all of our last minute summer fun before school starts.  This year was no different.  The kids and I kept busy with swim lessons, a fun run, a sneak peek of our new house, a trip to the beach and a girls night out to see a Broadway play.

Swim Lessons

 Kids Fun Run

These pictures make me smile. 

They accurately depict the relationship between these two at the moment. 

A little back story: Before the race started, Josh and I told the kids to run the race together.  After a bit, Brady started to run in front of Abi, which drove her crazy as he was "not following the rules". As Josh and I stood on the sidelines cheering them on, they started to pass by us.  The first one we saw was Brady - happy as can be, smiling, loving just how much he was frustrating his sister. Next, we heard Abi, running a few feet back, yelling at Brady at the top of her lungs for not running the race together. Josh and I could do nothing by chuckle.

Being the first born, I can completely relate to Abi's response as I know my brother often played the role of Brady when we were growing up and more often than not, it drove me crazy. Just ask my Dad who will gladly share stories of me, meeting him at the top of the garage stairs as soon as he got home from work, to tell him all about my daily trails and tribulations of how this, that and another was not fair. Looking back now, I realize how much I loved having a sibling while growing up and I wouldn't trade it for the world.  I hope my kids {will eventually} feel the same about each other.

 Both kids ran the entire race and finished with flying colors. 

After the race, all hard feelings were forgotten and they celebrated their victories together.

Sneak Peek
Our apartment is only about 10 minutes away from our house so we take frequent trips to drive by the house to see the progress.  This day was exciting because we actually got to take a trip inside.  We still have a couple more months before we can move in and it can't come soon enough. 

Brady's favorite part was wearing a hard hat :)

Jetty Island
We took our first trip to Jetty Island.  It was beautiful! I can't wait to go back.

The kids even thought the passenger only ferry ride was awesome.

Nattie thought we were at a topless beach :)

Girls Night Out...The Musical, Matilda

Such a fun show!  Abi loved it and we have been singing along with the soundtrack for weeks. Grandma joined us as well but somehow avoided all the photo ops.

Weekend at Whidbey

Thanks to our great friends, the Worsley's, we spent the weekend at Whidbey Island enjoying the sun, sand, and water!

Nothing beats a sunset at Whidbey!