I can't believe we are already done with our time with Lu. We did SO many fun things, went on lots of adventures, and played so many games of Clue. We loved having her around and hopefully she can join us again next summer.
This last week with Lu was a fun one! Monday, I wasn't sure what to do but then Margaret had a suggestion and joined us on this adventure. First, we went up to Mud Mountain Dam. We packed a lunch to eat, the girls played on the playground, and then they all had fun in the splash pad.
Juliette and Paige didn't bring their swimming suits but they sure had fun splashing each other.
Then we took the short walk to view the dam.
Our last stop on our adventure was Rainier Creamery. It is a local creamery that Margaret has been telling us about for a while and she wanted to treat us to their ice cream. Of course, we said yes and enjoyed some very delicious, creamy ice cream.
Tuesday morning, we finally finished the puzzle we have been working on for a few days.
Perfect summer puzzle for our perfect summer! It was a great thrift store find, and all the pieces were there!
Then Tuesday evening, we went and floated the river at Flaming Geyser with Celina and her mom. It was SO much fun! There was lots of screaming, laughing, and such an enjoyable way to end our day.
Wednesday, I went to my Inklings group in the morning and came back to the older girls painting and Baylor and McCall playing with her Paw Patrol. I was super impressed with Juliette's painting!
Then in the afternoon we did a fun lake day with the young women from our ward. We did this last year and the girls loved it! There were 9 girls and 3 paddleboards and some tubes. They were out on the water for 2 hours straight. They had fun jumping in the water and McCall and Baylor loved playing in their own tubes and swimming in the water.
We ended our fun day with a fire. We enjoyed some hot dogs for dinner and then some smores.
Thursday was a rainy day but that didn't stop us one bit! We had to adjust some plans, but we made the most of it and still did so many fun things for a rainy day.
Our first stop was Poulsbo, WA also known as Little Norway. It is the cutest little town and was so fun to wander through. Since it was still raining pretty hard at this point, we loved being able to go in all the shops and do some window shopping.
We found the licorice shrine in one of the markets.
We got a giant donut to share, got some taffy to taste teste, looked at books, found an old phone booth, saw some cool art bugs that their legs were made out of pieces from a typewriter that was worth $500, the girl's favorite by far was the rock store, and a fun little bath and book store with a bathtub full of bath bombs.
There was a really cool marina and boardwalk but the older girls were done with the rain at this point. McCall was the brave one and we walked out in the rain for a bit. We enjoyed some lunch in the car before driving onto Bainbridge Island.
The rain had started to slow down at this point so we stopped and did the labryinth and wandered around there for a bit.
Then a quick stop to see the troll.
And then a ferry ride into Seattle. I love ferry rides and even though the weather wasn't ideal, it did stop raining so we got to enjoy being out in the wind longer than I anticipated.
Then Paige and Juliette got to go on the Great Wheel (the ferris wheel right on the water at the edge of pier) and I had fun with the younger two on the playground and my favorite part with them was we found this new turf area that was a perfect place for them to roll down, run around, and do cartwheels. It was right by the ferris wheel we got to wave to the older girls two times which was super fun.
I told Paige to take lots of pictures while they were up there and it was fun to look at them all with her afterwards.
Then we made a quick stop at the gum wall and Paige and Juliette even added some of their own to it and thought it was the most disgusting thing ever. :)
Then a quick stop at Pike's Place to see them throw some fish before heading home. It was a full, fun-filled day!
Once I got the two younger girls to bed, I played a few games of Clue with Paige and Lu which is always fun and while we were playing, they decided brownies sounded good. So, they made brownies at 10 o'clock at night.
Friday's adventure took us to Dash Point State Park to enjoy some time at the beach. It was such a fun afternoon and so relaxing! The girls had fun in the water, and of course even though we didn't bring swimming suits, they all got soaking wet. The girls found shells, jumped over waves, build sandcastles, and just enjoyed every moment of the sun and sand.
Juliette had only got her legs wet, but Paige convinced her to take a dip in the ocean water. It was fun to watch!
We played and had fun until the tide rolled back in and reached the sandcastle.
It was such a fun afternoon despite Paige getting the worst sunburn on her back that she has ever gotten.
Then they wanted some even more water time, and we went out on the paddleboard and a kayak in the evening. It was super nice for me since Baylor paddled almost the entire time. I just got to sit back and listen to music as I looked at all the houses. I'm so grateful for this time with my girls!
Saturday morning, we started our day off with going to the parade for Covington Days. The parade was so much fun, and we were joined by Celina and Brandon and their family, Nona, and Anna and Scott's family. We kept ourselves entertained by seeing how many cars we could get to wave to us until they shut the street down. The parade was great and the girls got so much candy. Juliette even met her Washington boyfriend! (It's been a running joke that she would find a boy while here in Washington and the Kentlake football team was handing out candy and a flyer of their schedule and one of them handed the schedule to Juliette and I nudged her arm and she got so embarrassed and I was laughing so hard that I was crying!)
Baylor and McCall got to enjoy the bounce houses and the girls all got their faces painted.
We got some cleaning done in the afternoon and then Bella and Lizzy came over for dinner and game night. These four have so much fun together and are best buds! We sat with them at church today and there were some very long hugs after church. They will all miss having Lu around!
34 days with Juliette! We will miss having her around! I will miss our nightly games and Juliette being way too competitive. I will miss hearing laughter erupt from Paige's room and them staying up way too late every night just talking the night away. I will miss having to remind her every day to drink her salt water. I will miss our fun conversations and our loving teasing. What an amazing 34 days!
