Keeping Busy

As you will see by the pictures below, we have been keeping very busy this summer.  We ventured up to Lakewood, WA to spend time with Lance's parents Fourth of July weekend.  We had a delicious barbeque with some family friends and the girls had their first real exposure to fireworks.  Other than horrendous traffic getting there (there was a vehicular homicide on the highway, so it had to be completely shut down.  It took us 3 hours to travel 3 miles) we all had a good time.  A few days later my parents flew out for a long weekend.  Even though the visit was far too short, we filled it with a lot of fun.  My parents and I took the girls to our county fair in Salem that Friday which was a really nice outing.  The weather wasn't too hot, the fair wasn't too crowded, and the girls got tons of interaction with the animals....it really was a good time.  That Saturday we actually met my cousin Kim and my cousin Jen along with her husband and two kids in Portland.  We had a really nice lunch at a brewhouse and the kids got to play at a park nearby.  It was a fun visit!  That Sunday evening we actually helped Lance's parents move into their new house in south Salem.  Now that all of the excitement is over, we have been staying busy with our second session of swim lessons and having little adventures with Nana and Papa Valiquette.  We have been exploring new parks and we even went to another county fair nearby.  This fair wasn't as big as the one in Salem, and there was not as much interaction with the animals, but it really was a fun day with Nana Valiquette.  We recently had a barbeque at Lance's parents' new house with some extended family. Lance's cousin Brandon's wife (Vanessa) was in town from Colorado with her two kids and she brought her sister and little niece.  Lance's aunt Janet and uncle Pete also stopped by along with Lance's other cousin Brandon.  All of the kids had a blast together and it was fun introducing them to more family.  With keeping so busy, we are just beginning to realize how quickly summer is coming to an end.  Lance and I are celebrating our anniversary (9 years already!) in Newport this upcoming weekend, we are taking a quick trip to Minnesota over Labor Day, then the girls start preschool.  Man, where does the time go?