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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Day 213: Shopping with My Mom

July 31
It's been years and years since my mom and I have gone shopping together, just the two of us.  We celebrated by buying ourselves new shoes.

Day 212: Hermit Crab

July 30
We took my parents & brother to Indian Beach on the coast today.  The kids (well, all of us, really) spent hours searching the tide pools for interesting sea life.  Vicki befriended a bunch of hermit crabs.  I believe this one's name is Hermie.

Day 211: Blueberry Pie

July 29
I made my first ever blueberry pie tonight.  It was also my first ever attempt at a lattice top, and I'd say both turned out pretty awesome.

Day 210: Good to the Last Drop

July 28
I swear we don't normally go out for ice cream this often, but Grandma & Grandpa and Uncle Alan came into town this afternoon and we went back to YoCream this evening for dessert, which Vicki thoroughly enjoyed.

Day 209: Happy Campers!

July 27
These two had a fabulous time at camp and are already talking about going back next year!

Day 208: Sleepover Friends

July 26
Ellie had her friend Anna sleep over tonight, and they decided to camp out in our elephant tent in the living room.

Day 207: Going Places

July 25
Chris took the car to work today, so Ellie, Katie and I made our way to swimming lessons using other modes of transportation.

Day 206: Navigators

July 24
I took Ellie and her best friend Katie to the zoo today, and they practiced their map skills.

Day 205: YoCream Dream

July 23
With her sisters out of the picture for a week, Ellie is livin' the dream of every third child.  Among her plans for while they were gone was a trip to YoCream for frozen yogurt, so that's what we did tonight.  I promise she has frozen yogurt in that cup somewhere underneath all the M&Ms.

Day 204: Bench Sitters

July 22
We dropped these two off at camp this afternoon.  I really don't know what they were doing in this picture, but it's one of only two that I took today, and the other one didn't make any sense, either.

Day 203: Mustache

July 21
While cleaning the girls' bathroom, I discovered this awesome mustache that one of them had stuck on the mirror, and I couldn't resist.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Day 202: Breakfast

July 20
The first of many creations to come with yesterday's blueberries!

Day 201: Blueberry Pickers

July 19
We met up with some good friends on Sauvie Island to pick blueberries and came home with 14lbs.  Yum!

Day 200: Up the Falls

July 18
We took Vicki's Girl Scout troop on a hike to the top of Multnomah Falls.  This was right at the start - they look a lot more cheerful here than in the shot at the top.  It's a mile and a quarter, pretty much straight up, and they did great, but we were all exhausted by the time we got there.  The hike down was a lot faster!

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Day 199: Stick Bomb Goes Off

July 17
It's a little tricky to see what's happening here, but just imagine a whole bunch of tongue depressors flying at high speed and you've pretty much got it.  See here for how it looked before she set it off.

Day 198: In Her Dreams

July 16
We went shoe shopping today.  Lexi may have been kidding when she told me she wanted these, but, then again, she may not have.

Day 197: Blue Flowers

July 15
I love blue flowers, because it's a color you don't see all that often in nature.  I may or may not have trespassed on someone's lawn to take this picture.

Day 196: I Scream for Ice Cream

July 14
Ellie woke up this morning and got all her Saturday jobs done so that she could go on a date with me.  I had nothing to do with planning this event, but figured if it meant she'd get her jobs done early, then I couldn't really complain.  So, between errands that I actually had to run anyway, we stopped at Ben & Jerry's for a little refreshment.

Day 195: Going Up

July 13
Tonight was the first of what we hope will be many Friday evenings at the park.  Ellie and her friend Leif climbed up the outside of this slide over and over.

Day 194: The View from the Top

July 12
My friend Rachel and I took our older kids and a few of their friends on a hike past Mirror Lake and up Tom, Dick, & Harry Mountain.  This view of Mt. Hood made the exhausting climb totally worth it.

Day 193: Sous Chef

July 11
Chris was in California and Vicki was out with a friend, so Lexi and Ellie helped me prepare dinner tonight: ravioli with alfredo sauce.  Apart from grating the Parmesan, which Ellie did for us, Lexi made the sauce herself.  Yummy!

Day 192: Passed!

July 10
Ellie got her sticker for passing from level 3 to level 4 today, which she says is no big deal because she ended the summer in level 4 last year.  Apparently the last two days were a big review for her, and now she's ready to get down to business and learn those arm strokes.

Day 191: Swimmer

July 9
The summer has officially begun for us now that we're home from vacation, and that means swimming lessons every morning.

Day 190: Stick Bomb Setup

July 8
Uncle Britton brought over his stick bomb kit, and he and Vicki spent the hours before we left for the airport constructing one.  I wish I had been able to get a decent shot of it exploding, because it was really cool, but it went way too fast to capture anything good.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Day 189: Personalities

July 7
We had pictures today with my family.  Once the photographer was finished, I snapped a few of my own.  I love how this one captures each of the girls' personalities perfectly.

Day 188: Sunset

July 6
Despite spending the afternoon with good friends, this was, sadly, the only picture I took.

Day 187: Mmmmm...

July 5
The girls headed up for a sleepover with my parents, so Chris and I spent the afternoon wandering through the new City Creek shopping center, trying on highly overpriced clothes and enjoying a snack of salted caramel pretzels from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.

Day 186: Waiting for the Show

July 4
We decided to brave the post-fireworks crowds and stake out a spot at the Sandy City show this year.  The girls came up with all kinds of creative ways to keep busy during the three hours we waited before it started.

Day 185: Teeth

July 3
Vicki had to have three molars pulled today to make room for her baby teeth.  She's been a trooper, but is mad about all the foods she can't enjoy while she's waiting for her mouth to heal.

Day 184: Obsessed

July 2
We took the girls to the main branch of the Salt Lake City library today.  It's such an amazing building, but more than looking at the structure, Lexi was excited to find the second book in a series she started at the beginning of this trip.

Day 183: Yema Grace

July 1
My cousin and her husband just adopted their 3rd child, this time from Ethiopia.  We were happy to be able to attend her blessing at church today, and celebrate with them afterward.