The First Day of School


First day of school...already? It's only July 26th. Summer is still going, although I must admit I can't wait for it to be over with! (Bring on the fall, and winter. I love it.) The girls were so excited to pick out their school supplies and go shopping. Good thing we have all girls! - Girls like to shop.
Waiting to get on the bus...

Girls smile...yes, I have them well trained. But I don't feel bad, because every other mom was doing the exact same thing...with camera in hand. It is our job as mom's to preserve the memories, and the family blog.

Are the cousins here yet?


If I had a dollar every time I heard, 'are the cousins here yet?' I could go to Starbucks for weeks. What a blessing to be able to see the Graue's, although we missed Tom. We spent the night in Tucson at Matt's parents house, had a great dinner and just a fun time talking.


Brandon, the oldest cousin, Ashley, Ryan, Alyssa, Mia, & Madison...


You can't visit Arizona and not see a scorpion...we got the boys a scorpion lollipop.


Dennis, Shannon, & Matt


Ryan listening to his tunes.


Madison was so excited to be around new faces...I think she loved that the cousins were 'boys.'
Wild Horse Pass Resort
The cousins and Grandpa and Grandma stayed at the resort for one night, so the kids could swim and hang out. It was fun, but really hot!

I wonder how many times Alyssa and Ryan went down the slide...?


There's everyone at the top of the slide.


Madison loved going down with her dad.






Looking at the fish.


It was fun...


Adventures to Rawhide


From the resort you can take a boat ride to Rawhide, the Western themed town.


Family picture in the resort...


We all piled into the boat.


The driver said we should watch out for crocodiles...


We had the best driver going over...he played some sweet songs, like Roll'em Roll'em Roll'em - Rawhide and the theme song to Sponge Bob Square Pants.




We were cracking up...


Mia thought Brandon was so cool, and tall.










This picture cracks me up!

Desert and Dancing at the Steak House.





Alyssa and Grandpa did a crossword puzzle.


Brandon was the only one who ordered the chocolate cake...it was huge!

Notice all the other forks digging in, I did too! It was a fun evening. The next morning we went to breakfast at the Cracker Barrel...then stopped by our house before the cousins drove back to Tucson. A quick photo session...






The cousins had a great time, although I hope Brandon and Ashley talk more next time, I think it's their age! Thanks for visiting with us, we love you.

Summer Fun (part 2)


Summer is still going strong, even though school is just around the corner. We went out to dinner at Blue Wasabi with our friends Josh and Mikele. Ohhhh it was so much fun. It was really interesting yet tasty food and great conversation. I am all for doing that again! Mikele has a blog too, in case you were wondering.

Painting
One thing I HAD to do was re-paint the guest room. Here are the before colors...dark brown and light blue. I thought of taking a pic after I had already started painting.

It's much cozier...

A Hopekid family event we all went to was Toy Story 3...what a cute movie. We all loved it.
Ashley is still taking pictures of herself...I can't believe she's going to be in 8th grade! When did this happen? She looks older than she is.
Little outings -
Remy and I having tea...we braved it sitting outside.


Church girls coffee...


Bootcamp pedi's...

VBS - family portrait...
My mom and I at VBS...no we didn't plan to both wear pink, but we did.
Matt's dad -
We went to Tucson again to check on Dennis...we ended up taking him to the hospital so a nurse from his clinic could check on his port. Still waiting to hear if it's infected or not.
Max is still around. Awwww, what a cute face...you would never know he bites.

Matt enjoying some time with his dad...sorry for all the pic's Dennis, but I have to keep up the blog.

We went to breakfast with Grannie...


Then for some shopping...


It actually sprinkled for a few minutes, how exciting. These girls are definitely NOT from the Seattle area.

A treat for the little girls, they picked out a special doll, thanks Grannie! We are ready for some other summer adventures...but the next big thing is back to school.