Last Day

 Lola just finished her first session of gymnastics. On the last day, the parents got to sit down on the floor instead of watching from above in the viewing area. The kids got to show off all of the skills that they've been working on the past twelve weeks. I am amazed how much Lola learned and how confident she is becoming physically. I am happy she loves it so much, and think I'll keep her in class throughout next year. Nana and Bub came to watch and cheer her on, which made her that much more proud to show off her skills.

 Part of the cheering squad, breaking from gymnastics for some cuddles and kisses.

The fantastic four.

Luke, Lola, Sophia and Brooklyn have all been friends since Lola was nine months old, and they are now all three. I became friends with their moms through Team in Training, and we would get together once a week for two years, having a stroller run together, which grew into stroller run and coffee dates, then parks dates, and now we meet for play dates. We managed to get them all into gymnastics together and have loved our time to watch our kids and chat ever week. These four are all so different, and all love being around each other. I hope that these four will be lifelong friends!

Father's Day 2013

 Mac, being very considerate with his decorating of Dan's present.

On Sunday morning, we took a beautiful 10 mile bike ride with our good friends, the Huntoon's, in Coeur d'Alene right along the lake. We stopped halfway through the enjoy some sunshine and the water, and then ended our trip with lunch together. Our first ride with our kids in the bike trailer, and they loved it!

 Reading time with their favorite dad.

 Party time!

Backyard BBQ at Nana & Bub's. The menu: beer & brats, strawberry shortcake for dessert.

 Teaching Lola to snap.

 Lola (and Mac) picked out a new Gonzaga golf shirt for Dan.

 Bub got a stainless steel Coleman cooler for keeping his beer on ice on the back patio.

Lola loved the box the cooler came in and played in it until dinner time.

Familes that StayTogether...

Dance Together!

 

Dan called me a hippie for buying these colorful silks for Lola to dance with, but the older she gets, the more she absolutely loves to dance and prance around the house with them, and the more others like to join in as well. Nothing like a family dance party with parents, two grandmas, an auntie and a Bub to bring the brightest smile on our dancing girl. Making dinner with Auntie Beca and having girl time with her and Grandma Linda made for a perfect day for Lola!

Gymnastics

Lola has been in gymnastics class for the past few months and goes every Monday morning with three of her friends. Mac and I watch from "the viewing area" up above the gym. It makes me so happy to see Lola laughing with her friends, listening to her teachers, and learning. She just seems so big to me. Before I was a mom, a three year old seemed so little, and she just amazes me at how big she can be!

Fairies & Flying Fish

One of Lola's favorite books is called The Story of the Root Children, where little fairies come up from beneath the ground once it's spring and paint all of the flowers that are beginning to grow. We've been noticing all of the flowers in our yard and at the parks where the fairies have been :)

 Lola & Nana were at our favorite nursery a few weekends ago and discovered a new section with everything you need to design a fairy garden. After much consideration, they came home with a miniature bird bath, two fairies, and some plants. Nana helped a bit with the planting but Lola got to design it herself, and now checks on the fairies and repositions them whenever we are at Nana's house. I am so happy that Lola loves learning about plants and flowers from Nana and hope she ends up getting more of a green thumb than I have!

 Another book that Lola loves, from Katy & Abo, is Larry Gets Lost in Seattle. The dog in the story gets lost and wanders through all of the main attractions in Seattle, a few of which Lola has been to. This last trip to Seattle, we talked about the different places from the book that we could go see and Lola picked the flying fish at Pike Place Market.

 

On the one free day we had on our short trip, I packed Mac up in the Ergo carrier and Lola and I walked through the market together. Lola loved all of the booths selling crafts, jewelry, food & flowers, and when we came to the flying fish stand, we watched for about five minutes before someone came up and picked out a salmon to be filleted. Lola loved the workers shouting the order and repeating each other. They threw the fish up behind the counter and started working on it. Then a boy, about eleven asked to catch a fish so the man who we were standing by grabbed a smaller fish and they threw it back and forth a few times. Lola and Mac both watched and loved that! After we had our snack that we brought, I asked Lola if we should go pick out a bracelet, maybe a lollipop, etc. and she said, "I just want to go watch the flying fish again!" So back to it we went and hung around for another ten minutes before walking back through the market and headed to Rachael's place.  What a simple thing to do that both of the kids loved so much- and were exhausted from!