The 4th of July

We lucked out with great weather for the 4th of July.  Ethan was home for several days and at at the last second, Randy's sister Heidi and her family ended up spending the 4th and 5th with us.  We packed a lot in, as usual.  

We always spend a lot of time on the boat when the college boys are home and this time Ethan convinced Henry to try surfing.  A LOT OF BRIBERY took place.  I can't remember but I'm pretty sure Henry earned a Panda stuffie (Henry is obsessed with all things Panda, and black & white are his favorite colors).

Ethan looking all patriotic as he hung my new chandelier in the dining room.  Every time he's home I have a handy-man project for him and he usually gets them done for me.  I love him!

Henry and his buddies playing at the park during our annual ward breakfast

Husking corn is such a trial!

Boating is not a trial but waiting to surf and teaching people how to surf is not always the funnest

Lots of people on the boat means lots of waiting for a turn

Ethan and Halle showing us how couples surf :)

We had a huge crowd of friends and family this year and the backyard felt magical

Parker pretending he doesn't like sparklers

My patriotic Glassy Babies 

Such a cool pic even though the firework show was LAME this year!

Parker holding Baby Enzo, the first great grand baby on the Balls side

We spent the 5th of July boating with Heidi's family into Seattle and eating at Ivars

We were only about 9 days into summer vacation and loving every second of it!

Three Weeks with Marcus

We had three short weeks with Marcus home from his mission before he left for BYU.  We played so hard!  We ended up spending the first couple days he was home with the Walker family.  Their son Jacob returned from Brazil the day before Marcus.  As soon as Marcus was released from being a missionary, we went to lunch at his favorite place, Q-Doba, then took him to see Jacob.  They were basically inseparable after that.  I think they both loved having someone else to help them navigate all the weird feelings of being home.  They worked out together, saw friends, got caught up on movies, and played hard.  They both spoke in sacrament meeting together (Marcus gave a great talk about how his mission was the best decision he'd ever made and how God is in the details of our lives) and we held a joint homecoming party at the Walker's house.  So many people showed up and there was a ton of good food and of course swimming on the lake.

Q-Doba and his first meal at "home"

We were on Lake Sammamish with the Walkers within few hours of Marcus' return.

The next day we were on Lake Washington watching the Blue Angels.  It's the best day of the year in Seattle.  Randy also managed to get pulled over not once but twice by the Coast Guard police.  Luckily we weren't given a ticket.  I think the cops were sure that a boat with 17 people in it must have some serious partying going on.  

The first of two police after they pulled us over

Dad and Kathy came for Marcus' homecoming talk

We squeezed in a temple trip after boating and before dinner and the homecoming party. 

The only picture of the homecoming party

Elder Snell, Marcus's bestie from Utah was serving here and got permission to hear Marcus speak

Marcus's first nap after the mission.  He was out cold for a few hours.

This is the bear rug that greeted him when he came home.  The boys love to accessorize him.

And this is the disaster area of my bedroom as Marcus unpacked and re-packed for college

These boys are besties and hung out whenever we weren't with Marcus

We played so hard that the only person willing to go to the Mariners game with Randy was Landon.  They had fun and the rest of us had fun not being there.  

4th of July

The sun came out for the 4th of July!!  We were worried.  It hasn't felt like summer for most of June which happens sometimes here and when it does, I complain!  We have to store up all the sunshine we can and make the most of the brief window of opportunity when the Pacific Northwest is paradise on earth.

We started the day out with our annual ward pancake breakfast.  We put up signs and banners so community members who were at the park would know who we were and join in.  We had lots of kids going through the food line, happy for free food.  

Henry up to bat in an intense game of wiffle ball 

Kids getting their bikes all decorated for the bike parade

The Johnson's are the greatest, even without Megan

After the breakfast we braved the crowds and went boating on Lake Sammamish.  Turned out to be a great day on the lake and not very crowded.  Boating was more fun because the Johnson's were with us.  We sure miss Megan though.  She is serving a mission in Colorado Springs and loving life!

We had a BBQ that night and I actually made the hamburger patties myself, instead of buying the frozen kind.  They were pretty tasty, I must say.  We invited everyone to come to our backyard to watch the fireworks and had such a small crowd this year.  It's so sad how many families and good friends of ours have moved!  It made me sad.  But the fire works were spectacular and no one fell off the roof.  Win!

Doesn't this look at fun and cozy?  I actually hate s'mores :) The taste doesn't outweigh the mess.

I've spent countless hours reseeding my lawn this spring and summer.  I thatched it.  I aerated it.  I raked it.  I dumped soil/seed mixture on it twice and it finally looks pretty amazing.  I am proud.

Happy 4th of July!

 

What a Weekend!

We had summer-like weather over Mother's Day weekend and we took advantage of it.  Randy and I were invited to attend an auction/fundraiser with a bunch of friends on Friday night.  I wish we'd gotten a picture with some of the other couples and people at our table but oh well.  The views from the golf course were beautiful and the fancy dinner was also delicious.  The dress code was formal so naturally I stressed and ordered 5 different dresses and 4 different pairs of shoes.  Thank you Amazon!  I returned everything except for a pair of shoes I bought at Target two hours before the event.  Thank goodness for Spanx so I could fit into this dress that I've had for the last ten years :) 

We got home to texts and photos from friends who were looking at the Northern Lights so I dragged Landon outside at midnight to check it out.  It was worth it!  Turns out the Northern lights are best scene through the lens of a camera but it was still an amazing experience.  It was spontaneous and beautiful and felt like just the right thing to do on May 10th, Lindsey's heaven day.  Miss you Linz!

Saturday was crammed full of sports, church stuff, and Sunday prep.  Then we dropped every
thing and took the boat out for the first time this season.  It was also the first time we went boating with all three boat owner/families.  Luckily Marcus and Ethan weren't there because there wouldn't have been enough room!  We cruised through Lake Washington and into Lake Union where we found a new restaurant to dock at for dinner.  The food was pretty good but the sunshine and setting was even better!

Henry and a few others jumped into the water for a polar bear plunge.  The water was already 64 degrees but that's still pretty cold!  Those long black tubes blow hot air and are the best way to warm up.

Mother's Day was great!  And busy as I prepared a special lesson for all the women in my ward.  Once that was over, I got to relax all day.  My boys refused to cooperate for a picture but they wrote me nice letters that melted my heart.  I'm saving them to re-read on those days when I want to punch them in the nose or when they act like animals.  Randy bought me a huge cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory so I spent Monday delivering cheesecake to several friends.  It was kind of awesome!  I'm used to getting cheesecake for special occasions but I sure would love to have a slice delivered to my door on a random day.  My friends loved it! Also, I miss Mom and Linz.