to nana’s house we go

After July 4th weekend ended, the kids and I spent a month in my hometown, Yakima, escaping the heat of the Las Vegan desert. From the pictures you can tell how much time the kids spent outside. From dawn until dusk they slip-n-slided, filled water balloons, rode bikes, and swam–just how I remembered my childhood…
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We also spent some time in the mountains.
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The kids very much enjoyed meeting loads of new family, playing with nana’s dogs, and getting to know their other cousins a little better. The best part was stepping outside and not feeling my life drain instantly from my body as the scorching heat sucked it right out of me. :) Yeah, that was definitely the best part. Now that we are nearing the end of September and temps are back into the 90’s, things like grocery shopping at midday and touching my steering wheel and seatbelt have become bearable once more. I know, I know, it could always be worse–we could live in Phoenix. :)

4th of July

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We started our summery vacay off with a bang. Fourth of July at Bear Lake meant family, friends, and fun.

It meant turning the bounce house into a water slide:
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And exploring Minnetonka Cave:
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And hiking Limber Pine trail:
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And picking mommy lots of wildflowers:

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We went boating, jet skiing, hottubing, fourwheeling, and we played lots of games. The kids were on sensory overload, I think. They had the time of their lives. It was exactly what I envisioned their first summer holiday being like. :)

We also watched the fireworks, of course, feeling grateful for the land that we so dearly love:
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Thanks Hirschi Family for another wonderful July 4th together.

hiatus, check

Wow, what a summer. Our stuff is still in storage, and our kids are currently farmed out, but other than that we are back from our summer of travel. The kids had a blast in Washington and Utah. They were able to meet loads of family for the first time. They were able to play outside all day and all night without roasting to death or scorching their little feet. They were able to experience new things like a slip-and-slide, a jet ski, and water balloons. All in all, it was a fantastic summer.

I was without computer the entire summer, which made it impossible to download pictures and blog. So Adam has been steadily downloading and then reloading all of my pics whilst here in London. And now that he is off working for the day, I have some time to rescue this sad little blog from its recent obscurity.

We are supposed to sign the lease, and move into our new place on 10 September, but there is a slight hiccup that might cause us to delay a bit. We’ll see how that works out. Regardless, the kids and I are anxious to get settled and start schooling. They are excited to be at home with me, especially with the prospect of dad joining us for lunch most days. Hopefully, it all works out as planned.

A HUGE public THANKS to Debbi, Marisa, Valerie, Jena and Jaime (and anyone else) for helping with the kids this week. We are having a great time.