I have been SO excited to go to the big kid school! Today was finally the day!
I got to start the day with my special cereal. It tasted exactly like Sour Patch kids!
Breakfast with everyone!
Our traditional picture before we left the house. I found these fox ears at a store a few days ago, and since my school’s mascot is a fox, I insisted that I wear these for my pictures!
A picture with Brody who had his first day of preschool today as well.
Showing off my new backpack. I chose Hot Wheels.
In front of my new school!
Grandma and Grandpa had to fly home while I was in school, but it was really fun to have them come to drop me off.
A picture with my wonderful teacher, Mrs. Strader. We adore her!
We had a few minutes to play out on the playground before school started.
Desmond, Elijah, and I are all in different kindergarten classes, but we are excited to get to see each other at recess.
Daddy had a meeting canceled, so he was able to surprise me at the school.
And there I go into my classroom! I don’t know anyone in my class, but I don’t mind one bit. When Mommy asked what I was most looking forward to about kindergarten, I said, “Making new friends.”
Mrs. Strader sent Mommy this picture of me using Play-Doh to make letters.
She also sent Mommy a picture of Ava (Mrs. Strader’s daughter) and Lainey who came to check on me at recess. Lainey looked out for me all day.
A picture of my class!
And at the end of the day, out we come! I had tired eyes, but a big smile.
Elijah had a good day as well.
But check out these hot and tired kindergarteners. These long days will be an adjustment.
We got to get some yummy cookies at the Co-Op after school!
An overview of my day (as told by a very tired boy)!
I had my first day of my last year of preschool today!
I was so excited to eat the delicious cereal I picked out for this very morning.
Breakfast with everyone!
Before we left the house, we took our annual picture. I want to be a race car driver, but I also decided I might like to be a chef when I’m not driving cars.
This is the pose I attempted for most of the pictures.
Henry had his first day of kindergarten today, so we got a couple of pictures together.
Showing off our backpacks.
In front of my preschool! I am so excited that I get to be in the upstairs classroom this year.
My wonderful assistant teacher, Ms. Tietjen.
My wonderful teacher, Mrs. O’Loughlin.
I was quite nervous about going to a new classroom, but I still sat down right away and got to work.
My nervousness quickly went away, though, and my teachers captured pictures of the fun we had.
My favorite part of the day was playing Candy Land with my friend, Shay.
Once my day was over, I exclaimed to Mommy, “I didn’t need to be nervous at all. It was great!” After preschool it was fun to get to have lunch with just me and Mommy.
Then we got to play games.
After we picked up the big kids from school, we went to get yummy cookies at the Co-Op. A perfect first-day-of-school treat!
I got to start second grade at my new elementary school today!
I started the day with my special first-day-of-school cereal I picked out.
I knew I HAD to have this jumpsuit for the first day of school. When Mommy reminded me that today was going to be 93 degrees, I said, “I’ll probably be hot, but I have to wear this because it’s so cute.”
I recently decided that I want to be a veterinarian so I can work with animals.
I was very nervous last night about starting a new school, but I was much more excited about it today!
It’s fun to have Grandma and Grandpa here for this special day.
Ani is a grade older than me, but it was helpful to have a familiar face right off the bat.
My teacher, Mr. Randall. I’m excited to have my “first boy teacher” ever.
Mommy waited with me on the playground until I felt comfortable, but pretty darn quickly I told her that she could leave. I was feeling ready!
These three kindergarteners get to start on Tuesday. They are anxious for their turn at school!
And then before I knew it, it was time for the end of the day. It was a fantastic day! Mirabel and I aren’t in the same class, but Mommy got a picture of us together after school.
We went to celebrate a successful first day with Ferdinand’s ice cream.
Over ice cream I told everyone that I think Mr. Randall is going to be really fun, that I loved recess, and that I’m already making some new friends.
We had a great last camping trip of the summer this past weekend! We went to the KOA in Leavenworth.
After a few years of use, our old tent needed replacement, so this was our first time using the new tent we bought this past week. It’s a little smaller, but worked perfectly!
After getting set up, we went to the campground pool.
Then back to the campsite to wait for dinner to be ready.
Tacos!
Brody prefers just the tortilla with nothing in it.
While we were waiting for the Campbells to arrive (they got stuck in traffic), we went down for a walk on the river.
Mommy told us we weren’t going to swim in the river, but we could go in to our ankles.
But we couldn’t resist….and soon we were in, clothes and all!
After some impromptu swimming, we rode bikes. Lainey found a creative way to take her American Girl along for a ride.
Once the Campbells arrived and set up their tent, we got a fire going for s’mores!
On Saturday morning, Daddy snuck out of the tent and had coffee waiting for Mommy when we all woke up. He’s the best!
Exploring the woods and eating gummy bears by 8:45 a.m. The best.
Baylen and I were good buddies this weekend.
We were expecting afternoon thunder and lightning, so we made sure to get our pool time in the morning.
After lunch we headed into Leavenworth to explore the shops.
First stop was the Christmas store!
We each got to pick out our ornament for the year.
Brody loves baking, so this was perfect for him.
I can’t wait for wrestling season to start!
Ice cream was a must stop!
Sixteen years of friendship for these two!
We went into some cool toy shops and used our allowance to buy a toy.
We had some afternoon rain and lightning, so we watched a show in the tent while the storm passed.
Karl made delicious ribs for dinner.
Campground chess.
Lainey created a fun game to entertain Baylen.
S’mores.
Tent monster.
Late night playing at the playground.
After the kids went to bed, the adults played their annual game of Mexican Train.
Karl made it interesting by making the last few rounds a speed version of Mexican Train. (Daddy aptly named it “Bullet Train.”) Each adult had 11 seconds to make their decision, and then they had to move on. It was intense, but did get the adults into bed before midnight! And Daddy was the winner!
We had more playground time on Sunday morning while the adults packed up the campsites.
We went to play some mini-golf before leaving town.
Our mini-golf rules are very flexible.
But it turns out if you go mini-golfing with overtired kids, there’s going to be lots of whining. And complaining. And meltdowns. Don’t the adults know better than this?!
Lunch together!
A pancake as big as Brody’s head!
It was a great weekend! Can’t wait to do this with the Campbells again next year!
We went to Maryhill State Park this past weekend for the annual Robinson campout!
Halfway through our drive we came upon our favorite store, The Country Mercantile. We got to wander the aisles and pick out eight pieces of candy. Brody’s mouth was too full of candy to show his excitement for this picture.
Once we arrived, Lainey got right to entertaining our cousins, Vern and Matthew.
There were over 50 family members camping, so we had to get creative with where we put our tent. In order to avoid the middle-of-the-night sprinklers, we had to camp on the pad for the picnic table, which meant duct taping over a sharp table attachment so it didn’t poke through our tent.
Before and after dinner we went swimming in the Columbia River.
Dinner time!
Rice Krispie treats from Na Na!
We played many board games this weekend.
A surprise 60th birthday party for Aunt Tina.
Back for swimming way past our bedtime. That’s what camping is all about!
Lainey went with Molly’s family to check out the star presentation up the hill.
While they went to see the stars, I rode my bike and Ba Ba and Mommy played a game of ladder ball. After going back and forth for awhile, Ba Ba won.
Ending the night with s’mores!
Starting off Saturday with a yummy breakfast of cereal, pop-tarts, bacon, and whatever we could scrounge off of the other families.
Matthew had fun riding around with Lainey and Daddy.
Lots of baseball was played this weekend.
Mommy took us on a scavenger hunt for several things, including these pine cones.
Sleeping Queens was the most popular game of the weekend.
Brody practicing his kayak skills.
Time for more swimming!
A couple of hours into our swim time, we had a very sad incident occur…I lost my ice dragon floatie to the winds of the Columbia River. Daddy went through the green sludge in an attempt to get it, but the wind was too much.
I was crying a lot, Lainey was crying for me, and Brody crawled up to snuggle me and comfort me. We were able to purchase a new floatie on Mommy’s phone right there on the beach. It should arrive tomorrow and helped to reduce my sadness.
After swimming we went to get ice cream.
I insisted on the black licorice ice cream. Fortunately the ice cream store employees warned us that it stained, so I took my shirt off. It was delicious!
Aunt Kara got a double scoop, but she regretted that when she saw how big they were and how quickly it was melting in the heat!
After ice cream, we drove four minutes up the hill to the Stonehenge Memorial. Brody missed it because he fell asleep in those four minutes.
We took turns exploring with Mommy or Daddy while the other adult sat in the car with a sleeping Brody.
If you look closely at this picture, you can notice that I insisted on getting on Lainey’s back when Mommy asked for a nice picture. Normal pictures are just too boring for me.
Okay, I’ll agree to one normal picture.
I had fun doing all things rough boy with Stevie and Jackson.
My buddy, Vern.
We did group dinners, and everyone signed up for either dinner prep for one night or dinner cleanup. Our family was part of dinner prep on Saturday night. Daddy and Uncle Alex were great hamburger/hot dog grill masters!
On Saturday night we desperately tried to find the Jr. Ranger program, but it was canceled. So we tagged along for a bit on the glacier talk about how this area was formed, but since it was meant for adults, we didn’t last for too terribly long before heading back to camp.
There was a kids vs. adult Kubb tournament. These three gave it great effort, but they ended up losing to the adults.
Another night of s’mores!
On Sunday morning, Brody made sure to sit close to Olive who generously shared her Cocoa Puffs.
Sleeping Queens while Mommy and Daddy packed up the campsite. It was another successful Robinson campout!
On our way home we stopped in the Tri-Cities for lunch.
And found a playground close by to get our wiggles out for 20 minutes.
Last week was one of the highlights of our summer so far! It started off with Na Na and Ba Ba coming to our house for a weekend visit.
It won’t be much longer before my feet are bigger than Na Na’s feet.
We woke up to a new game from Na Na. We sure love games.
After breakfast we left for the farmers’ market.
We were committed to waiting in a long line for face/arm painting.
After a yummy lunch of Mexican food, we came home to try out the new bow and arrows that Henry and I bought with our allowance money.
The rest of the afternoon was spent playing in the pool, playing games, and BBQing.
The face paint didn’t fare well in the water.
Some people even took naps.
The winning team of Kubb (with Henry kissing the king).
After church on Sunday, our adventures started. Henry got to drive back to Tacoma with Na Na and Ba Ba to spend the week with them!
And Mommy and Daddy drove me up to Lutherhaven for my first-ever overnight camp.
I chose the top bunk right by my cabin sign, Lookout Peak.
My sweet counselor, Molly. Before Mommy and Daddy left, I was already giggling with another girl and couldn’t wait to start camp.
Brody got to be an only child for a couple of days. His request for those days…two ice cream dates! So for the first ice cream date, Mommy and Daddy took him to the Coeur d’Alene Resort for a giant Gooey. Brody got to pick the Gooey (the Gooey Monster), but they all shared it.
They walked around Lake Coeur d’Alene for a bit.
Played at a new playground for awhile.
And went to dinner before driving home. Brody was asleep before they even left Coeur d’Alene.
On Monday Brody picked Ferdinand’s for his second ice cream date.
He next got to pick whatever park he wanted.
Then a movie.
Baking banana bread.
And then a game followed by t-ball. A perfect Brody day!
On Tuesday Mommy and Brody came up to get me! I LOVED camp!!
I was excited to show Mommy and Brody some of my favorite parts of camp. My three favorite things about camp were: 1) Dancing to camp songs, 2) Being in a cabin, and 3) Shopping at the camp store.
My counselor told Mommy that with my love for singing, dancing, and people, that I would be a great camp counselor some day. My counselor didn’t know this, but that is EXACTLY what I previously told Mommy and Daddy I want to do in college!
My cabin!
Meanwhile Henry was having so much fun in Tacoma!
Henry’s main request for the week was to ride the bus. So Na Na and Henry took it to the children’s museum one day.
Daddy is coaching Brody’s t-ball team, and they had their first game on Wednesday night.
Mac is on Brody’s team!
On Thursday Mommy met Na Na halfway to get Henry. He had SUCH a great week! But we sure missed him and were so happy to have him home!
Henry even brought home his batch of strawberry jam that he made with Na Na. We’ve been enjoying it on English muffins every morning!
On Saturday morning we were out of the house bright and early for a yummy breakfast at the Co-Op.
Then we went to explore a new hiking area, Idler’s Rest.
Brody liked this hike much better than the last one because it is fairly flat.
We ended Saturday with sprinkler play and ribs. Nothing better!
And on Sunday we went to the Knight’s house to celebrate their new house! This group of boys chose to stay parked at the snack bowl until every last bit was gone.
We ended the night with ice cream cones. We love summer!
