While we spent a lot of the early summer weeks away, while we were home we tried to make the most of it. The girls took part in the free Saturday tennis clinics in town. Becca usually tapped out around 30 minutes, but I think that was mostly because the playground that was just outside the court fences was calling her. Lizzie LOVED tennis and never tired from learning and practicing! I think if we pursued this sport more with her she would be one fierce tennis champ.
We also signed the girls up for two sessions of swim lessons (4 weeks total). Before the end of the first week Becca surprised me with how she can SWIM!!! By the second session Lizzie was showing us how she braves diving! When did they grow up so fast!? Just recently (September) we took them back to the valley YMCA and BOTH the girls can go down the giant water slide AND swim to the ladder all by themselves!! I am one proud Mommy!
Okay, maybe someone has their camera date wrong, because the calendar says the Dirty Dash was in July, but the photos are in June. Oh well... you saw them if you read the last blog.
After months of talking, Stephen finally got his second tattoo. It took a little over three hours and Stephen was a good sport throughout the entire procedure. Now he has the American seal on his left arm and the German seal on the right, representing his duel-citezenship.
Luckily for him, the tat healed quickly and he was able to enjoy boating at Lake Charbeneau with the Sweetwoods, Gussenhovens and Ruggles. Stephen loves wake-boarding, but not as much as Becca loves playing in the water and sand with her cousins! The girls were thrilled when they heard they got to stay the week at Grammy and Bumpa's house! I hope that is something they continue to to do every summer!!
We also signed the girls up for two sessions of swim lessons (4 weeks total). Before the end of the first week Becca surprised me with how she can SWIM!!! By the second session Lizzie was showing us how she braves diving! When did they grow up so fast!? Just recently (September) we took them back to the valley YMCA and BOTH the girls can go down the giant water slide AND swim to the ladder all by themselves!! I am one proud Mommy!
Okay, maybe someone has their camera date wrong, because the calendar says the Dirty Dash was in July, but the photos are in June. Oh well... you saw them if you read the last blog.
After months of talking, Stephen finally got his second tattoo. It took a little over three hours and Stephen was a good sport throughout the entire procedure. Now he has the American seal on his left arm and the German seal on the right, representing his duel-citezenship.
Luckily for him, the tat healed quickly and he was able to enjoy boating at Lake Charbeneau with the Sweetwoods, Gussenhovens and Ruggles. Stephen loves wake-boarding, but not as much as Becca loves playing in the water and sand with her cousins! The girls were thrilled when they heard they got to stay the week at Grammy and Bumpa's house! I hope that is something they continue to to do every summer!!
We returned home and I spent two days preparing for our camping trip to Enumclaw. Chopping, mixing, baking and packing! The food was an event on its own! Among some of our favorite dishes were: Mini Meat Loafs, Spring Rolls, Breakfast Burritos, Fajita Turkey Burgers, Corn Avacado Salad Dip, Corn Dog Muffins, Taco Roll Ups, and Mud & Dirt. I made little changes to just about every dish, but these were all AMAZING meals and/or snacks to have (and way better than soup and pb&j)!
Then it was on to Creation Fest NW! This was not only our second time at Creation, but also our second time camping together. The stages are setup on the fairgrounds, but the campsites are plotted in the fields, and Enumclaw is beautiful, but the grounds are wet! We learned from last year and instead of setting up a tent in the mud, we set up a canopy over a tarp and planned on sleeping in the Rav. If you don't already know this, I LOVE my Toyota Rav4! But no amount of love would have given us the two more feet to allow us to straighten our legs at night. Also, after 4 nights and several days in the rain, the small SUV was more than a little smelly. It took over a week of airing the car out to get it smelling fresh and clean again! And that had nothing to do with us sleeping next to a farm of baby skunks (which we didn't learn about until the last day there). Fortunately we spent a lot of time out and about!
Like last year, we brought our bikes along for a ride. This year I brought my new bike, and I was proud of myself and the lack of complaints as we rode UP the hill to Chenuis falls. And I was surprised at how quickly we made it to the trailhead! Still playing with my much loved new lens, I was so lucky it stopped raining for our ride and hike so I could snap a few nature pics. We stopped at the falls to share some trailmix and as we watched the water, Stephen put his arms around me and surprised me with a box. He opened it, got down on his knee and asked me to marry him! I was so surprised; I cried and said yes!
From the falls, we both had a surprisingly new amount of energy and decided to hike to the top of the falls. Unfortunately the trails were too unclear and my eagerness to tell someone (anyone!), won out and we headed back to our bikes. We started riding down with obviously with WAY too much confidence. That's right, down hill. Did I mention it was a gravel road? See where I am going with this?
The first fall (yup, I said first) I was testing the breaks and learned I was going too fast and used the wrong break. I was a little bummed I ripped up my sweatshirt (more so than the left arm, elbow, knee and leg), but I popped right back up. Stephen mentioned something about me "paying the mountain" (as if that would make me feel better). Apparently I didn't pay enough and I was begging for more, because a bit further down the road I saw a rock. Not just any rock; a GIANT rock. I yelled and yelled (a word I won't share on my blog), but the rock still starred right back at me. Did I forget to mention that GIANT rock was in the center of the beginning of an old log bridge? I still don't know how I didn't go into the river after my front tire rode right into the center of that GIANT rock. However, my bike landed (three feet behind me) between the bridge and the old and (luckily for my face) soft log that I skidded. Yay for me, I saved the ring and the camera! Stephen ran back to my rescue, but was sure to get the camera off my back to capture how ridiculous I looked before helping me up (I don't think he would have done this had I not been laughing). Again, I hopped back onto the bike and this time made it the rest of the way to the Ranger's Station without any other incidents. They didn't have any first aid supplies, but I was able to get cleaned up (and hear the nurses awww at our engagement story) at the Creation aid station.
Pretty much the rest of the camping trip was rainy and/or muddy, but we still had a great time! Among some of my favorite bands were: MercyMe, Thousand Foot Krutch, Newsboys and Switchfoot.
One of the first things people ask when hearing we are engaged is "when is the wedding?" and the only thing I can say is... when we start thinking about it, we will let you know. :) We are both just enjoying being engaged right now.
July 2012 Pictures