I Dare You Not to Smile...

I really wish we had named this sweet girl Olivia Joy because she is just 100% FULL of joy and brings us so much joy! You just can't help but smile at this face!!

First Day of School

It's been a big day at our house! Charlie started his first year of preschool and Grace headed off to kindergarten! I'm proud to say that I survived both drop-offs and only got a little emotional once.  First up, my BIG preschooler...

(I blurred the name of his school and teachers because I'm overly paranoid like that!)

 He was so excited to head in! He kept talking about all the things he was going to do "just like Gracie did last year." Having been to the school with Grace so many times definitely made this an easy transition!

 He settle right in to play with some "gak". His amazing teachers made it instead of play dough for the class because they new Charlie can't do play dough because of the gluten. LOVE them!! When he got home from school, he told me that he didn't remember what he did there, but they didn't draw maps and they didn't ask him about his summer. I had told them last night that his teachers might ask about his summer and he had his answer all ready. :) He did say that he "really, really loved school," so that's a good sign!

 While Charlie was at school, Grace got ready to head off to kindergarten! She was very happy to have her picture taken...

 We headed off to the school and got there about 10 minutes early. It was a good thing that we did because we hadn't been there more than 60 seconds when they took the kids into their classroom! I covered Grace in way too many kisses and watched her walk off into the big kid school. (That may have been the moment the waterworks began.) All the parents stood around wondering, "is that it?!?!" I wish we could have gone in and seen her get settled in, but it was kind of like ripping a band-aid off, and probably a good thing we didn't all stand around gushing. She's there now, but I'm sure she's having a great time and can't wait to see her smiling face in 93 minutes...not that I'm counting or anything. :)

American Girl

Several months ago, we heard that an American Girl Doll store would be opening near us. Grace was pretty excited, but even more excited were her Grandma and Grammy! Today, we finally had the chance to steal away for some girl time and eat lunch at the new store.

Ready to head in with her Bitty Twins.

 Grace got involved in a craft right when we got inside.

 Even the dolls had a special place to sit at lunch!

 Chef Scott is now one of my most favorite people. We could not have asked for a better gluten-free eating experience. As soon as I told the hostess that we had food restrictions, she sent the chef out to talk to us and explain all of their gluten-free choices. It turned out that Chef Scott had just returned from Wheatless in Seattle and sent out a special sample of chocolate cake he had brought back!

 Do you think she liked it!?!

 After lunch, Grandma and Grammy had a special surprise for Grace. They wanted to buy her a new doll! Grace loves looking through the American Girl catalogs when they come and had picked out the doll she wanted a long time ago and was planning on asking for her for Christmas. This particular doll has a dog named Grace, and my Grace had been saving up her money to buy the dog on our trip to the store. She was SO excited that she could actually get the doll, too! Her eyes got so big when my mom told her, and she replied, "But Grandma, do you know those cost ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS!?!?" Even though she knew right away which doll she would choose, she loved looking through the store at the many, many dolls and accessories.

 One VERY happy girl!!

At home with her new doll, Kit. Kit hasn't left her side since returning from the store. Right now she's asleep in a doll crib next to Grace's bed. She was too afraid that Kit might get "messed up" if she was actually in her bed with her. So sweet!



Thank you Grammy and Grandma for such a special surprise!

Grace's First Sleepover

Grace had her first sleepover last weekend with her good friend Clara. Grace and Clara have been friends since they were babies and always play together so well. I hardly even knew they were here because they were so busy playing together. Grace had a very clear idea in her head of what should happen at a sleepover: popcorn, staying up late, watching a movie, and a dance party. We managed to get most of these things accomplished and the girls had a great time being silly together.

 They wanted to take a picture making mad faces...:)

Such sweet, funny friends!!

Golf Tournament

People often tease me because of all the great things I have to say about our neighborhood. But really people, it's an amazing place to live, and here is just one more reason why! Each year the PGA Seniors Tour comes through for the Boeing Classic Golf Tournament. It is the one and only time that I ever pay attention to golf, but it is always one of my favorite weekends of the summer. My parents live right on the course, so we can watch the action from their backyard. As the number of kids (and their noise level) has increased, the amount of time we actually watch the golf has greatly decreased, but having an excuse to hang out together is always a great thing! My dad loves watching the golf up close, and I love getting to spend time with him doing one of his favorite things.

At the start of the tournament, a Boeing 787 flew right over the golf course. We all walked down to the course to watch as it literally flew right over our heads.

 These two are such good buddies and were far too busy being silly together to pay much attention to the plane.

 It was loud!

 After the fly over, we moved inside because the kids were making too much noise for the golfers. Liv and Emma had a great time "playing". These two are SO cute together!!



Railroad Days

Railroad Days is one of our favorite summer traditions. (We've done it two years now. That makes it a tradition, right?!?) Grace and Charlie ran in the kids 1K race again. This was Grace's fifth 1K!

Grace and her good friend, Julia, before the race. They are running buddies!

 This was Charlie's second time running with Grace.

 Charlie coming into the finish. He ran the first third, then walked for awhile, wanted to stop and check out some of the nearby booths, then turned around and walked back to the finish line. He ran the last 10 yards and proudly "finished" the race!

 Grace waving to her adoring fans as she heads into the finish line.

 Jake and Hudson ran, too! This was their second time joining us for a race!

 Showing off their medals...

 After the race we settled in to watch the annual Railroad Days parade. It's such a fun small town feeling parade. The kids' especially loved the classic cars and collecting all the candy that was thrown their way.

Just one more of the many reasons we LOVE Snoqualmie! :)