Lake 22

 

Mrs. Moe organized a hike for the Monday after school got out.  It was her way of not having the last day of school be so sad.  We went to Lake 22 out passed Granite Falls.  I didn't have a place for Emerson to go, so she got to come along with us.

It was a beautiful day.  We managed to have overcast skies and no rain.  

The trail was really rocky and I was a bit nervous for everyones ankles and knees.  It was here that Emerson and I stopped (we brought up the tail end of the group) and we thought we had to be close to the top, only to find out we were only half way there.  

The end reward of the beautiful lake was well worth all the sweating on the way up. :) Only downside were the mosquitos.  They were bad!  Thankfully, Mrs. Moe had her bug repellent wipes that she shared.   

 

My pictures just don't do it justice.   It was amazing.  

There was a nice boardwalk that you can take around the side of the lake.  We didn't venture too far, we had just enough time to eat our lunches before heading back down.  

I had been rationing Emerson's water intake, because I knew there wouldn't be any potties up at the top.  Sure enough, she had to go and we had to find a log.  :)  The girl cracks me up with her new found love of going to the bathroom outside.  Such a nut!

And, what's a hike without an ice cream treat afterward?  They all did an amazing job on the hike!  

Lake 22 gets the Walker girls' approval and is a definite re-do!

 

Father's Day

 

Father's day wasn't very exciting for Tom, but he got to do what he wanted…. BBQ and spend time with his girls.  Unfortunately, we spent most of the day in traffic coming home from Ocean Shores.  We went straight from OS to Susie's house…poor Tom.

This might be my new favorite picture of the three of them.  Love them so much!

Happy Father's day Dad!  I love you!!   

We BBQ'd, roasted marshmallows and just enjoyed celebrating all the wonderful Dad's in our lives.

 

Summer has begun

Nothing starts out summer break like a trip to Ocean Shores.  We left as soon as we picked Hannah up from school and really, we know better than trying to leave on a Friday afternoon, but we did it anyway.  At least we had pretty views along the way.

The Henry's joined us for the weekend and we were all pretty excited about that.  :)   The girls were really excited to have them there because aunt Becca plays Monopoly with them.  That game drives me nuts!

I had heard on the news that there was a dead whale that washed ashore just north of Ocean Shores.  We decided it would be an interesting Biology lesson for the kids and ventured out.

It was really gross and really sad.  As long as we stood on the water side of the whale, we were ok.  It was when we walked around that we were knocked over with the smell. Wow.  Poor Emerson didn't listen to me when I told her to cover her nose…she gagged and almost threw up.  She quickly changed her mind and covered up like the rest of us.  

You can see how the girls really felt about it…this was right before Emerson gagged.  It really was a horrible smell!

Rob took this picture, and it makes me laugh.  It also makes me a little envious of his super fancy camera/lens…look at how crystal clear that is.  *sigh

On our way back to the house I noticed a lady bug.  It just seemed out of place on this piece of kelp.  After this one, we went on to see several more over the course of the next two days.  It was crazy.  :)

Love this…

Hannah found a rock encrusted starfish.  Pretty cool! 

Another butterfly…just taking off.

I found a heart in the sand.

We spotted a few babies.  Oh, they're so cute!

We had an amazing sunset!

All of us girls went out early for a little beach combing before having to head home.  Wishing we had found this fort the day before, the kids didn't want to leave.

On the way back to the car, I thought I found the mother of all agates.  I kept my cool, but as I got closer to the agate I could hardly contain my excitement…for once I was going to have found a bigger agate than Kevin.  Turns out it was an amber colored jelly fish.  I felt a little silly, but oh well.  No agate for me. :) We had a great weekend as always. It was the perfect start to summer break!

School's out!

First day of school…

 Last day of school…

Seriously, I cannot believe that the school year is over.  3rd grade was such a special year for Hannah and we owe it all to this wonderful lady.  She took Hannah under her wing and loved on her and encouraged her, and for that, we are so grateful.

I even tried bribing her into moving up with Hannah but she just wouldn't do it.  Apparently she loves her 3rd grade team…sheesh!  :)

Field Day

The day before the last day of school is always Field Day.  We usually luck out with pretty good weather (translated no rain) and this year was no different.  Emerson was my helper this year and got to stay at the school with me, all day long.  She was pretty excited about that, I'm not sure Hannah was all that thrilled about it but she dealt with it.

About a week before field day, Officer Sean O'Connell was killed while on duty.  Officer O'Connell had a kindergartener at Hillcrest and his police family wanted his son to have a fun day at school amongst all the sadness.  There were about 5 officers that brought Sean's son to school and accompanied him around field day.  It was pretty awesome.  They brought their motorcycles and let the kids climb on them and turn on the lights.  Emerson thought that was super cool.  She LOVES motorcycles!

Hannah climbed on, but she didn't think it was nearly as cool.  

Hannah and Cheyanne stopped for a quick picture and then quickly disappeared. 

Caitlin came to help out.  She's awesome and we love her.  Somehow, I didn't get a picture of her when she was done with the cotton candy.  She was a sticky mess. :)

The "water slide" is always a hit.  The kids wait all day just for their classes turn.  It just makes me laugh. A tarp + a hose + baby shampoo = happy kids.

Caitlin getting beat by Emerson in a gunnysack race. That Emerson…she's got lots of energy.

Next up…last day of school.  :(

Two wheels

It's official.  Emerson is a two-wheeled biker girl.  She's been wanting her training wheels off for a while, and today was her day!  

Go Emmie Go!

Pictures taken on June 9, 2013

Madison's 8th Grade Graduation

Our little Madison went and graduated from 8th grade.  She didn't just graduate, she graduated with top honors and was salutatorian.

A few of her peeps!

As Salutorian, she got to give a speech and she totally rocked her speech!  I think it was the best one of the night!  At one point, I mentioned to Tom, that I don't think I could deliver a speech as well as she did.  She was so calm and spoke so clearly and her speech was beautifully written.  She's awesome!

We stuck around afterwards for some cake and punch.  They also had these fun frames hanging for fun photos.  The kids and Caitlin had fun.  :)

We can't wait to see what amazing things you accomplish in High School.  We love you Madison!

Pre-K no more...

This school year went by so quickly.  It really seems like we just took first day of school pictures.  I have never wanted Emerson's wish for a "shrink-ray" to come true more than I do now.  My girls are growing too fast.  I'm not sure this mama can handle it!

The excitement of the last day of school caught up with Emerson, she fell asleep on our 10 minute drive to school. 

Not only was it her last day of school, it was also graduation night.  It really was a big day for her!

This little guy in the front…we call him the serial kisser.  The last few weeks of school, he kept kissing Emerson.  He just couldn't control his love for her.  His teacher had to have a little chat with him on how that's not an appropriate thing to do.  :)  We still think he's a pretty sweet little guy.  

Emerson and her BFF, Margaret - ready for the ceremony to start so they can get to the cookies and punch downstairs.

We got a thumbs up from her once she spotted us in the crowd.

They did a slideshow presentation of what the kids wanted to be when they grow up.  Some of them were really funny…"when I grow up I want to work in a box like my dad", "when I grow up I want to be a cop so I can pull my mom and dad over when they speed", "when I grow up I want to work at Target because that's where my mom and I like to shop"…

I guess I spend a little too much time at Starbucks, but I love that she'll want to see me when she grows up. :)  

Emerson and Mrs. Stepheny (the classroom assistant)

Emerson and Mrs. Deborah her teacher.

The Graduate!

It was a really cute little ceremony but then again what isn't cute about a room full of 4/5 year olds??

Emerson, Mommy and Daddy are so proud of all you've learned this year.  You are a smart little cookie and will do fabulously in Kindergarten (even though I don't want you to go).  We love you!