With Winthrop temperatures as they were, we were grateful to find that neighboring Twisp had a public pool.  With a slide.  And diving board.  Wesley couldn’t think of any place he’d rather be.  No one else complained, either!

Very Zen.

Here’s a Piper-splash:

And a Daddy-splash:

This!

Took just 4 kids down to the parade, but at least we met up with our friends and their cousins, so we weren’t short on candy-getters!

This guy is always around to hand out bananas from the local Goose Grocer

You know I’ll do this same blog post next year!

I love the cabin, my country, Whidbey Island, and kids….possibly in that order.  So taking the 6 kids to Freeland’s 3rd of July Freedom Festival is one of the highlights of my year.

Wesley, Kyla, Dwayne, Piper, Abigail, Parker, and Cecily share the first course of the night. 

There are bouncy houses…

 

….giants…

…friends…

…flyovers…

…hair bands…

… and more food than we could eat (but we’ll try).

Fireworks are not Cecily’s thing, but Dwayne got to be Uncle Hero (and got snuggles all evening).

Look at this sunset!  Abigail and Wesley played on the beach while we waited for it to be dark enough for fireworks.

Finally, we’re ready for….

I have always wanted to make myself a pallet flag.  But never enough to actually do it.  Then I found one on sale and I had an extra coupon, so why take the time and do a lousy job when I can just buy one.  God bless America…and have mercy on Americans?

Julie was bringing the kids over late morning, so I was in a rush to get my summer pedicure before I went from 3 kids to 5.  There’s a typical-looking nail salon just a few blocks up from the ferry, but I was really impressed!  They had two kid pedicure chairs so Piper was very comfortable next to me getting her first pedi, and Kyla was close by getting a manicure. 

Did they need one?  No.  Did I need one?  Yes.  So, I logged Wesley into the store’s Wi-Fi and we all sat back to a little pampering. Had I made slightly better plans, I may have gotten the two outdoor spa chairs overlooking the water on a perfect Island day.  Well, I have about 11 months to plan my next annual pedi!

Arriving Wednesday night, we had only one full day before my niece and nephew were to come and decrease my mobility, so I was determined to Get Out and Do while I could.

Wanting to make it a Perfect Day, I started by filling up the kids with a protein-and-pancake breakfast and invited our neighbor friends over—on the sunny deck, completely cutting down on the clean up. 

First, we headed for the Langley Library for a Animal Architect kids’ event.  My 3 teamed up and built a very successful beaver dam out of twigs, rocks, and clay before making birds nests and spider webs.  While they were occupied, I found a new book by the author of Rooftoppers that I checked out and started on right there.

After lunch, I took mine and a few neighbor girls down to “our” beach.  Wesley and Abigail spotted an owl!  Can you?

There were also a few bald eagles down on the water, and the kids captured shrimp and swam for a few hours while I devoured by book and savored my favorite part of summer—reading at a beach with kids joyfully playing nearby.

We kept the cabin neater than usual by eating outside, making me saner and giving me more time to read. 

Piper demonstrates how good the day was by curling up on my bed and falling asleep before she could make it back to her own bedroom!

Each kid gets a special Summer Starts gift—Wesley got Heelies (shoes + wheels), Kyla a used play kitchen with tons of food, and for Piper:

Ingredients for a fairy garden!

She has had lots of fun growing little plants and arranging the animals.

My phone camera is not quick enough to catch all 6 grandkids in a smile, so I caught myself an Amber smile and then clicked a few more times so we can have a few shots of the 6 cousins growing up together!

Winter weather delayed the start of summer vacation until today, but that made it no less celebratory! 

Yes, that is Kyla wearing headphones, as she’s noise-sensitive and just wore them home among the cheering at the end of school (11:10 am!).  Yes, that is Wesley wearing a winter coat with helmet on a 70 degree day.  At this point, I’m just going to call Piper “normal”. 

Mama, however, had spent the entire 120 minutes of today at school frantically putting the Book Room to bed for the summer before co-hosting the Kindergarten classes at our house.  These last two weeks,  I hosted the 1st, 3rd, and 4th graders at separate Play & Popsicle parties at our house, on days I wasn’t subbing or running the school Book Swap or finishing the Book Room.  So I’m kinda beat and looking forward to a pleasant summer.

Zzzzzzzzzzzz