Claytor Lake

Last weekend we were able to go to Claytor Lake with one of Mike's partners at work. She and her parents were renting a boat and invited us to come along. The whole family had such a blast. The girls both went tubing with Dada and we all enjoyed the warm water to swim. Unfortunately I forgot our camera and so have no pictures.

We had such a fun time that we decided to go back the next weekend and try out the State Park Beach at Claytor Lake. It was a nice hot day and the water was wonderful. Raquel had lots of fun swimming and playing in the sand. Natalya on the other hand hated to touch the sand and wouldn't put her feet down in the water. She was happiest sitting on our beach towel eating snacks. Hopefully Natalya will get over her dislike of sand so that we can have enjoy the lake beach as a family a little more.

The only time Natalya was truly happy at the Lake.

Sitting on the towel off the sand eating snacks.

Raquel playing in the sand

Playing with dad in the water.

Building a sandcastle

Remodeling Part Two

Round two of remodeling started mid June. We realized that if we wanted to finish the pantry and laundry room, meaning putting new tile down on the floor we would have to start on the kitchen remodel because we would have to start tiling in there. So first thing on the do list was remove the wall between the pantry and kitchen. Then we removed the side cabinets and put them in the pantry area. The girls and I then went on vacation and left Mike to rebuild the wall and he did a very good job!

Mike taking down the wall

Wall free looking into the kitchen from the pantry.

The lovely wall paper we found behind the cabinets we removed.

Making another trip to Lowe's

After returning from our vacation to Spokane we started on the floor. Everything we read told us to remove the cement board from the floor with the tile still on it. So Mike tried to remove the cement board, and he tried and he tried. He then became very frustrated and decided that we need a large hole in the floor. After calming him down I told him there was probably a better way and maybe we should try just removing the tile from the cement board. We had success with removing the tile and spent the next three weeks chiseling the tile from the floor, patching the holes that were made in the cement board and sanding the floor. It was a lot of work but we now have a beautiful new tile floor!

Chiseling the tile from the floor. If you look to the left of the door you see a piece of plywood that is covering up the hole Mike made in the floor.

About half way done with the floor.

Finished removing the tile, now time to fill in the holes in the cement board.

Removing the rest of the cabinets and starting work on the plumbing and electrical.

Also we ordered our cabinets, decided/ordered and received our tile, picked out and ordered our granite. It was neat we went to a granite yard and were able to see the big slabs of granite and pick out the one we wanted. And lastly we bought a new fridge, one that will fit in our kitchen. Its been a busy couple of months and we hope to get the walls, electrical, plumbing and tile done before Mike has to leave for 10 days for annual training with the National Guard.

Busy Beaver Camp!

Raquel just finished a week of Busy Beaver Camp and absolutely loved it. She asks me almost everyday why she can't go back. I try to tell her that its just a summer camp and she will be going back to school in the fall. Her reply is that its still summer so why can't she go.

They really had the kids busy with art projects and fun activities. One day was jungle day and they had a treasure hunt and sang a song about going on a lion hunt. Another day they got to meet a firefighter and explore his fire truck. And yet another one of the days was all water fun with a big blowup twisty slide, little swimming pools and spray bottles. The last day they had the parents come in a little early for a sing-a-long and the kids sang all the songs they had been learning for the week. Definitely a camp we will try to do again next year!

Raquel also took swim lessons again this month. She was in the sea turtle level 2 class. Raquel was the smallest and youngest kid there but able to keep up with all the big kids. She can now swim quite well on her own and passed the class and can move up to the level 3 class, which we plan to take next week.

July 4th!

Blueberry Picking!

After the girls and I returned from our Spokane trip it was time for blueberry season. I must say that this year the strawberries were much easier to pick then the blueberries. The weather was nice, not too hot but a late frost and lack of rain really made a difference in the size and number of berries this year. Last year I was able to pick 4 gallons of berries in 2 hours, this year only 1 in the same amount of time. Both girls were not very good at helping out and Natalya actually cried most of the time. It definitely was not a fun adventure, but I got my blueberries and have enjoyed them. We made blueberry pancakes with blueberry syrup and fresh fruit salads, but my favorite is just eating a big handful of fresh blueberries right out of the fridge.

Smithfield Plantation

We were able to celebrate the fourth all day long. After church we headed to Smithfieldplantation were we walked around and viewed the grounds and gardens, watched a musket firing demonstration, played with old fashioned toys and watched period style dancing. After the dance program they came into the audience and asked for volunteers to come learn a dance. I got asked and so learned to dance the old fashion way. It was fun but very hot and my partner's hands were very sweaty and he was a little creepy.

4th of July Parade!

Sitting in the shade waiting for the parade to start.

Watching the parade in the shadow of the tree.

Next we came home had lunch and took a rest before heading off to the little town parade. The parade was much better than last year and the girls got lots of candy, but I could have done with out the heat. We all huddled under a little tree on the side of the road to try to keep cool.

After coming home from the parade and devouring the candy and other treats we had around the house no one felt much like eating dinner, so we headed outside for fireworks. Raquel went all by herself to invite our neighbors to come watch. Both Natalya and Raquel had lots of fun lighting and watching our little firework display. I thought Natalya would be scared of them but she was right in there wanting to light the fireworks and hold her own sparkler.

Fireworks!

Natalya holding the matches ready to light another one.

Sparkler fun!

Raquel and her friend Ann out neighbor

I love Natalya's face!

We ended up having our yummy baby back ribs, corn on the cob, asparagus and watermelon 4th of July dinner the next day. Well worth the wait! Mmmmm!

Spokane (Part 2)

Our second week in Spokane started out with my dad taking the girls for a walk to McDonald's where they had a fun inside play area. My mom and I took the time away from the girls to go look at cabinets at Lowe's and Home Depot. Being the bad decision maker that I am, I thought it wise to get as many opinions from others as possible about what colors and types of cabinets people like. Later that evening my parents neighbor came over to invite us to use their heated outdoor swimming pool. Of course we couldn't say no and so we swam most everyday until we left.

Friday we went out to lunch to Taco Time, (Since working there in High School I think I've only been back once) still tasted the same after 10 or so years. My mom and I took the girls to another pet store. This one didn't have as many animals but the girls still spent plenty of time enjoying the dogs, cats and fish.

The weather finally warmed up and so we headed to the park to play in the water park. Unfortunately the water park was not working but we did play on the play ground for a while until it got too hot. The girls got to skype with dad, a perfect ending to a good day.

Natalya wanted to be like her big sister and wear goggles.

Raquel was very brave going off the diving board and slide by herself

and swimming to the edge.

Saturday grandma, the girls and I walked down to the Liberty Lake farmers market. Such a good farmers market, one that you wish you could buy just about everything from everyone. And the prices are what farmers market prices should be!

The girls and I bought some peas that were the biggest peas I have ever seen. Good thing I got 2 lbs. or the girls would have had them eaten all before we even left the market. My mom picked up some beautiful plants and flowers along with a yummy cinnamon roll. We had the cinnamon roll devoured in no time and so my mom and Raquel headed back down to get 2 more. Today we also went up to Greenbluff to pick Strawberries (opening weekend), but because of all the rainy weather lately the strawberries were not quite ripe and so not picking. But instead we stopped by a little orchard store and had yummy huckleberry ice cream cones, so the trip was not a total loss. We finished the day with a quick swim in the neighbors pool.

Sunday's highlight was papa making fresh homemade raspberry ice cream. I think Natalya would have eaten half of the batch if I would have let her. She sure has her daddy's sweet tooth.

Huge peas from the farmers market.

Monday we returned to Greenbluff to pick strawberries, and pick we did, about 27 lbs. worth. Raquel helped pick with a few samples here and there but Natalya was just into the eating part. She always had to have one in each had. I should have weighed her before and after to account for all that she ate. Of course with all the fresh strawberries we had to make a yummy strawberry dessert. Tonight we had strawberry shortcake followed by a swim in the pool.

Tuesday we enjoyed fresh strawberry crepes for breakfast and made 4 batches of strawberry jam. I also requested that my dad make another batch of homemade ice cream, this time strawberry. Yummy! Never have to ask him twice to make ice cream, he enjoys it the most!

Picking Strawberries!

Natalya ate more strawberries than she picked. Can you tell she really enjoyed them! She wasn't happy unless she had one in each hand.

One of the three boxes of Strawberries we picked!

Wednesday we headed home, our plane left at 6:15 am and so we spent a long day (about 10 hrs) traveling back east. It was good to get home and see daddy but we had a great time visiting Grandma and Papa!