Last year, Conor and the big girls learned to nordic ski while I stayed home, took care of little kids and my pregnant belly, and baked muffins (so many muffins - some sort of weird nesting). This year we all get to get out there! And it's a total circus just like we guessed it would be! My friend, Amorette, and I drove up during the work week just the two of us to initiate me into the ski crew and I'm really glad we did that before taking up the entire family. Our friend, Parker, was so generous to carry a baby or pull the sled the entire time! The weather was so wintery and it snowed the entire time we were up there. We had a great time and returned home tired. The babies were troopers and so was Maeve. We didn't end up getting Maeve on her skis because oh man, everything else was so much work! But next time, Maeve!

Things to note in the photos:

• Conor's pink boots that gave him wicked blisters
• Ira's snow encrusted hoods
• Snow in E's eyelashes
• Maeve and Ira asleep in the sled
• the sheer amount of snow on the ground and falling

For our 4th of July, we spent the weekend with some of our oldest friends. We've known the Blodgetts for 14 years. We had an awesome weekend filled with treats, swimming, playtime, movies, late nights and babies. I came home feeling really grateful for long standing relationships and looking forward to more fun memories! The kids all got along so well and they played so hard!

Another hot day, another day in the water! On this day, we went to Liberty Lake when Holly was done with school for the day. We invited our best friends and loaded up the paddle boards and played in the water! The day was record-breaking hot and so being in the cool lake water felt so good. Maeve ran around in her own little world playing on the dock and swimming where she couldn't touch (all while wearing her life jacket of course). E loved being thrown in the air and caught in the water and having his body swished in the water. Ira fell asleep in Amorette's arms with his feet in the water. Snapping a photo of our girl gang kicking off another summer of fun was really wonderful. SO many happy memories with these dear friends of ours!

On our way home, we stopped at Cafe Rio, picked up take out and had a picnic and late night at our house. It was one of those magical summer afternoons into evenings that was just right!

We're at the end of spring break and it's been a surprisingly really great break! I'm really proud of Conor and myself for giving the girls a great time and some great memories. Conor took the girls mountain biking for the first time and then took them a couple more times. Holly and Greta had a couple play dates with friends. They cleaned and performed maintenance on their bikes. And we went hiking with friends. Next weekend, I'm going to drop them off in Idaho with their bikes and they're going to bike back to Spokane along the Centennial Trail. Conor and I are dividing and conquering and I often miss him by the time we get to the end of the day. It's a tricky balance having bigs and littles (and a Maeve island in the middle!), but we're doing our best!

Hiking with friends was really nice. It wasn't strenuous (although I was wiped out!) and we had a picnic lunch and a fire afterwards. It was one of those 1 hour hike, 3 hours socializing kind of adventures. And it was awesome!

When we arrived home, I changed into my pajamas, got into bed to feed Ira and didn't get out of bed until two and a half hours later. Ira and I snuggled and rested together and it was heavenly!

We had a huge snow day this past week! It was awesome for outdoor playtime! My girls had started a fort and were able to add a whole bunch more to it. My older two spent 3.5 hours straight outside! They walked to their friends' and met them halfway and then went sledding and then came back to our house and then pack to the park to sled some more! In a season where indoor playdates are a no-go, that afternoon was bliss, especially for me! Even E had fun watching the kids play!