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!

Right before Christmas, we met up with our friends at the Manito Park fireplace for hot chocolate, charades, marshmallows, snacks and carolling. We had the best time hanging out until way past dinnertime!

I love that we live so close to Greenbluff - an area filled with U-Pick farms. This summer we picked peaches (too many!) and raspberries. It felt like a zoo at moments, but dang those peaches were yummy! We all had juice dripping down our chins. I made peach syrup (for kombucha) and I froze some peaches that I'll make into jam when the weather cools.

Also, really taking advantage of my kid photographers!