The end of summer break

 School started this week but before it did we wanted to make sure we spent it doing some fun things like going to the beach or exploring new places. I think it is so important to get them outside while we can and they really love it.
So the last few days before school we headed to our favorite spot Marina beach in Edmonds and later in the week we went up to Howarth Park a sort of new place ( we went there years ago for a photo shoot when Logan was a baby.)

 

 

Went spent part of the morning Sunday at Marina beach a sweet little beach with a nice playground near the Marina.
We have been so many times and it is always fun to see what the kids will do. This time they choose to play in the water and jump over the waves.

 After that they climbed on the logs and ran around.

Tuesday we went to Howarth Park a place I love because you start off there is a path and a little stream then you walk up this path through the woods and then over a bridge that goes over the train tracks and then you are at the beach. It is a fun place to explore.

 Finally at the beach

 They called this the octopus since that is what it looked like.

 They had to stop at the stream and see if the could get things to float down it.

  The sun has been red for days from all the wildfires.

  Before we left we drove up to the playground which has a nice view from it.

  They had so much fun playing and being silly at the playground. They especially loved the merry go round but it made me sick just watching them spin round and round.

That is how we ended our summer break, it was a lot of fun. Now they are back in school having so much fun with their friends.

Fashion

I have always loved fashion but I don't feel like I am always the best at putting cute outfits together or finding great pieces for my wardrobe. I find I buy a lot of striped striped shirts or navy blue things . Really it is a problem when you look in your drawer and have 5 navy long sleeve shirt and a few short sleeved ones and then a bunch or striped ones and then some other ones. I think I get stuck in this rut because I feel like certain colors look good and it is hard to try new things or know what to try. I love to be comfortable but also look good. I also like to have clothes that I can wear to teach but I could also wear them with other things just for everyday. 
 I really look up to moms who look stylish but comfy at the same time. There a few bloggers I follow who do clothing post that I love ( like Emily @Jonesdesigncompany) and usually find a few things I like and Instagram is a great place to find inspiration for cute clothes. There are Celebrities who always look cute like Candace Cameron Bure and I would love to know her secrets. She has a new book coming out in November and I think it will be on my must read for fall list. It looks like it going to be a good book not just about fashion but also fitness and living a healthy life style so  you can look and feel your best.
Now that the kids are back in school I can go through my clothes and maybe get rid of some things and who knows maybe try some new colors or styles.  I love the Loft of Jcrew when they have good sales or Mindy Mae's Market when shopping for new things. Who are your fashion inspirations? What are you top new trends for fall? I want to get some boots or booties for fall and also a nice cozy cardigan.

Barre 3 #B3anywhere

So for the past four weeks there has been a Barre3 summer challenge. I started late because I didn't know about it and stumbled upon it a week late. They had live work outs on Facebook and Instagram and each week in an e-mail they had links for some workouts for that week plus recipes and motivational post to keep you going.
I loved being able to try Barre 3 since I have wanted to for awhile but just didn't want to spend the money on it and then not like it. I have heard so many good things from people I follow on Instagram that I just felt like this challenge would be the perfect chance to try it .
It has been fun and I love the challenge of holding the poses. It has been fun to learn a few new moves and learn how to modify moves I have done before. It is a great work out and left me sore and feeling good. I love that they don't use heavy hand weights because I bad wrists and that they give you modifications and help so you can do the moves in a way that feels good to you or what your body needs. We were in a car accident a few years ago and ever since have had really bad tightness in my neck and I get bad tension headaches so I have found that certain workouts don't work for me and heavy weights make it worse.
They also have some cute tanks , accessories and things you can buy in the shop. I have a few tanks I have been look at this one is cute :https://shop.barre3.com/collections/barre3-apparel/products/b3-tropical-tank 
 or this one. I like it because Barre 3 Started in my home state Oregon so this one would be cute too.
https://shop.barre3.com/collections/barre3-apparel/products/state-collection-tank-oregon-edition
So if you have been thinking about it go and give a try. You can start a 15 day free trial right now to see if you like just like I did.

Seahawks training camp

We have been going to Training camp for about 8 years. Payton was so little and would get so excited. Now the kids are bigger and still love it but the have favorite Players and try to get their autograph. Logan really wanted Jimmy Graham and was really hoping to get it and Payton was trying again for Richard Sherman. We got Russell the past few years and I totally appreciate how he signs for the kids and is out signing forever.

  

 Waiting for autographs and yelling" Jimmy"

This year it seemed like not many people were coming over to where we were and it was disappointing. The kids were watching the players who were signing and one of them was Jimmy. He was coming toward our section but Kevin told us to go down closer to where he was signing. So I went down with the kids and after signing for a few other kids he came over to us. He said" Hey buddy how's it going? Logan said good but that is all he would say. He just had this big smile on his face.I told Jimmy he was his favorite player because I think it is a really special thing. He thanked us for coming and was really nice. Logan said it was the Best Day Ever!

 

I know this will be one day he will remember for a long time. We can't wait to see who we get at the next two training camps we go to. More on training camp coming soon.

More summer adventures

Summer seems to be flying by and I can't believe it is almost August. The past few weeks have been filled with some adventures , reading and lessons.
 Payton started swim lessons this week and she loves it like she did a few years ago. They made her start at level one but she is doing great and her teacher is challenging her so that is awesome. At School she got three free swimming lesson sessions so we will be doing swim lessons the rest of the summer, so I am glad she loves it. Logan was going to do it but he decided he didn't want to because he didn't know the teachers and he just wasn't sure about it. Maybe next year...
We also worked on the yard to try to make it look better since the weeds seem to take over and it looks bad. We weeded and then added some new flowers to the side yard and we will add some more soil and mulch to make it look better then the dry dirt that is there now.
Our adventures the past few weeks:
We went to the zoo to meet the new baby giraffe who was adorable. We also went to see some of our other favorites. It seemed like a lot of the animals were still sleeping so we didn't get to see as many as we would have liked.

Last weekend we went to Day out with Thomas and the kids had a lot of fun. I think this was the best year for Logan because he wanted to do everything and in years past he has shied away from some of the things.

Monday after swim lessons we went to Richmond Beach to learn about the creatures that live in the ocean. The kids had a blast and learned so much. I wanted to find tide pools or low tide times last year but just never was able to figure out when and where. This year I saw something on a parent site about exploring low tide and it lead me to the Seattle aquarium page where they had a schedule of when low tide was and what beaches to go to. They had volunteers who were there to tell you about the creatures and educate us about them. My kids want to do it again but we will have to wait until the end of August to do it.

 Sea stars

 Sea anemone

  Mr. crab hiding

I have been reading like crazy since I have had books coming in from the library. I finished the two I got a few weeks ago and I just picked up three more so lots more reading for me. I do love having so much time to read and swim lessons are a great place to get a little reading done.
Tomorrow we are going to our first Seahawks training camp and it will be fun and it will give us an idea of what it be like this year.