Summer FINALLY arrived...well, maybe just visited!

Clara and Davis making the most of the warm day by playing outside. We set them up with a big tub of water and a even got out Clara's sprinkler mat - the one that she was terrified of last year. They both had so much fun splashing and playing!

Later that day, we attended a BBQ at one of Kevin's co-workers. Clara is the youngest kiddo in this group and it took her several hours of watching the kids play in order for her to want to get in the pool, but once she did, she got right in there with the splashing and silliness! We were a little shocked, but so proud - what a difference a year makes when it comes to her interest in being in the pool, especially an inflatable-ish one with lots of kid commotion!

I asked them to pose for a silly photo - it was the only way I could get close enough to take a picture without getting soaked!

4th of July in Manzanita!

The Michael clan on the 4th of July

Clara and Mommy waiting for the parade to begin

Once it started Clara LOVED watching all the kids and floats. While she had been to the Winlock Egg Day parade a few weeks back with Grandma & Grandpa Stevens and caught on to the whole candy deal, she was a little slow to run to get any this time. It was all the better and we just encouraged her to run after a few lollipops (her favorite). I think she ended up with about 8 of them!

It had been since before we were married that we had spent the 4th of July in Manzanita and were astonished by how much bigger the festivities have become. Before, it was more of a kid & bicycle parade and now has grown into a 40 minute production with floats and horses! A delight for lil' Scout!

Out on the beach enjoying all of the fireworks. This year we didn't even do a sparkler and we were just as content watching everyone else light there's off. There is just something so terrifying about the kid/fire combination and as parents, the 4th of July festivities will take on some new worries that we have yet to have to experience.

Mommy and the rest of the kids we very happy with the S'mores - a first for Clara and to no surprise, they were a hit!

Manzanita!!!

We were finally able to make our first trip to the beach house in Manzanita this year and it was such a memorable weekend because we got to go with Kevin's parents, and his sister Amy with her children, Taylor, Hailey and Zane. Clara couldn't have had more fun!! She loved being around her cousins so much and with three of them around for several days she basked in all of the attention. We lucked out for our trip and had some great weather. There was rain but it seemed to happen overnight or during nap/rest time and didn't really get in our way.

The rest of the group had been there for almost a week when we arrived and so the kids had made lots of fun discoveries that they wanted to share. After our long car trip, we all took a walk to the bay in Nehalem State Park. The kids (including Kevin, because he really still is just a big kid) loved climbing on all of the drift wood and building forts.

BIG kid, Kev!

Clara wasn't at all shy about getting in the water and exploring.

Daddy's (first) little girl

That evening we headed out to the fun Farmer's Market Manzanita hosts on Friday nights. We went a few times last year and are always impressed at all of the great produce and tasty treats the market in such a small town has to offer. Clara, after eating dinner, a ton of fresh berries and most of Hailey and Taylor's strawberry lemonades was out having a great time shakin' it to the live music!

The adults enjoyed the strawberry shortcake - especially this Mama-to-be! My third trimester actually has me feeling a little peppier so far, especially since my affection for sweets has returned.

The next day we spent a lot of time down on Manzanita beach.

Hailey, Clara & Taylor

One of Mommy's favorite parts of beach trips has now become Scout's as well... Tillamook Ice Cream!

Play-doh is fun for kiddos of all ages!

At one point the kids were all doing the crab walk in the sand. Above, Clara can't quite get the hang of it, but she thought she was copying her cousins, so she was happy!

Running and ROLLING down the steep and sandy hill!

Being silly while watching her cousins do their crazy tricks.

Clara would be content digging in the sand and lugging a bucket around all day. At one point she had the bucket overflowing with sand yet refused to let us help dump it over. Instead, she kept scooping up the sand and watching is fall off the mound.

Kevin was taking a belly photo when Clara leaned over and gave "sister" a kiss - so sweet!

More digging...

Hailey was flying the trick kite, which was moved really fast but was harder to keep in the air!

The others were off flying a kite so she decided to take her bucket and shovel over closer to them. I offered to carry it for her or take some sand out, but she absolutely insisted on doing it herself.

New Hair Style

During our last trip to Chehalis, Grandma Jan gave Clara the most adorable "big girl" hair cut. She was so proud to come home and show it off to her Daddy and seems to love when people notice her "new doo"! We can't believe how much older it makes her look!

Our sweet little baby girl really is growing up so fast, and it now feels like the perfect time to bring another baby girl into our home. Scout has matured so much since the beginning of the year when we first learned that our family would be expanding. We won't lie, this Daddy & Mommy are still are worried about some of the juggling we will have to preform to care for two children, but we are really starting to get excited about snuggling a newborn and experiencing baby milestones all over again. All while getting to share it with Clara, who is going to make an excellent BIG sister!!

Summer Fun

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This past week Miss Scout had a fun visit with her Grandma & Grandpa Stevens. During her visit she had lots of fun playing with her cousins Taylor & Brendan. We are not going to be with them over the 4th of July weekend and so Grandma Jan wanted to get some fun patriotic photos of the kids together. Brendan was so easy, but the girls have so much fun being together they get one another worked up into some serious sillies, thus it was quite a challenge to get some photos! We didn't capture any "perfect shots" but got some ones that portray the energy of these special kiddos!

Father's Day Weekend 2010

We had a busy Father's Day weekend this year. It started with Daddy returning from a mini business trip on Friday night to a surprise banner and gifts from Scout and Mommy. We had a fun breakfast that Clara got to help make - yogurt and fruit parfaits where Clara counted out the strawberries and blueberries in each.

On Saturday, our neighborhood held its annual garage sale. Grandma and Grandpa Stevens came up for a visit and attended some garage sales with us. Clara was the big scorer with some of our deals including a Snow White dress up outfit, a Cinderella doll and a super cool trike!

Saturday evening we headed to Quincy and made our first visit to Grandma and Grandpa Michael's new home. On Father's Day Kevin's side of the family all got together for a BBQ to celebrate our wonderful Dads and Great Grandpa Zane's 87th Birthday.

Clara had so much fun running around in Grandma & Grandpa's new courtyard with her cousins that she just plain puttered out. This is pretty uncommon for our lil' tot so we were shocked when she crawled up in Kevin's lap and fell asleep within a few minutes. This tender moment might have been Kevin's favorite part of his Father's Day.

A photo of all the Dad's - Uncle Todd, Great Grandpa Zane, Grandpa Murray, Daddy & Uncle Elmer.

Kevin also enjoyed spending some time with his own Daddy. He and Murray got up early for a round of golf and while neither of them was very proud of their score, they both came home chuckling and happy to have gotten to play together.

Helping out in the Kitchen

Lately Clara has shown a lot of interest in food preparation in our household. She LOVES to have a job and be able to help Mommy & Daddy make meals. We are learning to find little jobs where she can participate and love watch how seriously she takes the task.

She took this cookie task so seriously, I couldn't even get her to look up for a picture!