The Rest of August 2017

It was Katie's turn to celebrate a birthday.

She turned eleventy one.

Not really. Just eleven.

It felt like we had this "Happy Birthday" banner up for about a month.

I took down the Mikey decorations (superhero theme) and went with a Lord of the Rings theme this time.

As soon as she rolled out of bed (which was late as usual) we got down to business.

Just a tad excited about the presents....

This was one of her favorites.

Katie made her own birthday cake too.

Ultra-chocolate cake with vanilla frosting.

11 candles!

I'll spare you having to listen to us singing.

Make a wish!

Huzbend had been dealing with a stomach thing (we think it was caused by bad salad at Seattle Center) and so he couldn't eat the cake unless, of course, he wanted to pay for it later with an extended trip to the potty.

But, he realllly wanted some.

Katie had no such issues.

But, she felt very sorry for Daddy.

Because of said stomach issues, we ended up changing our weekend camping trip at Larrabee State Park from two nights to one.  That was okay. Ralph still had fun.

So did the kids.

We put Mikey right to work.

The "God of Thunder" knocked in all the pegs of our tent.

Katie hid in the car and played video games.

I'm not sure what's going on here.

I know that Mikey was in the tent with me and I was setting up sleeping bags.

Mikey decided to break out the sidewalk chalk.

He had quite a few masterpieces completed by the time Katie decided to grab some chalk.
That's Binky Superhero up above.

Then Binky Superhero and Soupron (with an assist from MorBroth) had a fight in the picture below.

Here's what Katie came up with.....

Sara the Elf.

Burgers were for dinner.

Ralph had dog food.

And probably whatever was dropped under the picnic table.

There was this cool, huge tree trunk that the kids had fun climbing up.

The problem with going camping in Washington in August is that there is usually a burn ban in effect.

It gets VERY dry here in the summer as there's essentially no rain.

This was one such weekend. No campfires allowed at the campground.

Bummer.

We came up with a work around. 

Not as cool as a campfire, but still just as yummy.

And, we could see the stars and the bats circling overheard.

The next day, after some scootering, the kids went back to creating sidewalk chalk art.

Castle Crashers.

We packed up camp and made our way to the beach for some exploring.

There were cool sandstone cliffs to climb on and tide pools to examine.

Ralph wanted to explore too, but it was hard for him to navigate the rocky shore.
Plus, we didn't want him futzing around in the tide pools eating any exotic shore animals.

The tide pools were really neat.

Lots of stuff to look at and touch.

Here's a giant purple sea star.

Here's a small brown crab camouflaged against a bigger piece of a crab carcass.

The Monday after we got back from camping, it was eclipse time.

The kids thought it was cool, but weren't super impressed.

We kept running back and forth between the backyard and the TV where you could watch the cities that got hit with totality.

I think we got to juuuuuuusssst about gone - about 92%, I think.

It was still awesome to see.

Huzbend even worked from home that day to watch with us.

Here's a good look at what we saw when we looked up in the sky.

We had a tarp that created a "pinhole viewer".

You could watch the eclipse on the ground, if you wanted.

Still, even with precautions, I tried to take a picture of the eclipse through the eclipse glasses we had.

I must've exposed the camera lens to the sun just a tiny bit because now there's a dark spot on the lens of my camera.  Bummer.

Later that week, Katie's middle school hosted an Open House.

The kids could come and take care of business - like school photos, purchasing PE uniforms, getting their ID's and opening their lockers.

Katie gave it a few tries and had someone walk her through it.

She insisted that I NOT help her.

"See? I told you I could do it."

I guess there was TOO much excitement visiting middle school that day, because Katie came home and collapsed on the couch.

She slept most of the afternoon away.

Mikey tried to keep himself busy so Katie could sleep....

At this point in the summer, there was only one week left before the start of school.

The kids were super bored.

So bored, they got out the ole' dump truck and started pushing each other around.

I'm not sure if the object was to have fun or to scare the crap out of themselves.

"These people? They're crazy."

The annual visit to the Evergreen State Fair happened.

Good thing they have discounted admission on certain days otherwise these trips could clean out ones bank account.....sigh.

Bungee cords. Yay!

Both kids were able to flip over this year.

The (dreaded by me) petting zoo.

It's actually pretty clean in there and the kids love it.

I just think it's yucky.

This deer was very pushy.

He wanted food.

So much so that he would try to eat your shirt to get it.

Katie's lucky to still have this shirt...

and her arm.

She desperately wanted to give this cow a hug. Ew.

No hugs from Mikey.

They thought the softest animal was the llama.

It was hard to get them to leave.

Bungee cords - check!

Petting zoo - check!

Next up, are-they-safe? amusement rides.

I was very selective in the rides that they could ride.

We started in the Kiddie Land section.

They do this one EVERY year.

The lamest roller coaster EVER.

And the only Fair coaster I will let them on.

They still have fun.

They do this one every year too.

For the first time ever, I let them ride in the grown-up section.

They really liked the Tilt-A-Whirl and rode it twice.

Then came the toboggan ride - forwards and backwards.

And last, but not least, the BIG swings.

This one made me nervous.

The next ride they picked was little more stress-free.

Every year they demand to ride these toy tractors.

I think they're getting a little TOO big for them.

After a stop to watch some dogs run an agility course and to visit the farm animals, it was time to get a special treat.

We usually use our time walking around the Fair to find something that might work.

Mikey picked pie.

This was a chance we took, as I'm sure there were nuts where this pie was made. But, they weren't selling anything nut-topped at the stand, so we went for it.

Apple caramel pie.

"A' la mode" none the less.

Good pick, my boy.

Having to work around even more diet restrictions, Katie's harder to find stuff for.

Good thing she'll suffice with just straight up sugar.

Cotton Candy for the girl.

On our way out, I gave them the choice of getting their faces painted or trying this crazy activity....

They both chose the water ball thingie.

It was totally worth the money to watch the kids tank over and over and over and over.....

Sometimes it was quite spectacular.

The last task of August was to visit Mikey's new elementary school for his Open House.

We had to check in at a table to receive his classroom assignment.

Mikey and Sienna have known each other since they were born.

Here's the reaction when Sienna found out they were in the same classroom....

We met Mikey's new teacher, he got his cubby.....

...and sat at his desk.

At his brand new school.

School would officially start in 5 days.