august 25

today was brooke's last day of preschool and her last day at SRELC.  sigh.  in the past week it has finally hit her that she won't be going into Pre-K with all of her friends.  she's been looking forward to Pre-K all year long, so it's a little sad for her.  we've been talking a lot about her new school, and i've been praying that she likes it.  i'm sure she will.  as long as they tell her it's Pre-K :)

kevin came home from cincinnati today, and we took a family walk to pick brooke up from school.  the weather this week has been gorgeous, and we're doing our best to enjoy every bit of it.  tonight i went out for my last wine night with the preschool moms.  i was out entirely too late, but it was great to sit and talk with many of the women i've become close with over the past 2 years.  i'm doing my best to gear up for all of the goodbyes we have ahead.  i've never been very good at them.

august 24

today we hosted our last play date with brooke and her little buddies, cole and drew.  they have been good friends since the start, and they've spent the last 2 years in school together.  they are starting to get to the age though where they don't have much in common when it comes to their interests and playing together.  i think gavin had much more fun today than brooke did!  gavin had boys to play chase with and sword fight with, and he was in heaven.  i can't wait for him to be able to play with his cousins, jackson and joey, in cincinnati!  he's going to love it.

august 23

i am really going to miss the gorgeous views from my bathroom window in the mornings.  it's a great way to start the day.

august 22

after a very busy weekend it was nice to stay home and relax with the kids today.  kevin is in cincinnati again this week, so it's just us.  we invited anna over to play, and the kids had a good time with her.  i got out our new teepee, and they pretended to go camping.  they were content, and i was able to get a few things done.  tonight was brooke's last gym class at the little gym.  she did a pull-over for the first time and walked across the balance beam all by herself.  i am really proud of her, and more importantly, she is proud of herself.

august 21

we attended our 3rd and final calvary chapel outdoor service and celebration at centennial park today.  every year our neighbors invite us, and every year we go.  i usually enjoy listening to walt's sermon, and kevin usually oversees the kids playing in the kids' group.  today kevin golfed first thing in the morning so the kids and i headed to the service, and i ended up at the playground instead of the service.  kevin surprised us by meeting up with us there and we were all able to enjoy a nice picnic lunch together.  the kids rode the water slide this year for the first time and loved it.  it took brooke 3 years to get comfortable with the idea, but she finally did it :)

my sweet neighbor jolene is 2 weeks overdue with her 6th! baby, and i learned today that her brother just passed away.  such terrible news.  i offered to help in any way i can, and it turned out that i was able to babysit their kids tonight so walt and jolene could have some time alone before the baby comes.  i took brooke and gavin next door with me, and gavin had so much fun playing with their 3 boys (age 6, 4 and 2).  i have always loved to see the way their boys interact and play with each other, and gavin fit in perfectly.  i was happy to have the time with their kids tonight.  they are a very special family.

august 20

we attended our 3rd annual Railroad Days today.  we've been looking forward to the pancake breakfast (served with krispy kreme donuts :) at the fire station, and it did not disappoint.  this year gavin was super excited to be at the fire station and to "drive" the big fire trucks.  brooke enjoyed climbing into an ambulance and listening to a talk from one of the EMTs.  we had a yummy breakfast and then headed into old snoqualmie for the parade.  brooke really wanted to be a part of the parade this year, so she walked with her dance academy and loved every second of it.  she had the biggest smile plastered on her face and she waved at all the people lining the street.  she was a natural :)  gavin had a great time watching the parade with us and scoring some candy and special little treats.  the heat wore us all out pretty quickly so we headed home after the parade to relax and refuel.

august 19

the kids and i had a great morning in bellevue.  we parked on main street and started with cupcakes at cupcake royale and then shopped along main street until we ended up at a deli i've been wanting to try for lunch.  it was warm and sunny so we sat outside and enjoyed a delicious lunch.  we rarely have lunch out so it felt like a special treat.

in the afternoon we had SRELC's end of school picnic.  every year they throw a great party for the kids and their families.  there was good food, a bouncy house, games, face painting, sno cones, live music and dizzy's tumble bus was even there for the kids to play in.  we all had a great time and the kids had tons of fun.  brooke was so happy to run around with her little girlfriends, and gavin was just as happy to tag along.  it was a beautiful evening and a special way to say goodbye to a great school that has meant so much to us during our time in snoqualmie.