July = Family, Travel, and Loads of Fun

California here we come!  The Donovans invaded Eric and Kim’s house before we headed off to Tahoe for the annual Donovan/Sichi camping trip.  It was so nice to get to spend so much time with the families.  The girls LOVED camping, especially the getting dirty part.

When we rode bikes in Richardson Katie got her own bike.  She did a great job riding on the trails.  Sara rode in the trailer behind my bike and slept most of the ride.

  

Mommy and Daddy got to hike the Rubicon on our own!  It was a perfect date.  We talked without interruption, we held hands, we focused on each other.  Just what we needed to feel rejuvinated.

The girls loved the beach of course.  Sara even liked resting in the sand.

  

Two little campers:

   

My little tomboy diva Sara.

Enjoying a Bite in the Backyard

Summer’s first corn on the cob was a hit!

Summer is Finally Here!

We had a beautifully warm day in June when Lilly graduated from UW.  The girls had fun playing at the party.

Sara’s Uniform

Katie went to school one day in her uniform, skirt, knee socks, white blouse.  After school I was telling her teacher Katie looked like Brittney Spears in her uniform and her teacher pointed out that her skirt was really short.  Somehow I hadn’t realized Katie had grown taller. 

Sara decided she wanted to wear a uniform so here she is in Katie’s hand me downs.

Date Night!

Our Family: June 2010

Getting Ready for School

Each morning I tell the girls to get dressed and put their shoes on.  Katie is required to wear a uniform to school, but Sara can wear whatever her heart desires.  (Check out Katie’s shoes though)

Katie’s 5th Birthday

We gave Katie many choices for how she could celebrate her birthday, but she really wanted to go to The Little Gym again this year.  We invited her classmates from school and this time I was smart- rather than do it all myself, we hired the Gym staff to run the show.

Katie and Sara both really enjoyed having Daddy at the gym.

Everyone Loves a Tea Party

The girls love to dress up, and adding the tea party element makes it even more fun.  They love to wear fancy dresses and eat teddy grahams and fruit snacks on their little plates.  Pouring from the tea pot is also a big hit.

Hawaii in May

Grandma Gaysie came to Sammamish to take care of the girls so we could go to Brad & Katie’s wedding in Hawaii!  It was a quick trip, but a great one.  We stayed on the big island at the Hapuna Prince.  We had 3 nights to enjoy the wedding festivities and relax on a beautiful beach.

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Alki Beach

We had a break in the crazy weather one sunny day in spring and decided to explore Alki Beach in Seattle.  The tide was low and we could walk out forever.  The girls loved drawing in the sand and exploring in the tide pools.

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Easter: You can dress up a Donovan, but should you really take them to church?

So Easter Sunday, I really wanted to go to church.  There was talk of a great sermon, plans for a huge egg hunt for the kids, and I have really been trying to create some family traditions.  It was a little hectic trying to get the girls ready.  Usually when we are going somewhere we just tell the girls to get dressed.  Whatever they pick out is fine.  For this special day I wanted them to wear cute dresses of course.  Katie was not happy with my decision.  She fought us getting dressed, fought getting in the car, and basically made it very well known that she wanted no part of church, egg hunts, dresses, or anything else that the rest of us were interested in.  I ended up dressing her and getting her into her car seat.

We arrived at church, dropped the kids off at their Sunday School classes and went to enjoy our sermon.  After that it was time for egg hunts! 

When we picked the girls up from their classes they wanted to go in the jumpy house.  Most of the moms were off helping to set up festivities, and the back wall was dads lined up watching their kids in the bouncy houses.  All of the sudden I notice Katie jumping and her dress going up- She didn’t have on any underware!  All of the dads looked uncomfortable as they tried to look away.  I told Katie to come out of the jumpy right now. 

When she got to me I asked what happened to her panties and she said “Oh, I was mad before so I took them off in the car.”

Happy Easter!

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The day before the girls got their faces painted by the Easter Bunny.

    

                               

Tulip Festival 2010

Due to the crazy weather the tulips came very early this year.  My Mommy friends and I took all the girls to see the flowers and this year roles were reversed.  Last year my girls did not want to smile and were very cranky.  Everyone else’s daughters had a great time and spent the day laughing and enjoying the tulips.  Well this year everyone traded attitudes.  All the other girls refused to smile while mine were having a great time hamming it up for the

camera.

 

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March 2010

March found our family traveling back home to sunny Santa Rosa to visit the Buksa family.  Josh had grown up so much and the girls really loved trying to make him laugh.  

We enjoyed visiting with Kieran and Quinn too. 

We ended our California trip wit ha visit to Aunt Paula in San Francisco.  It was a beautiful day so we took a nice walk through the park and enjoyed the beach views.