Happy July friends! How is summer treating you so far? It has been crazy hot in Sacramento this year. Normally I would invite you to catch up over something iced and cool- maybe an iced lemonade whatever drink from Starbucks? Or perhaps we can be fancy and stop at a lovely little cafe for a glass of chilled Rose?
But I am currently writing this from the Pacific Northwest on a little family vacation and dang almighty it is cold! Let’s get hot tea somewhere instead- or I know! There is a new Ramen place that just opened up- how about a bowl of noodles? Can you spare a little time to chat over a yummy hot noodle bowl?
How are your summer goals progressing? Have you had any projects in the works? Yeah we are in Seattle for about 8 days and I am going to need elastic waist band pants before this trip is over. You might not remember but my husband is from Seattle and I lived here for 8 years before moving back to my home state of California. I certainly miss this beautiful city and all the quirks and clearly the amazing food 🙂 We have been showing the kids all our favorite spots and old stomping grounds. Oh and I know you are already aware that half the time I feel like a giant hot mess trying to juggle a zillion balls in the air. We were hoping to spend 1 day in Seattle and 7 days in Canada and our danged passport renewals didn’t arrive in time. So lemonade out of lemons right? We were crazy bummed not to see Canada but we have had so much fun on this trip anyway so it worked out fine.But seriously- I really have to get more organized with planning these vacations WELL in advance. (Quit laughing. I know you are way more on top of things and I am so envious of how you seem to have it all together. When I grow up I want to be just like you 😉 )
Back at home it has been a fun filled start to summer. I have been planning all sorts of mini adventures with my kids. Occasionally my husband can sneak out of work to join us but for the most part it is the Haugsven girls on the loose. We have been hiking and visiting some cute area farms and historical sites and I made a long list of fun bakeries and ice cream shops and other special places for us to hit this summer.
Adriana is almost 9 and has been taking sewing classes this summer at Joann’s. I have been so impressed with the classes so far and we can’t wait to take more! Addy is doing a curved sewing series of classes and together we are going to learn to make pillowcase dresses. I am excited to learn to make these because our church is involved with an amazing charity and we can make little dresses throughout the year as we have time and then send them off twice a year when they do the clothing drives. I have been looking for ways to get the girls involved in service projects and this will be perfect.
Oh! I almost forgot to tell you. We did an indoor skydiving thing at iFly for Father’s Day. It was fun! You know I completely panic in tight spaces and overly hot spaces and high places right? Lol. Yup. I was determined to be brave and show the kids that Mom does all the fun stuff Dad does but then I may or may not have mildly panicked inside the flying thing. Darn if it isn’t hard to breathe with air shooting your face off. I had to get out for a sec and regroup and made my way back in. Yeah for Mommy! You should totally try it one day. The kids loved it.
Have you been doing anything fun this summer? Are you a sit by the pool person or a get up and go person? Ha ha- you already know I can’t sit still for more than 2 minutes straight but I am looking forward to diving into some crafts when we get home. A great way for the girls to be creative and to take a break from the go-go-go.
I will be posting all our Seattle adventures on the blog very soon but I have to tell you my darling husband was so excited to get to Safeco Field and catch a Mariners game on our first day back. He is a die hard Seahawks, Sounders and Mariners fan and it is challenging to catch the games at home. If you heard a little girl squealing at the game against the Orioles it was not the kids but actually my very gleeful husband 😉 Pretty sure the M’s won- dunno I was busy taking pictures of the amazing Snoqualmie Ice Cream the girls and I tracked down. My husband made friends with the guys next to us (as usual) and something about a sweep- people walking around with brooms. Dunno. Did I mention the ice cream? 😉 The kids got to run the bases after the game. I love baseball- such a fun family- oriented sport.
Oh and we are finishing up a little DIY outdoor kitchen in the yard. Nothing super fancy but I can’t wait to get the darn thing finished and I’ll share all the details if it turns out like I imagine.
I have been rambling on now forever- anything else new with you? Anything you have been loving lately? Can you believe all the back to school stuff is out already? Blah! Enough already with the Back to School darn stores! We still want pool floaties and beach towels!
Here are a few things I am loving these days:
Ok so I told you about the last show I was obsessed with in May and now I have a new one that I could not stop watching! The Killing is on Netflix and heart crushingly it has been cancelled. There are four amazing seasons though that you can watch. It is about 2 homicide detectives in Seattle. The detectives really delve into the cases and one of the detectives, Holder, is one of my favorite TV characters in a long time. He is gross at first but totally changes your mind as you get to know him. I watched this from the treadmill at the gym and literally laughed out loud, gasped, screamed and basically convinced other people working out to stay far, far away from the crazy treadmill lady. #worthit
Aren’t these goggles darling? There are a bunch of animals and I just ordered 2 sets for my girls. No more arguing over which goggles belong to whom. Clearly the dolphins are for A and the fish for M. Done.
And I just ordered these cute Adidas sneakers for little old me. Can’t wait to get them.
And here are a few things I am liking lately for birthday gifts – just in case you have little girls on your list too.
Basically every single art supply from International Arrivals – glittery, puffy, glittery, colorful fun. Origami for Kids on the Go kit. These little terrarium necklaces look so fun- just picked this up for a gift recently.
I guess we better wrap this little noodle date up soon and get bundled up to brave the cold weather and get back to our lives. It is always so fun to catch up with you! I hope your July is fantastic and can’t wait to chat again in August!
Annye says
Thanks for the catch-up chat, Charlene! It’s always fun to hear what you’ve been doing away from the blog — although I’m sorry to hear you flew over our state for your holiday! Maybe someday soon, you can discover some of the wonderful things Oregon has to offer?
Kelly @ RedefinedMom.com says
I love these posts. It’s fun to get a snippet into your life. And I CAN NOT WAIT TO SEE the outdoor kitchen.
Charlene says
Hi Annye! No we totally didn’t! Oregon is up next. 🙂 We needed to be on Whidbey Island for the 4th of July and we left the 2nd so there wasn’t much time because we drove. My husband’s family is in southern Washington so we saw them and then went to Whidbey. We are going to Great Wolfe today and then hoping to get to Crater Lake and Sun River or maybe Ashland this weekend. Do you have any suggestions for lodging in Crater Lake? We found two “rustic cabin” places which always scares me. 😉 We don’t need anything fancy but clean is a priority. 😀 We went to Ocean Shores all the time when we lived in WA and my husband wanted to go there but I want to do something different and we haven’t been to Crater Lake or Sun River. I have heard Ashland is a really charming city too. I remember selling wine when I lived in Washington and the Oregon wineries were amazing. I don’t think we will have time for that this time around and we wanted to go visit Tillamook but again I don’t think we will have enough time. Tons to do in Oregon!
Charlene says
Ha ha! Well our little “kitchen” won’t be terribly impressive to you Kelly- I am sure your husband could do something super amazing. But I just want to dress the grill up a bit so it doesn’t look so sad and little on the side of the house.