melted smoosh

the major highlight of the month was our trip back to Washington state/British Columbia to visit family -- but the rest of the month held some notable moments as well!  1) music class. our last music class of the summer fell the day before we left for our trip and the weather was perfect! Greta joined in this time.  2) new bed for E! Elizabeth and Victoria have been trading places between the crib and the pack'n'play for the past several months. Elizabeth had started protesting going to bed, saying she wanted a big girl bed. at 3 3/4, that was a very reasonable request! she would often end up climbing into bed with Nick and I and that queen size bed just doesn't seem as roomy with three-in-a-bed. we didn't actually own a toddler bed; when Greta and Cece reached that age, they just transitioned to a twin bed. so I kept my eyes peeled on Facebook marketplace for a while and scored a practically new bed including mattress. the fact that it was already assembled made it ev...

 {parts one and two } we arrived back to my parents' house from Canada on Sunday afternoon and discovered all of the kids out back playing on the giant slip'n'slide my dad set up for them! they had so much fun. we had to break up the party eventually so our girls could change into church clothes and attend the Sunday evening mass at the local parish. this church is full of young families and even though the liturgical and musical style is more contemporary than our preference, they are so welcoming and kind.  Kira's car was one of the first to arrive back at the house and she wasted no time in changing into her swimsuit to join the kids playing disc golf with her uncles (both of whom play competitively!) on Monday, we spent a relaxing morning and afternoon at home; various family members started to depart so we said our goodbyes. then finally, around 5 PM, we rallied our girls to go to Pine Lake. I spent many summer hours here as a kid and it's always a highlight o...