Summer's Over Already????

Wow! I can't believe that summer is almost over! Juliet will start preschool in two weeks! Yikes! We have had a great summer! I love living here in Washington, there are so many beautiful places to see and visit and fun things to do. We have stayed home most of the summer, but we did manage to squeeze in a trip to Las Vegas and go to Lake Mohave with Ryan's family. Here are some pics of the last few months.

This was at Snoqulamie Falls, right outside of Seattle, we stopped there on our way back from the airport. These falls were amazing, so breathtaking!
Lake Mohave was a blast! Its become a Davis family tradition to spend a weekend down in Laughlin, stay at the infamous Aquarius hotel eat the seafood buffet till were sick and just enjoy some fun in the sun. It felt so good to be in really hot weather, Washington does not get hot and I kind of miss the desert heat. So it was nice to soak up the heat, I will try to remember it when its freezing cold and snowing in a few months. While in Vegas we saw some members from the wonderful Buffalo ward, it was great to see old friends, man I miss that ward!

We flew home on a Monday and spent the rest of the day in Seattle. We walked down by the Puget sound, it was a gorgeous day, so bright and sunny, blue skies! Ate at one of our favorite restuaratns, Bucca di Beppo, so yummy! They have this killer apple gorgonzola salad and fabulous pizza.

Claire loved playing on the plontoon boat

Mimi, Juliet and Ryan

On a random Saturday in July, we had nothing to do, so we decided to hop in the car and drive to Leavenworth, Wa. (About 1 1/2 hrs from our house). We had heard alot about this quaint German village and wanted to check it out. What a fun place! So many fun shops and great places to eat. We ate fresh taffy, german sausages with sauerkrat, ice cream cones, listened to german folk music, it was awesome! The girls really like it!

I loved their authentic german outfits!

I couldn't stop thinking about my brother the whole time we were there, since he is serving his mission in Germany right now. He would have loved it.

On another weekend, Ryan found a good asian market in the tri-cities, so we stocked up on some Korean stables and Ryan made me a fabulous dinner. It only took him 4 hours to make!!!!! I LOVE Korean food, and am so thankful my husband loves to cook and share with me the Korean culture.

Juliet took and passed her first swimming lessons! Her teacher's name was Ariel, so that helped alot to get her comfortable. Who wouldn't want to swim with Ariel? She loves the water and can now hold her breath under water and swim a little on her own without anyone holding her, I am so proud of her!

Claire Bears!!! My baby, is not such a baby anymore! She is now walking and running everywhere and is into everything!!! I weaned her off the bottle and pacifier at 13months! Very proud of myself! She is already trying to talk and her personality is just bursting out. She is very affectionate, but is also very sassy when she wants to be, and loves to smile and laugh. She is always giving me goofy grins and laughs. She is such a joy!

Other happenings this summer...I am training for a half marathon with a good friend in the end of September, so hopefully we will be ready in time! It helps to have a goal though and someone to run with, it feels good to run long distances again.

Ryan is training for the Hood to Coast relay race for next weekend! So we are driving down to Portland and then Seaside to watch him run and finish. I am excited to go to Oregon!

Juliet starts preschool in two weeks, I am so excited for her! Its only for fours hrs a week, but I know she will love it! She is still doing really great with her potty training, she even stays dry all night and rarely has accidents! She is talking more and more everyday, and loves to sing and dance. She loves watching musicals and learning all the songs. Her favorites right now are Aladdin and Mary Poppins.

I have been getting really involved with a youth strings class in my community that my friend is the director off. Its a free class, for anyone in the community who wants to learn a string instrument. We have about 35 kids and a few adults in the class right now. So I volunteer with that for a few hours each week, its awesome to see the kids learn and see what they can accomplish. I have even taken on a few students of my own, I have 6 students right now and so far its going really good. I love that I can use my talent to help others, its great to be playing again so much!

Well, thats all for now! Enjoy the last few weeks of warmth!