Summer Daze

Hi All!

The Summer of 2023 is in full swing!  This Summer, we have made sleeping in until at least 8 am a priority. I swear both kids have grown 5 inches this Summer!

In early June, I rented a massive double water slide and invited kids (and parents) from both classes to our house for a Summer Kick-Off Party. It was a huge success! By the end of it, the kids were so worn out from playing hard, and I'm certain we got bit of money out of that 24' slide!

This is the first Summer where I haven't had a nanny or babysitter to help out.  We had several trips and camps planned that it just didn't make sense to hire someone.  In the end, it worked out fine but there were times when I had to work and the kids were bored. But plenty of times I was able to take them to do something fun on a given day for a little bit. We mastered 3 escape rooms this summer by the way!

We spent 2 weeks in June in Cascade at my parent's place Burnbrae. Nothing like a creamy hot chocolate on a brisk morning!

Our fave breakfast spot, The Pantry in Green Mountain Falls

The last weekend in Colorado, we decided to set off for a fishing and camping trip. We traveled to Deckers and found a tent camping spot. Quinn and Dad worked on their fly fishing technique.

Olivia didn't get much of a mention in the last blog on hockey, so I wanted to include some pictures here and more on how she's been doing. She took piano lessons all year and did a piano recital in April where she received a good grade on her playing skills 👍.

She got braces this past year and subsequently got them taken off a few months after (I have a feeling there will be a few more rounds of that). She got a really good haircut and style which she is super excited about!

As an aspiring veterinarian and total animal lover, she loves to 'rescue' animals such as snakes, turtles and fish from nearby waterways. Here she is with Boxer (who apparently goes by the name Shelly). Shelly was released a day or two later since the weather was great and we weren't sure s/he was eating the food we had given.

The kids went to Camp Foster YMCA in Spirit Lake, Iowa the first week of July and had a great time learning water sports.  Meanwhile, Jason and I went out to Colorado Springs to work together on completing his latest car wash project out there.

Signing off for now.

Love always, Claire & Family