Parkland Putters

Oh Parkland Putters...so many memories from childhood, high school life and then again through the college years. Chris and I used to run over to PP in the summer when we were newlyweds since we lived so close. Now Leila is developing a love of miniature golf. She is still working through some frustrations, but is getting much better and being patient and "aiming it up" as we call it. I anticipate many more family times at good 'ole Parkland Putters!! 

 Keeping score...

New Gear

 A few weeks back, while skating at Sprinker, we ran into a former student of mine and her family. We started chatting with her parents about kids playing hockey and over the course of the conversation, they offered us a great deal on all Kiera's used hockey gear. Hockey is expensive and Leila has been wanting to play, but we aren't sure if she will stick with it so until we are confident that she really wants to give it a go we didn't want to buy new gear. Wow! What a deal they gave us. Chris ordered some new tape and Leila and him re-taped her "new" stick. She chose the bright pink. 

Independence Day!

We celebrated the 4th of July at our house...just like usual. Both sets of grandparents came over for the day. We had the traditional 4th foods, burgers, hotdogs, macaroni salad, corn on the cob and of course S'MORES! I had spent the week leading up to the 4th making some Pinterested-inspired decorations, so when the 4th actually arrived, I was hoping Leila would indulge me in a little photo shoot. Thank goodness she is easily bribed and let me snap a few pictures. 

Rudy came outside to join us. He did not want to go inside.

Mike took this picture of Rudy. I love his whiskers in this shot.

This is my favorite candid of the evening. Aren't those the faces of confidence?!?!

Some of those decorations I was talking about...and Leila's shirt too. 

These cookies are the best! Sugar cookies, vanilla frosting and fruit!!! 

Thanks to Mike, Leila was able to enjoy sparklers this year...and me too. Sparklers have always scared Leila and me, but Mike read on-line to cut a hole in a solo cup and use it as a hilt for the sparkler. Brilliant! 

Happy birthday, America! 

July 3rd Rainiers Game

Thanks to Shawn thinking ahead, we were able to go to the Rainiers game on July 3rd! The last game before the 4th of July is always a great time and each year Shawn seems to remember to look into tickets. Thank you! Part of the reason this game is always so special is the fact that fans are allowed on the infield after the game to spread out blankets and watch the fireworks show. This year's game was great and the fireworks were wonderful!

Cannon Beach Revisited

 The last weekend of June brought with it another trip to Cannon Beach. This visit's weather was drastically different than our day trip just a month before. Thanks to some generous friends, we had a lovely beach home to stay in free of cost! Grammy and Granddad joined us for three of the four days. The house was located so close to the beach that just a short walk across the road took us straight to the waves and thanks to the hot weather, we spent four lovely days basking in the sun on the OR coast. Our days were filled with water, sandcastles, kite flying, beach snacks, lazy dinners, tide pool exploring, coastal town shopping, reading, Uno games and of course s'mores around the campfire pit!! 

Good thing Grammy was along to help us get this kite in the air! 

Aunt Kath and Uncle Tom joined us for dinner one evening at Mo's. Yum! Abby came along too and Leila had a great time running her up and down the beach. 

The three of us Taverns spent one extra day without Grammy and Granddad and instead of hitting the same beach spot as the previous three days, we decided to travel south about ten minutes toward Hug Point. By this point our sandcastle building skills had reached their peak, so we build a pretty killer castle that afternoon! 

This beach had some new things to explore. 

There was a sandbar here too. L and C braved the high water to cross to the sandbar. I would have too, but I had my nice camera and we were quite a ways up the beach for me to walk back and leave it. So, I stood on shore and took pictures. Next time, I'll go too!! 

It was such an amazing weekend! We loved the beach, the town and spending time with Grammy and Granddad.