Sunny Days...Finally

Summer has arrived! And with it comes swimsuits, sprinklers, sunscreen and the Snoopy Snow Cone Machine! This last weekend my Mom came up for a visit. She got here Saturday morning and the rest of the family followed the next day to celebrate the 4th of July with us. Saturday afternoon after Leila's nap, Mom, Chris, Leila and I spent some time soaking up the sun in our backyard.

Aaah...simple joys!
Leila took a break to help Grammy with the snow cones.
The break didn't last too long...back to the water and splashing Dad.


My beautiful Mom.

Oh man, who gave this child the hose??!!?






Snow cone break...again!

Leila ended the afternoon with a third bowl of shaved ice. What a refreshing treat!



I LOVE these two!!!!
Attempting to get a picture of our family. It is quite the job at times!
There are about 6 others of this pose with Leila not cooperating. Finally...

Point Defiance Zoo

We are now official PDZA zoo members! Monday we met up with some friends, the Wallers, for a morning at the zoo. The weather was actually perfect zoo weather, overcast but not raining.

Waiting for our friends to join us.

I think Leila is roaring like a lion, but I'm really not sure.

The zoo welcomed baby clouded leopards two weeks ago. They are so tiny and cute!


This is a first for the Point Defiance elephants...at least for the Tavern Family. They were actually facing the people! Usually all we see are their backsides. I know this next sequence has some pics that are very similar, but the girls are a little different in each one and I couldn't decide.

Friends - Leila and Sadie

This is pretty bird, but truly not a favorite of the Taverns. They creep us out!


And of course no trip to the zoo is complete without some rides on the carousel!

More S'mores!

Wow! Papa and Gramma invited us over for dinner on Sunday night...and s'mores! Leila couldn't wait!!

Jumpin' Party

Leila was invited to a friend's birthday this last weekend. It was her first inflatables birthday invitation. She had a blast! She was one sweaty, pink-cheeked little lady when the party was finished. What was even more fun for her was seeing all her daycare friends since they don't see each other every day now in the summer. Happy birthday, Aubrey!

Leila and her best friend, Bergen.

Kajsa, Bergen and Leila
Kajsa and Leila

Mmmmm, S'mores!

Last week Chris put together our new fire pit and we couldn't wait to try it out! We had a yummy dessert that evening, stuffing ourselves with s'mores!! Leila tried one last summer, but wasn't in love with 'em. It was a different story this year!

These sure can be messy!!

Chris is the best "marshmallow puffer" (Leila's nickname) in the house!