Summer of Fun – Pellegrini Page

Its the last few weeks of summer for us and we have really tried our best to get out and take advantage of our free time. Some of the highlights have been bike riding, our annual cabin trip and lots of swimming. Here’s a recap since Elise’s birthday.

Michael celebrated a quiet 38th birthday at the end of July, nearly the entire weekend before he spent playing and learning hockey, we did manage to get in some family time with Kristy and Madi at our favorite summer hang out. We took them to the outdoor pool at our gym for a Saturday swim and Michael met us all there later in the afternoon after he finished with hockey. The pool was practically empty except for us and it was a nice day out so we swam for several hours before heading home for a salmon dinner, courtesy of Michael. It was a fun Saturday for us all and I think we were all pretty exhausted at the end of the day. The night of his actual birthday was the following Monday, so that night after work we all went out to dinner at our local Mexican restaurant and then we went home for homemade (by the kids and I) birthday cake. Strangely enough it was the day after his birthday that was the real gift. I don’t remember exactly why she asked but Elise had mentioned an interest in wanting to take the training wheels off her bike. We didn’t have anything going on that night because Michael had decided to cancel his band practice and stay home with us all, so we figured why not seize the moment and go for it. She has been zooming down the street on her balance bike now for three years, both Michael and I were confident she was more than ready to give it a try. Sure enough with barely any help from Dad she took off up the street with everyone following around her. She never doubted herself for a minute, which is a big deal for Elise, she just kept riding with a giant smile on her face. It took her less than 5 minutes before she was looking like every other kid on the street, like she’d been riding a bike for years. It was incredible and we were all feeling super pumped up about it, Enzo got so caught up in the excitement that he decided he was also ready to take the training wheels off his bike. I was not so enthusiastic about this idea, but Michael wanted to let him give it a try and assured me he would stay right next to him. So we took his training wheels off and put him at the bottom of the cul de sac, he had a little difficulty getting started because his bike was a bit too tall for him and he could just barely touch the ground with the very tips of his toes. He was determined to get it going though so Michael stood next to him for a short bit and before we knew it he was literally riding circles around us all in the street. It was so awesome, just like Elise, he had a huge smile on his face and he was so very proud of himself. I couldn’t believe how quickly he took to it, he struggled getting on to the bike (because it was too tall) but once he got up he had no problems speeding off. He did have some issues with stopping it and getting off because get couldn’t get his feet to the ground before losing his balance. I decided after watching him jump off his moving bike a few times that we were going to be looking for something a little shorter the next day. It was very unsettling to watch him leap off a moving bicycle on to the pavement. We were able to find him a really cool, used Ninja Turtles bike the next day and he has been zipping around the street daily ever since.

There is a long list of things that have been filling up our time this summer. We’ve visited a few story walks, a new thing around here encouraging kids to get outside and explore new areas while reading a book along the way. They have a route to follow and nice signs for each book page. It’s a really cute activity and the books are all tailored to a younger crowd and available to purchase. We s=attended an outdoor play at the Everett Theatre, a middle school and high school troupe preformed Suessical. The kids loved it and learned the characters of the Horton and his Who friends, a new story to us. We visited the Children’s Museum for one long afternoon; We did not leave a single inch of that place undiscovered. We hadn’t all been there together since Enzo could walk so it had been a long time and we had a ton of fun playing with everything. I think that most popular attractions were the airplane you can play inside and the farm. We visited Funko one afternoon and then went out for lunch. Ava had never been to the Funko store before and she was totally blown away by all the larger than life sized characters. The kids have had some great play time with all the neighbors this summer, we’ve had a few play dates with school friends and some birthday parties as well. We explored a few new beaches in the Edmonds/ Shoreline area with our adventurous friends the O’Hairs. The kids have created some massive blanket forts to stay out of the afternoon sun. They love using our new (rail-less at the moment) deck as a stage for dance offs and karaoke with Alexa. We have captured a tree frog, slug, snail and nearly a baby bunny all in our yard, each time they bring it inside and ask to keep it. I may have said yes to the extremely cute bunny, but it was too quick for them. We have logged more hours at the pool this summer than any other members, I am confident this is true because our favorite front desk guy confirmed it. The kids have all become so much more comfortable in the water. It feels really good to see them all making progress, so much so that we decided we also wanted to enroll them all in a two week intensive program.

They each had class at the same time but in different parts of the pool with their own class. Enzo only had one other swimmer in his class and he loved all the one on one attention. He did get frustrated when it was his turn to wait because he does not enjoy just sitting on the stairs in the pool. He’d rather be testing his limits and doing his own thing. He finished out strong and showed a huge improvement in knowing how to get to your safe spot in the water. He’s got a long ways to go before we could ever leave him near a pool unattended but I like that he enjoys being in the water and genuinely wants to learn how to swim. Elise was much different in her class, she is more reserved and timid. She needed to be reassured a lot that she could do something new and she was a little hard on herself when she couldn’t do something correctly. She loved being in class and made a cute little buddy on the second day, who she looked forward to seeing every day. After the two weeks Elise showed big improvements in her willingness to try new things and she had no fear of the water. Ava showed the most improvement with actual swimming. In her class they worked more on learning the different strokes and getting correct form. By the end of the session, Ava was swimming unassisted and able to switch from one stroke to the next, now she just needs to work on her confidence and distance. They all did really well and each want to start again next session, but we have decided to wait and get settled into our school routine first.

Last weekend was our annual trip to the O’Hair’s cabin on Hood Head Island, this was our third year going and the first year that we had another family join us as well. We packed up and headed out after swim lessons on Friday morning, we got on the road as soon as we could but unfortunately it did nothing to help with the ferry wait time. It was a rough three hour trip getting over to Port Gamble. We originally hoped to have time to get lunch and explore but that was not the case. The only thing we had time for was Subway and a stop for ice, before we headed to the cabin. You have to take a boat over to the island so and its just across a small channel, so you are at the mercy of the tides and the captain. In this case the water was just right but, Josh, our captain, hadn’t arrived yet with the boat. He was coming from the same area that we were but it a nice, short 45 minute boat ride for him. It worked out great though we had time to say “hello” to Solana and Ronan who had just arrived and we dipping their toes in the water, and as soon as we were finished unloading the two vans, Josh sailed in to greet us. Josh and Solana are the most gracious and laid back hosts you’ll meet. As soon as the hugs went around, we cracked open some drinks and got busy getting everyone over to the beach in front of the cabin. We spent most of the rest of the evening hanging out on the beach and enjoying a spaghetti dinner, Michael made for us all. It was a little chilly as the day went on but it was really beautiful out and we were all soaking it up in our own way on a perfect little slice of NW beach. Because it was becoming such a picturesque evening, Josh decided to take us all out for a sunset cruise in the boat. We hurried to get the kids all in dry PJs for the night and got life jackets on everyone and rushed down to the boat, we wanted to get out before it got too dark. The boat that he had this year is one that was new to us. It has a sleeping cabin underneath that the kids all thought was amazing and they all spent the boat ride bouncing around the bed. We went in for the night just as it was getting dark and everyone got their beds settled before we all sat around together for a bit and talked. It didn’t take long before everyone was starting to get glassy eyed and some were even drifting off right in the middle of everything. Josh had to give us all one final laugh for the night (or so I thought) and caused a big commotion when Sully, their dog peed all over his and Finny’s bed. It shouldn’t have been funny but I had a front row seat to it all and I was crying from laughter, Josh has a way of making everything funny. I got my payback later when I was awoken by a swooshing sound. At first, I figured it was likely a bug in the house, or maybe even something outside. The room Michael and I sleep in is like a loft above the house and its nearly all windows so I could hear noises outside all night long. This noise, I was pretty certain was coming from inside though and it sounded big. I laid there contemplating all the thing that it could be and all the things that it could do to me, after what felt like eternity (probably more like 30 minutes) I woke up Michaela and told him I thought there was a bat in the house. He was not in the least bit concerned and barely bother to wake up, stating the obvious that there was nothing he could do about it. No way, was I going to be able to sleep thinking that a bat could land on me, or worse, the poor sleeping kids downstairs, at any moment. Thankfully as I was about to scream out for help I heard someone awake downstairs. I could tell it was an adult just by the heavy sound on the floor, so I called out “Theres a bat in the house”! It was Solana and she was up and awake because she heard it too and neither of us was willing to sleep in the house with a bat! Josh woke up to save us all and with the help of Solana, swatted it out of the house with a broom. It took me forever to fall asleep that night because I just felt all creepy crawly and kept hearing noises. It seemed liked the kids woke us up 45 minutes after I went to sleep. Three years and two bats is not good odds.

Enzo was the first to wake up on Saturday, Ava and Elise were soon to follow, I somehow managed to keep them all quite for nearly an hour before another adult got out of bed. Solana was kind enough to cook us all french toast and bacon for breakfast and we didn’t waste anytime after eating before heading back down to the beach. It was just before 9:00 by the time we all made it down to the water for the day. Normally we would decide which direction we wanted to head off to explore but today we were staying at the cabin because Mark, Laurel and Sadie were coming over for the day. The three of them have never visited the Cabin and weren’t up for sleeping over but they wanted to make a day trip out of it and were able to join us about 11:30. Because of the tide schedule they had to walk over and its a muddy journey. Thankfully even though there were a few falls everyone made it over safely and just had a bit of mud and wetness to deal with. We hung out at the beach for most of the day, we manage to squeeze in some time on the zip line they have set up on the neighboring property and the kids got a chance to fish for the first time. Enzo was really into fishing, and was watching Josh and trying his best to copy him. Michael showed how to cast a few times and then he got to reel in a fish that had bit another line. It was a small little Bullhead fish, but Enzo was so proud of it and everyone made a big deal about it. After the big catch the girls started taking a interest and soon everyone wanted a fishing pole, soon all the kids were spread out along the beach, each with their own pole. It was pretty adorable to watch them all concentrate on a new task. The weather wasn’t very good most of the day, it forced us inside a few times for just a quick stint. In all honesty we could have stayed out in the rain but it was chilly out as well and all the adults were trying to stay as dry as possible, the kids on the other hand were wet for the whole day. For the most part they didn’t complain about being cold or wet. Enzo struggled all weekend with having wet, dirty feet, something he is very sensitive to but that was our worst battle for the weekend, other than the bat of course.

Saturday night Josh and Solana hooked us up with a crab boil and we ate it out on a floating dock. The kids had the dock to themselves first while they all inhaled some homemade mac and cheese that Solana made. After they were almost finished the adults and Sadie joined them for our turn to sit at the one picnic table and enjoy our sunset dinner. The food was delicious, the scenery was beautiful, and kids were all mostly behaving and everyone was grubbing when, CRASH! The picnic bench and the table busted, right from underneath Josh. I happened to be standing closest to him and instinctively grabbed him and tried to lift him up because it looked as if there was a large nail poking the side of his calf. Thankfully it had not punctured the skin, since it was a old rusted nail and we would have definitely been making an ER run. He pulled himself out untouched but the table and bench are no longer useable, I have no idea how you go about getting a new one and deposing of the old when you’re on an island.

After dinner, Laurel and family had to head for home and the rest of us were ready to start packing things up for the night as well. You loose track of time when you’re at the cabin, the day seemed to fly by and we were all exhausted by the time the sun went down. We set the kids up inside with a movie but they never got to finish it because everyone was falling asleep. Nothing went bump in the night and no one got peed on and we were all up and feeling rested early the next morning. Michael and I had a lot to get done at home and he’s been very busy lately studying so we decided that if possible we would try and take advantage of the early morning tide and head home. This way we would also beat the ferry lines and get some good time at home together. It worked out perfectly, Josh and Solana were very gracious in seeing us off, even though it felt like we were escaping before dawn (it was very early and quiet out). We drove right up to the ferry gate and only had a 5 minute wait before getting onto a ferry. At this point we were feeling really good about out decision to get up and get going and looking forward to an uneventful Sunday together at home. We got exactly what we wanted that night, and it truly was a great weekend all around. The O’Hair’s never let us down, our weekends at the cabin are ones we’ll always remember.

I took the girls each out separately for some back to school shopping. I took them each to Target with a main mission of getting a back pack, lunch box and water bottle. We were also hoping to find some clothes for each girl but those were secondary. They both really enjoyed getting some alone time with Mom and they were both thrilled at the idea of getting some things for school. Elise knew which bag and lunch box she wanted right away. She walked in saying that she was hoping to find a unicorn or cat backpack but as soon as she walked down the aisle she stopped in front of an Elsa and Anna bag and made up her mind without a doubt. Then she walked over to the lunch boxes and picked up a wonder woman lunch box and was set. She didn’t even need or want to look at everything because she was perfectly secure in her decision. she quickly selected a shopkins water bottle and we were off to look at the shoes and clothes. She didn’t find a whole lot of practical things in the clothing department but she did manage to talk me into on a completely over the top sequence dress and and two more subdued cotton dresses. After with finished shopping we headed over to Panera for some lunch and then over to a birthday party at the gymnastics academy. It was a fun afternoon and I loved having some one on one time with my sweet girl. She is so excited about the new year but also nervous about all of the firsts she about to experience. She usually takes a while to warm up to new people and new situations so her initial experience with kindergarten will be very different from Ava’s.

Ava and I also got to get away for a little one on one back to school shopping. She and I headed out one evening after Michael got home from work. I took her to Target as well and went about things the same way I had with Elise. Ava took much longer to decide on her back pack and lunchbox. She even went so far as to decide, ask me to take her picture with her new items then while exiting the aisle she changed her mind. She was hilarious in the store because she is filled with so much energy and enthusiasm, she’s bouncing around and twirling in the aisle. After deciding on her bag, lunch box and water bottle we found a pair of running shoes she approved of, a few hair bows and then some athletic wear. She didn’t find any dresses or formal wear but she did argue for a ridiculous jacket and purse that she didn’t get and she pouted about not getting any toys more times than I could count. We did mange to still have a really nice time and we talked all about the upcoming year as we took the long, scenic way home. She is very much looking forward to being reunited with her BFFs from last year. We have tried to warn her that it is not likely they will be in the same class again, but she is still excited to see them. After just one year of school it is hard to go too many places around town without running into someone that Ava knows. She’s always sure to say hello and then talk excitedly about them for the next 20 minutes. She’s a social butterfly and super excited about all the social things about school, she is nervous about continuing to learn how to read and does not enjoy writing but she is a hard worker and knows that school is important and hard work even more so.

And now we’re trying to slowly switch over to school mode. We’ve picked up our school year habit of having Ava read a book out loud each night and more time working in the school workbooks each day. We’re trying to get to bed a little earlier and not sleep in too late. We are hoping to get a few last minute things checked off our summer bucket list like a trip to the water park, a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Rudd, one more all day pool day and a family day at the Evergreen Fair.

Taking in the sights on the ferry ride over