summer weekends, had me a blast...

Being the first post on here, I guess it's important for you to know a little background. I am Lisa. I am married to a wonderful man named Mike. We have three great kids named Josh, Mackenzie and Payton. They provide us hours of entertainment that can be topped by nothing else. One could even say that we thrive on this energy that they possess. And that's why summers get so tough. Being a "blended" family, we are forced to shift our normal routines and "share" summers all around. Our kids bop around to fulfill all of their "obligations" (should kids have these?) and we end up feeling quite lost without each other. So Mike and I keep busy. We do do do all summer long in hopes that we won't have a moment to reflect on what's missing.

But luckily for us, we've gotten to have Miss Mackenzie home for the last three weeks. And man, have we had some fun!!

This last weekend was especially great. Seattle is such a beautiful place to spend the summers. It's not too hot. Everything is in full bloom. And there are more options for entertainment than one family could possibly do. We've proven it. We truly try to do it all. For example: Friday night - Do we go to the outside theater at South Lake Union and watch a fabulously cheesy high school movie? Or do we go to Marymoor Park to watch the bicycle racing at the Velodrome? Racing, it is! Saturday - Capital Hill Block Party or Ballard's age old Seafood Fest? Seafoodindeedee!! With nary a piece of seafood to be found. And Sunday - let's start off with a nice stroll around a car show hosted by Mike's work and mosey our way to beautiful Lake Debra Jane to spend the afternoon with family in celebration of John Hahn's 61st birthday. This was probably my favorite part. We got to not only spend it with John and Eileen, but also with Josh, Becky and Ashley (our most beautiful niece who has grown tenfold since we last saw her). Paddle boating and bbq - it doesn't get much better than that! Happy Birthday, Shane McPherson! We heart you.










above: Ashley and John reading birthday cards to the family.