Summer Afternoons

I'm finding that I like spending time outdoors during the afternoons and evenings ... once the sun is slowly setting because even though we don't get extreme heat I'll still get a headache if I'm out in the sun in the mornings.
Summers here are beautiful and I love watching the sunset over water or over the mountains depending where we're at.

Jacob is awesome ... why? Because he packed up all of the kitchen stuff all by himself. So while he packed on Saturday I napped. Once he was done we drove to Ikea for some pizza, lol. The pizza is ok and the reason we ate there was because I wanted to check out another place that's also in the area and theirs was the only thin crust pizza around.

Riley got his hands on this little hat I wanted him to wear on Valentine's day. I posted a picture of him wearing it back in February but he was crying because he didn't want it on. Well, when he saw it again he asked to wear it. Funny guy.

A few months ago when I was looking up things to do I read that Jimi Hendrix is buried here in Seattle. Although we're not really Jimi Hendrix fans I still wanted to go and see his memorial so we stopped by.

There were several guys hanging around ... some were taking pictures. Sydna wasn't too happy about being in a cemetery. What a chicken.

After we left the cemetery we took a back way home. We're always taking backroads. Do any of you find yourselves doing this too? We like to drive around and that's how we've found cool places to visit or new restaurants to try.
Anywhere you go around here you will come across blueberries in the summer. It's neat seeing them all over trails and neighborhoods ... and while we were on some backroad I noticed two deer eating some across the street from us. They came up so fast and there were cars all around that there was no way for me to take a picture. I love seeing deer, they're so cute!


After church on Sunday we drove straight home and had lunch. I was looking at google maps of the area we live in right now and as I scrolled I saw that there's a big lake not that far from the house. I told Jacob I wanted to check it out. I like finding cool places here and there.
Sydna and Nathan didn't feel like going so they stayed home.

We first came across an arboretum.

Riley saw this log and had Woody stand on it.

Then he noticed ants on the log and he had Woody stomp on them.

Making sure they were all dead.

Walked across a small pond with daddy.

We didn't walk throughout the entire place because the trail that we were on lead us to a park that's right next to it and that's where the lake was.

Isn't it pretty?!

We continued to follow the trail we were on and came across the sandy side of the lake.
There were people on paddle boards, pedal boats, swimming and kayaking. There are picnic benches, grills, a huge grassy area, a sandy area, restrooms and a small concession stand. No nachos though. Darn it! There's even lifeguards on duty. That's neat.
We also noticed that it was very peaceful even with people around. It's almost like a hidden gem. Jacob liked this place a lot and says he wants to come back.

One thing, I'm not really into swimming in lakes. I'll go on a paddle board, kayak or a pedal boat but I wont swim in it. Gives me the heebie-jeebies.

This was our weekend. Simple but fun ... and relaxing.