Larsen Reunion

On the last day of school, all the Larsen family showed up for a reunion! 

Here is the itinerary we came up with for the week. 

Strawberries!

One of the things the boys wanted to do was play some basketball, and out of nowhere there was a basketball hoop and ball at Barbies Berries. It kept the boys busy while us gals picked strawberries and took pictures of cute babies eating the strawberries. 

The tradition of strawberries and Berthusen lives on. 

Then we stopped by the original Edaleen and tried for another remake of this picture. 

Why is it so hard to get the remake right?

Later in the evening we met up at Semiahmoo for the great and terrible activity of family pictures.

Lisa Roxanne and Maddy took them for us. They were so great. 

Braxton and Jess are so brave coming with a 3 week old baby.

Look at that most perfect little baby.

The babies are the same age apart as Evan and Avery - so watching them was so crazy. 

That was us not so long ago.

I told them very sternly: you guys. this goes so so fast. there's no way for you to believe me but I am telling you they will be in high school in a blink. 

They smiled politely the same way I smiled politely at the wackos that tried to warn me. 

Sam wasn't able to come. There is talk of photoshopping him in to the pictures. 

After pictures we had a weenie roast on the beach. 

So many rocks to throw. 

The next morning we went to Point Whitehorn. It was cold! 

We are in the middle of Junuary.

Saturday we spent the day in Bellingham:

Triathlon,

Mountain Bike,

Whatcom Falls,

Pizza at Hovander (I was STARVING so it was the best pizza ever)

Braxton got in the cold water and cliff jumped off the same spot that his dad and Jim jumped last time the Larsens came to visit us:

CLICK HERE to see that lifetime ago. 

It was such a fun first week of summer! 

It's so crazy how so much has changed. 

Cousins are married with babies,

Lance is in a care home,

kids are teenagers,

How does time just never stop. 

Triathlon

Ok so I do the tri every year, but this year was different because:

1. Johanna did it with me! It was her first ever and she's so brave. There were a few people who said they were gonna do it, but only she stuck to it. 

2. I changed gears from the long distance I usually do, to the short distance. I can't even tell you what a relief it was to do the short. I don't like training anymore, so it's unrealistic to do the long with hardly any training. The short was the most perfect length!

3. I had so many people come and watch - for better or for worse. It's emberassing a little to assume people care. But the Chambers were there to support Johanna, Roxanne was there to document the WHOLE thing (hence all the pictures!), and all of Jim's family came as one of our activities. 

The Funks and Triathlons are so interconnected to me. They are the reason I started this tradition. So it was fun to have them there, 15 years since we all did our first together in honor of Brad. 

Right about when I was finishing up the bike ride, 

Jim and Braxton were at the teeter totter stage of mountain biking at Galbraith:

ONE lap around Padden! I can do that! So "easy" compared to doing two. 

Near the end all these kids were there and cheered my name "KELLI!" 

It gave me LIFE. I love that. 

I came in under my goal time (1:30)

at 1:27.

Last Day of School

We finally made it to the last day of school. 

Everyone else in the world is halfway done with their summers - we are just getting started. 

School got out at 12:50,

they walked to Edaleen,

then came home and went to the waterslides.

Avery went to Edaleen then had a pizza party at Milo's. 

She had to come home early from the party because the next morning she had her very first day of work!

Look how kind of nervous she is. 

The boys also went to the waterslides to play and she was right there on the Hydro Drop, telling them how to hold their arms and legs and saving their life if needed.