Happy Birthday Kendall

It is no secret that parents are suckers for a little guilt trip, but I’ve learned that as I grow up I have to break in new material. My golden gem, go-to line at bedtime is full proof. I’ve found its effectiveness is heightened if delivered with just a touch of sadness in my voice. When Mom or Dad try to give me a kiss good night and leave, I follow it with; “Snuggle with me a little bit.” They fall for it every time. If they try to leave a couple minutes later I just add a new ending, “snuggle with me a little bit more.” Works like a charm.
Slidewaters started July off with the busiest stretch of days ever, which meant the lines were a little long for my taste. By the time the Fourth of July arrived, we were all ready for a good family night. We got a family adventure. While Dad and Uncle Burke were battling boat batteries, my cousins house sprung a leak in the downstairs crawl space—so Dad and Uncle Burke quickly switched gears to stop the leak. The leak was solved, but the boat battery debacle was never completely solved and minutes before the firework show was going to start we all had to jump in the car and drive down to Wapato Point Cellars. Fortunately our friends were there to play with us and offer Mom, Dad, Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Burke a glass of wine.
We were blessed to get some Tucson visitors in July. My friend Garrett came and brought his parents, Rob & Kelsey. Yes his parents really are named Rob & Kelsey and rumor has it that Dad had to talk Mr. Rob out of naming his son, Reece. As great as all our visitors are, no one can compare to when grandparents visit. And in July, Nana visited for two weeks and Bop joined her during the second week. We love when Nana & Bop visit because we get spoiled with treats, clothes, toys and love. We celebrated a lot of birthdays in July, none bigger than Kendall’s first—as if my adorable little sister needed an extra reason for people to admire and shower her with affection.

Kendall loves her personal chair she got from Nana & Bop

Like any good 1-year old's birthday we got down and dirty with our desserts 

 We took Nana & Bop on a boat ride up lake and I got to wear my new life jacket

Kendall loved watching the water behind the boat. (For you worry-warts pretend her life jacket was only off for this picture)

My mom and sister are very very beautiful

Kendall got a special teeter-totter for her birthday, she can ride solo or we can ride together. Mom says when she has a face like this she wants to be left alone to ride solo.

Love to all,

Reese Bronson & Kendall Starr

Let the summer begin

When you are a part of a family business you never know when you may be called on. Mom, Reese and I spent most of June being called upon to help out at Slidewaters. Clearly it was a smart business decision, having three beautiful girls in the gift shop can only help sales. When we weren’t working in the gift shop, we spent a lot of time sliding and playing in the water. Reese’s favorite slide was Bugaboo and I enjoyed the comfort, warmth and security of sliding with Mom (Dad always tries to push my comfort zone). We were all super excited that the park was open again and even though it was hardly summer outside, we enjoyed it as much as possible.

I knew that as the summer went on we were going to have a lot of friends and family visiting, so I made sure to practice my waving, blowing kisses and smiling so that I could be everyone’s favorite. I knew it would be tough to be the favorite because Reese was really starting to talk a lot and her speech was already sounding better than Lou Holtz. She was even starting to produce some pretty good one liners. Directed towards her baby (who she named Hudson) with a finger pointed directly at her, “and that’s a no.” We really are little sponges. Dad’s family came to visit in June. Grandma Hannah and Aunt Penny came, but I’m sorry to report my camera battery died so I didn’t get a picture of them on the Tube Blaster together—next time.

Auntie Starr visited in June and Reese & I showed her all the best slides at Slidewaters

Dad and I love to go sliding on the big slides

Reese is a great big sister, she is very helpful in making me laugh, scream and cry--sometimes all in the same minute

Esther is one of Reese's best friends in Chelan. The word handful always comes up when they are playing together

Love to all,

Reese Bronson & Kendall Starr



Another move

May brought a lot of exciting things like water in the pools at Slidewaters, a trip to Spokane for a Sysco Food Show, opening day at Slidewaters—but none was more exciting than finding a new home. After being stoned walled much like when Kendall comes after my toys, we suddenly found ourselves with two living options. We chose the more affordable duplex with a nice little yard over the larger, nicer more expensive condo. It quickly proved to be the right choice as Kendall and I are huge fans of the lawn, gravel and porch. We are less than a mile from both Mom and Dad’s work, so our location is perfect for stroller trips all over Chelan.

When we noticed that Dad’s free time evaporated faster than the hopes of a good season from the Mariners as training day and opening day approached, we offered to help in any way we could. Sammy and I took it upon ourselves to dry test the slides, while Kendall closely inspected the grass. Everything checked out and the park opened without any issues Memorial Day weekend. We wasted no time getting in some good sliding.

 Our new home and my new room came with a new bed

 Kendall's favorite part of the new house was that her pack-n-play had a new role

 The fall is going to be tough because Sammy will be in kindergarden and we won't be able hang out during the week

"Yeah Camden, I think most of my toys will fit in our new house. When are you going to come see my new room?"

Love to all,

Reese Bronson & Kendall Starr

Do you remember April?

One thing has plagued me during my first 9 months of life—pack-n-plays. I can’t completely complain about my sleeping arrangements—Mom and Dad broke some rules early on and let me sleep between them and let me sleep on my stomach from week 1. But that doesn’t change my hate, hate relationship with pack-n-plays. I finally got Mom & Dad onboard with my hatred. When we were in the doorless 1-bedroom apartment at Slidewaters, they had to move my pack-n-play at least 5 times a day. They moved my pack-n-play in and out of the bathroom more than a two year old asks; “why?” The close quarters of the apartment made everything a little more difficult; but overall it was a pretty fun time for all of us—of course we could have had the same fun in two weeks instead of six.

I felt the size of the apartment was hindering to my new activity of crawling. I had just picked up the skill, so it was frustrating to be stuck inside such a small space. If only I had started earlier, I could have been doing marathon distances at Nana and Bop’s house. I began trying to explain my frustration in a new way, but apparently no one understood the words that were coming out of my mouth. Eventually they picked up all my clues and I gained free reign of the empty sun deck at Slidewaters. Reese and I covered a lot of ground on the sun deck and I even learned to climb the stairs and Reese learned to take her Pooh-Bear toy down a flight of stairs and not get hurt.

In tight spaces we all learned everything needed to be multi-functionalReese wanted to get a jump start on her tan for the summer

Did I mention the apartment was a tight living space?
We had a great Easter. With a risen Savior and a dress as cute as mine how could we not

We spent Easter at our old place with Uncle Burke, Aunt Jen and our cousins

The apartment was small but came with great views

Daddy's office was a short walk from the apartment, so Reese and I went over to help him all the time.

With love to all,

Reese Bronson & Kendall Starr