At the speed of light

We were on the bikes tonight, and Jan Michael got a little bit ahead of me. These are the things, in order of their appearance, which prevented me from catching up: a dog, a horse, a tractor, a busy road with lots of cars, and finally, my little legs, which in the end, just. gave. out. And so, at 8:54, even though it it still light outside, I will read an Asterix & Obelix and take myself to bed.

Hmmmmm.

The future has a way of arriving unannounced. - George Will

Snoqualmie Falls

Jan took today off from work, so off we went to Snoqualmie Falls. There's an observation deck above the falls for gazing, but you can also walk about half a mile down to the bottom and prowl around the river, which is the best part.

Falls Part Deux

Around the world

We have caught the travel bug. Or rather, the we'd-like-to-spend-money-on-experiences-instead-of-stuff bug. And we'd better get on it soon, because as Jan's dad once said, "Tomorrow's coming and I'm not getting any younger." We just held a family caucus and compiled a list of places we'd like to visit:

-Disneyworld (I can't help it, I just have to go)
-Yellowstone (in the winter; we like snow)
-Boston & Cape Cod
-New England (in the fall)
-Redwood National Forest
-Hawaii (but not Honolulu; we want somewhere that's not so tourist-y)
-The Oregon Coast (again & again & again)

Neither of us have been too far from home, so if you would like to add your two cents about not-to-be-missed destinations, we would be glad :)

Over the mountains

I took a quick trip across the mountains this weekend to visit my Grandma and to go to my uncle's wedding. My little bro Ryan lives only a couple of hours away from my Gran, so he drove over to spend the day, which I was glad about since we don't see him too often. My camera battery died after just one picture, which made me VERY SAD, but so it goes. One of my favorite parts of the whole trip was spending time with my Grandma in her garden - picking tomatoes and cucumbers & oohing and ahhhing over her flowers. I love my Grandma's house, so full of happy memories from when I was little. Thank goodness for having the capacity to remember, don't you think?

Breaking news!

We have just learned that our nephew, mere days from his 9-month birthday, has taken his first steps. Genius.

See Brent & Danny's blog for a more complete report :)

Craig & Christina!

Yesterday we attended the wedding of Craig & Christina, and what a lovely, happy affair it was. They were married at a park beside a lake in Poulsbo, so we took the ferry across the sound, which was a treat in itself.
I love living in a place where the ocean is just a short drive away.
This is our good friend Mike and his wife Kristin. We watched them get married last January :)
Old married couple :)
Lovey-dovey birds!

More from this morning

Since Brent & Danny didn't have to be in Seattle until this afternoon, we spent part of the morning with Jan Michael at work. The middle of the mall has some fun statues and fountains, so there we sat.

Haha, poor Brent!
It takes some patience to get five people in order for a proper picture :)

I love that in the middle of a record-breaking heat wave (although today is about 25 degrees cooler than yesterday), Derek is prancing around with his rubber boots and umbrella.

This morning

My mission this morning was to get a picture of Caleb's top teeth. You can't see them very well usually, and they're super cute, and so I spent many minutes trying to coax a smile (or even a yell, I didn't care) out of him. Derek heard all of the talk about teeth and volunteered his own :)
Finally, success! I think his unhappiness is due to being tired, but maybe it was having a camera in his face for 15 minutes.

We have visitors!

Brent, Danny & the boys stayed with us last night because today is Danny's green card appointment. Sweet times, as usual :)
He stands!

I said, "Give me a smile or a frown," and I got a smile :)
This is Derek's wild pig roar. We have quite the actor on our hands, I think. I was also treated to a re-enactment of a spill that he took, complete with pretend crying. He must take after his aunt, who was given Drama Departmental Honors in high school....

Penny takes a dip

My friend Jennifer and I zipped down the hill to the river this afternoon to give Penny some time in the water. (As a quick side, I'd like to say, even though I've said it before, that I love our little town. It has practically everything a gal could want: grocery store, gas station, library, ice cream place, Jiffy Lube, walking trail & a nice sandy beach along the river.) Penny is a Golden Doodle (a golden retriever/poodle mix) that enjoys a good swim :)

Raspberries

I spent part of this morning in a u-pick raspberry patch a few miles down the road. Fun, fun, a thousand times fun.

Timber

Once upon a time there were two trees growing near our house. Both were nuisances, and both were given the what-for by my husband and his chainsaw.

Happy 4th

I'm becoming very lazy in the picture taking department, so this is all we've got from yesterday's festivities with Craig, Christina, Bill & Sheryl. After dinner & games we spent some time on the Kirkland waterfront - from the pier there's a decent view of the Seattle fireworks show, but I think we all decided that next year we'll brave the crowds and and actually drive to Seattle.