Labor Day weekend fishing.......

We went fishing at Langus Riverside Park over Labor Day weekend.....the first thing we saw was this blue heron........

But it soon flew away!

The next thing we saw was this dead seal.....it just floated up to the dock. The kids were fascinated! And grossed out.

We didn't catch anything but smiles this day...........

But it was a gorgeous, late summer day...........

It was a great way to spend the day, even if we didn't catch any fish......

We also saw this red-tailed hawk...........

Nothing like fishing with my honey!

Hanging with the family......

I love you!

Arlie and I had a little photo shoot..........

We laughed!

Later we headed to Country Village.........

Where we played like little kids on the playground.........

Even though we're big kids now and the toys don't fit us anymore........

The parents sat and watched...........

Until Jeff joined in the fun! Yee-haw!

Anniversary at Arnie's

We celebrated our anniversary at Arnie's in Edmonds..........I wanted to watch the sunset one last time before summer ended!

Hard to believe it's only been four years since we married! Seems like we've been together forever.......

The sunset was so pretty........

The boathouses and docks made a great foreground for the pretty sunset.......

Saying goodbye to summer........

Silvery fish in the water......an interesting sculpture......

Boats we can only dream of owning!

Arnies - yummy!

Beautiful flowers given to us by our neighbor Carla

First Day of School!

Harrison, age 11

Sixth grade!

Arlie, age 12

7th grade, first year of junior high

Hannah, age 15

Sophomore, first year of high school

Hayley, age 17

Senior year, last year of high school

All grown up!

The beginning of the school year, 2010, we celebrated two firsts and two lasts. Hannah and Arlie celebrated their first years of high school and junior high. And Hayley and Harrison celebrated their last year of high school and elementary school! It's amazing how fast time has passed by. It's bittersweet - the ending of elementary school and having a child graduate in the same year. We still have many years to go, but those, too, will pass in a flash and before we know it, they'll all be adults. I plan to enjoy every minute of their fleeting childhood while I can. It's been  an amazing ride so far. Can't wait to see what this year brings!



Back to School

Today is  the last day of summer, and in true Seattle fashion, it's raining and 51 degrees outside. This summer has been weird in so many ways - the weather (lots of rain), the fact that we didn't do a lot, and our camping trips were a flop (except for the one to Potlatch with just me and Jeff which was pretty fun), and we did not go to a single park, beach, hike......pretty much anything outdoorsy and summery. What DID we do all summer?  Well, I can say without a doubt the kids watched WAY too much TV and had WAY too much computer time. We had two great trips to Boise and Coeur d' Alene to visit family. We spent another day with the Spokane Moore's so in all, we visited a lot of family this summer, which was nice. But it still feels like "the summer that wasn't" as Jeff put it. I had such big plans for the summer - each week I neatly penned activities into my calendar - music in the parks, outdoor movie nights in the parks,  festivals, fairs. And we did none of it. Such a bummer. And now it's back to school. Always a dreaded and anticipated time. Who wants to get up early and start a routine again? NO ONE! But who's excited for a new year, a new start, new friends, new clothes.....EVERYONE! As dreaded as that first day back is, it's also a pretty fun time for kids and moms. By the end of the summer, I crave a little routine, and the kids are just plain bored. So getting back into a schedule is a good thing, even though  it means homework, chores, and regularly scheduled meals (another casualty of summer - eating on a whim!). Tonight I'll pack up four lunches, attend sixth grade curriculum night, and try to get the kids to bed by 10 p.m. which, considering their summer "schedule" is super early. Tomorrow, they'll all wake up excited and ready to go....it's the next day, and the one after that, and the one after that, which will be difficult once the first day anticipation has worn off. And me? I'll be back to......what? Time to reinvent myself once again.......

I have the breast husband............

That's not a typo. This post is about boobs. I took off my bra tonight and thought I heard a kid coming into my room. I said "I hope that's not a kid coming in, I just released the hounds" and then, observing my "girls" remarked "I wish they could still howl at the moon!" to which Jeff replied "Now, they're just looking for bones!" HAHAHAHAHAHA! What a funny guy.

Fortune Teller

The kids were talking today and Harrison reminded me of something that happened several years ago.  I was still married to Doug, and we had taken the kids to Edmonds beach for the day. It was probably during the last year or two of our marriage, and, truth be told, things were already on their way downhill. As the kids played in the sand and collected rocks along the shore, I noticed a lady in her 60's painting at an easel she had set up on the sidewalk. I walked over to admire her painting and asked her about it - it was a painting of a man, woman and little girl. I asked if she was painting anyone specific and she pointed out that the woman was ME. She had painted me from the back, standing and watching the man and little girl playing on the beach. The man was not my husband, but another random man she had observed at the beach and the little girl was a blonde girl of about six or seven. Neither of her other subjects were still around, but I was both impressed and a little weirded out that she had been painting ME without my knowledge. I felt pulled to ask her if I could buy the painting but then I thought, well, the other people in the picture aren't MY family so I just left it. How ironic that just a year or two later, I met Jeff and Arlie. The man and the little blonde girl in the painting. Was it fate? Was she clairvoyant? Was it a coincidence? I don't know, but thinking back it's ironic. Arlie pointed out that it was possible she and her dad were actually AT the beach that day. Wouldn't THAT be ironic? Who knows. But I still think it's pretty cool that a random woman painted my future at the beach. Wish I'd bought the painting!

Mukilteo beach with the cousins......

Arlie sitting pretty and arabesque on a statue........

The girls show off their shell collections

Arlie 12, Makayla 11, Maiya 7.............girls on the beach.........

We rode the ferry to Whidbey Island........

Girls on the ferry.....

Statue at the park......

Greg and Jeff

I'm king of the world!

Heather and Greg on the ferry

Jeff and M-L...........Maiya on the beach

Maiya searching for shells...............Adorable girls!