Jetty Island

We took a sunny weekday to explore Jetty Island, a small two mile strip of land just off the shore of Everett, Washington. A small 80 person ferry took about 5 minutes to shuttle us to our beachy little destination. The tide was in, so the water was up close and personal. We shared lunch there with some friends and whiled away the afternoon.

My friend and her youngest son enjoy their lunch

Josh and his friend wrangle a huge piece of driftwood and set sail

Room for three... their prime piece of driftwood was at least 2 feet wide and over five feet long

Come ashore

Seaweed fortified sand castles

Sharing a story with a friend

Dash Away All

The girls and I went camping at Dash Point State Park with four other families. All the kids there were girls except one token little baby brother. Anna really enjoyed being the oldest for a weekend. We had great time setting up our own little camp and loved traveling the little path to the common area.

A friend heads for water with the troop of little girls and a baby brother in tow

Drawing names in the sand

This little friend enjoyed being Anna's shadow

Family Camping: Silver Lake Edition

Part 2 of summer family camping took us to a lodge at Silver Lake Park near Bellingham, Washington. Not sure how Silver became the theme location for both family trips, just a funny coincidence (especially since Josh and Eric will head to Silver Lake near Everett for an evening cub scout camp later in August).

We joined Eric's family for a long weekend full of row boats, mountain biking, swimming, good weather, and lots of food.

Josh quickly learned the art of rowing and became the lake tour guide

Anna likes to pull out her own loose teeth...this is #2 in less than a month

Eric and Abby on their way to swim

Mamma and the newest cousin

Never too big to snuggle with Pappa

Josh considers swimming out to Mamma and Pappa...oh the water is freezing?

The little cousin watching intently from his favorite dockside vantage point

The Frenchman

A very good friend of mine is a missionary in France. A friend of hers came to the U.S. to learn English and to have an adventure. Timothee joined us for a whirlwind weekend of the sights and sounds of downtown Seattle as well as the sights and sounds of a family with three outgoing (read loud) children. It was fun to be tourists in our own back yard.

Can you see Eric and Timothy up there?

No? Neither could we, so we went to the rides.

The monorail was a hit, though they couldn't understand why it was such a short ride.

Someone put soap (we hope it was soap) in the fountain at the Harbor Steps.

They loved the bubbles.

What would a Seattle visit be without going to Pike Place?

Giddyup...oh you're a statue

Silver Falls Horse Camp

We have a budding tradition of summer family camping with each side of the family. The first trip of the summer was with my family at Silver Falls State Park in Oregon and included a few special additions. My brother's girlfriend joined us and quickly became the favorite of the little cousins. The adults got to enjoy her company too when the kids weren't monopolizing her time!

Personal story time while waiting for breakfast.

The four legged visitors were also a hit. Grandma taught the kids to ride. They were delighted and thrilled to guide and give direction to animals many times their size.

Who's who? Anna's cousin is three weeks older than she is.

All that playing and horsing around makes a crowd hungry.

Anna pulled out her first loose tooth at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Fast Forward

What? Doesn't July follow January on your calendar? Fast forward with me and see how our kids have grown. Think of it as time lapse photography, with a emphasis on the lapsing!

We all celebrated the the 4th of July by walking with Josh's cub scout troop in a local parade. Since this was our first year we really didn't know what to expect. After the normal hurry up and wait associated with being part of a parade, it turned out to be a lot of fun. We had great music the whole way...a rockin' bagpipe band followed Josh's troop through the parade route.

The scouts passed out candy and were a hit with all the small parade-goers.

A quick family shot before we headed out.

Nice ride!

Cub Scout Pinewood Derby

On January 23, 2010, Josh participated in his first annual Cubscout "Pinewood Derby" competition, which is a national event for scouts everywhere. Each scout in Josh's pack designed and built a wooden racing car from a kit, following precise rules (e.g. max dimensions and weight of car). With help from our "handyman" neighbors, guidance from Marcie and me, and some add-ons from the local hobby store, Josh produced his car (named Officer) "to spec" and placed 7th overall out of 26 scout contestants.

Even Mamma and Pappa came to the races to cheer Josh and the other scouts on.

Josh had the additional honor of being selected to be part of the color guard for this event.