Proof

Summer weather is on it's way out! I'm not complaining just yet, mind you. I'll be happy for the day when I can pull out a sweater and some boots, we're not quite at sweater weather...but I can feel it coming around the bend.

I spent some time looking through my summer pictures and realized that I hadn't put any of them up on my gallery...so, they're up now if you want to peek at how we spent our warm weather days.

The Reynolds visit.

The Mitchell visit.

Our visit to the Reynolds.

School of Rock.

What Do You Do When the Reynolds Are In Town?

Well, first you'll have to borrow a van from the Bazan family:
Then you schedule a day at your friends house so the kids can play, play, play:
Until they are good and tired:
Then take them out to dinner at a little hole in the wall called Scooters so they can get all the yummy goodness that is burger and fries.

Then take them to the Ballard Skate Park to do a little running around:
And then take them to Molly Moon for some of the best ice cream in Seattle....where I didn't get any pictures because my hands were way too busy holding 2 scoops of goodness.

Today we're packing up and heading to a one night stay at the Great Wolf Lodge. The kids have been talking about it since we picked them up from the airport.

This is shaping up to be a trip to remember!

Lesson Learned

You remember that movie, Marley and Me? The one where the dog eats everything in sight and destroys the furniture but the owners just love, love, love him anyway? I've never actually seen the movie, but it was playing on a plane ride and I was able to listen to all the sobs from the many, many passengers who were watching it.
We've been pretty lucky with our dogs. Jack Russell Terriers can have some crazy behaviors, including some pretty severe separation anxiety. Our dogs are good, they sleep in their kennels and have a bed upstairs that they rest on during the day if they need it. We always kennel them when we leave the house because, well, Tank taught us a lesson when he was about 5 months old and he ate 2 holes in the hallway wall. Since that time, they have been kenneled.
This summer has brought us late nights and restful mornings, which means that we're all waking up when our bodies are good and ready...around 10:00...it's lovely. But poor Trey has to wake up and get going earlier so he's been letting the dogs out and keeping them away from our bedrooms so we can continue to rest. It's worked very well all summer. Until today.
Today Trey woke up before everyone else and let the dogs out. The gate was up by the hallway leading to the bedrooms and the back door was open so the dogs could play outside. Once Trey left Penny apparently got bored of all the room outside and came in to see what she could do in the living room.

And this is what she did. To our brand new coffee table. Hazel found it first and was very quiet about it. When I came out of my room she implored me to not be too mad but that Penny did something real bad.
Oh, yes, this is real bad. We all got dressed and took the dogs for a long walk to the pet store and bought a big bottle of Bitter Yuck to spray on every piece of furniture.
I'm not sure this dog will be with us much longer if this becomes a habit for her. Trey and I are nothing like the owners of Marley.

Working for the Weekend

Trey has spent so many weekends away from home this summer. It sure makes for looonnng weeks...but this weekend he's home!! I'm not even sure what we'll do with ourselves, but it's gonna be good either way.

Last week the kids and I spent some time at the Experience Music Project because they had a great Jim Henson exhibit. I was so emotional as I walked through the brightly colored rooms. Each sketch on the wall became some well loved character who played a role in my childhood.

It's not easy being green...good ole Kermit sitting among all that green...I felt his pain as he sang his sad song.
Here's one of my favorites, these guys were actually on display:
Jim was a visual thinker and all his notes were a combination of words and drawings- often very colorful, making even the most simple scribble look like work worthy of a frame. I remember watching Fraggle Rock but having no idea that his inspiration was to unite folks.
Of course we all grew up watching Sesame Street. I was happy to turn it on for August when he was a baby, and also for Hazel, knowing that they would love the neighbors just as much as I had when it was my turn to learn. His imagination knew no bounds...he was an inspiration.
Some of the walls in the exhibit had fur covering them, the same fur, we were told, that Jim used for his creations. Hazel spent some precious moments petting them, wondering what Jim could make out of something so fuzzy and bright.

We Love the Video Feature on the iPhone

Trey and Hazel are wrapping up their father-daughter trip to NYC and I've been receiving a few videos here and there, thanks to Trey's iPhone:



He took her to see Mary Poppins and (thanks to our friends Jay and Heather Weinland) they were invited to go backstage with one of the actors!!



I've been told that Hazel has taken 100's of pictures so I'm sure they'll be up on mygallery at some point this coming week.

School of Rock

Video Number 2:

Summertime, and the livin' is easy

California

Man, we had a great time in California (although, this picture of August would seem to argue that point!)
We drove out to Zuma Beach where the kids dug holes, dodged waves and enjoyed the weather.



We even went to the circus. I sat next to August and got to listen to him pick apart each and every act until there was one that he just couldn't believe. He kept yelling, "THEY ARE LITERALLY DEFYING GRAVITY!!!" I loved every minute of it.

I've got all the pictures up on my me gallery.