Doggy weekend

Visiting a garden overflowing with blackberry bushes and apple trees, how could I resist making berry cobbler and this pie? I finally got the crust to turn out right!


We got a lot of entertainment out of a 25-cent yardsale game of Mousetrap. Believe it or not, I've never played it.


These kids like each other a little bit.


And the reason for the weekend? Picking up Cassie! She's going to be more work than we thought.

Wild Life

I got so excited about the pie that I forgot to mention one of the boy's favorite parts of the weekend...the wildlife! He got to spend the weekend with two dogs and countless chipmunks.

This reminds me...five days and we'll be dog owners! We've ordered two dog training books, a tag with our address on it, and some flea medicine. Now all we need to do is fix the gate latch and buy a furminator.

And the best thing about Labor Day weekend...

I made pie. For real. Under less-than-ideal circumstances (we spent the weekend in a tiny cabin with no kitchen counter space). The crust needs work.

Climbing

First picture is of Cliff and Ethan at the point where I turned back from an uphill hike. Second picture is me at the summit of an even taller mountain...thanks to the tram car. I realize how pathetic this is and seriously intend to do better next year.

Kayak kid

Look at the happy face on this kid! I came home from the lake pretty gung-ho about kayak shopping! We're kind of outgrowing the inflatable boat. And then I priced the tandem and triple kayaks...yikes.

Rough drive

Stormy weather on the way to Wallowa Lake nearly blew us off the road. But once it passed, we were well rewarded.

Berrypickin'

We went berry picking up Mill Creek and forgot to take a camera! And those big blackberries (not to mention our juice-splattered t-shirts) would have made a nice picture. So instead, here is a picture of a delicious, homemade berry pie. Much like the one I will make *IF* I ever get around to it.

Speaking of pie, don't spend another second here. Go directly to April's blog. She makes a pie a week and posts a photo and the recipe. Scroll down...her pie list is on the left.

Morphed kid

This is what our kid was supposed to look like according to MorphThing.com. Thank goodness Ethan has his own look!

Google eyes

Ethan got hold of the camera again. Which means I now have 47 pictures of the back of Google's head. Plus this one.

Good doggy

We are getting pretty close to actually committing to this. What do you think, blog visitors? (I know you're out there, all nine of you.) She needs a new home, we've been looking for a dog.... And she already has a name, but I'm open to changing that. Ideas?

First day of school

Third grade. Wow. He didn't care one bit about what to wear on the first day. He just grabbed a clean t-shirt that morning (I ironed it, against slight protests).

Seize the weekend

With a month's worth of unpacking to do, we said, what the heck, it's the last weekend before going back to work and school, let's go camping. It was worth it.

Snoqualmie Falls

A bonus of the trip home from the Mitchells is that we can stop and see the falls. And I've almost gotten to the point where I can look at it without thinking about a dancing dwarf or cherry pie.

Spoiled at the Sit-and-Spin

This time, I can't complain about the kid getting spoiled by his grandparents, because we got to go too! I joined Ethan at a window seat because he'd already made me promise to sit by him (lucky me!). The view from the Space Needle was a big hit. So was the dessert with dry ice fog. The most entertaining thing, though, might have been putting a penny on the ledge and waiting to make the trip back around to it. I think the food was OK...who remembers the food at a place this fun??

I sure do miss this kid!

After the funeral and various family events, we took Ethan to spend some time with his other grandparents. He is being spoiled silly: amusement park, playgrounds, science museum, movies, his cousin's cowboy birthday party, and a train trip to Seattle. (Where we get to meet him tomorrow. Can't wait!) His aunt e-mailed us party pictures last night.

It's really great to see him look so good, because last time we saw him, he had skin scraped off his face and body as well as a black eye. (Bike crash.) Pitiful, isn't it??

Here's Anita...

...and the lovely Miss Muppet. This kitty LOVES the camera. If my batteries hadn't died, I would have a whole Miss Muppet gallery!

It was great to get together with my childhood BF again! She, her house, her garden and her cat are all absolutely beautiful. Almost inspires me to go home and do some fantastic landscaping. (Naaaaaaah.... :-))

I will pose for a picture...

...but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Ethan enjoyed the MAC exhibit of the Sue T-Rex replica, but he wasn't so crazy about the dino dress-up room. I know, I'm a terrible mother.

Every cloud has a silver lining

And funerals are, at least, a great excuse for getting cousins together. Ethan has met my cousin Terry's kids once, and this was his first time to meet Eric's kids...who live in SPOKANE, for crying out loud. He is crazy about the whole bunch of them. I will do better in the future.

July 25, 2007

There is no easy way to do this, so I'm just going to put in a picture of the gravesite.
Click here for my dad's obituary.

Claire's medieval birthday (more)

Potions to concoct (even if they were too scary to drink), dances to learn, fair maidens to battle over, a guy in tights, tons of really good food...and a bunch of dads standing around discussing Linux. In other words, your usual medieval-themed event. I made the brown knight's costume in the van on the way to the party. Fortunately, it was a long drive.

Claire's medieval birthday

Country roads

Usually, the street in front of my parents' house is so busy that I'm afraid to cross it. But this week, it's all torn up and a great place for biking in the evenings. Ethan enjoys chatting with the workers during cigarette breaks.

Ethan checks out his "Dad" look

A walk up at South Fork

At the Coffey gallery

The artist with his creations...drawings of the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower.