Summer Recital

Kennedy has enjoyed her first year of piano lessons. Last night she performed in the summer recital. We are proud of how much she has learned and love having the house filled with her music.

Kennedy played two songs. This one is You're a Grand old Flag by George M. Cohan. The other song was Colorful Sonatina by Nancy and Randall Faber. I tried to down load the latter but it was way too long for anyone to sit through; even the most dedicated grandparent.

Here Kennedy is with her piano teacher. She is a kind and patient lady. We are blessed to have her teaching our daughter.

Four Pizzas, Six Quarts of Lemonade, a Half-Dozen Apples, Twenty Fudgesicles, and a Load of Fun!

I hosted a play date this week with three friends that I used to teach with back in the days before we started our families. Only four former teachers, but we had enough children between us to fill a classroom. Seventeen in all!

There were three two-year-olds (one was napping while this photo was being taken).

Five four-year-olds


Five six-year-olds

And three eight-year-olds

Father's Day

Ken had to work on Father's Day but the children slipped hand-made cards into his lunchbox and helped pack a special lunch for him. We celebrated with Dad's Root Beer Floats after dinner when he came home.

On Tuesday Kennedy helped Daddy wash the van.

Then we went down to Alki to take in one of the lowest tides of the summer.

It was great day with a wonderful Daddy.

More Visitors!

I guess it's either feast or famine. And I have been experiencing a feast these last couple months with wonderful college friends coming out to visit. This week Dawn and her hubby, Erik, came out from Michigan to take in the sights of the Pacific Northwest. They had a good time checking out local attractions during the day and we were able to enjoy their company and hang out with them in the evenings. This week I had another kind of visitor as well. I was in my kitchen and happened to catch a glimpse of something out the window. I was surprised to look out and see a deer. Quickly I grabbed my camera and ran outside. Just as I was about to take a photo of the beautiful beast, another one jumped in front of me. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get both of them in the same frame. They hung around for a few photos and then dashed down our hill.

Baby O. Photo Shoot

My talented friend, Leah, is in the pregnancy/newborn photography business. She did a wonderful job of capturing this pregnancy and the lives that sweet Baby O. will touch.

Just
us girls

Weeeeeee!

These are just a sampling of my favorite shots. Some are more personal, but I would love to share them with my close friends and family. If you are interested, e-mail me and I

can send you a link to the rest.

Riding on Daddy's Boat

Our family got to visit Daddy on the job this week. It's been a couple years since our last visit on the boat, so the children were especially excited for the ride.Harrison felt much safer riding inside the cabin. Note his expression in the photos above and below. Later that day he said, "I didn't like going outside for the family photo." Kiki loved the entire experience.


It was Mikey's first ride. He soaked it all in.

Jack liked the front seat next to the driver. It was especially bouncy and going over the waves was the highlight of his time on the boat.

This sea lion was humongous. He did a super job of showing off for us. We also saw a harbor seal in the water but they don't photograph as well.

Here's what Jackson wrote in his journal about the experience.

Karsten's 2nd B-Day

My sweet little nephew turned two recently. We enjoyed celebrating his life and remembering how thankful we are that he and his mommy are alive after a difficult birth and recovery.

Once Karsten opened his Hummer, he didn't want anything to do with the rest of his gifts. My children, on the other hand, were more than willing to help out.

The Other Side of the Fence

I was able to volunteer at the Five Mile Lake Sprint Triathlon last Saturday. I have raced this course in the past. It's a lot of fun. For obvious reasons, I am taking this season off, but hope that I can jump back in next year, even if it is just for a few races.I was posted at the entrance to the transition area. It was fun cheering on the athletes as they swam and biked in. But I will admit that the scent of the wetsuits and the ticking of the wheels made me a tad bit envious of all the fun they were having.

My friend, Alissa, has been training all year. She was able to take five minutes off of her time from last year's race! I am so excited for her.

Good Times

Last weekend my precious friend, Angie, came out to Seattle for a visit. She used to live here in the Pacific Northwest, but moved out-of-state a couple years ago. It was a real treat catching up with her and getting in on some of the same activities we used to enjoy together.
She was kind enough to help me make a belly cast of my final pregnancy. I did have a belly cast done when Harrison was inside, but sadly it was run over and ruined. I am not sure what I will do with this cast when I am done. I have considered putting it up in my room, but haven't gotten the final okay from Hubby yet.

I am so blessed to have wonderful friends placed all over the world. I am thankful to see them when I do, but still wish they lived closer. If only everyone could live in Seattle!

"True friends are always together in spirit."

Lucy Maud Montgomery

National Doughnut Day

It's National Doughnut Day, and you know what that means --an excuse to add extra calories into our day!The Salvation Army created the holiday in 1917 in order to boost the morale of troops fighting in WWI. According to holidayinsights.com, those doughnuts were fried in oil inside an American soldier's metal helmet. National Doughnut Day is always celebrated the first Friday in June.

To mark this grand event, we visited Krispy Kreme this morning after eating a healthy bowl of Cheerios. Each of the children were given a free glazed doughnut and then helped pick out a dozen of assorted to enjoy over the next few days.

Doughnut Olympics

After dinner, the children raced to see who could eat their doughnut off the string first. Though Jack and Harrison finished first, only Kennedy and Michael followed the rules and ate hands-free from the string.

Harrison asked tonight if there is such a thing as National Popcorn Day. I am going to have to look into that.

Last Official Day of School

This week we "officially" finished up the 2008-2009 school year. I have been blessed the last couple of years with a friend who has co-oped along side me in my home. Adreine has spent time with my little boys in the preschool room reading countless books, coloring, counting, cutting, and working on various activities, while I worked in the other classroom, teaching her daughter, Aria, alongside Kennedy and Jackson. It has been a blessing to both of us. Next year Aria will attend a public school and I will be forced into the reality of teaching a 3rd grader, 1st grader, and pre-kindergartner, all while keeping my two-year old and new born busy. It sounds exhausting already. But not impossible. Our last day of school was spent wrapping things up. The children finished their presidents books and a book of poetry about the twelve months of the year. They wrote in their journals and took a practice standardized test to prepare them for the real thing next week. It was a good final day.Yesterday we took a class field trip to the beach and finished off by rewarding the children with one of our favorite treats, bubble tea!

Thanks for a great year, friends!