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Phone Share
07.05.12 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Phone ShareI uploaded our phones to iphoto the other day and, again, was fascinated by the things we take pictures of…
Me, posing in front of the car that I loved. I loved it A LOT. can you tell? It matched my eyes… That is all that is important. NO! I said THAT IS ALL.
Our front parking area is now legally parkable and universally attractive. At least I think it is attractive.
Soup-n-bread made by my man.
Handstand Par-tay!
I am constantly amazed at how our daughter proves over and over what artistic talent she has. She is eight, people. Eight. I am ever amazed.
Art show talent here! Her artwork is the pink blossom, the one that is on top of the stack there.
Super-Ninjas unite in the truck! Protecting the world from… Uhmmmm… From Sun Visors?! Yeah! Sun Visors! Yeah! That’s it!
Bradley played with this photo on his phone until this happened. Can you believe how handsome he is? How mature he looks? That is a future MAN there.
Then he prettied us up too. This was taken this year on our 13th anniversary. I totally married a hottie. Wow.
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Happy 4th of July!
07.05.12 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Happy 4th of July!Happy Independence Day! Enjoy a few snapshots from our day:
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Skykomish
07.03.12 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Skykomish
For some reason, Monroe is calling to us, these days. We’ve been out there to pick berries, to collect lumber, to visit friends… We are in Monroe a lot these days! When we find ourselves in Monroe, we find it difficult to avoid the lure of the Skykomish River. Whether or not we have suits with us, we have found ourselves wet and refreshed by the rushing river! It has been really fun.
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Vacant Lot
07.02.12 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Vacant LotWe have been taking a lot of family walks lately. We say it is in preparation for Disneyland, but really, it is just walk and talk time, family time, moving time, playing time and getting to know you time. On one of these walks we found a future housing development. The land has been razed, the sidewalks all are poured, but the fields remain grassy and the cul-de-sac empty. We started riding our bikes over there to play.
See, recently I have realized that our kids won’t be getting that whole “cut them loose” experience like I have. And if it does happen, my kids will be waiting a few more years before I let them head over to the vacant lot to play. But there are no rules at a vacant lot. You can ride circle incessantly in the cul-de-sac without irritating ANY crotchety neighbors. You can whack grass and branches with a stick – no one will yell at you because nobody planted them and anything that gets destroyed will grow back. Wild plants are like that.
Our kids picked the salmon berries at the vacant lot, marveling that such a bounty exists for the birds and the people in nature. They set about moving a felled tree, for whatever reason. I suppose it was simply because they could. Bradley and I sat back and watched as the vacant lot turned from a tickly, itchy, grassy field to a place where there were no boundaries. We sat on the curb of the cul-de-sac and let our kids have as much of a free-range childhood of moving logs, hollering, picking weeds and rolling in the grass as possible.
Gigi asks daily if we can go back to the vacant lot. It’s funny how we, as parents, think we have to offer our kids expensive day trips and gifts when, given the time and opportunity, they are just as happy with a stick machete, berrying and a big log to move. Yet we all know it, we all know the value because when we reflect on our own childhoods, one of the things I treasure most was the unencumbered free play time in wild spaces where kids rules reigned supreme. So yeah, we will be back again and again until the lot is no longer vacant.
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The Lj Swamp Years
07.01.12 | Permalink | | Comments Off on The Lj Swamp Years
One of our favorite local haunts is Swamp Creek. Just as its name suggests, it is a swamp that is fed by a creek. The swamp part isn’t terribly swampy and the creek is one of the most lovely creeks that a child could imagine. Jude calls it the adventure park, because when we go we walk the weird little sticky trails that wind in and out of the woods. And those woods are an adventure because they are clearly dominated by children.
The creek is nice because on our kids the water never gets higher than their thighs. They can wade, walk across, float on tubes and even swim a few strokes but the water never gets too deep or rushed. Jude likes to fish here, to throw rocks and make martha fetch sticks in the water. Gigi likes the romantic princess-on-an-adventure take on things. She imagines beinging her friends and dolls for a creekside beach party.
On this particular day Gigi was adventuring across the stream, found a slick rock in the river and down she went. It was a cold walk back for a wet girl and a mama who gave up her sweatshirt! That said, she was a trooper and made it out of there with a smile and without hypothermia.
