Not Allowed

Lately whenever we're driving in the car, Seth notices all of the "no _____ allowed" signs. And he can guess what each of them means and is usually right.

Like this one:

Or this one:

And this one too:

You get the idea. So, he made a sign of his own. One morning while I was upstairs making the beds, Lydia had taken her diaper off herself. Yikes! At least there were no accidents. When I came back downstairs, he showed me this sign:

(That line out to the right isn't part of the drawing...it's a permanent scratch on his drawing pad.)

He said, "Mom, this means no showing your bum." So, in case you thought that was OK to do, Seth has forbidden it with on official sign and everything. Now you know.

12 of 12 - August

1 - Exercise is more fun with these guys. This is mid-jumping jack.

2 - Caspar Babypants concert in Tukwila.

3 - Ivy on the freeway overpass. I can't help but imagine these will be vibrant reds and oranges in just a couple of months.

4 - It's 1:00 in the afternoon and 69 degrees. There's been plenty of complaints around these parts about the cooler-than-average summer we're having, but none of them have come from me. Cool nights and mornings + sunny days + mild temperatures = perfect summer!

5 - A quiet chunk of time to relax and watch last night's episode of Project Runway. Tim Gunn makes that show!

6 - Got Lydia's quilt back from the machine quilter. I love it! Now all I have to do is bind it and it's ready for her bed!

7 - The kids got their prize from the library for completing their summer reading charts - kaleidoscopes!

8 - This girl thinks she can do everything herself, even down to slicing herself a piece of cheese. And no, I don't leave my kids unattended with sharp knives. Just saying.

9 - We have a little secret gate that connects our back yard to our neighbor's yard, and it's like I have free babysitting every afternoon when they go over and play! This is Cassandra sitting in the hammock with the kids. They love her!

10 - A couple of green pumpkins that look promising for Halloween.

11 - Tomato plants don't look as promising, other than a few yellow blossoms. That's the only reason I wish the summer were warmer. Don't know if we'll get much from these plants!

12 - Grilled turkey burgers for dinner - yum!

Blue Angels

You know it's August, it's summer and it's Seafair when the U.S. Navy roars into town on the Blue Angels. The I-90 bridge is completely shut down during the air show so people can walk out onto it to watch. This year, we went too! There's nothing that can describe the powerful rumble of these jets as they fly a few hundred feet over your head. Just trust me that it was AWE.SOME!

Here they come!

Lydia's got the best view.

Seth loved seeing the jets but wasn't too excited about the noise.

Close enough overhead that you can read the words on their bellies.

All six doing back together for their farewell fly-over.

And he swears he doesn't need a nap.

Time: 3:30 pm. Quiet time was spent rearranging today's outfit. That thing around his waist is his shirt. His legs are through the arm holes with his pants pulled up over the top. Goof off!

Time: 6:15 pm. Not even enough energy to get down from the table. Being a kid is exhausting!

Something pretty

A couple of weeks ago, I decided we needed to get out and see something pretty. So we spent a couple of hours at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens walking around and having a picnic lunch.

Playing in the water is a must.

Knocking to see if the hobbit is home.

This girl has the squintiest, cheesiest smile - I love it!

A few of my favorites.

I love summer with these little people!

Playing tourist for my birthday

Last month my birthday was on a Sunday, so Saturday was our day to get out and have some fun. Seth is a game tester for a creative little company that makes awesome board games, and when the game is fixed, refined and manufactured, they have a release party for all the testers. This was the day, so we drove into Seattle, had some fun with the game creators, and walked away with two free games that he tested a few months ago.

Here's their wall of fame with all the boxes of games they've made and won awards for.

While we were downtown, Matt suggested we stop by Pike's Place and walk around the market. It was a gorgeous day, and it was crowded but so fun to do something different and experience something beyond our little neighborhood. It was fun being a tourist in our own city!

I never get tired of this iconic sign welcoming everyone to the market, and I'm dying over the bunches of flowers planted on the market's roof.

The one way we can ensure that Lydia doesn't get left behind or that she doesn't run off:

Giddyup, pig!

Hmm...not as slimey as I was expecting a pig's nostril to be.

Birthday girl with a bunch of sweet peas in my hand and two little sweet peas on my lap!

We headed south a few blocks to Zippy's for lunch, home for naps, and out for a movie with my favorite guy. Happy birthday to me!

Nice day for a hike

Last month my friend Deborah and I took Seth and Lydia and her nephews for a hike to Anti-Aircraft Peak on Cougar Mountain. The weather was cool and a little damp, and the trail was almost entirely ours. Lydia stayed in the backpack almost the whole time without trying to launch herself out the top, and all the kids entertained themselves on the hike watching out for slugs and caterpillars.

Stopping to fill up bags with rocks at the quarry to take to the mine shaft.

Taking a break at the mine shaft for snacks. You can see behind Seth the shaft is covered with a grid of re-bar, which was covered with lots of vines and grass.

Kids love to throw stuff! They threw rocks down the shaft and it's so deep that you can't hear them hit the bottom. They were fascinated!