Jump and Flip

The boys in the neighborhood are constantly working on the 'jump up, flip and land back on your board' maneuver, so I think this is Zac's attempt at it, only he can't do it all at one time...yet :) By the way, Jay is shaking his head in complete disapproval at this entire skateboarding revelation. Zac is so NOT getting a ramp for his birthday....

My Skater Boy Progresses

Zac's gettin' better at this skateboarding thing. Who needs handle bars? (No offense, Scotty....). Again, I have the teenage skater boys in our neighborhood to thank for Zac's determination, but I guess their example could be worse, so I won't complain. I finally bought him a helmet realizing that he's getting more and more ambitious. I will try to get the more recent "balance and jump off, turn around and flip the board" trick that he's trying to master on video at some point. Maybe we'll get him a ramp for his 2nd birthday next month.....Stay tuned.

My Little Rose Garden

I do not have a green thumb by any means. If it requires more than an occasional watering (once a month), FORGET IT. I'll take a fake plant over a real plant ANY DAY. So when I first saw the rose garden in the front yard of our house when we moved in last year, I cringed knowing the upkeep on them can be extensive. My mom had lots of rose bushes surrounding our house when I was growing up and she loved caring for them. Me, not so much. Jay and I decided this year that we were going to dig them up and plant something else in the front yard, something a little less demanding, a little less maintenance...thus, we hadn't watered them or pruned them or done anything to them all year. Unbenounced to me, roses have a mind of their own and they just don't die! Despite my neglect, they filled out and have been blooming all summer. That's MONTHS of no watering in one of the dryest summers on record. It was as if they were saying "you idiot, we'll do the work for you if we have to". They really look beautiful at times. Thus, I have decided there is something more to that sweet little rose garden than I first realized and maybe I just need to expend that extra energy to maintain them. At least I know if I forget to water or prune, they aren't going anywhere! I've even so much as cut bunches at a time to enjoy in a vase in my house on occasion - now that's AMAZING! Here's a few photos of some of the roses that have bloomed in the last day. Nothing says summer like a garden of roses :)

Our Friends, The Bakers

The Four Amigos

Honestly, could these two guys be more (blank)???

Awwwwww....

Olive Garden

Game Time

Baker Kiddos

Our good pals from Juneau, and fellow Coasties, Mark & Suzanne Baker and their kids, Rush, Sierra, Montana and Keyrin, are on their way to Austin, TX and had an overnight layover in Seattle last night, so Jay and I, sans children, packed up the cooler with beer, grabbed our beloved board games and headed over to their hotel room for the evening. We took the hotel courtesy shuttle over to Olive Garden and enjoyed a fabulous dinner together and then headed back to play games. The Bakers lived in our neighborhood, just one street over from us in Juneau, so Friday nights became our Tripoley night. We could stay as late as we wanted and drink as much as we wanted because we didn't have far to travel home! The night would usually start out with Tripoley, and once someone was out, the guys moved on to more beer and XBOX, while Suz and I would break out the ol' Sequence board game and/or chat over gossip mags. And always, the evenings were filled with sarcasm, crudeness and lots of laughs. Last night was no exception! Though, the guys didn't have XBOX, they had Fox News. It's been a long time since we've been able to hang out with the Bakers like this and it was as if time hadn't passed at all. We sure do miss being one street over from them and we hope to live near one another again someday. Thanks for the good times and fun memories, Baker Family!

Love Those Fly Boys

Seattle hosted it's annual Seafair festivities this week, aka "Fleet Week", and to top it all off, they always have the Blue Angels come to town for two air shows. I remember watching the Blue Angels when I was young when my dad was in the Navy, but of all the years I lived in this area, I had never gone to see them at Seafair. So this was definitely something I wanted to share with my boys. I found a great park east of Seattle on Mercer Island that overlooks Lake Washington, where the "Blues" do most of their low-flying tricks. It is also where the Hydroplane races are taking place. So as you can imagine the water was crowded with boats full of crazy partiers (FUN!). I even saw a few Coast Guard boats on patrol.

This is just a very small portion of the boaters.

Hydro race in the distance

We brought our picnic and found a nice spot on the lawn with a wide open view of the sky in the 90 degree weather (I guess I am glad it wasn't 104). The show was so amazing! How they maneuver those jets to do what they do is mind-boggling! I could never get bored of watching them. Unfortunately, the pics I had time to take were of when they were further away from us...but there were times when they would fly so close I thought I would go deaf. I was just not camera-ready!!



Scotty & Zac really seemed to enjoy it, too, when they weren't having to fumble for their ear muffs.

We were surprised when, during the show, two eagles went flying right over our heads. I don't know if that was set up or just coincidence, but it was pretty cool. Everyone in the crowd just started clapping & cheering.

God Bless America and God Bless those Navy boys!! I feel like watching Top Gun tonight :)