Happy birthday we will see you really soon! Hope you have some wonderful grandiose plans for today.

We had a wonderful week at the beach. The kids swam in the pool and the ocean every day. The water was cold and the sand was hot. The kids got to play with lots of cousins.

We had a much-too-brief but all-out fun week in Seattle the week before last, and wanted to share a few highlight snapshots.  Somehow, we managed to catch Seattle’s lone heatwave of the summer…two days in the 90′s and mid 80′s for the balance.  Cheri found a GREAT place on Lake Union ( http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sealu-residence-inn-seattle-downtown-lake-union/ ) …it was a spacious suite, reasonably priced and a really great location).  The afternoon in Laconner was especially fun with Millers, Newtons, Christians and Wedins.  The Mariner games were also fun, especially SUNDAY when we filled most of a centerfield bleacher row with Priss, Pete, Tim, Peter, Tanner, Giselle and entourage.  Pete and I also escorted Sam, Tanner and Giselle for the post-game run-the-bases event (which involved about 10,000 kids in a line that snaked all over the right field stands for at LEAST a mile).  And, we rented a rowboat (just south of Husky Stadium) on one of the 90+ days and paddled our way across the Montlake Cut and through the arboretum (a sojourn that resembled an episode of Gilligan’s Island and involved alternating curses and laugh-till-you-cry misadventures).  And, we snuck into Husky Stadium again and managed to spend about an hour on Husky Field throwing the football and getting mild sunburns.  All in all, a wonderful week and after everything we DID, there was so much MORE we wanted to do! Just before heading for the airport, we visited the Tacoma Museum of Glass…hard to find, but worth the search!  Good to be back home – as always – but this was one trip that left us wanting more.  A big thanks again to everyone for making the long trip to Laconner…hope everyone had as much fun as we did!

First day off in a while here, so what else?….we had a dinner party! Alaska Spot Shrimp and Scallop fettucini, tri-tip steaks, salad, steamed veggies, and french fries. We had fresh peach crisp for dessert along with some Sweet Berries ginger snaps. In the photo are Justin, Jona (our deckhand), Debra, Pete, Janet, Ari, Henry, Jazz, Meghan, and Andrea. It was a fun time and I cannot imagine a better way to spend an afternoon off than cooking for hungry young people…..well, us elder were pretty hungry, too! Wish you were all here, too, but look forward to your next visit.

Thought I’d post an anniversary pic today. Happy Anniversary Ben!!! Thanks to all of you that were a part of our wedding. I still remember it so fondly. Feels like yesterday.