Dueck's Roost

We're lucky to have a really great park just down the street from us. Only bad part is that there is no sidewalk (or really even side-of-street) access to get to it. You pretty much have to walk right in the road for at least part of the walk, and cars on the road are often driving 40-miles per hour. Kinda makes having such a nice park a bit of a waste--walking/biking to the park is half the fun after all, but in this case not much of an option. So, one evening I loaded the kids up in the car, and James loaded himself on his bike, and I tailgated him from our home to the park just so he could ride his bike all the way there. Then we played ... ... until it was dusk. And when we were done, I followed him at a snail's pace along the maddeningly sidewalk-free road back to our home:). - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Here's just a couple of random favorite pictures from summer. Have I mentioned how much I love summer?;) My handsome wolf pack at the library (pretty sure Mae is at a friends house or dance camp or somethin') ... And Joseph arranged nicely (by his fabulous big sis) in a wicker basket, watching lazy-morning cartoons. He was certainly a perfect fit. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

We were excited one evening in August to get to visit some good friends from our Houston days. It was a crazy and rushed evening ... Kevin left work a little early, we hauled our way north to Mukilteo, caught an evening ferry to Whidbey Island, drove to the part of the island where the wonderful Lewis family was staying (the island was gorgeous, btw), had a great time visiting and roasting s'mores and viewing the property and being amazed at how old all the kids had gotten and how long it had been since we last saw each other;), said goodbye, drove back to the ferry, and began the 2-hour plus haul back home. The visit was definitely not long enough (don't know if we even had two hours to catch up), but it was well worth the excursion. Love these guys. Such good times and good memories! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

So we were not great about dates (or "1-on-1s") this summer--too many regular family outings. However, Porter and Kevin did have one pretty unique day when they made an adventure out of visiting Seattle's EMP (Experience Music Project and science fiction museum). First they hitched a ride on the light rail (followed by Seattle's monorail) Then had lunch downtown. And finally made their way to the museum. Avatar exhibit ... Pretty cool! Not sure what this is, but looks like fun. Same thing here. And here ... although the fun scale does seem to be tipping. Awesome mechanical robot. Watch out, Porter! There's a freaky alien monster thingy behind you!! Must be one of those smooshed penny things?? Looks excited;) This is my favorite picture! How cool is that!? Then another downtown meal. And dessert while waiting to jump back on the light rail (or monorail, not sure which). No pictures of the two of them while they were away, so snapped this when they got home. Love my...