Eli and Zoe

Well, since this blog is technically Eli and Zoe, it's long past time our little Zoe was mentioned! We're really enjoying our new-found summer sun around here, so Eli and Zoe and I took full advantage of the opportunity to go for walks to nearby parks on Thursday and Friday. You can tell from the photo that Zoe was incredibly excited to go run around (and roll around!) in the park! Both of my little critters had fun running up and down the grassy hills, though Eli had to stop regularly to watch the progress of the "BIG mower!" that was mowing the adjacent baseball field. We're having fun exploring our new surroundings now that the weather is allowing it. :)

Our happy little berry lover

Our little man absolutely loves berries (well, any fruit really, but he's especially partial to berries). The other day he proudly displayed his berry-love after enjoying a lot of strawberries and grapes with dinner. Aren't you glad you weren't around to change that diaper? :) By the way, for all you parents of little ones out there, you have to check out Jamberry by Bruce Degen (he's both the author and illustrator - the illustrations are very cute and clever, you'll see something new every time you read)...very cute book, and needless to say, one of our favorites!

Playing at the park

A few days ago Ryan's cross-country team had a barbecue to say goodbye to the seniors and kick off their off-season training. Eli and I went along for the sand and the hot dogs. :) This park has a huge sand volleyball court, so Eli brought along his bucket and shovel. We'd been to this park several times before, but haven't been since last summer. As soon as we arrived Eli said (in his BIG, exaggerated voice) "that's a LOT of sand!!" Needless to say, he had a great time...and got a lot of attention (as usual) from the girls. :) There's also a playground that Eli enjoyed, complete with a digging toy. Unfortunately the digger is quite complicated to operate, and ended up just frustrating our little digger. Still, he had a great time!

Fun in the sun!

This weekend we had two whole days of summer! Okay, I know I sound like I'm being awfully dramatic, but seriously - up to this weekend, we had literally had only 23 days this entire year that reached above sixty degrees. So really, this sunshine was long-awaited and much appreciated! :) I think the entire world has global warming except for Seattle (and yes, I'm kidding). Eli was very excited to finally get to use his whale swimming pool. We got it out a few weeks ago, gave it a thorough cleaning, and inflated it, only to have it sit there unused. As soon as we saw the sun peeking through we knew today was the day to slather on the sunscreen and play in the pool! Eli had an absolutely fantastic time - as you can see by the look on his face. :) I really hope we continuing getting more of this wonderful summer weather. Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of sunshine!

Happy Father's Day!

Two days late is better than never, right? :) Happy Father's Day first and foremost to Ryan - thank you for being such a wonderful father to our son! We also want to wish a (belated) happy day to the other fathers, father-figures, and grandfathers (both here and gone) in our lives. Thank you all so much for the influece you've had in our lives! We love you!



We enjoyed Father's Day with some long-overdue sunshine, and we headed straight from church to the ballpark to enjoy the Mariner's game. Despite the loss (which we fully expected, considering the season our team is having!), we had a great time. We enjoyed the quality time with Nana and Pa (thanks for the game you two!!), the wonderful warm sun (that has, sadly, disappeared again), and of course the obligatory visit to the Moose Den to see our friend the Mariner Moose (who was a bit overenthusiastic and thus intimidating). It was a great day - hopefully even more so for Ryan and Larry! :)

Definitely NOT Emily's photos!

I recently took Eli into J.C. Penney for birthday portraits merely because we were going there anyway and we get these coupons from them that make their portraits dirt cheap. I knew I wasn't going to get anything remotely the quality of Emily's - which is why if we ever get some sunshine around here we'll have Emily do his "official" two-year portraits - but since it was convenient and cheap I thought I do it anyway. Eli, of course, wanted nothing to do with the camera, and the photographers there really don't have great skill in working with children (go figure!). We did get a couple of cute shots, but needless to say, we're looking forward to more from Emily!

Eli's new crib

I can't believe I forgot to post this picture! It's actually from almost a month ago (5/12). Eli really likes his crib, and often after waking up from nap will lay back down and ask one of us to put his blanket back on. He doesn't go back to sleep, he just wants to "stay in crib one more minute." :) So, one day after nap he found the laundry basket sitting in the hallway. Being the resourceful lad that he is, he found a blanket, climbed into the basket and said "lay down in a crib." He had Mama laughing out loud!

So happy swingin'

Eli's new favorite thing to do at the park: "swing more!" Eli has always enjoyed the swings, but lately he can't seem to get enough. I think these smiles are pretty self-explanatory! Sorry these pictures are a bit blurry - I'm sure you can imagine it's kind of hard to get clear action shots with my little "budget-friendly" camera! :)

Happy Birthday Lala!

I can't believe my "little" sister turns 17 today - WOW! Happy Birthday Laurel! All of us up here are wishing you a wonderful day and sending lots of love, hugs, and prayers your way. Have a great camping trip, and may God bless you tremendously in the next year of your life! We love you and miss you, so come visit us again soon!

Happy Doughnut Day!

Okay, so for all you Krispy Kreme lovers out there, I should have spread the word yesterday, but today was "Doughnut Day" at Krispy Kreme (for future planning purposes, it's the first Friday in June), when every customer gets a free doughnut of their choice. So, shirking the knowledge of a doughnut's not-so-healthy properties, Eli and I headed out for a treat. He had a great time watching the doughnuts being made, and picked out his own special doughnut - which, for the record, he ate less than half of (thus my Mom-of-the-Year award nomination is still partially intact, right?!). Yes, it was a silly little outing, but it was some really great mommy-son time, which I really treasure! A sidenote for everyone outside of our immediate geographical area; you can't quite see out the window in this photo, but it's pouring down rain outside. Hmmm...is today June 6th, or November 6th? I think this may be the first time in my life I've begun to wonder if it's going to rain on my b'day. I think I'm dealing with the whole turning 30 thing pretty well - but if it rains all day on my b'day, I'm afraid my outlook on the coming decade may be a bit dreary! :)