School's out . . .

... and the backpacks will be forgotten.

This school year came to and end. As a tradition that my friend Ann Davis and I started last year, we went out on an adventure with the kids to celebrate. This time we explored Lynn Canyon and it's suspension bridge in North Vancouver. after waiting for an hour at the border and after snailing through traffic, we finally made it there.

We all had a great time. It was fun walking on the bridge and of course the kids enjoyed exploring the area. When asked to rate the afternoon from 1-10, we received one 10 form Nolan and the others rated it a 9. They told us it could have been a 10 if we had stayed longer and walked off the trails more to explore further. It was after all, the day following Summer Solstice and we could have have stayed until sunset, around 10:30 pm!! Well, we have the whole summer to enjoy!!! Ethan, Grace, Nolan Christian D. and Christian B. Gotta find the right one!

The First Decade

Christian at 1 month

Christian at age 4

Our first born has completed 10 years this week. Yeah, I know you heard it before , but time does fly!!! We still remember so well, when I had to call Shawn at work in the middle of the night. Later that morning, on June 15th, 1997, Christian Liam John was born. It was Father's Day Sunday. What a gift!! We thank God for protecting and blessing Christian and our family in these past 10 years. Of course we would not let this event pass without a celebration. Christian invited a few friends for a tree house sleep over. The boys had a lot of fun and little sleep. It gets dark here at 10pm and the birds are singing at 4:30am. Of course the boys then joined the chorus of nature. On the following night, our whole family went to bed at 7:30 pm.

Sunny Week...

We had a week of nice summer weather and we were out enjoying it to the max. Here in Washington you schedule your adventures according to the weather. All of the housework I left behind in order to play in the sun, I'm able to catch up with now that we have cloudy and drizzly skies.

Christian went on a Schooner out on Bellingham Bay as part of a field trip.

On Memorial Day we joined our friends for a day at Birch Bay.

Ethan and our friend Noah had a blast playing at our little A.M. Beach. Another day in Paradise! Haillie and Nolan with Mt. Skuksan in the background. Last snow play of the season. On a beautiful Wednesday we decided to take the boys out of school early and head to one of our favorite spots, Deception Pass on Whidbey Island.

The Big 5

Wow!! It's hard to believe that our "little" Ethan just turned 5 years old. When I asked him what kind of birthday party he wanted, his answer was: Just my family and Noah. So that was an easy party to plan. It's also tradition in our house for the birthday boy to choose the menu for the day. So we had scrambled eggs and waffles for b-fast, hot dogs for lunch and pizza for dinner. Can you tell he is 5? At least with Ethan the b-day menu is easy, when it's Christian's turn, I get requests like wild rice soup, Brazilian beans and cream cheese cake as the birthday cake.