Edmonds / the ferry

Last Sunday was my final day of vacation and we decided to spend it out and about. Silas loves taking the ferry, so we took the Kingston/Edmonds run and spent the day walking around Edmonds.
We had some time to kill while waiting for the return boat, but quite conveniently, there is a park adjacent to the ferry terminal, complete with a large sandy beach, and a cast iron canoe.
It was warm enough to ride on deck on the way back. Silas described to us what waves are like (above) and was his usual hug-filled self.
Even though I'm back at work, we are still doing plenty of fun summer things. Today we went to the Kitsap Arts and Crafts Fair and we saw a reptile show featuring all kinds of cool critters. Silas got to touch two geckos, a 5' long snake, a baby alligator, and his favorite, a kimono dragon with two tails (the only known one of it's kind in the world).

Hope your summer has been a lot of fun too!

Big mountain, little hiker

Last week, we took Silas on his biggest hike to date: The Hurricane Hill Hike in the Olympics.
We brought the backpack carrier but didn't end up needing it. Our little mountain man walked the ENTIRE 6 plus miles, and perhaps not unexpectedly, managed the 1,700 feet elevation gain better than many of the adults we encountered on the trail.

On the way back down the mountain, we ran into many exhausted people who asked if he walked the whole way. "Yes" I said, "and if our 3 year-old can do it, so can you!"
We saw a lot of wildlife, including an overabundance of deer. They were everywhere! Look I spy one now:
And there's another:
This little chipmunk was so tame, she'd run across our hands and nibble our fingers. Even so, we resisted the temptation to drop a few bits of granola bar her way.
I recon that Silas hasn't seen snow since we were in Wisconsin in February of 09, so getting to touch some of the permanent snow was a big deal for him:
Look son, over yonder...
Now that Silas has completed this adventure, we are hoping to get a few more hikes in before fall, including one along the coast.

Si's room, phase 1, Complete!

Silas' room received a make-over this past week. In addition to taking out the old baseboard heater and doing some electrical work, Drew painted it and I rearranged everything.
I can't tell you how much better it feels in there. It's just the way I imagined his room to be :)
Silas really seems to like it too:
As a comparison, here's a shot of the room prior to painting: The same drab color the whole interior of the house was painted when we bought the house, which we are painting over room by room.
Phase 2 will be putting new flooring in his room.

We painted the bathroom as well, and I suppose I will post pictures of that at some point too.
We also went to the mountains a few days ago so expect to see some pictures from that day as well.

Lookin' up

Our sunflowers are already taller than Silas. We can't wait for them to bloom!
Also, the plants all around the sunflowers are an as of yet unidentified perennial that came up in late May. If anyone knows what it is, let me know! Here's a close-up:
If it flowers, it may be easier to identify and I might just fall in love with it. If it doesn't flower, I'll do my best to remove it. It's cropping up everywhere and seems to spread way-too easily.

Here's another one that was a mystery plant until I found a picture of it in a book on perennials, just yesterday:
It's acanthus, or bear's britches. Another interesting but fast spreading plant that will have to be kept in check.

And, that's your garden update for the day :)

In the works

Silas is very excited because we are painting his room this week. As a result, our dining room (minus a table) has become a temporary playroom...
I will share a few before and after pics of his room, once it's completed.

Yield

One of the first things we did after moving to this house at the very end of March was build a raised bed so that I could get my veggies going. My humble little garden was not helped along by our cold, dreary, and seemingly endless spring weather. I made novice mistakes, putting out plants when it was still too cold. A pepper plant was lost as a result.

But summer really is hear now, and things have begun to perk up. One of my favorite things about veggie gardening is that when we want a salad, I simply go outside and pick an assortment of greens. Silas, as always, is my little helper.

He is very keen on picking peas and will eat them with gusto, pod and all.
We aren't the only ones who like to hang out in our garden:
Expect more garden-related postings as the veggie yield continues...

In which Silas makes pizza

Last night, Silas made pizza. He cut the veggies:
We rolled out the dough together, and then Si put on the toppings:
It turned out delicious!
Thanks for your help, Silas!

Ten

Today is, as we told Silas "anniversary day." Our tenth wedding anniversary, to be exact.
It was also super hot. We broke 90 degrees, which for those accustomed to Washington State norms (60 and overcast), is pretty much un-freakin-bearable. But we managed...by eating watermelon...
And playing with the garden hose.
In the evening, Silas was whisked off to Patrick's house and the two originating members of our family enjoyed a lovely dinner out.

Happy ten years to our little family :)

July '10 Book of the Month

Introducing Planet Silas' July '10 Book of the Month:

Little Rabbit and the Meanest Mother on Earth by Kate Klise ; illustrated by M. Sarah Klise.

Upset that his mother will not let him go out until he cleans his playroom, Little Rabbit sneaks away to join the circus and sells tickets by promising the audience a view of The Meanest Mother on Earth.

A few weeks back, I noticed this title on the new shelf in Kitsap Regional Library's Bookmobile. I think I may have gasped in excitement. Imagine, another Little Rabbit book by the same sister team that created Shall I Knit You a Hat: A Christmas Yarn.

"Silas," I said, "We have hit the new picture-book jackpot." I was not wrong.

This book has been a huge hit with the whole family. We've read it so many times that Silas now acts out parts of the book. He pulls out chairs to create a ticket booth and pretends to sell us tickets to see the Meanest Mother on Earth. "She has two heads" he'll yell "And green teeth!"

The other day, Silas decided to take his circus act beyond the house. He set up his ticket booth on the front porch and in his very loudest outside voice beckoned the whole neighborhood to "Come see the Meanest Mother on Earth!" This he repeated over and over again, until we calmly explained to him that other people might not understand what he's talking about, in the outside chance that they haven't read the book. Still, a book that can invoke this level of pretend play and all out fun has my vote. I can only hope that more Little Rabbit books are in the works.

By the end of the story, Little Rabbit no longer thinks his mom is so very mean, and I trust Silas doesn't either. I know that I myself have come to the same conclusion as Mother Rabbit "I'm not the meanest mother on earth...I'm the luckiest."

Duet

I'm on vacation for the next three weeks...woo-hoo! I will be enjoying some Silas-time, and hopefully tackling a mountain of projects around the house and yard.

Stay tuned for the book of the month posting. It's such an awesome book, but I need a solid block of time to write about it, and that just hasn't happened yet. Soon.