Backtracking: forgotten summer photos

There's so much that I haven't posted yet from this summer, so here's a combo-post for you.

Silly boy:
We went to the Underwater Naval Museum. Silas LOVED being on a sub, which he was (sort of).
What little kid wouldn't love to see this:
We got an awesome farm table for FREE! We love it!
We went to Port Townsend, several times.
While there, we got to watch a boat being made at the Wooden Boat Foundation.
And we hung out...basking in the sun, while there's still sun to bask in.

Strawberries and Butterflies

We're right at the peak of strawberry season. Yum! The garden grows bigger each year, and as strawberries are want to do, they have spread out from last year, giving us quite a few more berries this summer. Again, yum!
Earlier this spring, I noticed a chrysalis on one of the shrubs I was planning on transplanting. Not wanting to disturb or destroy it, I clipped off the branch it was on and Silas put it in his nature explorer box, that his Aunt Amy and Uncle Jeff gave to him for his birthday. Then, we waited. And waited. After a few weeks I began to wonder if the thing was ever going to hatch.
But as you can see, it did!
I identified it as a Lorquin's Admiral. Right after the picture below was taken, it flew up and away.
Good-bye pretty butterfly!

Are you ready?

Silas is ready for summer! School ended last week, but we have much to look forward to. He goes to cooking camp (at his preschool) next week, and nature camp at an environmental learning center in August. He'll also be participating in the 4th of July parade with the rest of his preschool, and our little family will hopefully escape to the ocean for a few days as well.

I've got a few more preschool related pictures to share, so stay tuned.

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!

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 :)

Shades

It's officially sun glasses weather! For how long, I don't know. But while the sun's here, we'll take it! The pics are from a walk we took down to the waterfront of our town last weekend.

Happy summer!

Blackberry Season

When we moved to Western Washington 6 years ago (already!), it was mid August, and one of my first impressions was that it smelled like blackberries. Indeed, at this time of year, the air is sweetly scented thanks to the invasive but delicious blackberries. They are EVERYWHERE. You could pick and pick and pick and still, there would be more waiting for you just down the road. Our entire yard is surrounded by brambles. The sheep keep them at bay in the pastures and a regularly applied weed whacker keeps them from taking over the rest of the yard.

While blackberries are actually quite problematic from an ecological standpoint, we undeniably benefit from their presence from mid August to mid September. Silas and I pick them almost every day. Aside from eating them strait from the vine, I enjoy making blackberry crisps, smoothies, and Drew likes to make blackberry compote to top the waffles he's been making us for breakfast lately (thanks for the new waffle iron, Grandma G!).

There is so much going on in the garden right now. I'll be sharing more with you throughout the week, so stay tuned.

Dandelions

Dandelions are a simple pleasure for a toddler. Silas hasn't really gotten down how to blow the seeds off (though he does try). What he does have down, clearly, is the ability to ham it up for the camera. A note on the t-shirt. Silas would like you to know that he is wearing it somewhat ironically. He's not really an American Dude-type, but he does love motorcycles :)

Mid summer harvest

Who says organic gardening can't yield huge veggies :)

The 4th and beyond

The Island has a pretty big to-do on the 4th of July -- lots of food, booths, kids activities, music, etc. It's pretty much an all out festival, complete with a dunk tank, giant inflatable castles, and a parade which features a library staff book-cart drill team.

Silas got to blow bubbles:
He made a flag shaker at the Library's children's fair:

And most significantly, he got to ride a pony for the first time.! He played it pretty cool while he was riding, but he has mentioned it several times since, so I think he thoroughly enjoyed it. Now when we walk up the hill by our house to see the horses and he says "I ride them sometimes!" we can say, "that's true, Silas!" (sort of).When we arrived home from the events on the 4th, we found some balloons waiting for Silas on our front porch, courtesy of Patrick. That boy loves his balloons! They floated around the house for about 5 days and I was really surprised they hadn't deflated and sank to the floor. Unfortunately, a couple of days ago, Silas came running to me with tears in his eyes saying "I popped them away!" What he actually meant was that, despite our warnings, he'd brought them out onto the deck and let them go. I ran outside, but they were already at the treeline, and still rising. Bye-bye balloons. Thanks for staying as long as you did.
For those of you who don't know, I usually take a good chunk of my vacation time in July, so I'm off of work this month from July 2nd till the 27th. That means I've been doing lots of extra activities with Silas, like going to a children's play (the Emporer's New Clothes) last Tuesday, which was part of the library's summer reading program. Wednesday was our wedding anniversary and I wanted to go hiking, but it was quite overcast and rain threatened, so the three of us headed up to Port Townsend for the day instead and will save the hike for another time in the very near future. Last night, Patrick hung out with Silas so Drew and I could go out to dinner, which was lovely.

And that's pretty much the update. I am rarely on the computer and can't even remember when I last checked my email. It's been nice to take a break since I stare at a screen all week long when I'm working. But, I will try to post again sometime soon.

I hope you are all enjoying your summer!

Silas gets a new sandbox

There's nothing like playing in a sandbox on a sunny summer afternoon. Our cat claimed our old sandbox (aka: hole-in-the-ground) for his own purposes, but thanks to Grandma G, Silas now has a new one...with an attachable digger and most importantly, a lid.

Grandma got to watch Silas play in it:

The wobbly swing, which Silas can only ride on if a big person is holding him:
And this last picture was taken last Thursday at the the Monica's Waterfront Bakery & Cafe in Silverdale (the town I work in). This is my favorite lunch place in the area and it was great to have the family stop by my office and then take me out to lunch. Silas likes the books they keep upstairs.

We've got a few more activities planned for the remainder of Grandma's visit, so stay tuned.

Hot days in the garden

I took these pictures last week during our heat wave. Since then, the garden has continued to grow, so imagine everything just a bit bigger (especially the pole beans) and that's where we're at. I let Silas pick the pea he's holding and he promptly stuck it in his mouth and ate it whole. Tonight we harvested a few dozen peas and ate them as a side dish with our supper. The beans have attached themselves to their poles and are really taking off.

I promise something non-garden related will be in my next post :)