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.

This should do it

The last of the vacation pictures. I know, I know. There have been too many. At least we didn't invite you over and make you sit through a 40 minute slide show.

Moclips, in all it's glory:


Drew and Silas, goofing around for the camera:

The stairs and beach at Seabrook. Seabrook is an odd place as it is a brand new town. The signs say "Seabrook: est. 2004." One doesn't think of entirely new towns popping up any more, but that's what Seabrook is: a new beach town. It's more than a little Mayberry. But honestly, it's exactly what the coast of Washington needs. It's pedestrian and bike friendly (you get a bike to use when you rent a beach house there), was planned sustainably, and incorporates green spaces as part of it's design. Most importantly, it's the only town in that area that isn't totally depressing.

And finally, I'll end with the quintisential vacation shot: Sunset over the ocean as viewed from our front porch.

The mist

Walking on these gigantic beaches in thick fog is a little bit spooky. As you head toward the ocean, you can't see the water, or hear it over the roar of the wind, for that matter. Walking on, you turn around and discover the land is no longer visible either.

Finally, the waves appear:

But for a while, there is only you, and the fog and the sand beneath your feet.

Rainbow at Moclips

(Hey there...I'm just going to post a few pics from our trip every couple of days. Here's the first set.)

This is the beach at Moclips, which is really a nothing little town, and more than a bit run-down (no offense, Moclips, but I think you know it's true). That first morning, like most of the time we were there, it was quite foggy. There was also the strangest rainbow that actually seemed like a hailo of white light devoid of color.
The beaches are huge! It was a great place for Silas to run, provided we stuck to the areas where cars aren't allowed (cars on the beach is still a new concept to me, and I doubt I'll ever get used to it).

When Silas saw the picture below, he said "There's my art!" Perhaps he has a future as an environmental artis.
More later...

We're back...

...from the beach. A gazillion more pictures that are sure to make the grandparents happy, coming soon...

Ready for go!

"Ready for go!" is a current Silasism. He might say, for instance: "I loaded the truck. It's ready for go!"

Well, today, we are getting "ready for go," and tomorrow we go! We'll spend a few days on the Washington coast and the weather is supposed to be great!

Oh, and as for the pics and video, well, like most little kids, Silas loves to drive. It's pretty hard to tear him away from the wheel of the car, and he's a big fan of the riding lawn mower too. I took the video on our way back from Seattle one day. That day, we missed the ferry by only one car! Since we had an hour of time to kill, I let Silas "drive" and took a video (actually, several videos, but this is the one that made the cut).

The Librarian Takes a Vacation

I'm all smiles cuz I'm off of work for the next 3 and a half weeks or so. Silas on the other hand, well, he's cutting his first molar, so he's a bit testy/clingy/weepy. I'm not forcing him to use that shovel, I swear! He happily carried it all around the yard and then burst out crying, right on cue for the picture. My first order of business, aside from hanging with my boys all day, was to finish the Schoolmarm Vest that I'm wearing. I have a lot more fun things planned, but some of it, the things that involve traveling places, will have to wait a bit. Today, our gear shift would not shift out of park, and our brake lights stopped working all together. Apparently, the two things are related. The good news: our car is still under warrenty. The bad news: It's a holiday weekend, so we can't bring it in until Monday. And back to the upside: It's a good excuse to stay home and get some work done in my long neglected garden.

But that's right, I'm on vacation, better make Silas work in the garden instead:
But I won't make him work too hard. He can enjoy the Radio Flyer we got for him last weekend at the Bainbridge Island Rotary Auction ($1.50 --that's what I call a deal!).
He loves it, but he's really almost too big for it already. And he doesn't really get that he should make it go by using his feet. He prefers that I push him, which is kind of a workout, given how low to the ground that thing is. I think pretty soon, we're going to have to buy him something with petals. For now, the radio flyer is a hit.
A note about Si's books, since Jessi commented that I always find good ones. Shucks, you are a dear, dear. Well, I catalog children's books for a school district for a living. I probably see over 100 books a day, on average, so I'm exposed to a lot of great titles. Probably 95% of the titles on Silas' book wish list and the books of the month are books I cataloged at some point over the past 5 years. If you are looking for an inexpensive way to build your kid's library, check out your local public library's book sale. Most of them have them from time to time. The money from the proceeds usually filters back to the libraries, and you can pick up a lot of the books they've discarded or that people have donated for next to nothing. I've found that some of these books are in pretty good shape, some are a little worse for wear, etc. You never know what you'll find, but it's always worth looking. And we take Silas to the library ALL of the time too, so we are never short on reading material.