Keeping Cool

This is what we do to keep the dogs cool...we chase the hose! It's highly entertaining :-)

Heat Wave!

We officially set a record yesterday for the hottest day in Seattle's history!!! It was a scorching 103 degrees and with no A/C it feels much hotter than that. Paul and I discovered that even our candles are suffering in this heat - check it out!

They're melting and bending over!!


7:00 at night and it's 100 degrees...crazy!

Camping

My friend Carissa has been bugging me to camp at her cabin for two years. I finally found a free weekend and had such a good time that I'm already planning our next trip out there. This was only my second experience camping so I was a bit worried, but have no fear I made it and live to tell the tale! The "cabin" is a rustic room with no electricity or running water and the "bathroom" is a Home Depot bucket with a toilet seat set on top. (It's actually a pretty ingenious composting process but I won't include details about that).

Here's the cabin that Carissa's family built by hand.


Lilli (she's 7 years old) showed me how to make a successful fire.



Lilli and Paul found nature's teeter-totter!


Hanging out on the beach


Paul and I with Lilli, on a hike.

Greenwood Sefair Parade

I learned a very important lesson tonight. Our dog Savage is afraid of cymbals. We walked down to the Greenwood Seafair parade this evening, sat on the curb, and watched as the parade went by. Everything was wonderful! The band was passing by and all of a sudden I felt something wet and warm on my foot (of course, I was wearing flip flops). Apparently the cymbals scared the (you know what) right out of him. Other than that incident, the parade was really fun.

Here he is before the band passed..nice and calm.


A Seafair clown posed with me, Maddie, and Dana


Paul told Maddie he'd give her a dollar if she could unwrap a Starburst all by herself...never underestimate a toddler.

Sailing

My mom and Norm were generous enough to take us out for an evening on their sailboat. Brooksie came with us too and we had a great time! Thanks again mom and Norm!

Paul really enjoyed helping pull the lines (I think that's what you call it).


Our mammas, Brooksie and Kathy


Paul and I relaxing as we sail the seas (or the lake)!

Jack Russel Trials

We rode the motorcycle down to Auburn to watch Brooksie's dogs compete in the Jack Russel Trials on Saturday. It was a beautiful ride and the dogs did great!


This is Kaper running hurdles. She's the one with the blue collar.


And here she is in red.


Paul is making use of the dog pen for the shade.

Pug Sitting!

We get to take care of two pugs for the weekend and I'm in heaven! Waking up to coffee made by Paul and pugs ready to play is a great Saturday morning.

A Beautiful Wedding

By the end of the ceremony, my cheeks hurt because I was smiling so much! It was a beautiful setting, a stunning bride, an emotional ceremony, and such a happy evening!

Laura and Dar, after seeing each other for the first time



I got all of the bridesmaids in a picture!



What do you do when the bride has to use the bathroom? The bridesmaids hold up the dress!



My darling husband!



5 out of the 7 bridesmaids



At sunset, with a beautiful setting behind us

4th of July

We have now made Gasworks Park an annual event! We took the bus down to the waterfront, hung out all day in the sunshine, and then watched the spectacular fireworks show from a blanket on the grass.

Hiking

We took a really fun hike just outside of North Bend. We saw a waterfall, Savage got to swim, and we got a work-out.

Paul and Sav in a HUGE tree trunk


We made it to the waterfall!


Savage got to swim in the river!

Practicing the art of hacking

We have recently discovered that I have no hacky sacking abilities. So we took a bike ride to Greenlake to practice in the wide open grass. Here's Paul showing off his skills!