Joe's Wedding and Graduation

Beginning of summer BBQ season! Eben and Matt went diving, speargunned a few rockfish and voila - a BBQ is born.

 Did I mention Charlotte loves her matching backpack to Edison?

 We went to the wedding of Joe and Kelly, he is one of the LTJGs who works with Eben on the Polar Sea. It was a pleasant service at a beautiful Catholic Church with amazing picture windows behind the altar overlooking the forest. We were happy to be part of the occasion.

 Eben dressed up in his whites and was part of the sword arch.

 I have to snap these shots with Eben in uniform since they only come up every few yers.

 Since we were in Olympia, we were able to visit Eben's Aunt Beth and Uncle Paul. We had the good fortune of catching them on a weekend when their grandkids, our 2nd cousins I think, were visiting. Max and Tillie were wonderful with Edison & Charlotte and made for a perfect visit.

 Shorecrest has the tradition of graduation being on Father's Day. So, here I was Sunday with my favorite students and colleagues: Gabe, Emily, Rotimi & Tiffany. Rotimi & Tiffany were two of our senior senators and Gabe was their class advisor.

 Parker was a fantastic Treasurer for two years. He was one of the first students to really welcome me to my job as Activity Coordinator and I will always remember his kindness and sincerity.

 Even Charlotte wants to be a Scot.

A Seattle Weekend

She got these glasses for her birthday and hearts them a lot.

 Visiting the zoo - this sculpture is just outside the Komodo Dragon's lair.

 The elephants were nice and close today.

 At the petting zoo / farm part of the zoo.

 We were thrilled to have my friend Meg and her family over for a campfire. Dillon is playing with Edison. He is the perfect age in between Charlotte and Edison and is a really nice kid - so they all got along famously.

 We will once again be thankful of the Blue Star Museum Program (free museum entrance to lot of museums nationwide for military families during the summer). Today we went to the Burke Museum at UW and checked out the dinosaur bones.

 At the fountain and my old stomping grounds at the UW.

 Taking time to smell the roses.

JUNE - Blake Island with Izzy

Boat camping at Blake Island was a blast! We went with our friends Jeff & Viola and their two kids. It was really cool to have a sailboat race go right by our campsite

 Edison and Charlotte followed their daughter Izzy around everywhere.

 Beachcombing...

It is so nice to have a playground on the Island.

 The dusk was a cool violet with lots of different shades due to the interplay of the clouds and water. Tillacum Village is on the island - a longhouse that hosts salmon bakes. Of course, they also have totem poles for the tourists....

 It was like pulling teeth to get the kids in bed. The full moon didn't help. But they were having a great time and being super cute.

 The full moon made for a super low tide and fun explorations of barnacles, seaweed and anemones.

 The Space Needle is in the background - showing how close Blake Island is to the city. We'll be back soon!

Charlotte's Official 2nd Birthday

We had to cut our Memorial Day Weekend camping trip short so that I could return to Seattle to chaperone senior prom. Here I am with my favorite partner in crime / ASB bookkeeper, Andy Denney at the EMP. The EMP was an amazing place for prom as you can see from the background in the amazing Sky Church room that they set up as the dance floor.

 Likely our final play date with good friends Grace and Jake before Matt and Jill are transferred to Cleveland. We will definitely miss them!

 We celebrated Charlotte's actual birthday (May 30) at Chuck E Cheese with Nana with Bob the Builder rides....

 fun tunnels to explore.

 and basketball games to win.

 Then we came home for birthday cake with our neighbors Bob and Marlene.

 They gave Charlotte a darling piggy bank. (And also brought one for Edison - how thoughtful.)

 She really is a delightful, happy young girl who likes to learn new things. She tries her best to be as capable as her big brother and is really doing well with her language development and motor skills.

 With Nana....

 Eben with Marlene and Bob.