Charlotte has taken over the giraffe outfit. Edison gave it up with minimal struggle - his trade-off was to pick the TV show to watch that night.

 Granddaddy Herbert found a cozy spot under Edison's bed to read the new Barney book.

 Charlotte loves her new Hello Kitty backpack - THANKS, Nana!

 The kids were getting ready for the first camping trip of the year.

 We met up with Matt & Lisa out camping. Here's a good illustration of how much bigger our new Whaler is than the old one - aka "daddy's little, little orange boat."

 We found a great spot on Skagit Island near Deception Pass. It really only has this one campsite, so we had the place all to ourselves, what a wonderful way to spend Memorial Day weekend.

 We were up about five feet above the beach on a little point over a nice beach. Note the boat in the background.

 We roasted marshmallows and enjoyed the sunset.

 it was uplifting to see how well the kids played together.

 The next morning the beach was in beautiful in full sun.

 The kids had their snack and played in the water.

 The highlight of the morning was watching this tugboat come by with a giant set of logs behind it.

Our 10 Year Anniversary!

This May 18th we celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary in Victoria, BC. We decided since we weren't going far or for very long, that we'd definitely do it up in style.

 So we stayed at the Inn at Laurel Point in the "executive suite" which included this giant wrap-around terrace and floor-to-ceiling windows all around to take advantage of the 270 degree view of Victoria's inner and outer harbors.

 Looking across the inner harbor to the famous Empress Hotel.

 Looking inside to our suite with views beyond.

 Okay- windows like this in the bathroom seem like a great idea, but aren't actually very practical...

 First night's walk through the city. The Parliament Building is all lit up.

 Saturday morning was lovely. Here I am with the view of the outer harbor (west) beyond. We enjoyed some nice sunsets looking that way.

 There is a fleet of cute water taxis that help you hop around the harbor. We took this one to lunch - there it goes with our hotel in the distance.

 At Spinnakers Brewery - our lunch spot.

 We ordered a couple sampler sets of their beer and got to taste nine varieties. We tried them all, then we held a draft - playground style - and chose teams of our favorites to enjoy.

 We also learned that they named a brewery after us. Phillips Brewery is one of the most popular micro-breweries in Victoria. Blue Buck Ale is their flagship. But Eben really liked the Slip Stream Cream Ale - which featured a bike racer on its label.

 Yum.

 Victoria is known for its gardens. We didn't have time to go out to the Butchart Gardens - but are planning to go later this summer via Whaler - but we still go to check out all the gardens around town.

 Every Sunday morning during the peak season the water taxis do a ballet. Quite fun! This is the view from our balcony.

 We took a seaplane coming home. A very pleasant luxury and our first time to try it out.

 Bye-bye, Victoria.

 Hello Seattle and Ballard Ship Canal. Shilshole Bay Marina is in the foreground.

 Touching down in Lake Union, Space Needle in the distance. This is where Sleepless in Seattle was filmed.

Odds and Ends

The kids totally dug washing cars with daddy.

 Looking cute in her PJs.

So nice to have our dinners outside.

 Charlotte loves turning on the radio and dancing around. Now she has a cool hat as an accessory - thanks for the birthday present, Nana.

 I think we need to get Charlotte her own sunglasses, what do you think?

Mother's Day - Part 2

Ed

The best Mother's Day ever: spent at the north beach on Jetty Island with good friends on an unseasonable hot May day.

 It is fun to have a boat big enough to bring our friends: Matt, Jill, Grace and Jake.

 The sun tent was nice for the little ones: Jake and Charlotte.

 I've had to convince Edison that these shorts are awesome. I think he is finally coming around.

 Mmmmmmm - sandy watermelon.

 Going for a walk at low tide.

 Gotta love the opening of summer!

 Beach girl.

MAY - Mother's Day - Part 1

Edison was a superstar at his fourth-birthday dentist appointment, he did everything he was asked, kept his mouth open and sunglasses on. They even said he's doing a great job brushing. Way to go, Edison!

 Charlotte and Edison have begun a new game of jumping off the couch into piles of pillows for about thirty minutes at a time.

 Charlotte and Edison helped me bake a cake for her early "family birthday party" and were so happy to watch it from start to finish.

 With Nana at Emory's Lakehouse for the family celebration meal: three mothers for Mother's Day, three birthdays, including Charlotte's, two anniversaries, and one four-month old (Alton) making his big debut.

 Edison was happy to be dressed like daddy.

 It was such a beautiful day we did our cake and presents al fresco.

 Inspired by tales of Eben's mum making amazing cakes for him, Charlotte commissioned an elephant cake. I found the design by Googling it and I think it turned out pretty well considering I'm not a baker. It was tasty though, and that is what really matters!

 With daddy.

 Aunt Kirstie, Uncle Peter and Cousin Jason gave Charlotte this cool frog dress up / sleeping bag. Nana gave her the dress up skirt, and the geo-ball was a huge hit from Aunt Kathie and Uncle Floyd.

 Will the princess kiss the froggie?

 Jumping off of everything these days.