Fruits of our Labor

These are the pies I made from the blackberries Lon and I picked yesterday. The house smells Wonderful!

The star hand pies I made with the press from Williams Sonoma. I still find those clam shell presses hard to use. The crust is not shiny because I did not use an egg wash. (the people I want to share these with are allergic to eggs)

Iydlewood Park

Today we met up with a friend at Idylewood Park. We had never been there. It is wonderful! We really enjoyed ourselves.

Lon played with the globe, figuring out what countries are where.
Still loves slides!
Talking into the horn, his friend heard him at the other end. But then again, the whole park probably did too.
There is a beach there too! Lon wanted to go in very much, but I promised that next time we came to this park, I would remember his suit and life jacket and Mommy would go in the water with him!
Let's see what else I can do!
We got a wonderful late birthday present today! A soccer set! A size 4 ball, shin guards, cones and it all came in a backpack with a ball pump! Super nice. Lon wanted to play with it as soon as he got home.
I would like to get him back into soccer again..

He also got a huge LL Bean beach towel with a lobster on it. It is very cool. Lon had to practice laying out on the beach... He stayed still for about 1 minute, then he was up again.

Blackberry Pickin

We went out blackberry picking today! The berries were ripe, but there were lots and lots that were not yet. The City of Kirkland has started taking out the blackberry bushes at Juanita Bay Park. This does NOT make me happy. It was a safe place to pick berries, away from the highway and Lon could run around the park if/when he got bored with the actual picking process. If anyone knows another good park to pick blackberries, let me know!

He is actually picking berries! I made him wear long pants today even though it was 80 degrees. I wore shorts, and now have really cut up legs. Really, I should have known better!
Running along. He loves to run!
We saw a crane! Way out in the lilly pads. It looked like a grey blob at first till it moved
Watching the crane and the ducks

A bigger bucket of berries than last year! Maybe we will look for more this week.

Roman Galley

We promised Lon that if he passed swimming and was a gentleman at Grace's party we would give him the Playmobil Roman Galley Ship he knew we had. He has been asking for it for about 6 months now. We had to come up with some reason to give it to him... He, of course, was a gentleman at Grace's party and if he did not pass swimming we would have given it to him anyway
Daddy and Lon put the ship together.
Lots of pieces to put it all together. Mommy did the rigging work
Lon plays with the completed ship. It came with a captain, another officer and three centurions and one archer.
This is a very fascinating toy

I think this guy goes here. He did not want to go to bed, he wanted to play with this new ship.

Last Pirate Class of Summer

Today was the last day to practice our Pirat-attude.
Trying to get the eye patch on just right
Now we are all cuteness again

The young pirates starting to work the treasure map
Now where do we go?
Everyone to the red mat boat!
Lon spots the X!
The treasure is in there!! Oh BOY!
Passing out pirate treasure!
Drinking apple juice toasts!

Captain Lon

One last shot of the cannon!

Cupcakes and Shirts

We are making the cupcakes for the last pirate class of summer. I thought they turned out kinda cute...
The first 5 shirts I made for Lon
The next five shirts. Lon was very pleased with all his new shirts for his trip to Connecticut

Happy Birthday Grace!

Tuesday afternoon Grace had her 4th birthday party at Omi's house!
I made her a beach cake. She wanted some Hello Kitty something on it, so her Mom got those and we put them on the beach. The beach sand on the cake is crushed nilla wafers. Lon helped with that. I put them in a zippy bag and he banged them with one of his toy hammers.
Everyone got Hello Kitty glasses and Necklaces. Lon wore his. Pink and purple are Grace's favorite colors, Lon got both of those colors for his gear.
The beach in front of Omi's.
Lon playing in the waters of Lake Sammamish
Daddy and Lon wading in to see about swimming in the lake. It did not work out too well. Lon really did not want to go deep into the lake.
Starting to get the hang of the slip n' slide
Sand and sand toys. Lon is a happy little guy!
Let's get this cake thing underway!
Blowing out the candles
If you feed ducks, they will follow you.
Did someone say Boat Ride? I am SO There! Let's go NOW!!!
Can it get better than this? Lon went on all three boat rides that Gernot gave.
Lon and Grace walking on the dock
Grace and her friend playing in the water.

It was a fun afternoon. We had a great time. Thanks for letting us help you celebrate Grace's birthday!