Point Defiance with Nana

It appears that visiting Point Defiance Park is the new Shenandoah Park annual visit with Nana. Fewer rocks, more flowers. 

We aim for a window of time when the roses and dahlias are in bloom. We managed to arrive this year after the peak of the roses and before the peak of the dahlias. For the win?

This is definitely a day to stop and smell the roses.

This time we also visited the Japanese Garden Pagoda which is a lovely spot.

I, ahem, may have orchestrated this picture which everyone, except Isaac, thinks is hilarious. 

I made up for it with this one.

And a picture of the teen!!!

Of course we hit up the slides and ladders and enjoyed a picnic. It is lovely to have traditions with Nana.

Pranking Nana

Isaac and I went on a walk today. A walk to Nana's house. It is important to note that we just assume that Nana will be home when we need her to be. Even if she does not answer her phone.

Nana was not home this morning.

Nana chose...poorly. 

Since she wasn't there to greet/entertain/feed us, we felt that we needed to make sure that she knew we had been there. So Isaac and I got out the stuffies and placed them strategically around the house.

Our plan did work! As we were walking home, we received a phone call from Nana as she discovered all the fluffy friends around her house.

June on FB

It was rough having bronchitis on his birthday, but pizza and a cookie cake made by Nana definitely helped.

I got this email from the school and I wanted to ask them "DO YOU PROMISE? No more emails? None? Please stop!!"

It was a lie

Anyone else think they should hand out valium to parents of grads to get them through the ceremonies and parties? Asking for a friend. 😉

Michael: what's something people do who don't have school and don't have a job? 

Me: clean the house? 

Michael: no! 

Jason: mow the lawn? 

Michael: noooo!

Isaac: hit the gritty??

Michael: yeeeeaaaaahhhhhh!

He did it!

Question of the weekend: how many people does it take to set up an electric scooter?

Tell me something brave you've done this weekend. I'll go first: I washed some of my laundry with Isaac's laundry.

Isaac's new friend found a friend on the trail today

The reward for walking 10 miles with your mom the first full week of summer vacation

Family Picture Outtakes

As part of the whirlwind adventure that was graduation/Rachel's visit, we took family pictures. Our photographer recommended Nisqually so we showed up bright and early (ok, not really, it was 10am). I recommended to Mom that she bring the electric scooter as we would be doing some walking and it would be a place to sit while waiting. Getting it assembled turned out to be more difficult than expected (too many cooks in the kitchen?) and once it was ready we discovered it wasn't charged. 

Sigh.

So the kids had fun pushing her and each other around in it. And I can't wait to see the actual photos.

Michael Graduation Party, feat. Isaac J.

Michael Graduation

The big day! A looooong day! An exciting day! We had to wait awhile in line to ensure good seats, but it was shady and we got to chat with friends and family.

Ben was part of a special group and was in the events center first. This is his 2nd year playing at graduation - only 1 more time to go!

Graduation is always a mixed bag. It's great to see your kids and their friends cross the stage. It's less great to sit through the talks and the other kids crossing the stage. We may have leaned heavily on electronic devices this time. 

Awww...here he comes!

Class of 2025!