Festa Italiana

Reade performed with his school at Seattle's Festa Italiana at the Seattle City Center this morning.  He was nervous at the beginning, but worked through his nervous tears and gave a great performance.  It was funny to talk with his Italian teacher at the end.  I asked her if anything resembled "true Italy" and she laughed and said no.  She said it was if Italians settled in America and haven't updated their ideas about Italy.  Andrew further pointed out that it would be like if we went to Italy and there was an American Festival based on everything in the 1920's.  Kind of a funny concept.

Salut!

A Week Away

There are only a few types of flowers I truly enjoy.  A vase of flowers repulses me.  I can almost hear the flowers wilting before my eyes.  A dozen roses are only fun when I get to walk past a bunch of them at the grocery store.  Yes, I am a grouch.

I do have a heart (deep down) that feels love.  True love better than a million, red roses could ever bring.  This, my friends, is a pumpkin growing on a vine.  A pumpkin (this time a bunch of them) that my husband planted, nurtured, and protected.  I secretly stared at them for a long time today.  I stood there in the rain and just let my eyes feast on the orange beauties.  Andrew kept trying to get me to look at all the pumpkins a few weeks back, but it was early in their development.  I was so scared they were going to get eaten or rot away before my eyes.  I didn't want to get attached.  I am now seven ::gasp:: days away from when I get to harvest these pumpkins and put them all around the house.  October 1st is pumpkin day in my mind.  This will be the longest seven days ever!

Andrew's corn stalks drying out (as much as a corn stalk can in Seattle).

Aunt Jessica

 Here is what we subjected Aunt Jessica to during her weekend visit:

1. The zoo.  

We watched as the snow leopard ate his guinea pig snack (kind of amazing).

Blake acted as tour guide of the zoo, it was like following a cockroach.  Here and there with some hissing and fits.  Jessica sketched some of the animals.

2. I sold furniture out from under everyone to nice people from craigslist.

  We just got a giant sectional for our Sunday football viewing parties.

3. I invited school friends over and subjected Jessica to a football game for hours.

::doing a whispery happy dance::

we won, we won, we won

Today is a Day

 My minivan is in full swing nowadays.  I wish I could attach a ladder on the back so my kids could run beside me, like they would a train, so they could just grab on and pull themselves aboard the crazy train.  I absolutely love their new schools and am dedicating all my brain cells to make sure everything is in order for each day.  Blake is now excited to have a pet snail from the front yard.  It is in a bowl that sits next to him at the table.  He calls him Slimey, or Slizzy, or something like that.   I hope he doesn't die.

Terrarium & comics = 6 year old bliss. 

Apples off our apple tree.

I ♥ snails.

Happy Birthday Grammie

Happy Birthday Grammie.  She is in town so we are lucky enough to be celebrating with her.  

1st Grader

I am only four days late posting Blake's 1st Day of 1st Grade photo:

I just got home from the first Parent Meeting of the year and I am already feeling the magic that goes along with this school.  Blake loves it and has jumped right in with open arms.  It never crossed my mind that he would have any hardship transitioning because I love the school so much, but in hindsight I should have been a bit more careful in observing his needs.  At least we are both on the same page!

Explore on my child...

Sailboat Cruise

Andrew booked us a sailboat cruise date.

Best date EVER!

Our ship:

Other party people on the ship.  It is a public cruise so there were 43 people total:

Our local volcano:

The water was so pretty and smooth on our way back in:

I love my husband.

SEA! HAWKS!

Oh, those Seahawks.  I didn't have time to rush to Comcast to get a cable box so I could watch the game at home so I packed Reade and Piper into the minivan (with my Seahawks flags back in action) and headed to a bar & grill to watch the game.  There wasn't any room in the place so I had to sit on a bench holding a sleeping Reade while craning my neck to watch the game on the bar TVs.  Piper was a great 12th man because I shoved a chocolate milkshake in her hands and told her it would be a while.  Sure enough, some "not die hard fans" left after the first quarter so a table opened up.

My husband had no clue where I was on his drive home from work so I told him to hurry his little Porsche over to see some of the game.  He got there in the second quarter and joined in on the cheering.  The kids watched TV on our phones and we made it through the whole game.

I love the two high fiving in the left back.

That game was great and this picture from the front page of the paper says it all.  Lynch just plowed through people and made me happy.  Who cares if he doesn't show up in preseason!  He's a beast!

Seattle Times

Overnight Camp

Yesterday was pizza lunch day and today was camp drop off.  Blake barely said goodbye and I had to yell at him to catch his attention so I could blow a kiss goodbye.  He loves his new school and was beaming to be old enough to join the 1st-4th graders on their overnight camp trip.  The teachers and children collaborate on ideas of how they want the year to go.  I will pick him up tomorrow and I just got an email showing pictures of all of the happy campers climbing the big rock wall.  He is in heaven.  Did I mention this camp is in the middle of West Seattle?  Nature in the city!!!

Driving back over the West Seattle Bridge towards home:

Primo Giorno

Reade's first day of his second year of preschool.  

It is so nice to have him five minutes away, especially when I forget his lunch on the first day!