sun, 8/8...day 220

We dropped off Cory for a playdate today in Kirkland, and then looped around across the lake to Tynor's dad's house to pick up a bike.

It was lunchtime as we headed north up towards Bothell, so we decided to stop to eat at the Ranch Drive-In, a favorite spot when we lived in town but I hadn't been there for years. It was just as yummy as I remembered!

sat, 8/7...day 219

Niall was a fabulous sailor (First Mate Handsome) in the camp play, "On the Briny Seas," which the kids performed this afternoon at Meydenbaurer Center theater in Bellevue. It was quite the fancy setting for a one-week play by a pretty young group of kids!

Niall did a wonderful job with the whole performance, including a dashing sword battle with the captain of the pirates. He had a great time, too. He can't wait to do another play next year!

Grandma Shannon came with us to see the play, and I loved this sweet vision of the two of them walking arm-in-arm back to the car afterwards. Niall is almost as tall as she is now...!

fri, 8/6...day 218

It was Dress Like a Pirate Day at Samena, and both boys got into the spirit. They looked so cute! And were having a grand time hamming it up together, and with other boys at the camp after we arrived.

thu, 8/5...day 217

My regular stomping grounds on Thursdays. Seems nondescript, but it's very familiar territory now after all these years.

wed, 8/4...day 216

On a whim, I stopped at the Bellevue Uwajimaya to browse a bit (Kellen works at the original downtown store now), and to buy more thin "pancakes" for our leftover mooshu chicken. I ended up getting eggroll wrappers - seemed close enough.

So many colorful, quirky Asian items at the store - I love it. I took a bunch of photos, just for fun, and these are two of them.

tue, 8/3...day 215

The boys have been loving playing Foosball before and after regular camp at Samena. "Can we get a Foosball table??" has been added to the begging-for-things routine.

Niall was less happy later in the day, after he discovered that we'll only be going to see Carissa for OT for one more session. She and I agree that he's ready to graduate, which is wonderful...but also very sad, as the kids enjoy their time there so much. Niall is really attached to Carissa, too, and will miss her so much.

I cheered him up a little bit by stopping off at our local Chinese place to get takeout, a rare treat (too pricey to do very often!). He still sobbed on and off for the rest of the evening, right up through bedtime. Poor guy.

mon, 8/2...day 214

I was dropping off videos at the library and noticed for the first time this cool design above the doors. We usually go to the Redmond branch, and I guess I've been too distracted with herding kids when I've come to this one on other occasional visits.

sun, 8/1...day 213

We took a walk around the block this afternoon, and saw something new: the neighbors with the goats now have a chicken coop in their pasture! I guess they all co-habitate peacefully. Quite a surprise to see the bright red hen house right there in the field and the hens pecking away nearby.

We found ripe huckleberries and a few early blackberries to enjoy on our walk. The boys also discovered green apples that had fallen by the road and enjoyed trying to squish them with their bike tires (not so easy!).

Nice to get out of the house, get some fresh air, and a little exercise to boot.