sat, 9/4...day 247

Cory's latest dress-up craze has been to wear various "robes" to be a Jedi or other characters in Star Wars.

I forget what this one was actually supposed to be (bad mom!) but his creative choice in colors and combinations is delightful. :-)

fri, 9/3...day 246

I never win anything, but that doesn't stop me from adding comments to my favorite scrapbooking blogs that are having giveaways.

And today...I was actually the random number they chose! Could've knocked me over with a feather. Fun!

thu, 9/2...day 245

Love this photo of Niall with his friend Connor. (Taken yesterday after school.)

wed, 9/1...day 244

First day of school - off to a great start! Cory felt right at home in Steve's class, and got started making a nametag and then practicing his name in cursive.




Niall goofed around with friends in the courtyard, then headed into class when the doors opened, found his cubby and his table, and settled right in. With the same teacher, same classroom, and (almost all) same classmates, it's like the end of last year was just yesterday!

A gray, rainy morning segued into a sunny, warm afternoon. Sieglinde and I met the boys after school and they played with friends on the Big Field for an hour or so before we headed home. Loved watching Niall and Connor roam around together, and Cory ran his little legs off, finding friends here and there. Tired boys tonight!

tue, 8/31...day 243

Sieglinde and I both wanted to get some Market Spice Tea, so we decided we'd head down to Pike Place Market today with the boys. Both to get the tea and to enjoy roaming around the Market.

After a rocky start (the boys were hungry when we arrived and whined and complained until we finally found a good spot to eat, with the requisite fish-n-chips as well as something Cory could have), we had a great time exploring the Market all afternoon.



As a bonus, Kellen swung by to visit for a bit before heading down to work, and showed us a yummy gelato spot on First Avenue where we got a final treat before heading home.

mon, 8/30...day 242

Niall went with me when I ran some errands today, and one of our stops was the library in Redmond. I've been reading "The Trumpet of the Swan" to Cory at bedtime, and I left our copy in Astoria with the broken-down van. So I checked the shelves to see if they had a copy on hand, and they did.

While we were in the W's (searching for E. B. White), I found this book and that book that I thought Niall would really enjoy. So we ended up getting about a half dozen more books, just from browsing that one shelf.

Now that's the kind of experience I don't have browsing through books online. I just get a different "feel" for a book when I can hold it and open it and scan the summaries and pages.

Niall is really enjoying the books. :-)

sun, 8/29...day 241

My dear sister is in town for a few days, for meetings at her alma mater WSU and to visit us, her family! We spent the day working in the front yard (and gabbing up a storm, of course), playing 4-way cribbage, and then going for a walk to see the goats and enjoy ripe blackberries. Topped off by an amazing baked salmon and melt-in-your-mouth potatoes dinner. Just a wonderful, relaxing day.

These are earrings Sieglinde gave me for my birthday - in memory and honor of our time in Africa together this year. So perfect!