Lake Samish Part One

When Diane and Katie came home for a quick summer fun visit, the thing they wanted to do the most was to go boating.  On Monday we invited Richard and Diana, Michael and Diana's brother Phillip to come along too.  Here they are waiting at the dock to get picked up.  Michael had no idea what was in store for him!

Gettin ready for a sweet ride!  This is our new tube.  It seems HUGE compared to our other tube.

It's more stable and apparently a much smoother ride.

Dennis was holding Phillip on the tube most of the time.  Phillip just kept screaming "THIS IS AWESOME!"

Time for the girls to give it a go.  Diana loved it!

The riders hanging out, looking cool at the front of the boat.

I remember the first time these two were tubing.  Dennis was just starting to get an idea what kind of craziness he was in for with this family.

Somehow Keith talked Richard into taking Michael out on the tube.  Then slowly we started pulling them, until they were going for a nice, slow ride.  Pretty cute!

Sun + water + boat = FUN!

Crab Anyone?

Last week Keith took 10 boys up to Barkley Sound to go fishing.  I think the trip could be considered successful!

The boys had to fight off sea sickness and then land sickness (whatever that is) crab pinches, sunburns and hooks in fingers all in the name of a good sportfishing trip.  Boy it's tough work being a Boy Scout these days.

Trying not to get pinched!  Some look braver than others!

Showing off the catch of the day.

My Garden

New update!  These peas and beans look WAY better than last year's did. 

Things are starting to heat up around here, which means the garden is growing!  This is how it looked a couple weeks ago.

I love how every single seed sprouted and produced these beautiful little rows.

SUNSET!

This was the view we had from Grandma Schenk's porch on the 4th of July.  It had been a cool cloudy day, but there was a break in the clouds just as the sun was setting and we were treated to this glorious sight.

New Hike in Anacortes

On the far side of Anacortes down by the Marina there is a little park next to a big rocky hill with trails around it .  Keith and I hiked it on Friday night when it was so beautiful and warm, around 90 degrees out.  There were lots of sailboats zipping around. 

It was fun to explor a new area, and the views from this point were ridiculously gorgeous.

Out this direction we had a great view of Mount Baker.  Just couldn't get it to show up in the photos.

Can't get enough of this wonderful sunshine!

We were just above the Marina and could see all of Anacortes and the water beyond.

We ended up back by the Marina and walked around the docks looking at boats.  Lo and behold, the name on this cute little sailboat caught my attention. 

Up until a few months ago, I had never even heard of Cebu, and now it's popping up everywhere!

Dinner with my Sweetheart

This was our view while eating dinner last night.

So peaceful.

So beautiful.

And the best part?  It was actually warm enough to be outside and enjoy it!  We were in Bellingham retrieving the purse I had left behind in our attempt to make a quick getaway on the 4th of July so we could get to bed by midnight.  Since it was such a lovely evening, we got some dinner at Panda Express (me) and KFC (Keith) and  headed for the water.  This area is just south of the ferry dock.  We sat ourselves right on the grass and soaked up the the warmth and beauty of it all.

And since you can never have too much of a good thing, we drove home on Chuckanut and stopped again at Larrabee for another taste of the sweetness of Summer.

And sunsets.

Amazing!