Picture Time!

Our friend Kristi Cook is a fabulous photographer.She did a photo shoot

at our house and we were thrilled with the great pictures she captured. 

Here is a sampling of the family photos, starting with the Four Generation Picture.

Thank you Kristi!  We will treasure these forever!

Meeting the Family

When Eleanor met her Great Grandma Schenk she was quite impressed with all the cool gadgets surrounding her. 

Really Dad?  It's ok if I play with this stuff?

The two were fast friends.

And they were off on a whirling adventure!

Great Grandma gave Eleanor a Glo Worm Baby that lights up and sings.  Even Hunter was entertained by it.  Or maybe it was the baby he liked.

Everyone was enjoying just hanging out.



It's always good to see the 3 girls together.

Make that 4!



These guys haven't spent time in the pool together forever.  Luckily we had a sunny day.

There's nothing like a pool on a warm day for relaxing.



Eleanor loved being bounced in the warm water.

And she tried out some pool toys as well.

Time to celebrate some birthdays.

Brittney and Eleanor!

Eleanor enjoyed getting to know Hunter too!

Next it was Josh's turn...

...to be picked up at the airport and join us for a fun weekend.  On the way home we stopped by Richard and Diana's place for a visit, and dinner and games!

There's something to be said for getting geeks intellectuals together.  They are awesome!

Actually Richard has been spending hours turning pictures into 3D.  Very cool!

Michael was obviously super excited for company, and we were excited to be his visitors!

If there is anyone who loves games as much as Richard and Diana, it's Katie and Josh. Umm, I think Katie won?  Maybe!

I think we were all winners when it came to dinner.  Diane shared this great recipe for Coconut Curry Vegetables with me a while back, and Diana was kind enough to let us make the big mess in her kitchen, and then she did the clean up!  Thanks, Diana!

Meanwhile, Eleanor played happily with Michaels cute quiet book and other toys, and was entertained by Michael playing the way boys do!  What a fun evening!

Little Eleanor's First Visit to Grandma & Grandpa's House

The timing couldn't have been better.  This little girl has just learned to go to sleep with out mommy rocking her endlessly, and she is much happier about riding in cars than she was for many months, and she is happy to be held by anyone and entertained by all!  We thoroughly enjoyed every minute with this little cutie pie, who has found her way snugly into all of our hearts. 

Anacortes

On Wednesday night the sun finally came out and we abandoned our original dinner plans and headed into the sunset.  That means, going west, and that means going to Anacortes. We took Diane to our favorite chowder spot.

Look at that, the sun was nearly blinding us, we hadn't seen it in so long!

A nice walk out at Washington Park was how we finished out the evening.

The next morning, after Diane and Eric ran 8 miles, we took a hike up on  Chuckanut.

The trail varies between gentle and steep inclines through the woods until you get to this great lookout spot.  We have to watch Pifford, he tends to get a little too close to the edge of the cliff!

I love being in the woods and seeing the fresh new greens and the moss and ferns.  It's so rejuvinating!

Pike Place Market

Diane came home to visit for a week, and Brittney came home on the same flight.  It was bright and early on Wednesday morning, so we made a quick trip to Pike Place Market while we were in Seattle.  Diane hasn't been there since she was very young, and wanted to experience this all important destination in her home state.

We got there just as the shops were opening and had fun browsing through kitchen shops and taste testing fruit.

So glad she got to experience the bubble gum wall.  It's almost as famous as the market itself.  What a variety of colors, and flavors, I'm sure!  It's actually quite artistic.

Brittney is getting dangerously close to all that ABC gum!

Doesn't it look delicious?

No, wait Diane, I have gum in my purse! 

What a great place!

With so many flowers to choose from, we spent quite awhile picking out bouquets to bring home.

Then we got to enjoy them for a week!

I love the flowers growing on the roofs.  So fun!

Diane spotted a whole bunch of these lanyards that say Philippines on them. 

That was fun.  You never know what treasures you'll find at the market!