Category: Photo of the week

“Remember that some of the best things in your life haven’t happened yet.” – unknown

We were practicing riding the bus so we went downtown to visit Pike Place market and the (in)famous gum wall.

We also visited the famous fish throwers at Pike Place Market. It’s the only type of fish we’ve seen up close since Mr. D has yet to catch one.

Unless you count the plastic ones. Cooper the dog likes to try too.

Hiking little Mt. Si

The sign of the week makes it seem easy to catch fish. Thank goodness we can just tell fish stories by the fire pit instead.

“In school, you are taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you are given a test, that teaches you the lesson.” – Tom Bodett

End of summer activities – playing with the water slide one last time before putting it away and crabbing on the Seattle waterfront. Mr. D saw other people catching crabs a couple of days before so he was determined he’d finally catch SOMETHING. We did have a crab when we started pulling up the pot but it wiggled itself free before we could get it all the way. Dang!

The school district and teacher’s union didn’t come to an agreement until 11pm on Tuesday, the night before school was to start. But they did it. So it was back to school on Wednesday. Everyone had to pose for pictures. Cooper is in the featured photo. Here’s Simone.

Mr. D (2nd grade) and Miss O (6th grade – middle school!)

Rusty the crested gecko posed too 🙂 and the sign of the week.

“Never tell me that the sky’s the limit when they are footprints on the moon.” – unknown

The exercise of looking through my photos of the week is always so fun because invariably I have forgotten some of the delightful things we’ve done: swimming, roller skating, rock climbing camp, fishing, and cute moments with the pets. But this week in review was especially rewarding because when I went to download our lunar eclipse photos, I also grabbed the Whidbey wildlife photos from earlier in the month.

We had so much fun watching the lunar eclipse. It looked a little like a Christmas ornament with a bright top. Or like these rocks on the wall at the beach.

Some other gems from Whidbey Island.

Rock climbing camp

Cooper and the sign of the week

“Girl, glow up! Consistently catch people’s eye with your natural sparkle.” – Germany Kent

Our last AirBnB renters left and we returned home. It’s nice to be home walking in the neighborhood again. Simone the cat agrees!

We might not be at the beach anymore but Mr. D is still fascinated with fishing. Luckily his sister is willing to go with him.

We’ve had a great week finding water and wildlife wherever we can.

And celebrating the amazing, fantastic, delightful and lovely Miss O who turned 11 years old this week. My girl is glowing up! She loves the sign of the week so this one is posted in her honor!

“Everyone shines given the right lighting.” – Susan Cain

This week while Miss O was at horse camp

Mr D and I golfed. For anyone who’s wondering where Big Foot is…check out Deception Pass

We worked on our “leave things better than we found them” project refinishing a table.

But still had time for fishing and paddleboarding

And go to the Island Shakespeare Festival where we were well entertained and found the sign of the week.

“The child’s awe-filled relationship to the natural world is a laboratory for deep learning about the systems of life, essential to our survival.” – Dacher Keltner

We are loving our time exploring the natural world on Whidbey Island!

Seven-year-old Mr. D is pretty good at handling his own paddleboard.

Almost 11-year-old Miss O shows how strong she is by paddling her 87-year-old grandmother around the bay.

There are two wild guys in the water — only one is likely to catch a fish. Second picture is the Deception Pass bridge.

Trinity Lutheran Church sure knows how to match the spirit of the season!

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln

Miss O got braces. Pretty in pink. Mr D decided to pamper her by chopping up her popsicle and feeding it to her.

Mountain biking!

Pet parade

Sign of the week. Miss O is laughing!

“When you come to the edge of all that you know, you must believe one of two things: There will be ground to stand. Or you will grow wings to fly.” – O.R. Melling

We went on a two-night camping trip with six moms (including me) and 12 kids at a state park pretty near Seattle aptly named Scenic Beach. My friend, Eric, dubbed it Mummer Camp. Perfect for all those camp activities like starting fires and creating keychains.

There was a lot of wildlife at Mummer Camp. Some of it was native.

Cooper the dog was happy when we were home and all together again. So was I – somehow the grounded got harder to sleep on in the seven years since I last camped!

Here comes the sun La Croix display and the sign of the week!

“Let kids order their own ice cream.” – Rick Steves

It feels like summer!

Swimming

Golfing and ice cream. They ran for the ice cream truck and this time they caught it!

Cooper is upset about England being out of the World Cup.

Biking riding and bike punning…