Category: Photo of the week

“Ah, how good it feels! The hand of an old friend.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The quote of the week is in honor of my dear, and longest time (I put it that way because she’s definitely not old) friend, Katie, whose birthday is today.

And the featured photo is a photo my kids wanted to take from our car on the way to school. The sky was stunning – and the collective awe equally amazing!

We spent a lot of time this week Halloweening in various activities. And also, trying to wash the red out. Miss O was dressed as Julia from the moving Luca hence the “Italian” hands.

Kids weren’t the only thing dressed up — the neighborhood got dressed up as well.

Cooper wanted to get into the Halloween spirit as well but mostly laid around.

The first is Mr. D’s hand on Cooper – I thought it went well with the quote for this post. The second picture is a small dog that wanted Mr. D’s attention at Doggy Daycare.

Making impressions.

Our neighbor’s skeleton family has grown. And the whole theme fits well with the sign of the week.

“Compliment people wherever you go. Praise every single thing you see. Be a ray of sunshine to everyone you meet.” – Rhonda Byrne

The annual pumpkin farm trek. Funny thing about going to this place once a year – all of a sudden it’s so noticeable how much we’ve grown.

The pumpkin farm had some very cute animals. No, I don’t believe the highland cow intended to stick her tongue out at us.

Some adorable chicks to hold.

An inflatable pillow to jump on.

Mr. D wanted a drum set so we improvised…and then thankfully put everything back away.

The second picture is near and dear to my heart. Every once in a while, there’s a special quality of light that always makes me feel as if my dearly departed are near. In this case, Mr. D was helping me seal the tiles that my dad helped me install in my driveway. I turned to look and there was a bright spot of light illuminating Mr. D’s face. It felt like a kiss on the head from my dad.

Far-fetched? Maybe. Provable. Not at all. Worth believing? My heart says so.

The heart (on my salad) and the sign of the week.

“Spend unbroken chunks of time with the most important people in your life.” – Brian Tracy

Have you been following Elizabeth Wickhams’s (from the bleuwater blog) debate between phone and camera? All of these pics were taken from my camera when we were on Whidbey Island last weekend.

And these were taken with my phone. More impromptu and less zoom, for sure.

Cooper has heard that it’s important to keep trying to make friends, even when it seems they are ignoring you. Oh, and to be polite.

These were from Mr. D’s first fieldtrip. The Kindergartners got to go to a pumpkin farm — but the highlight was that he got to ride on a school bus!

We don’t see Mt. Rainier often from on Whidbey Island since it’s a little further north and west from where we are at home. So I was delighted when it popped out over the bay. I think Dunn Lumber might be making a good point in the sign of the week.

“There must be more to life than having everything.” – Maurice Sendak

Practice, practice, practice!

This weekend, we’re back at the beach on Whidbey Island visiting our favorite heron. Its print in the sand is as big as my foot.

Whidbey Island wildlife

As much as I love this beach in the summer, I think I might like it even more in October. The driftwood is awesome, it feels quieter (not that its ever very loud or busy), and the sun is milder so we aren’t having to run for the shade or the pool.

If Cooper could read, he’d put the knife down. Maybe the sign of the week only applies to humans because he still attracts a pretty nice tribe. 🙂

(featured photo is mine of the Seattle Space Needle)

“Once you have tasted the taste of sky, you will forever look up.” – Leonardo da Vinci

September in Seattle is so typically delightful. So we were outside a lot this week like for this Saturday morning bike ride.

My brother learned to sail at 6-years-old in the Philippines and has never stopped loving being out on the water. Miss O and Mr. D were delighted to get their hands on the tiller.

More fun in the water.

Cooper cannot believe these two bunnies don’t want to hang out with him. Fortunately, Miss O is a much more willing friend!

The cat has more of an arm’s length idea of snuggling.

Skateboard park

Reaching for the sky. Because as the sign of the week implies, there’s no time to waste!

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” – Michael Althsuler

We went to California for my niece’s baby shower. Here are the intrepid travelers.

Farm animals in the Central Valley, CA

Mountains from the plane. Left one is Mt. Rainier (14,411 ft), middle is Mt. St. Helens (8.300 ft.) and the third is Mt. Hood (11,249 ft).

I know I’m repeating myself – but Mt. Rainier is the most glaciated peak in the lower 48 United States with 25 glaciers.

I had to look up whether Mt. St. Helens had glaciers before it’s eruption in 1980. It did – it had 11 named glaciers. Now there is just one in the crater of the volcano called Crater Glacier. Good naming, huh?

And Mt. Hood has 12 named glaciers.

Cooper kept a close eye on us when we came home.

First day of Kindergarten for Mr. D.

And here we are – flying into fall.

I love Alaska Airlines for their generous welcome of kids!

(featured photo is of a sunset over the Central Valley, CA)

“Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.” – Lao Tzu

Biking through a rainy summer afternoon. Soaked but still delighted by the freedom on two wheels!

Enjoying more of Miss O’s birthday celebrations.

Cooper has the Force all wrong. And apparently, light saber on the tongue makes a dog thirsty!

Holding bunnies and rope climbing. Both require strong, steady hands. I just made that up but it sounded like a theme.

Back to school soda display and the sign of the week.

And one note about the featured photo. I get up at 5:30am and for most of the summer, the sun in Seattle is already up. I’m so grateful to be seeing sunrises again. It’s something that Vicki and I talk about on next week’s Sharing the Heart of the Matter podcast. Stay tuned…and please subscribe!

“Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone’s face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions.” – Henri Nouwen

Young Cooper had another week of ups and downs.

First, was the day that Mr. D abandoned a strawberry popsicle on the edge of the counter. Cooper was the first to notice and positioned himself under the drip. It was like manna dripping from Heaven.

Second, was Miss O’s birthday. She got a gift card for her favorite Boba tea shop and was elated. Then Cooper stole her wallet, took it outside, left the bills all strewn about, and chewed the Boba gift card. So the next day, he had to do the perp walk with Miss O to the Boba shop to see if they could still redeem the card. Fortunately, they could still read the numbers on the card, and all was forgiven.

On the subject of interesting pets, Rusty the Crested Gecko shed his skin. Does he look all new and shiny?

We had bike camp this week.

The delightful Miss O turned nine-years-old and let everyone (including Cooper) help blow out the candles.

Handsome Mr. D graduated from pre-school.

In the ingenuity of kids category, we have a picture of a unique way to beep an electronic door lock. Miss O had Mr. D to put her backpack on (the key was in the front pocket), then lifted him up to the door to buzz it. Oh, to have that much energy…

Which I thought paired nicely with the sign of the week.