photographs – Page 10 – Surprised By Joy

Photos of the Week: April 27

April 27, 2024April 26, 2024Posted in Photo of the weekTagged photographs50 Comments

“A Joyful face is always a beautiful face.” – Sadhguru

Cooper’s playdate dog buddy turned 1 and Cooper was “that guy” at the birthday party. He horned in on the other dog’s ice cream, stuck his nose in the camera, and stole party hats.

And then figured out that his purpose in life is to be a professional keep away player.

Speaking of goals – the kids achieved some climbing up and also lying down.

Biking, puddles, balloons and ties.

A carpet of blossoms — and a sign that’s missing a very important, “a.”

Photos of the Week: April 13

April 13, 2024April 12, 2024Posted in Photo of the weekTagged beach, love, photographs, whidbey island47 Comments

“A friend is someone who helps you up when you’re down, and if they can’t, they lay down beside you and listen.” – Winnie the Pooh

We went to our favorite beach for a weekend and really dug it.

Our favorite pony, Charlie Brown, and Miss O both like to be fed.

The beach vacation was really intended to be a lot of fun for Cooper before we took him to the vet to be “tutored.” I’d like to think the cat was sympathetic about the cone…but she’s a cat.

But we’ve tried our best to sweeten the cone situation. Mostly by way of the Winnie the Pooh quote for this post.

My bad Latin joke of the week. My kids misunderstood veni, vidi, vici to be: we came, we sawed, we left the saw in the tree.

And the sign of the week? Right!

Photos of the Week: April 6

April 6, 2024April 5, 2024Posted in Photo of the weekTagged family, Lifestyle, photographs43 Comments

“Nothing can dim the light that shines from within.” – Maya Angelou

It’s a good thing that Halloween and Easter are about equidistant on the calendar because we just finished our Halloween candy. Now we have refilled our stores.

April Fools…the day when oversized spiders and pencils shine.

We spent some time this week on the University of Washington campus. Miss O’s teacher got a grant for the students to record pieces they’d written in a real recording studio.

Unusual things seen on the way to school. Mr. D said he was just taking a break. Not sure the raccoon was up to but I’m guessing no good.

Easter skeletons and signs.

Photos of the Week: March 30

March 30, 2024March 29, 2024Posted in Photo of the week, UncategorizedTagged photographs40 Comments

“Plunge boldly into the thick of life.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Argh!! I made the mistake of taking the kids with me to Costco.

The Crocodile Cave is pretty easy to set up though. It’s taking it down and trying to put it away in a storage case that’s a problem. Harder than any tent I’ve ever tried. After I wrestled with it (kinda like a croc) for at least 15 minutes the other night. Miss O asked if I got her slime out before I put it away.

“No,” I replied, “Where did you put it?” She sweetly replied, “In the climbing hand holds. Can you go get it out for me?”

That was a “no.” 🙂

After which I was very glad we got some soothing time in nature, hiking with my dear friend, Katie!

“Mom, the cat cut in front of me to get inside for dinner first! Can I sweep her away?”

First, Mr. D experimented with scootering through puddles. It ended “wetly.” So the next day, he prepared by putting on all the outer wear he could find. He stayed dry from the puddles but was pretty sweaty… 🙂

First picture here is a little random except for anyone that remembers Mark Petruska’s hilarious post Sock-Sock-Shoe-Shoe. Miss O, unprompted by me, announced she was a shoe-shoe-sock-sock girl.

And the sign of the week – oh, I relate!

Photos of the Week: March 23

March 23, 2024March 22, 2024Posted in Photo of the weekTagged photographs45 Comments

“Spring: a lovely reminder of how beautiful change can truly be.” – unknown

It was 71 degrees in Seattle in March last weekend!

And wow, the weather really makes a difference in lemonade stand sales! 🙂

We did a lot of biking. And worm rescues. Which I guess goes with being out and about in March.

Cooper turned 9 months and also had plenty of fun this week.

The St. Paddy’s Day Skeleton and the Sign of the Week add a reminder to have a great week to come!

And speaking of doing something awesome. Check out Life with Alegria and her project to capture joyful moments!

Photos of the Week: March 16

March 16, 2024March 15, 2024Posted in Photo of the weekTagged photographs51 Comments

“Sometimes you have to travel a long way to find what is near.” – Paul Coehlo

There were a few moments during our recent trip to New Orleans where I felt like we flew 2,086 miles just to spend all our time in the indoor swimming pool. If it wasn’t for the company meeting, I could have just driven 2 miles to check into a local hotel. Except we would have missed…

Seeing the Mississippi River.

Wandering the streets of New Orleans (no, not Bourbon street) in good weather and stormy weather.

Petting the sting rays at the Audobon Aquarium in New Orleans.

And coming home to sweet Cooper and Seattle spring.

Home, where the soda displays celebrate the Seattle Mariners and the gas station signs always amuse…

Photos of the Week: March 9

March 9, 2024Posted in Photo of the weekTagged adventure, family, photographs50 Comments

“In life, it’s not where you go, it’s who you travel with.” – Charles Schulz

We spent some time hanging around this week.

Hitting and catching things.

Before we headed out for an adventure.

Saw some cool things out the window (the first is the view from our hotel in New Orleans). The second is Mt. Rainier with Mt. Tahoma off to the left.

And saw some other beautiful flying things – from the Butterfly exhibit at the New Orleans Insectarium.

Which all adds up to the hug and sign of the week!

Photos of the Week: March 2

March 2, 2024March 1, 2024Posted in Photo of the weekTagged photographs39 Comments

“Don’t be afraid to start over again. This time, you’re not starting from scratch, you’re starting from experience.” – unknown

It felt like we did the same thing all week long. We picked some wheeled transportation and then meandered through the neighborhood to the small park. Then we repeatedly rolled down the grassy hill. But it was so fun that the kids wanted to do it night after night, regardless of the weather.

And Miss O found a recipe in her kids cookbook for chocolate mug cakes she could make in the microwave. We did that night after night this week as well.