Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all those father's that make a difference in a child's life. Thank you Richard for always being there for me and teaching me to turn the water off when I brush my teeth!! Thank you Scott for wanting to be a good father. And thank you Alex for being an amazing dad to Christina, Cole and Audrey. We are all very lucky!!

Alex is working nights this week but he still managed to have some time with all three of his children at the beach.

Alex, Cole, Christina and Audrey at Marine Park, Father's Day 2009

Audrey LOVES her dada.

Alex and his girls.

Alex and Christina.

Christina is off to Nicaragua in two days. Gee Whiz! Could this be the same "little girl" that asked me if I had a boyfriend and would I like to meet her dad? Where the shirt that shows off you muscles Dad!
We are so proud of her. She planned and financed the trip on her own. She'll be helping children learn English as a second language in villages outside Granada. More on this in upcoming posts.

Strawberries

Of late we've had several strawberry days. We've picked at Boxx Berry Farms and Bjornstad Farm as well as going back to Boxx's for their Strawberry Festival. I've yet to make jam but I did make syrup and two pies.

Boxx Berry Farms u-pick. 16 lbs. Cole picked 7 berries although he did have his very own bucket and ate I'm not sure how many.



What's more fun than picking berries? or even eating berries?!?
Playing in the dirt!

Audrey wanted to be helpful.



8 cups strawberries, 1 cup sugar, 3 T lemon juice. Bake at 325 for ~2hours. It's too soupy to spread on toast but makes excellent syrup for pancakes or waffles.

Freeze for up to 6 months. I can't wait to open one of these up in December and remember summer!


On Saturday we went to Boxx's Strawberry Festival with my mom and our neighbor/friend Alyssa. The Boxx family is very kind to put on this festival and many, many people come to buy strawberries, play, and eat free "strawberry shortcake". It was a bit of a zoo but the kids had a blast and the strawberries are great.

Audrey swinging in the playground.

The tractor ride.

One must get soft serve ice-cream at Boxx's.

Audrey LOVED driving her little car behind the tractor.

Cole, Audrey and Alyssa

Sudden Valley Wildlife Sightings

We put some hummingbird feeders and a suet basket on the back porch recently. We've seen a lot of birds! Tons of hummers, woodpeckers including a Pileated Woodpecker, and Grosbeaks.



The other night Tess was barking and I got up to settle her down. I turned the light on and there were 5 or more raccoons on the deck having a party. Three were in the kid's swimming pool. Time to change the water!!

Alex and I were treated to a Barred Owl calling recently. It sounded very close. Sadly, they are an invasive species. Still, we enjoyed standing on the back deck listening to the haunting call and watching satellites speed across the clear sky.

I'm beginning to really like living in Sudden Valley.

Day Trip: Lummi Island

We wanted to go to a U-pick strawberry farm today but none are open yet. Boxx Berry Farm u-pick is officially open tomorrow so maybe we'll try that out.

Today we headed over to Lummi Island. We played on the beach while waiting for the Whatcom Chief to arrive.










The crossing is only 10 minutes. The ferry is tiny. ~20 cars






Mom and I lived on the Lummi Reservation during the time I was at WWU. The Nooksack floods often and blocks both routes off the reservation. One year they put a school bus on the ferry and dropped us off at Fairhaven. The ride back home was scary with the rocking back and forth in the storm. In my memory I could have touched the waves outside the bus window.

We drove around the island looking for a peony farm I'd heard of from a friend. The main road around the island is short and picturesque with extraordinary views of the islands.

We stopped for lunch at the Beach Store Cafe.


Fish and Chips for $13!? Alex was disturbed. Good chips though, and good beer on tap. Plus they are pretty much the only restaurant in town.


Across the street we found a set of stairs down to the beach. The kids enjoyed climbing. Audrey said, "ROCK!" very forcefully when we tried to drag her away from her climbing endeavours.




Audrey showing off a shell find.


We got directions from our server to Full Bloom Farm, "turn right at the Olivia's Farm Fresh Eggs sign."


Audrey delighted in feeding the chickens. She yelled, "EAT".


My favorite flowers.

It's summer

I'm skipping over the pictures from Cole's 5th birthday, expecting to come back to them but wanting to move on too.

The kids and I went to the Bellingham Scottish Highland Games late last weekend. We missed most of the prime stuff I would have wanted to see - dancing and piping. The kids still had fun though as it was a hot sunny day and they had bouncy houses and cotton candy.

There were many booths encouraging us to research our heritage. Having been to Scotland I know for certain that Scots are greatly annoyed by North Americans trying to find their "roots". That said, we did walk by the Clan MacKenzie booth just for fun.

Here Cole poses with swords available for purchase.


I got Audrey and I some cotton candy to buy us time while Cole climbed the tower.

I know from experience that climbing the tower with Audrey and especially climbing down is not fun or safe especially when it's crowded.

Who doesn't like cotton candy? Besides Alex.




I'm realizing tonight why I seem to have so many pictures of the kids eating. It's because it's the only time they are standing still and I can get the camera out. Even then I only have a moment before Audrey starts reaching for the camera with her often grubby hands saying ... ahhh, ahhh, ahhh.

Audrey idolizes her older brother.


Today we met friends at Zuanich Point Park to ride bikes. It was sunny and WINDY. It's a great park for little bike riders because there are paved paths that loop around the point but are always in view of parents following behind at a slower pace. Cole played with his super best friend Kiefer and Audrey had fun chasing everyone around including Kiefer's little sister Caroline, age 3. Caroline kept taunting "Audrey, you can't catch me." Audrey loved it and tried with all her might to catch her with only occasional frustration.

Cole, Audrey and Caroline.


I could smell these roses from a long way off. Bellingham Bay in the distance.

Heather uses the camcorder!

I'm finally motivated to take some home movies and do something with them. We need to work on the picture quality clearly.