August Pictorial

Here's our month, in pictures:

SEAFAIR

I've wanted to go watch the Blue Angels show for years but have never made it happen.  Because Benjamin is old enough now to appreciate it, I thought I'd give it a whirl.  Leaving later than I had hoped - as always, these days - I got stuck in the epic traffic entailed with Seafair.   I chose Groveland Park, a beachfront spot on Mercer Island, for our viewing fun... along with a few hundred of my closest friends.  Finding some parking was super tricky and I wore the wrong shoes (cork wedges) to navigate the very steep hill down to the beach, but I was getting so excited  as I heard the planes zipping overhead.  Taking Benjamin to places like this is challenging because he's not a big fan of sitting still and he loves the sand & water - and his silly mommy didn't think to bring a suit or toys to let him go wild.  Despite all of that, we had a fun time basking in the beautiful, sunny afternoon and watching the dynamic show.

HOT-HOT-HOT

Seattle is an awesome place to be in the summertime because it's a gorgeous, temperate climate - except when the thermometer shoots into the stratosphere and most homes don't have A/C.  Benjamin camped out on the floor in our bedroom to share in the one fan we have.  His setup was rather cozy; with six blankets folded over to create a cushy bed, I sometimes I curled up on it for a quick cat nap.

FIRST MOVIE!

Thanks to the Regal Cinemas Summer $1 Movie program, I was game to try out Benjamin's first big screen viewing.  The 10am showing of Rio, though not a familiar cast of characters to my little guy, was a big success!  Granted, I brought an arsenal of treats to help the cause, the bright colors and infectious music literally had him dancing in the aisles.  As the 90-minute film came to an end, he was getting pretty antsy, but it was a fun experiment which we both enjoyed!

CHUCKING ROCKS

Had some time to burn one afternoon, so we headed over to McCollum Park.  Inevitably, we ended up near water - a little creek runs through a wooded area in the park.  And so we hung out creekside, where Benjamin thoroughly enjoyed the natural surroundings and hunted for the perfect rocks for chucking.

FERRY ADVENTURES

Because I work from home, it's so easy to just spend all of our days at home.  One day, rather spontaneously, I packed us up for an adventure on the high seas... well, the high seas of Puget Sound.  We parked the car on the Edmonds waterfront and purchased walk-on tickets for the Edmonds-Kingston ferry.  Armed with his sippy cup, Benjamin took in all of the sites of the boat, water and occasional fly-by of a seaplane.  Oh, and after a week of Shark Week programming, he kept looking out the window and exclaiming, "Ooh, there's a shark!".  Fun day, fun times!  

REFUGE @ PHANTOM LAKE

On a particularly hot Friday, Dave called and said they were shutting down the office and everyone was heading over to his grandma's house in Bellevue.  She lives on a lake so we could just sit in the water all day, without the insanity of the crowds found at public beaches.  I ditched what we were doing at home and we headed straight for the relief of those cool waters.  It was a relaxing day and a special treat to spend a Friday with Dave, just hanging out and having fun with the family.

EVERGREEN STATE FAIR

I love the fair.  It's such a fun, exciting place that holds a lot of special memories for me.  Again, it's one of those things that I always mean to do, but never seem to get around to it.  When I got a call from my SIL, Aubri, that opening day was free, we again dropped what we were doing (sensing a theme here?), and met her for a day at the fair.

Roller coaster rides, up-close views of Honey Buns the Cow, and strawberry slushies were just a few of the things that we enjoyed that day.  Unfortunately, we were encroaching on Benjamin's nap time, so  we had to deal with some meltdown moments... but nonetheless, it was a fun day at the fair!

VICTORIA GETAWAY

Dave and I have been talking about getting away for a long time now.  Besides a brief stint as chaperones at our stake's youth vonference in 2010, we have never been away from Benjamin.  Thanks to the kind offer from my BIl & SIL, Jon & Aubri, we were able to slip away for an overnight adventure to Victoria, BC.  I've wanted to go there for ages, so I planned the excursion.  Unfortunately, I was battling my horrible cough which put a slight damper on the fun for me.  But, despite the health issues, it was so nice to spend some time alone with Dave. We milled around town, noshed at a local deli, took pictures like any good tourists, took in a sea-life show at the Underwater Gardens and watched a football game as well as a terrifically-terrible Sci-Fi movie while eating lots of treats... all in the comfort of our free-upgrade, enormous hotel suite.   For me, the two highlights of the trip were the 3-hour ferry trip (Speiden Island was an awesome treat!) and a very spontaneous, late-night 80s flash mob that happened in the park just outside our hotel window.  Although it was just one night, I loved being able to spend time together and and have our little adventure in Canada.