Baby On A Boat

Holla Peeps!

Hope you had a fantastic weekend. We did a bit of boating (thanks M&E!) on Saturday night. It was gorgeous. Fall is a-coming so it’s time to make the most of this mild weather. 

Ben was over at my parents house (on a camping trip...in the yard. He had a blast) so it was a rare chance for us to spend time exclusively with little Em. Love that girl. 

We ate dinner out on the Sound and then took a tour of the waterfront. It’s so rare to see Seattle from the ‘other’ side. We gawked at all the tourists and they gawked right back. 

I’ve been wanting a GoPro (with drone capabilities!) for a while but after Saturday I really want one. Eric had his attached to the windshield. All three people here are actively involved in taking the photo: Megan (model), Eric (adjusting the shot), and Chris (taking the picture. From a remote on his phone). Awesome, yes?! The fish eye lens is especially neat-o.

Our boating baby.

Has anybody gone on the ferris wheel down on the waterfront? I think we’ll have to give it a go one of these days.

Love this guy.

And this little girl.

 Look at those chubby legs!

The boat is popular. The life vest? Not so much. 

Every single time I step aboard a vessel (even if it’s only an 8-ft dingy),  this will be running through my head:

I'm on a boat and, 

it's goin fast and
I got a nautical themed pashmina afghan

 xo,

Sonja

Photo credit: ES and MS

Weekend Activities

I hope you had a great weekend, Lovelies. Ours was fairly relaxed - mostly we're trying to soak up as much of this seattle sun as possible. 

Here are a few photos from the past week. 

We've been doing a lot of park time. Ben discovered the merry-go-round. Everything else ceased to be interesting. 

We went over to visit my grandma and grandpa and took advantage of the sunny weather to conduct the visit out-of-doors. Yay for avoiding the old-people-smell!  Ben decided that he was going swim in the fountain. 

Even if it meant scaling a small hedge to get there. 

Success.

These boys take their hearing protection very seriously. 

On Saturday morning we headed down to the UW Waterfront Activities Center and rented a canoe ($11/hour. Cheaper if you're a student). I used to do this with my family when I was just a wee little tyke. 

Ben had a blast. Not surprising, given that his new favorite word is 'water'. Except that he can't say 'w's and it sounds like 'hotter'. 

Tip: parking is plentiful and free after noon on Saturdays and all day on Sundays. So much fun to paddle around the lily pads and under the bridges on Foster Island.

Next time we'll bring a picnic and do a bit of swimming.

On Saturday night Chris hung out with the bambino and I headed down to the stadium with my sister-in-law Megan to watch a Sounders soccer game. I should have snagged some ear protection as it was so very, very loud. But also so much fun. 

We had a true soccer fan in our midst and he was able to keep us informed on player details and the proper lyrics to the various chants/songs. Who knew there was so much soccer-related intrigue?! And: I am incapable of clapping along, in time, with a stadium full of 20,000 people. Hopeless, I tell you.

On Sunday morning we slept in until 7 am (!) and then headed out to Lord Hills Regional Park for a nice morning jaunt. We saw three other people. Maybe. It's never busy. The baby did a little walking and then was content to ride in the backpack and munch on beef jerky for the rest of the hike.

On Sunday evening our (awesome, amazing, sweet) SIL Megan came over to the house and watched Ben for the night so Chris and I could chow down on Indian food in the University District. I'm still full. 

Then we grabbed a pint of ice cream and sat on the beach at Magnusun Park. What a fabulous end to the day. 

We don't have any grand plans for this week. Mostly we're trying to stay cool. 

Ben accomplishes this by falling into various bodies of water:

And eating popsicles. 

Me too. I've had three today. 

In other news, I just put on my bee suit and sprayed the hell out of this yellow jacket nest on our roof. We want to paint and they have not been receptive to our prepping activities. 

I had to work up my courage to get up there and destroy the nest, even in full protective gear. My cheek still stings from where they got me last week when I accidentally discovered their lair.  I dug out the area with a shovel (hordes of angry wasps exploded up into the air) and then sprayed them down with a plant-based spray from my Uncle Bill. 

update: I just went up again and gave them another dose. I'll keep you updated on their 'progress'.  

Stay cool, peeps. 

xxoo, 

Sonja

Leaf or Insect?

My parents are back from Papua New Guinea and I cannot wait to see their pictures from the trip.

My Papa sent me a little peek:

Photo: Thomas Dorrance

This one is worth double clicking on for the larger version.

Photo: Thomas Dorrance

Boats and bugs.

He knows his daughter well.

Willamette University Crew Alumni/Parent Weekend

Peeps, 

I mentioned earlier that we took a quick trip down to Oregon this weekend. We were headed to the lovely town of Salem, Oregon, for a Willamette University Crew event. 

I think I’ve mentioned previously that Chris and I met as rowers on Willamette’s rowing team almost ten (!) years ago. I was just back from a study abroad stint in Costa Rica and Chris was a transfer student from Alaska.  Wow, I can’t believe it has been almost a decade. Yikes. 

Anyway, a few lovely people got together this summer and organized an event for the parents of current rowers to come down to the river and see their kids in action. They also invited former rowers to come out for a race and to christen a new rowing shell. 

So we piled in the car and headed south. 

Weekend in Salem

My Dears, 

We just got home from a quick trip to Oregon. We attended a Willamette University Alumni Crew event, strolled around campus [those college kids these days look so darn YOUNG!], and had a lovely photo session with the talented Lindsay Ramirez. We had a fabulous time.More pictures to come shortly. 

xxoo, 

Sonja

Alaska Adventure: Fishing in Whittier

My Dears, 

In my humble opinion, there are few places that can compare to Alaska’s stark, stunning beauty. The mountains, the wildlife, the glaciers; I love this state. 

In the summer. 

The winters are pretty too…but in a different sense. Plus they’re cold. Duh. 

Anyway, back to fabulous Alaska summers. 

Case in point:

 My in-laws have a boat in the wee town of Whittier and we zipped out there for a day of sightseeing and fishing. 

Hello glaciers!

 This was Ben’s second time on a boat; it was a huge hit. This kid has boating in his blood.

 Gorgeous, yes?

 Water, sun, beautiful scenery; this is my kind of vacation.

 Blackstone Glacier

 Here is your fun fact o’ the day: a glacier that terminates in the sea is called a tidwater glacier, and is a good place to see massive chunks of ice shearing (also called calving) off of the main glacier body into the water, at which point they become icebergs. Or babybergs, depending on the size. I’m not sure if that’s an official term or not. It almost sounds like something I made up. Stick with the terms icebergs and you’ll be good to go.

 I think these two might be related:

 Captain Bob

Benjamin spent most of his time playing and sleeping in the berth. I was worried that the rocking of the boat would make him sick…not so, he was giggling and chortling with each bouncing wave. 

 Is it just me or does it look like Chris has a fish hook stuck in his finger?

Just me. No fish hooks in the finger, thankfully. 

 Soaking up the sun

The family shot. The kiddo is not amused. I don’t need no stinkin’ life jacket!

 This guy loves his home state

After our boating adventure, we headed home, with a quick stop at a nearby creek to see the salmon run. I’d never seen it before and it was definitely worth a stop. Red fish, grey fish, pink fish! Everywhere! I kept looking around for bears as it seemed like an ideal spot for a bite of salmon sushi.

 And if you squint really, really hard you can see this dall sheep on the cliffs above the road. There’s a reason this route is listed as one of America’s Scenic Byways. 

What a glorious day.

[Thanks Cherie, for the photos!]