June 30

I love it when my hydrangeas bloom. I have four large plants that outline the front of the house, three bloom light blue, one blooms in a bright purple. They are gorgeous, and bloom all summer long, so I get to enjoy them for awhile!

June 29

My cat Guster is so darn cute! He really enjoys going outside and most of the time he gets "trapped" in the neighbors yard. Today, he was hanging out in the backyard and willingly went back in the house when I wanted him to. I just couldn't resist grabbing a snapshot of him while he was lounging in the grass.

June 28

It was windy, windy, windy today! We went to the beach for a short time this morning due to the wind and Sophie not feeling well. The poor kiddo has gotten a cold and it was really bothering her this weekend. We cleaned up the house, and made the long trek home. Both kids snoozed in the car, but at separate times... figures!

June 27

Karen and Will Daily graciously asked us to join them at their family's beach home in Long Beach this weekend! We happily accepted and enjoyed a great time! It was fun being in LB after so many years, and the kids had a great time together. Sophie had fun on the beach and riding in a horse-drawn wagon. She wasn't crazy about the carousel ride, but hopefully she'll get into them someday!

June 26

We went over to Marcia's dad's house for dinner tonight. Sophie enjoyed checking out the house (she hasn't been there before) and running around their large yard. Their neighbors have a couple of cows that Sophie enjoyed laughing at with Papa. The cows came right over to Sophie thanks to Papa giving them some grass! She loves her animals!

June 25

We played in the yard this afternoon. Sophie has learned the word "outside" and gets pretty upset if I don't indulge her whim to go out there. She had fun running around as usual and I grabbed some cute shots of her. I played around with doing her hair today and think she looks so cute with those little pig tails! Maybe I'll try that more often.

June 24

Sophie and I enjoyed the sunshine this morning. I strapped her in the jogger and walked/ran to one of the many parks in Lacey. She played for a quite a while, making friends as she went. On the way home, we stopped by the Jacob Smith house to grab a few photos. Had Sophie been a bit more cooperative, that would have been a great place to grab some nice portraits. Maybe some other time!

June 23

Tonight I hosted our book group. We read "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert and had a very interesting conversation about it. We had an Italian feast and I made a Tiramisu Torte (with a little help from my mom). It was a very nice evening!

June 22

Ah, a simple daisy, but oh so beautiful! Sophie and I played in the yard this afternoon and she helped me water the plants. She loves to help in her own little way! She also learned today about Nikki's poop in the backyard and that it is icky. She kept pointing to a pile and would say "icky" over and over again. Hopefully she'll get the hint and try to avoid them in the future!

June 21

Last weekend I picked up a cute little scooter for Sophie at a garage sale. She loves driving it all around the house and outside on the sidewalk. I love the look of concentration on her face in this shot. She works so hard to get those little legs moving!

June 20

We had an early Father's Day celebration with my dad. We went to McClane Creek Nature Trail for an early morning jaunt which was a lot of fun. Sophie let the way most of the time, pausing to check out the leaves, a bug, or the water. She stumbled a couple of times over the roots that are in the ground, so she got to ride part of the way on grandma's shoulders or with Papa. We didn't see a lot of wildlife besides birds, but it was peaceful and beautiful out there. After our walk, we took a drive down memory lane through our old neighborhood. It was interesting to see what had stayed the same and what had changed. We stopped at the old park so Sophie could play on the toys and run around a bit. Our last stop was at the greasy spoon, Farm Boy, to enjoy some lunch. It was a very nice morning, and I hope my dad enjoyed it. I know I did!

June 19

Today was the last day of school!! Whoo hoo!! It was a quick day, but I got the chance to take a few pictures of my students before they headed out the door for summer break. My break isn't officially here yet because I have more work to do at school. At least it's a heck of a lot easier doing that when students aren't there though!

June 18

Tomorrow is the last day of school - whoo hoo!! We have an end-of-the-year potluck lunch as soon as the munchkins leave on the buses and I'm bringing a salad. I put together "Marilyn's Salad" a yummy recipe my mom passed on to me a few years back. You make your own dressing (pictured) and throw lots of yummy veggies and stuff in like craisins, peppers, cashews, onions, etc. It's usually a big hit!

June 17

I know, more flowers! I was waiting for my beautiful orange lily to bloom as the buds have been peeking at me for several days now! These were planted before we moved in the house and I so enjoy the "orangeness" of them. I usually don't like the color orange, but these flowers are gorgeous!

June 16

After I picked up Sophie, we tried out a new park off of 54th Ave. in Lacey. The Lacey Parks have done a great job with putting a lot of parks around town and toys that are appropriate for Sophie's age range. She loved climbing up, running on the toy, and going down the slides. She even made a little friend, Jilly, who she followed around. Jilly is a little older than Sophie, so she showed her a few things, and Sophie was happy to try them out! Maybe we'll see Jilly on another playground in the future.

June 15

Sophie and I enjoyed playing outside this evening. She chased and petted Nikki while I took some snapshots. She also likes to run to the side of the house in order to dance on the new cover to get under the house that my dad made. I think she thinks it's her own personal dance floor! We ended our time outside with a little water play, Sophie's favorite thing to do these days!

June 14

Sophie and I popped over to Grandma's house this afternoon and played in the backyard. Sophie loves to play with Oscar, mom's cat, and Oscar tolerates it. Sophie also enjoyed playing with a small and large leaf. She tried to sniff them like flowers like yesterday, but it wasn't the same!

June 13

I plunked Sophie down in some daisies at her grandparents' house and she wasn't too sure at first. When I asked her to find the flowers, she pulled one up and went in for a good, long sniff! She thought it was fun that the flowers were easy to get a hold of she posed a few minutes for mommy to get her shots in. She looks so darn cute!

June 12

There's nothing like having your best girlfriends around to cheer you up and keep you laughing! After some good food and even better wine, we chatted, scrapbooked, and basically enjoyed our time together. Why don't we do this more often? :)

June 11

Sophie was silly tonight while enjoying her pasta. She loves playing peek-a-boo, and she didn't care that her hands and face were messy as ever!

June 10

We went over to Dad and Marcia's for dinner tonight. Sophie loves their big yard and spent most of the evening out there. She loved running over to one of the rhodys, picking a flower, running back to us, and shoving the flower through the slats in the deck. It was a beautiful day and it was so fun to watch my little girl having the time of her life!

June 9

Yet another flower picture! I really enjoy getting better at taking pictures of flowers, but I know I still have a long way to go! The flower (the name escapes me as usual) reminds me of little pom poms. Some of the blooms are purple and some are white. It's a nice little greeting as you come up to my front door!

June 8

I'm stealing one of Karen's pictures again tonight! She and Will invited Sophie and I over for dinner and that's always fun for all (maybe a bit more tiring for the moms!). The kids enjoyed playing the yard and learning how to share toys once they were inside. After dinner, we threw the kids in the tub and they had the best time! Neither kid had shared the bath with another kid before and I think they did pretty well. They played and splashed and had a great time!

June 7

We went to the neighborhood park tonight for some after dinner fun! Sophie is getting so much better at climbing on the big toys and shooting down the slides. She cracked me up tonight because each time she went down the big slide, her hair would stand up on end due to the static electricity! I got so lucky as to get this shot with a big grin on her face. Too cute!

June 6

This morning we got up and went to Lattin's Country Cider Mill. On Saturday's they serve warm apple fritters and I was dying to give them a try. Sophie and I shared one and of course she kept wanting more and more. After our treat, we visited the animals that live on the farm. We saw chickens, chicks of varying sizes, ducks, cats, goats, sheep, turkeys, pheasants, peacocks, and a funny little pig. Sophie enjoyed looking at the animals and imitating their sounds. It was a fun, cheap zoo visit!

June 5

Sophie and I spent the day together since I "had" to take one of my personal days. It was much cooler today, but a wonderful day nonetheless. Sophie and I went to Potlatch State Park and played near the water. We looked for crabs under practically every rock and threw rocks into the water. We happened upon a Skokomish tribes' celebration which included a drive by of one of their beautiful boats. We stopped in Hoodsport for some ice cream (which Sophie finally enjoyed) and Shelton to play on some toys. I enjoyed our time together, but am really exhausted now!

June 4

A quiet evening with my current read, "New Moon." I wasn't going to read the series, but have gotten sucked in... not too sucked though! It was cooler outside than in my house tonight, so I took my book outside. Maybe I'll actually finish a book for a change!

June 3

My first rose of the season... isn't it a beauty? I love this light lavender color in roses. I look forward to the other buds that will start showing soon. I have never had the best luck with roses, but maybe this will be my year! Here's hoping!

June 2

Sophie loves taking her pajamas out of her drawer, dumps them on the floor in the great room, and puts the back in. I'm not sure why she enjoys this so much, but it makes me happy that she's practicing putting things away! Tonight, she added more to her repetoire... after dumping the clothes on the floor, she picked them up, piled them on me, and then put them back on the floor. Fun for her of course, but a little warm for me on a hot day!

June 1

I was checking out my yard this evening when I noticed the bees frequenting this purple flower. I don't know the name of the flower, but I do know that it spreads like a weed! This plant started with one shoot a few years back, and is all over my yard now. I am constantly pulling them up because I only want them in one section. Don't get me wrong, they're really pretty, but I don't need an entire yard of them!