Mid August Fun

Our grands were dropped off last Thursday for some time at Gramps and Baba’s.

The new dollar store water blasters were broken in.

Hunting for hidden marbles is always fun.

Big Wheels in the backyard…

…and Big Wheels in the front yard.

Inside fun consisted of washing dishes (tupperware), working on a craft and building with Construx. All too soon it was time for them to be picked up for home and lunch. Hope they were still hungry after all the snacks they had at Babas.

It was fun to see this photo of our ‘Coast kids’ enjoying time together at the Seattle Sounders game on Sunday night. Too bad the Sounders lost. Thank you Laura for taking this photo!!

We are in another hot pattern here with the high predicted over 100 on Thursday. Watering in the early hours will have to be the norm for a while longer. Hope this new week is going well in your corner.

Early Morning Visitors

This past week we’ve enjoyed seeing these visitors in the early morning hours. It’s always fun to see fawns. We’ve also had to dodge Turkeys crossing the roads with their poults (baby turkeys).

Because of the heat we’ve been doing our outdoor chores bright and early in the coolest part of the day. We have one more day creeping up to 100 or more degrees and then we’ll cool down to some 80’s and 90’s.

Welcome to August which already has many days filled in on our calendar with local events. What are you looking forward to in August?

Gathering Moments ~ Hidden August

For my August Gathering Moments – a month in photos post I decided to share what didn’t make it on the blog already. Linking with Cheryl at Thinking About Home on Saturday.

2014-08-29 August recap3Glimpses of the unfinished bathroom. We hope this project will be completed soon.

2014-08-29 August recap1We purchased some new patio furniture that does not involve cushions. I also wanted some chairs that rock and roll. We are pleased with these pieces.

2014-08-29 August recapIt’s been a nice relaxing time for Dear and I to watch more of Inspector Morse after visiting Oxford in July. We put the dvd’s on hold at the library and as they slowly become available we watch them. I’ve also been reading the Louise Penny Inspector Gamache series and just finished How the Light Gets In…so riveting. Now I’m splurging and ordering the new book that was just published this week because there are already too many holds on it at the library. In the meantime I checked out Surprised By Oxford from the library. It’s a Memoir written by Carolyn Weber. Here’s one of many praises for the book , “Carolyn Weber’s brilliantly written account of her conversion to Christianity at Oxford will inspire her fellow believers and provide intriguing food for thought for sceptics. It is honest, entertaining, and refreshingly free of superficial cant. I warmly commend it. Don N. Johnson, Senior Pastor, Montecito Covenant Church.

2014-08-24 Kt's 10yr + foodKatie and Andrew had fun dressing up to attend Katie’s 10 year high school reunion. They enjoyed their time in downtown Seattle last Friday.

2012-01-021I forgot to take a before before photo (yes, I did mean to say before twice) of this part of the house but then I found an obscure photo from the winter. Dear took the vertical siding off this part of the house and will be replacing it with the horizontal siding you see on the other side of the chimney. He’s out there working right now while I type away. This might be interesting to Vee’s John who is the master of siding.

2014-08-29 August recap2We had to move a few of the rounds of wood from the part of our yard closest to the street when we realized someone was helping themselves to our wood. To make sure most of the wood didn’t go to a thief we invited the boy scouts to take what was left to split and use for a fund raiser. Look at that early sign of fall appearing on our dried out summer lawn. The last of the purple in the yard is still hanging on.

The new siding project will be taking most of our time this weekend. I am thinking of stealing Dear away from that project to go to a Food Truck event at World Concern here in the Seattle area for lunch on Sunday after church. Our Daughter In law works at World Concern.

What’s better than spending a Sunday afternoon enjoying delicious food from Seattle’s favorite food trucks? Knowing that you’re helping feed hungry families at the same time! Worldwide, hunger kills more people every year than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined, but with your help, World Concern makes a lasting impact in the lives of the poor in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Haiti.
On Sunday, August 31 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., 10 of Seattle’s top food trucks will rally to fight global hunger at World Concern’s 3rd annual Mobile Food Fight for Hunger in Shoreline.

The very best thing about August is how it has brought our families together. The State of Washington is now the home of all our children. We have received the beautiful photos of my brother’s family bringing their new son home from the Ukraine. Mandy and Andrew arrived in Dallas this afternoon to the waiting arms of my brother (papa as Andrew lovingly calls him) and Big sister Hope. Oh what a happy day!

August Notecards

For Vee’s August Notecard Party

I’m sharing some shots in the Seattle area from summers past…

August 2011 ~ Josh and Laura at a Sounders Soccer game with Seattle in the background.

2010 Kayaking in Anacortes, Washington with Dear, Josh, Laura, Andrew and Katie.

July 2009 on Lake Washington with Seattle across the lake. Laura and Katie with my niece Debbee between them.

Summer 2008 ~ Canoeing on Lake Washington with Katie. You can rent canoes and rowboats at the University of Washington Waterfront to mess around the lake. “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing-absolutely nothing- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats” ~ Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

The State of Washington is filled with Lakes and Sounds and other water ways to enjoy. It’s no wonder people invest in boats in this area. We live within 2 miles of Lake Washington and one of my favorite walks is along the Sammamish River/Burke Gilman Trails a short drive away. When I’m on the water, I prefer to be able to see the shore. I’m not fond of being out in the middle of the ocean surrounded by water with no land in sight.

Hope you are still enjoying some lazy summer days. I’m hoping to get some lazy days in before summer is over! To see what we’ve been doing this summer that has been anything but lazy, you can scroll down to the post before this one to see our floor project with before and after shots (or just click here).