When the Sister's Away....

...the brothers steal her camera, and play.  Lucky me--they're good at what they do:

The bunkers at Fort Worden.

An amazing old structure.

Getting cozy.

With eyes that crazy, I'm glad for THAT sort of handgun.

Love this shot--the wall is awesome. 
(I guess the boy's cool, too.)

Side-by-side.

Another cool one.

Shots from the Slug Project.

Can you blame their nieces for adoring them?

Love my brothers.

Yep.  Still love them.

But, in the interest of keeping it real:

Haha--maybe that's a little too real.

Check my brothers out at

Rec. Life Project

Happy Sunday!

The Camping Trip I Make Everyone Take Each Summer

I don't know; maybe I take too much credit with that statement. 

I mean, it is possible that these people I call friends would choose, of their own free will and accord, to spend a couple of nights in the wilderness (barring a few luxuries like motorhomes and water hook-ups) with

little old (4 feet, 6 inches, people),

stinky old (2 days of 3-minute showers),

bossy old (perhaps it's the curse that comes with being the eldest?) 

me.

Right?

Whatever the case, we all somehow ended up together again one long weekend in July, braving the rain, soaking in all the goodness around us, and reinforcing bonds that I hope are never broken.

 

Thanks, friends.

Laying the groundwork.

Progress.

Oldest Daughter making mental progress,
while Daddy & Uncle make tent-al progress.
 Haha. :)

I think she heard something.

Supervising from the sidelines.

While we were waiting for our other humans to show up,
these non-humans meandered over to our camp.

So cool to see....

...but a little too close for comfort for SOME of us--the girls
made a mad dash for the safety of Daddy's truck. :-9

Kicking off camping with video games.  (groan) We've got
a lot to learn about this "roughing it" business.

The humans finally showed up:

Super Sam!

This really cute guy I met at camp.

A handsome brother o' mine.

I'm loving the toe kick.

Princess Kya. :)

Darin and Jean's oldest. :)

Maria, an exchange student from Italy.  She thinks our version
of camping is wimpy.  I can't argue with her.

Sweet.

The nightly debriefing--moms only. :D

 After a wet sort of Friday evening, which may or may not have involved a Mexican restaurant and ice cream shop in Port Townsend, we were glad to take advantage of the clear-ish skies on Saturday, and get our beach on.

It's not Hawaii, but water is water,
and I love me some ocean.

Miki in her happy place. :)

<3

Finnigan!

One of my favorite pics of these two.  This is actually the final
photo in a series of five; in the interest of preserving an old
& cherished friendship, I refrain from posting the other four. 
But I will keep them on hand; you know--just in case. :-9

I'll close with a few shots courtesy my brother, I think:

Happy Sunday!

Lazy Days

A gorgeous Pacific NW day, perfect for getting out with some friends.  We left a sick-y Miki home with Papa, and met Tanya and kids at the Waterfront to soak up some Vitamin D.

First order of business: 
running to tell Mom she fell off the swing. 
And she's okay.

The big sisters, trying to keep cool. 
In every sense of the word.

An Abby smile: rare, and wonderful. ;-D

Lookers looking.

An increasingly rare moment of goofiness.

Danny, git yer gun.

Happy girls!

Happy cross-eyed girls.

We headed back home, armed with ice cream sundaes, and a plan that involved swimsuits and slip'n'slides.

Abby Ca-dabby.

Jophus.

In an estrogen-dominated household,
anything the boy does is foreign,
and generally more interesting.

Waiting their turns.  I suppose now would
be a good time to start locking them up.

Joy bubbling over;
I love seeing her this way.

Rockstar Miki got to join in the fun. :)

Whee!!!  (That's pretty much the only
caption this picture could have.)

Savoring these last days of summer...

Happy Thursday!