July 26, 2011

Look, Ma...No Training Wheels!


...-some.  That's how that sentence would have ended, if my battery hadn't died mid-word. :)

Daddy getting her started.

Off she goes...

Getting back on the road after her first crash. :)

Cruisin' with her homie. 
"Hey, Miki, I thought you said this was going to be hard."
"It is; you're just a weirdo."
Happy girl....


Because it's just not right to leave the
 biggest sister out of the post.

As you can imagine, Youngest Daughter is thrilled about her latest accomplishment.  And, just as I'm picturing all three of my lovelies riding off into the sunset together on their bikes-without-training-wheels, the melodic sound of their laughter tinkling through the air, Oldest Daughter swiftly jerks me back to the reality of time marching on, by offering, ever-so-sweetly, to move the Flex out of the driveway. As in, my 11-year-old wants to drive my car.  And I can't even argue the point that she can barely see over the dashboard, because she can, in fact, see over more of it than I can.  LAME!

Enjoying some sweet summer days here, as well as some good sweatshirts-and-coffee weather.  Check back later for some pics from our camping trip at Fort Worden last weekend.

Happy Tuesday!

July 6, 2011

Quatre 'o Iuali

(That's the French-Irish-Hawaiian version of "Fourth of July." Duh.)  A few pics from another day in the life of these Hawaiians, and our redneck patriarch:

We started out our day at Island Lake,
celebrating Linda G.'s 60th birthday:
A perfect Pacific northwest day.
I didn't get any pictures of the birthday girl, but here are a
 few shots of some of her cute grandchildren:

Khiana, one of the funniest little girls we know.   Smart,
creative, independent; I imagine she runs circles around
her daddy on a daily basis.  No worries; he's got the
 "I'm confused" look perfected.

Khiana's little sister Katelyn. I suspect she's as
precocious as her big sister, but I can never manage to
catch her long enough to find out. :)

Jacob, a man of little words.  The longest
sentence I can get out of him is,
"Hey, I'm taller than you now." Yes, Jake;
you, and all the other kids over the age of 8.


Some of the other kids:
Hannah B.

I don't know this girl.  Kiana thinks she's beautiful,
and used her mad photo skills to capture that.
Finnigan!

Check out these baby blues.
Group photo.
I tried to get a picture of my brothers, but you can't
see them too well in this pic.  Oh, yeah.  That's 'cause
they weren't there. :-9  Funny; same thing happened
when I tried to get a pic of Jamie.

Headed home after Linda's thing to address the kanak attack, then headed out the boys' place for dinner and
A picture is worth a thousand words.  Or in this case, just one.
Grabbed our Slurpees, and hit the road.

Cruising on Uncle's Ultimate Lounging Chairs.


Some of the characters Josh allows in his home:
Blonde People.

People with Kids.

People Who Carry Guitars Around with Them Everywhere They Go.

People Who Are Cute Babies.

People Who Are Handsome Baby Brothers.
(He lets these types live with him, actually.)
People Who Get Carried Away With Nail Polish.
People Who Wear Capes While Riding Dirt Bikes.

Super Uncle.

Yes, actually; he IS that awesome.

Game Time:

Kale, reminding us why he's known around here as "Uncle Favorite."

The Youngers, getting their "Taboo" on. And can I just say,
Kale takes this game VERY seriously. :D
The Not Youngers, +2, "Fluxx-ing." 
(I'm SO gonna get disowned.)
Street Time Togetherness.
Then, of course, the
Again with this picture.  Heehee.
There was a sweet little spot right across the street from the boys' place, perfect for watching the fireworks across the entire inlet; hope it's still available next year.  As for our own displays, well, let's just say we're still working on our fireworks photography skills.  I'll post what we got, and leave the rest to your imagination:
Trying to take lessons in shutter speed and aperture.

No comprende, apparently.  I'm a slow learner.

Best Shot #1
Best Shot #2

Best Shot #3
None by me, of course. 
Hope your Fourth was a happy one!
Happy Wednesday!
*Photo credit to Kiana, Kale, and Bethany.

July 2, 2011

Summa' Time

It feels like summer has officially arrived, with temperatures soaring into the 80s, glorious sunshine, and the delicious smell of grills firing up everywhere.  Dad had us out to "his place" on Thursday for some good old "Nasty Chicken (Noah's coinage)," steaks, and root beer floats.  Yum....
Dad working his magic on the grill.
The natives, getting restless.
Needless to say, they don't mind getting close.

Posers.

The shoulder-sitting wasn't impressive enough;
let's kick it up a notch.

The mother of 1/2 the craziness.
"Ooo!!!  I know--let's do a PYRAMID!!!!"

Wait for it....

Ta-da!  Well, sort of.

A little safer.

Trying to make like models.
A good old-fashioned regular picture.

Grindz.

Aunty Karen!

The post-dinner campfire discussion.

Josh and Blake, getting cozy.
Happy Saturday!