19 Years and Counting

That would be 19 years of marriage that Stevie and I just celebrated on June 10th!  Thankfully, it's not 19 kids!!!

Thanks for all the wonderful years, Stevie, and thanks for the roses today.  I love you!

All dressed up to go to dinner

One of the roses on the rose bush he bought me.

National Honor Society

We're so proud of Cannon on his induction into the National Honor Society as a Freshman.  Monday night was the official induction ceremony (or coronation as Emmy and London called it.  This Frozen movie lives on in our daily lives...)

Congratulations, Cannon!

The group of new members (Cannon is far left)

Crazy Polar Bears

While the rest of the country may be feeling quite balmy by now, we are not.  I'm not saying we haven't had some lovely weather this spring, but I still have to think twice before putting on a pair of shorts and am still wearing a jacket in the mornings.

My daughter and son, however, seem to think it's hot.  Well, particularly Emmy who was leading the charge to go swimming in the Sound!  This girl is nuts - Stevie could barely put his toe in the water and I wouldn't even entertain the idea, but Emmy, and then London who was shamed into it (I think!) went swimming!  Crazy, crazy kids.

London thinking twice about following his sister's lead.

Swimming in the Sound

Maritime Gig

One of the nicest things about living in Gig Harbor is the small community feel.  And the first Saturday in June kind of exemplifies that feeling around here.  It's the Maritime Gig Festival which is kicked off by a good, old-fashioned parade through downtown Gig Harbor.  Even Stevie likes this parade, and he isn't much of a festival kind of guy.  As one of my friend's commented, "I kind of felt like I was in a movie."  Or in a TV show...named "Andy Griffith".  It was beautiful weather and a beautiful day.

Furry company

Emmy was off sick today and was quarantined to her bed.  I came upstairs to check on her at one point and found this...

Apparently Mick is 1) not bothered by throw up, and 2) knows when someone needs comforting.  What a good dog.

Cannon's Recital

Cannon played in his spring piano recital on Friday night.  It was a beautiful, beautiful evening and the setting for the recital was exquisite.  It was a quaint little chapel on Echo Bay off of Fox Island.  The setting and the beautiful sunset helped make up for sitting through two recitals (his teacher asked him to play in both recitals) consisting of rounds of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and other lovely tunes. :)

In between recitals, I was able to get some nice close-ups of Cannon at the piano.

Here's Cannon playing his piece, "The Avalanche" by Stephen Heller.  (Sorry for the sideways filming.  Fire the photographer!)

Mother's Day

I'm so lucky that my family treats me like a queen on Mother's Day.  That's not to say I'm mistreated on the other 364 days of the year, but on this one particular Sunday they really do it up right.  I was treated this morning to breakfast in bed made by my munchkins.  Breakfast included coconut, cinnamon, chocolate sprinkle pancakes, kiwi and a nice cup of coffee.  They presented me with homemade cards and presents and then a big present of a new bread machine (exactly what I wanted!)

Soon after breakfast, we headed out for a long hike.  This was my request - a bonafide, non-strolling, serious, deep-in-the-woods kind of hike.  Cannon and I had chosen the spot - a place called Olallie, which is near to where we go sledding in the winter.  The article I had read about the hike promised woods, waterfalls and views - perfect!

It was a gorgeous hike, although honestly there were a few too many people on the trail for my liking.  This location is fairly near to Seattle and since it was a beautiful Sunday I think a lot of people had the same idea as us.  Nevertheless, it was a gorgeous day and the whole family (I think) enjoyed the outing.

Having a picnic

Twin falls - they were more impressive than this picture shows.

I think we wore the girl-child out.  She hasn't taken a nap in a long, long time!