mother’s day at the beach

 

Jack’s stepdad’s family brought back an old tradition a couple of years ago.  Almost 30 of us rented cabins at the same resort some family members first visited 40 or so years ago.

It was clear and windy, as you can see in the video below.  At first D was reluctant to get wet or dirty, but he got over it, though falling on hard, cold sand while short on sleep led to some tears.  My mom and Jack’s grandma joined us, and with help from both of our moms we got some time alone together and I got to sleep in on mother’s day in our beautiful cliffside room.  We also got to play a board game with Jack’s cousin and and his wife, who also had a built-in babysitter in Jeff’s parents.  D enjoyed his time with his cousins.

 

Part of a Mariner’s game was D’s first sanctioned hit of TV, which explains the solemn expressions on Jack and D’s faces, below right.

I like how my mom and D have both shadows and reflections in this one.  In the other, Jack impresses D with his moves.

Group shots

construction: month nine

We saw the alley reopened this month, which was a coup for neighborhood relations.  It will be closed again temporarily when they do the rest of the siding on the alley and it will be repaved at some point.

Various sub contractors painted (not the colors yet) and installed wood floors and tile.  We laid out the tile "randomly" for one bathroom and picked out the accent tile for our shower. 

The cabinets are partially installed and we  had another cabinet party of two to put together pieces that were missing last time around.  

The neighbors rockery is coming down and we set aside some very heavy rocks for our little patch of yard.  

We also started making up outlets, which is surprisingly difficult so far.  Two down (for me) and dozens to go!

Lastly we spent time and worry on the sewer and electrical issues, for which I hope to be able to report a resolution soon.  

This month the pictures and post are coming from my phone so they are not up to my usual standards.  

singing books

 

Some of D’s favorite books are those that illustrate songs.  The best are the ones that have a familiar melody, perhaps with some lyrics that can be tough for grown ups to remember.

Here’s what we’ve been read/singing:

• Little Blue Truck’s Beep-Along Book (The book squeaks :)  )
• Puff the Magic Dragon
• The Itsy-Bitsy Spider
• The Wheels on the Bus  (The pudgy book version has good pictures and my preferred lyrics which are “… all through the town.”  I like it better than the poorly illustrated Pete the Cat version, which uses “… all day long”).
• Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

For his birthday we gave him two more: one of our favorite song from a Sunshine Music class we did this winter, and one that is a collection of bedtime stories, which I’m working on learning.

legacy hat

On Friday Jack’s dad was buried in a beautiful cemetery under one of the oldest trees I’ve ever seen in the city.  D wore a Packer’s hat Mark gave him last season. 

sunscreen lowdown

As summer weather approaches Seattle, I thought folks might be interested in my two cents about sunscreen.  It’s tough to find a good sunscreen and experimentation can cost a lot, so I hope this helps.