Franklins and Martins

We had a wonderful gathering here tonight for Don and Edna Franklin (my Great Aunt and Uncle) and Martin family folks. Of course there was some tasty food (thanks to BBQ King Todd) and excellent company. The kids adore the company of their cousins, bouncing in the bouncy house with goofy big kids and adults is always a hoot, and of course it's a treat for Todd and I to get to see all these wonderful Aunties and Uncles too!

At the end of the night Quin told Todd he really likes his cousin Alice, (enter disclaimer here, he's 4 and doesn't quite get all this yet...) so much that he wants to marry her. She's so nice and goofy you know, along with her brother Jack whom he also adores, and don't even get me started about those Takemura's. He also wanted us to know he really wants a sleepover with them. Truly we are so lucky to have such an incredible extended family, I vow to make sure we see them more often!

Baby Mabel

First thing this morn H stood at the top of the stairs and said, "Where is Baby Mabel?" How fitting it that for the very day real Baby Mabel is due to arrive back here for good?! She was referring though I believe to toy Baby Mabel she got for her birthday:

I told her this baby's name was "Mae" as the pattern is named (from Bit of Whimsy Dolls). She quickly went on to call her "Baby Mabel" though, which is just fine with me. At night before bed she makes sure Baby Mabel is next to her and though she's not dragging her around all over yet, I won't be surprised if she does soon. And the real Baby Mabel, we'll have to go visit on the Island soon, hurray!

Edmonds Sand Sculpting Contest

We woulnd't want a sand sculpting contest to pass us wacky zackeys by so Gigi and I took the kids down to Edmonds Marina Beach to play along. Only thing was, it was a farily low tide. So, the kids were far more interested in beachcombing than submarine building (Q's design idea). In the end Gigi and I mostly created our sculpture, with her doing all the heavy shoveling. Next year, we'll definately recruit Papa to take the morn off!

Dressed in layers, just in case, fortunately the sun did come out!

 

Some beach neighbors helped out a bunch with gathering all the white shells and rocks.

It was hard to get the angel right to capture the whole creation, so I made a little "Sub" sign. There were crab and seaweed at the bottom to represent the sea floor. The big crab was one H found down at the low tide, she had just been staring and pointing at it thinking it was alive! 

Some of the other wonderful creations on the beach:

I thought this one was great and would surely win, a sea turtle listening to an ipod, nope, maybe too hip for the judges. 

This big flower in a pot was a winner though!

Here's the shot the event photographer got of us:

And the best part perhaps for the kids...

...destroying it of course! Q turned the sub into a bomber. What a boy!

Shi Shi

 We took our first trip to Shi Shi this past weekend! After over nearly a decade of really wanting to join the crew we finally made it happen. Though it ended up being a particularly wet weekend and we bailed a bit early, we had a wonderful time, enjoyed everyone's company, and are looking forward to going back next year for a longer trip.

8 on the 8th

I think this definitely means we are in for an especially lucky year in our marriage, don't you?! On this day, 8 years ago my sweetie and I were joined, and oh how time has flown. Since then we have lived in 5 different homes, brought 2 beautiful children into the world, and have had countless adventures together. We will most certainly enjoy this year of lives together more than ever!

 

Quin insisted on taking this picture of us when we were at the beach, 

apparently we were being cute.

My Rock Star Little Bro

I love these KEXP videos on my brother Dashel's site, thought you might like checking them out too!

Kid Photogs

During a dress a day photo session the kids took over: 

By Q: 

By H: