June 30

This morning I made us some fresh blueberry muffins. Still warm from the oven with a little melted butter, they were absolutely wonderful!

June 29

Today I spent some time playing with the reverse mounting ring that Marc and Will got me for my camera. It takes a while to set up a shot since everthing is manual, but it was sure fun to play with. I can't believe how much detail I can capture this way!

June 28

Will has turned into our resident salad maker. Auntie Cheryl would be proud. Tonight, he tore the lettuce before spinning it in the salad spinner - his favorite part of the process, no doubt. He also helped me chop up onions, cucumber and tomato.

June 27

Will and I ventured to Long Beach with Sarah and Sophie for a weekend of sun and sand. The kids had fun entertaining each other in the car on the way over. We enjoyed rides and a wagon ride in Long Beach before heading out to the sand. Will walked barefoot in the sand and even got his tosies wet a few times!

June 26

Today I celebrated a wonderful 34th birthday. Marc took Will to school, then brought me home a Starbuck's breakfast sandwich. Yum! We both packed for our respective trips this weekend, then ran errands and had a fantastic lunch at Anthony's. Steamers and beer overlooking the bay on a gorgeous summer day - perfection! We then picked up Will and came home to enjoy ice cream cake. Yum, yum! Thanks to my husband for a perfect day!

June 25

Will and I spent time at the Children's Museum this morning. He was excited to put together puzzles, just like he and Daddy did a few weeks ago. He had the most fun playing with the toy castle in the museum shop...20 minutes of solid play!

June 23

This morning we woke to raindrops on the ground. I love how the fuzzy leaves of our Lamb's Ear seems to catch and hold the rain.

June 24

This afternoon Will had a great time playing with his fireman hose. While putting out the fire on my plants, Will noticed a ladybug crawling on our lavender. I quickly tried to snap a few shots, but didn't have that much time for fear of getting wet. This little guy didn't turn out quite as sharp as I'd like, but there's always next time!

June 22

We enjoyed Spooner strawberries and pudding for dessert this evening. Nothing says summer like freshly picked berries!

June 21

We celebrated Father's Day today. Will is so very lucky to have such a fantastic Dad who loves to play with him every chance he gets. I decided that we should try mini-golf today. Will was very excited about the idea of golfing with Daddy, but that excitement didn't translate into much. He payed attention to golfing for about two minutes and that was it. Maybe next year!

June 20

Tonight we went to visit Grandma Dianne and Tom. Will enjoyed picking strawberries from Grandma's garden and playing with the plastic frogs by her pond. We ate yummy barbecued burgers for dinner - Will even followed his with some chilly frozen yogurt.

June 19

Today was the last day for students and, boy, am I ready for summer! Becky, Sarah and I celebrated with a night out. Nothing like sharing some wine and beer with friends!

June 18

A parenting first tonight - cutting an object out of Will's hair! Will decided to put the electric Henry in his hair, which wasn't such a good idea. He did a great job holding still while we removed the train.

June 17

I've been trying to get a good shot of my foxgloves for a week now and finally I decided to get down low. I've never looked inside a foxglove before and I was surprised to see what looked like a little mouth staring back at me. This particular variety is also interesting because of all of its fuzz - it is the only one in my garden like it.

June 16

Tonight we went to a potluck at Priest Point for Marc's work. Will was a bit keyed up when we got home - I think it might have had something to do with the green frosting he licked off of a cupcake. After bath, he asked to watch 'QU' so we obliged, as his They Might Be Giants DVD is sometimes a great way to mellow him out.

June 15

Tonight we were watching "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here" and they were eating s'mores. I remembered that I still had some s'more fixins from our ill-fated camping trip in the pantry. Nothing like melting chocolate and marshmallows in the microwave!

June 14

Today I noticed that my lavender is getting ready to bloom. My lavender is probably my favorite part of my garden. I planted it the first year we moved into our house and I love the way that it lines the path to my front door. Marc, however, is not as fond of lavender as evidenced by the severe trim it suffered yesterday. At least it still looks good at the top!

June 13

Today we went to Lattin's Cider Mill to see the animals and eat an apple fritter. Once again, our little man proved to be getting over his fears. He went straight up to the animal pens with no trepidation and was even excited to feed the goats. I was surprised to see that this turkey had blue skin (or whatever that stuff is called) - didn't know that was possible! I was especially shocked to see that this shot actually worked, as I took it through the wire fencing.

June 12

The weather has been absolutely perfect these last few days! Will and I enjoy spending time in the front yard when we get home in the afternoon. It doesn't always last long, however, as Will's favorite pastime seems to be kicking, picking and stepping on my plants. Grr!

June 11

I went to Costco today and bought something I never thought I would - box wine. At least it wasn't Franzia's Mountain Chablis! I already knew that I liked Tefft wines and for the price, I couldn't really go wrong! Now if only I could make a special nook for it by my microwave, I'd be set!

June 10

Tonight we had a relaxing dinner at Tugboat Annie's. We sat outside and enjoyed a warm summer evening, complete with fish n chips and a well behaved little boy. Perfection!

June 9

This morning as we were getting into the car, this little dandelion caught my eye. I loved how it was glowing in the morning sun.

June 8

I invited Sarah and Sophie over for dinner tonight and, once again, the kids had a fun time playing. However, refereeing toy matches was exhausting for both Sarah and myself. The highlight of the evening was, without a doubt, bath time!

June 7

I spent a lot of time editing the photos I took of Mikaela, Gage and Michele yesterday. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. I definitely learned a bit about shooting portraits, so I think I'll be even better next time.

June 6

Today we went to Seattle to visit family. One of our main reasons for going was to get Will into the pool. We knew Mom and Dad's pool would be pretty empty, thus a great environment for introducing Will to the pool. Surprisingly, Will loved swimming in the pool! Last year when I tried to take him swimming, he was terrified. He was even terrified for me to be in the water. This year, however, was a completely different story. Within minutes he wanted us to stop holding him so he could do it himself. When we did let go for a few seconds at a time, he'd laugh and squeal in delight. He also loved jumping in off of the side of the pool. Now that we know he's not afraid of the pool anymore, we're going to have to get him some lessons!

June 5

The little nasturtium that Will gave me for Mother's Day nearly a month ago has grown a ton! One of these days I need to re-pot it outside and really watch it take off!

June 4

We experienced another hot one today, but just as the weatherman predicted, the winds began blowing in cooler weather this evening. As the weather changed, the sky was an amazing mix of fluffy white and ominous dark clouds. By the time I took this picture, the temperature was markedly lower. I heard on the new that it dropped nearly 20 degrees in only an hour.

June 3

Once again, today's temperatures hovered near the 90's. Will spent more time in the pool, this time slipping down the slide and splashing down into the pool.

June 2

Today I pulled out the pool and Will had a fantastic time. I began by filling it with warm water from the sink, then gradually introduced the hose. Will wasn't bothered by the cold water at all. He had fun splashing in the pool and even used the hose to get himself wet. Will also went potty in the yard for the first time today - he thought it was so cool that he could stand and use the bathroom. I fear we haven't seen the last of peeing in the yard.