...and cake and presents

After the pumpkin picking, we headed up to my parents' house where we had lunch, cake and presents. Here we are singing "Happy Birthday" to our little Liam.

The excited birthday boy.

Lickin' the candles.

Our first Hot Wheels....thanks, Kirstin.

Liam and friends enjoy opening the presents.

More fall fun

Here are a few more pictures from our weekend on Lopez. Here, Liam and Julia look out over the bluff and have fun climbing some rocks.

Liam, Gabe, Shannon, Julia, Leah and Chris hang out on Iceberg Point.

Liam and Julia on the walk back from the bluff....much warmer out of the wind. Liam protectively holds his "baby snake".

These two pictures are from yesterday. Liam and I were cutting up plums to dehydrate. We also picked blackberries before this pictures...hence Liam's face :)

Liam tells me that his tray is full!

A sunny fall weekend on Lopez Island

We enjoyed a crisp, sunny fall weekend on Lopez Island with our friends Chris, Shannon and their girls, Julia and Leah. These pictures are from a walk out to Iceberg Point. It was beautiful and very windy! Fall fun.

Liam walks with his "snake" (Tahoe's leash)

Tahoe enjoys exploring the bluff (free of his leash).

Gabe and Liam venture out onto the windy rock point.

Smiling in the wind....brrrr.

More fun with friends

Here are a couple more pictures from Mike and Blair's visit. Our second day together, we headed out to Guemes Island to spend a day in the sun, play on the beach and pick some blackberries. Here, the kids investigate the blackberry patch.

Tahoe relaxes, tuckered out from all the fun.

Liam and Ruth emerge from the beach.

Picnic dinner on the lawn.

Friends come to visit.

Last weekend, Gabe's old college friend, Mike, his wife Blair, and their three kids came to visit. It was such a beautiful weekend, so we took them down to the Skagit Valley and enjoyed some late summer fun. First, we stopped at Snowgoose Produce for some obscenely large ice cream cones (the adults did our part by "cleaning up the drips"). Here Liam, Elinor (6) and Ruth (3) enjoy their waffle cones.

"You think you are going to clean up my drips, Mama? No way!"

Liam and Elinor head out to Craft Island.

After our bellies were full of ice cream, we all hiked out to Craft Island in the late afternoon sun. Craft Island is very close to where our parent's live in Mount Vernon. It is one of our favorite hikes, through the wetlands our to the salt water. I have been hiking out there since high school and it still is one of the prettiest spots I know.

I love Auntie Lu!

Auntie Lu came through town on a brief visit, in between a wedding and a medical school rotation. It was great to see her and Liam had so much fun catching her up on all the latest news.

Liam and his Auntie Lu.

Liam and Auntie Lu...and yes, he is holding an egg.

Our other big news from the week is that Liam started at Harmony Preschool this week and had so much fun. It is a very sweet little school just three blocks from our house. He is going there Tuesday and Thursday mornings. It has been fun to walk him to school in the morning and then back home at the end of the day and hear all about his activities. So far, the highlights have been "Snuggles Marshmallow" the bunny (do you think the kids named her???) and the (very large) sand box. Here is a picture of Liam in front of school today when I came to pick him up. "Baby" has been accompanying him to school this week....just for a little extra support.

Yoga

Yesterday, while I was stretching from a run, Liam decided to get out the yoga mats and "practice some yoga". These were three of his postures.

Downward Dog.

Upward Dog.

Liam's "fancy pose".

Blackberries!

First of all.....Congratulations Jackie, Eric and Emily!!!! We are so excited for you and can't wait to see pictures of your little guy. Way to go!

Here are a couple of pictures from this afternoon. Liam, Tahoe and I went on a walk around the neighborhood and discovered some great blackberry bushes. This time we were prepared with a container, so Liam came home with quite the haul.

Are those good, Liam?

Mmmmmm....

Yummy....

Mmmmmm....just a few more.....

The evidence.

Mutti turns 60!

Lisette turned 60 on August 25th and we celebrated out on Cypress. Here she is with her sister, Madeleine, sitting on the new deck of the cabin.

Our fearless chef, Gabriel, grilling salmon and vegetables.

In true Dutch tradition, we celebrated Mutti with some humorous (original) songs and poetry. Here, Lenie, Gabe and I sing a tribute to Mutti's life.

Liam and Poppi listen intently.

The birthday girl (and helper) prepare to blow out her candle.

Liam and Finn

Liam and Finn are exactly nine months apart. This year, for the first time, that gapped hardly seemed to exist. They played well together and kept one another busy with lots of running, playing with sticks, digging in the sand, jumping off of logs....you catch my drift....

Liam and Finn sit in "Poppi's" boat.

Where are you going? "We are going on a trip, Mama."

"Hey, don't we have to get this thing in the water first??"

"Hmmmm.....which one of us is going to get out and push?"

"Not you? I don't want to either. Let's just sit here and enjoy the view."

Time with cousins

Finn (3) and Ashton (5) and their parents arrived last week, much to our joy and excitement. We headed out to Cypress Island for Labor Day weekend and time on the beach.

Ashton, Finn and Liam do some beach excavating.

Cooperation at the "work site"

Ashton and Liam on Orcas Island.

More time in the black, San Juan sand (mud)

Liam and Ashton wear some of this mud; maybe this is the beginning of expensive spa treatments in the future?