Look Ma, I'm on Top of the World!

We have a "little" construction project going on in our backyard. Tyler decided after months (years?) of debate to go ahead and build the boys a club house-- isn't that the right name for a boys' version of a playhouse. It now has a roof, with shingles waiting to be installed. CSR got to climb up to check out the view, and of course RTR had to do the same thing. They waved to a couple of neighbors driving down the lane too. The only risky business came when the boys got a little too close to the edge. Do 2 year olds have very good depth perception?

CSR got the idea last week to hold an open house when the club house is done. I hope he knows that it's not like a birthday party, where gifts are customary. Although we will probably make a cake. Also, CSR was telling Tyler the house number. Talk about down to the details. There are also some paint chips CSR picked up at Home Depot.

Cheap Ways to Entertain the Troops

Here's a cheap way to entertain the troops... take Metro downtown and then catch the new Sound Transit light rail train. We rode it to the end of the line and back for just $3.25 price of our Metro fare. Not a bad deal. Of course the doughnuts we had before the journey were another story.

All (Green) Thumbs

We've expanded our agricultural horizons by planting a bigger garden this year and thanks to the recent heat wave, it's going gang-busters. We harvested our first mess of beans and peas last night. Also started pulling up some carrots-- including some fascinating Rainbow ones. Our lettuce grew faster than we could eat it... and the last of it sadly went to seed. For lunch today we ate some of the peas and carrots. Sauteed green beans on the menu for tomorrow. Our pumpkin vines are crawling all over the yard, crowding out our sunflowers. Also, our three tomato plants look like tomato trees. Hopefully we'll be able to enjoy some good home-grown tomatoes very soon-- if I can keep the kids from eating them right out of the garden. Also, tried growing corn for the first time. Several ears will soon be ready for picking too.

At Your Service

RTR and his visiting cousin have discovered the monetary benefits of setting up a lemonade stand. For the second time in a week they set one up in the front yard. Maybe it's because I made them spend their earnings from the first stand at the zoo. Yes, I made them pay for their own carousel rides and treats from the snack stand. Does that make me a mean mommy/aunt?

Beat the Heat

Seattle set a record for the hottest day of all time on Wednesday-- 103 degrees. One way we beat the heat was by having dinner (Taco Bell tacos) at the beach. It was about ten degrees cooler at the Edmonds waterfront than at our non-waterfront home. CSR and his cousin hit it off with a couple of other girls also keeping cool at the beach. For some reason they found great fun in jumping from the sea wall onto the sand below.


RTR just liked playing in the sand. He kept handing me his buckets to refill at water's edge. While he was a big fan of having water to pour out, he wasn't too keen on getting IN the water for refills.


The black edges on this picture are because my camera lens cover doesn't always open all the way. Darn photographer!