Valentines Day

 I found this lovely necklace tucked in a box of chocolates--a valentine gift from my sweet husband.

My gift to him was to order more cable channels :).  I also included this poem:

Yesterday, Ava and I spent some quality time at the pond with a lot of very hungry ducks. She was very comfortable with them, and they were very thankful for the bread she offered.

It was such a beautiful, warm day (early February!) that we were able to take her little table out to the deck to make some pine cone birdfeeders. So much nicer that doing such a messy project inside!

She also decided she was ready to use her 'big girl' swing instead of the baby/toddler swing. She even started learning to pump :)

Of course, there would be no sweet little Ava to explore the world with if it weren't for the fact that on this very day, 27 years ago, I married my high school sweetheart and the love of my life.

The End of Summer

I  had the chance to spend a few days in Seattle with my dear friend Cindy  (and her dear kitties), then enjoy a lovely Vancouver getaway with Ron where we saw the Dutch Masters exhibit at the Vancouver Art Museum and took a long walk in the city.

In August Nicole and I went to the Lynden Fair with  Ava-- she liked the rides best .

.
Ron and Mark flew up to Campbell River for a fun and successful fishing trip.

It's been a wonderful summer, with so many sunny days and warm evenings. We've spent so much time outside, eaten so many meals on the deck, and of course there's the new deck (built by Ron and Ken) and the hot tub!

And now its time to go back to work. I am so happy to be back at

my old school, doing my same job with the same great team. And of course

the kids, truly the best part.

Long Beach

There's the bay, and then there's the OCEAN. Ava had been to the beach at a bay, but not at the ocean. Nicole and I took her to Long Beach, Washington for a few days. We stayed in a quaint little cottage one block from the sea.




We also had fun exploring the little town. Ava loved the bubble machine we came upon in an alley. Nicole loved the clothing store it was outside of.



There were even little carnival rides.

How did we survive car trips with children before the advent of portable dvd players? Not very well actually. It makes a BIG difference. It was a long drive to get there and back, but definitely worth it.

Ava's first camping experience

Just one night--the perfect amount of time for camping with a toddler. It was cool and shady in the woods, a welcome relief from the triple digit temps we left behind. Ava loved the beach, the fire, and the smores. She didn't really love going to bed in the tent, but once she finally fell asleep she slept great, until almost 8:00 the next morning. We finished up with lunch at the C Shop and headed home to wash off the grime we were all covered in.

I have several books going right now--

One for general life info: The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollen
One for spiritual formation: Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell
One for professional development: Creating Literacy Rich Preschools and Kindergartens
and one strictly for fun: My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
plus:
a book of poetry called The Immigrant's Table by Mary Lou Sanelli

I love summer....more time to read.....

July delights....

The very first ripe tomato of the season!


AND.....


its pesto making day! Time to harvest the basil. Now if I could only upload the heavenly smell......