Category Archives: avery

Move to Bellingham

Jonathan has had his heart set on moving back to Bellingham for a while. I was very happy in Snoqualmie, but he finally found a house that piqued my interest – it had enough bedrooms for our family and lake access. I decided to take a leap of faith. One thing led to another, and by the end of June the moving truck arrived and we headed north.

The truck at our old house

I got pretty sentimental taking my last tour through the boys’ tree fort in the back yard

Look at all their cute little primitive tools and work stations

Ethan stopped by to say “see you later”.

So did Charlotte.

Meanwhile the big boys were at their last day of Camp Invention. They said goodbye to Timber Ridge Elementary.

Then they came home and we had pizza in the house on the empty floor
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Hayden, Brooklyn, & Jacqui stopped by with a gift for Avery

Matching photo collages of their memories together. These two!

We dropped by to see Louis, up the street

And his mom, Emily

Here’s Silas & Bode (who also moved about a month later)

And Caroline and I had an evening out together. Not gonna lie, the boys and I had a tough time saying goodbye to our friends. I see many visits in our future!

Here’s Kieron on his first night at the new house

And here’s Jonathan mowing the grass that had grown very tall before we became owners. More pics of the new house to come in future posts!

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Grammy & Papa’s Golden Anniversary

Grammy & Papa celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on June 11th. We threw a party at Sigillo Cellars in Snoqualmie and had a terrific time visiting with friends and family, catching up, and reminiscing.

What makes my parents 50th anniversary even more special (and I just have to brag for a minute here) is that they have the best marriage of anyone I know. Like any, it is not without it’s flaws, but my mom and dad always see the good in each other, are never too proud to say “I’m sorry”, have always showed respect for one another, and they just keep trying, everyday. They also both have a good sense of humor, and that goes a long way!

Happy Anniversary to my favorite couple. Love you so much, Mom and Dad!







Hayden





Playing The Not-so-Newlywed Game









Jacqui & Phil

Somphane

Sammamish neighbors, Ann & Craig O’Neil


With Uncle Brian

Nicole & Brooklyn

This couple has traveled the globe together. It took me quite a while to mark on a map all the places they’ve lived and visited as a couple.

Cousins

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Cub Scout Packnick

At the beginning of June the boys had their annual Cub Scout Packnick, or weekend campout at Valley Camp in North Bend. This is the first time Kieron & Avery were both in Scouts together, and they even brought their little brother along for the fun!

Those eyes!

With his buddy, Logan






My 4 boys

Salmonberries!

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June

Here is some more of what we were up to in June. We had a number of visits to Bellingham before we closed on our house there. Here we are at Boundary Bay for lunch.

Avery finished up his spring basketball season

A little wrestling match

Funny story about these little bunnies. I was in the family room with our housekeeper, Yelena, when all of a sudden we saw the bushes in the backyard move. All of a sudden two little bunnies come darting out (clearly running from whatever was in the bushes, I’m guessing either a large cat or a bobcat). They leap off our retaining wall into the grass! Much to my surprise, Yelena runs to the back door, slides it open, and scoops up the startled bunnies. She then brings them INTO the house and asks for a box. She’s been wanting some bunnies to keep for pets because her cat recently gave birth to kittens, which she gave away, and her young son is heartbroken. She assures me she has cared for wild bunnies before, knows just what to do, and so I get her a box. Fast forward a month and they are doing well, live in a pretty fancy bunny house, and if you ask me, are pretty lucky little guys, considering they were almost someone’s lunch!

Layla going after the Nutella

On a hike

Avery & Hayden were science fair partners

For their project they wanted to see how balloons reacted when they were heated (in a hot car) or cooled (in the freezer).

Wii with Daddy

Layla inspects a frog

Sleeping baby photo!

Making music together. Boy, Silas needs a haircut!

Checking out the gutters

Making more music

In this pic Layla is dancing to The Beatles

Avery killing it in parkour!

Kieron with his 1st grade teacher, Ms. Tatum, the last week of school

This girl loves the water!

Playing at the park

Last day of 1st & 4th grade for these boys! I’m going to miss Hamza!

Layla loved rolling around on the shag rug after I sold the dining table

I was surprised when Kieron asked to do horse camp this summer. Dogs make him pretty nervous, but he insisted he wanted to learn to ride. So we gave it a try, and he LOVED it!

Here he is with his horse for the week – Pie.

With my Dad on one of his visits

Love this romper on Layla. Aunt Joyce had the best taste in clothes and always picked out cute outfits for the kids.

Another day, another park. Layla discovered slides.

Avery making eggs for my 16th birthday

Last day of Camp Invention. Kieron said it was bright out.

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Galatea

At the end of our trip we went out for dinner on Uncle Brad’s boat, Galatea. We had a great time visiting and telling stories while the boys explored the trawler and played hide-and-seek.

Thanks to Avery, here are a couple pictures of all the adults.

Heading out there on another boat

This girl knows her music! She loved dancing to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young!

Pre-dinner cocktail

Meanwhile, in the galley…

The stern of the boat made a perfect playpen for little Layla.

Grillin’

So much fun in the little cabins when you’re a kid!

“I’m the captain!”

“No, I’m the captain!”

These boys melt my heart. Here they are deep in a chess game. (Kieron won this one!)

Silas taking his snack upstairs

The boys were sure they wanted a picture together, Layla, not so much.

These are from an earlier trip on Galatea

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