Seattle visit

M ditched us to go to Seattle for work. She did bring Buh, however. 😑

View from the Bainbridge ferry

Snoqualmie Falls

Waterfront

Weird hotel decor 

View from hotel room

Thirteen!

Somehow, our tiny baby is now 13! He is also now maybe an inch shorter than M. She will soon be the shortest member of two families. 

Geo is the most helpful member of the family. He does chores without asking and is always the first to volunteer to help his parents. He is continuing his Japanese studies and is doing scouts, cello, and drums. He loves the Container Store and buying candy at Five Below. He is a carbon copy of his father in terms of culinary tastes, loving raw salt, Rainier cherries, and raspberries.

Happy birthday, Geo!

Northwest travels

H and D went to Portland for the Go Congress. G came a week early and had some Seattle and beach adventures with Grandma and Papa. M and Snoopy joined the party a bit late. We hung out in Seattle for a day, then returned to Portland, where we enjoyed a meal at Burgerville and climbed Mt. Tabor. 

Chicago Shenanigans

M took Geo on a road trip to Chicago for a chamber music camp. Along with his new cello, we took Snoopy, Buh, and a new addition to our plushy family, Sharky Joe, who hails from the Florida Keys. 

Geo had fun learning to play chamber music with a string quartet. 

M explored Evanston, which is a nice college town.

Geo and M (and Buh) also worked on a tricky puzzle.

We mostly ate stuff from Whole Foods but tried some local restaurants.

We had a lovely penthouse suite at the Hyatt House, which cost more than our mortgage but afforded us a fantastic view of the fireworks on the 4th of July.

The week ended with a fantastic finale concert. Geo is going to Portland for two weeks and D is flying to Chicago to drive M home. The summer is halfway over but there are still some more adventures to come.

Adventures in Mississippi

H spent a week at an engineering camp in Vicksburg, MS put on by the Society of American Military Engineers. He got to sit in a Black Hawk helicopter and steer a towboat down the Mississippi River. He visited Vicksburg National Military Park and some private engineering firms. His team won the camp competition due to his superior math skills, allegedly. The week ended with a catfish fry and shaking hands with a general from the Army Corps of Engineers. This week, he and Geo are in Florida with the Scouts, so the Southern adventures continue.

Whole Lotta Love

Geo played some Led Zeppelin at his drum recital, while everyone else was doing Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift songs. He also smuggled Snoopy into the recital. Unfortunately, his teacher gave Snoopy a shoutout but called him a whale. 😭

Five Below

There is this store called Five Below that keeps popping up everywhere around here. We love it because it has an amazing candy section. Every time we go out, we end up here to replenish our candy supply. 

Even Snoopy has gotten in on the action.