Tomorrow we're giving it a go again! 

We made it! Last Friday we flew up to Homer for our first official family reunion, followed by a week of vacation. Meryl came prepared with her beacon of a sweater knitted by Allison, it finally fits!  

We went fishing, with Meryl. Turns out, babies can get sea sick! But Meryl powered through like a champ. And while we went through all her spare clothes, McKenzie had the good thought to turn Meryl's long sleeved shirt into pants...patent pending on this bright idea.

We went to the 4th of July carnival to play 'Dip a Duck,' where you dip a net in the water to catch a duck and win a prize. Or, in Meryl's mind, skip the net mumbo-jumbo and grab as many ducks as you can. Another kid favorite was the sawdust pile, combing for quarters. We closed out the day with hot dogs and potato salad on the deck with friends. And with the sun out, it was a pretty spectacular day!

This past week marks the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter! Luckily, Meryl had her Gryffindor get-up to celebrate. (Thank you, Noonans!) The wand normally chooses the wizard, but before we get to Ollivander's, Meryl is practicing her swish and flick. We can't wait to read the books to her!

The Pike Place MarketFront also opened this past week on a lovely, sunny evening. This is the start of fun things to come for Seattle as they tear down the viaduct and connect downtown to the waterfront. We were able to donate to the market for the opportunity to have a custom market charm hung along the railing. What to write? We landed on "adobo" for Frank, "salmon" for me, and in the middle, our little "halo halo," which is a delicious shaved ice Filipino dessert, but also fondly translated as "mix mix" in English. Now to visit on the regular!

We've got a monkey! (Lowered the mattress today as Meryl is now exploring the view from her crib.)

Feets in, cooling down. After being so hot earlier today, this is heaven. 

It's hot, hot, hot in Seattle! So we thought we'd bring the tub (bought years ago for Lummi!) out this afternoon for a splash in the shade. But garden hose water is cold and refreshing! Too cold?  

Allison, Noelle, and Caleb came over today to celebrate! And since we all needed a candle to blow out, I'm turning 325 today; looking good! Meryl joined virtually while napping:) 

Why not?