Turns out, there’s an inordinate number of things to do in Seattle. And we’re suckers for all of them. All of them! Meryl and her friends suited up for a morning on wheels today and then we hosted our first backyard party (in seemingly too many years) for lunch with their families. What a highlight, it’s great to party. (Red set of pad protection courtesy of Xanna nearly three years ago when we bought a balance bike for Meryl, finally in use!)

Jury is still out on which way she rides a skateboard:) But she’s doing it! And at the end of the class, each kid does a show-and-tell of what they learned…Meryl fell on her first try and the room started chanting, “one more shot, one more shot!” What a positive environment! She got right up and did her skate!

Grow up, don’t grow up, grow up, don’t grow up…a year and a half till skateboarding camp for this kid:) Luckily, he got his own playdate with a friend this morning so we can all slow down on the yearning here.

Temporarily! We are expanding our patio and adding more drainage to the yard (I’m allergic to standing water), so our lawn is a temporary sandbox. Proof it doesn’t take much to entertain kids…do we need a bigger sandbox? Cool it.

Now Holmes just needs to get a bit taller so the two of them are self-sufficient on the buoy swing:) When you want to fast forward and stop time at the same time.

Corn on the cob season has begun!

Olympics relived! Meryl and I went to see ‘Stars on Ice’ last night and saw all the jumps and all the sparkly costumes. Nathan Chen’s backflip remains Meryl’s favorite moment:)

This girl is a game playing fiend! She won ALL the games today and self proclaimed herself as the ‘Game Master.’ She keeps winning, despite our attempts to knock her hustle at No Stress Chess, Sorry!, and Rat-A-Tat-Cat (her favorite).

There she is, our kindergarten star! Meryl’s school hosted a Spring Art Showcase filled with musical performances and an art show featuring all of her artwork from the year. So many smiling faces…all of us us parents were so delighted and proud!

Frank and I were lucky to walk through the gym for an art preview the day before, expert move! Meryl had eight objects on view from paintings, to a hand formed clay tiger, to a slab style clay horse, to pastels and collages, to a paper bird, and it was all so much to take in…happily!

What a gift chemotherapy has given us all, and therapy continues. Lummi’s resilience comes and goes, which is both nerve wracking and also a reminder to stay present and enjoy the moment…all the moments.

Holmes finally climbed to the top of our refrigerator climbing wall!

Often fascinating, always mesmerizing.