Shopping

Who doesn't love shopping with kids? ME! Shopping with my 2 is probably my least favorite thing to do. I have to bribe them with McDonald's, threaten them with no television, stop them from the usual kid stuff like flinging accessories, running through clothes racks, wrestling each other in the middle of the store. Every time I try something on, Finn yells, "I see your bum bum." But, with the heatwave we are now enduring in Seattle, retails stores are one of the best places to go to be indoors, out of the sun, and in the air conditioning.

Here is Niamh at The Gap trying on a strapless bandeau bra, admiring her new figure in the mirror. Notice Finn's legs in the background. He was dancing to Beyonce on the bench. I tried to get his picture but just before I was going to take it he fell through the crack between the bench and the wall and I had to put down the camera to free him from the hole.

Oh, Niamh

We just caught Niamh, awake at 11pm, in the bathroom. What was she doing? Well, she was squirting toothpaste between pieces of toilet paper. Why was she doing this? Well, she said she likes to squish it between her fingers while she falls asleep.

Can I Have Some?

Me: "Hey, Finn. Can I have a lick of your ice cream?"

Finn: "No, because I'm growing."

Me: "Hey, Niamh. Can I have a lick of your ice cream?"

Niamh: "Sure, Mama. We have Girl Power!" (Then, she gave me a rock on sign.)

Deception Pass

Camp Fees........$70.50

Tent Rental.....$35.00

Groceries delivered by the Grocery Fairy.....$79.01

New Sunglasses (couldn't find the old ones when leaving the house).....$54.70

New Camp Stove (forgot the old one in the kitchen at home).....$49.88

New Windshield (cracked by flying rocks from roadwork).....about $300.00

Camping with good friends Megan, Hadley, Julie, and Mason.....PRICELESS

Finn toting Mason around in the toy cart.

Megan reading to the girls on pink camp chairs

I should have brought their swim suits. I thought they would just get their feet wet.

Here come Megan and Hadley, after a little nap in the back of Zadie's super cool Element.

Hadley doesn't like sand, as she told me multiple times while sitting next to me watching the other kids play. "My no lie san." So, apparently, the solution to that is rain boots to protect her feet from the awful stuff. She must be smarter than the other kids because they haven't figured out how awful sand is.

The problem with boots is you have to judge how deep you walk in the water because water can still get in over the tops of the boots. And it did. And she was wearing socks in her boots. And they got very wet.

Then, Hadley did the unthinkable. She did what her mother was sure she would never do. She walked in the sand barefoot in to the water without her mom and tried to follow Niamh and Finn who were up to their armpits in the water in their clothing.

Then, Hadley's pants got wet and she remembered she was way smarter than the other kids. She returned to the edge of the sand to sit with her mama and gawk at those other silly kids playing in their wet clothes in the sand, in the water.

Those silly kids. They were as happy as pigs in a puddle of mud.

That night, back at the campfire.....

.....we pretty much just ate hot dogs and went to bed.

Gotta get rid of the extra food.

Thanks for a fun time, Friends.

Skinny Dipping Almost

Camping at Fort Worden

"Oh, are you coming? Daddy said you weren't coming because you're grumpy." (I get a little grumpy when packing.) Even though the trip started with this comment from Niamh as I opened the car door to leave, we still had a blast!

This was Niamh and Finn's 1st Ferry Ride.

I conned Steve in to letting me bring my best buddy (I'm talking about Eddy, not the bottle.)

He's getting so old.

Everyone has adjusted well to life as a camping family. All it takes to relax is a little apple juice and a camp chair.

My other Best Buddy.

Now say, "Chubby Bunny."

I'll show you grumpy.

There are about 103 photos taken by Steve of the forts and passageways of Fort Worden. It is actually really cool, but super creepy, that it is all there for people to explore. Steve took Eddy for a walk around the forts. I think Steve was scared and wanted protection from Man's Best Friend.

We did do a little more than just drink our juice and hang out by the fire.

Flaunt what you've got, Finn usually does.

Finn could and does do this all day long. Push trucks. This makes him very very happy.

What a happy camper.

Merry Christmas. This is your Christmas card.

At the moment this was taken, this is a photo of the happiest dog in America. Eddy was allowed (kinda allowed if you pretend you don't see the signs saying otherwise) to be off leash and run like a freaking maniac on the beach. I was ready to resuscitate him should he drop from a heart attack.

Doggie Smile.

Oh Crap! This is the look of our future Teen.

Self-crowned "Jiffy Pop King".

Eddy on the ferry ride home.

All the other photos can be seen here.

No Nap

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8cU3DJNyMk

This is Finn with no nap. Yes, there were multiple tantrums interspersed with strange energy. Niamh is trying to get him to put his shoes on to go outside. Eddy wants to go for a walk. Finn is oblivious to anyone else. (The Grocery Fairy left a horrible mess in my living room. She needs to learn to clean up after herself.)

Sham Wow-Off

I'm not raising a cheater, just having a little bit off fun trying to get 2 super competitive in-laws to relax a little, let someone else have a win for once. Sheesh! Here is the background:

Last week we celebrated Westyfest 2009...a gathering of Westover relations in Seattle. The Rosemeyers and their offspring flew in from Camarillo, California to spend a week with us here in gorgeous Seattle. Really, they couldn't have chosen a better week to come, the weather was phenomenal. After a week of BBQs, Pool Parties, Pacific Science Center, and Bowling, we all got together at The Lytle's home (jaw dropping) for some 4th of July FRIENDLY family games with some really ridiculous prizes. The 2 aforementioned superstar competitors, Mike and Michelle Westover, were going to sweep the games after winning at kayak races and balloon toss (usually my and Steve's game). The Sham Wow-off was going to change all that, even if it was because of the interference of a loyal 5 year old girl to her Grandmother and Mother.

The rules of the Sham Wow-off were to start on one side of the lawn with a bucket of water, run to the other side of the lawn where a Sham Wow towel and an empty glass Coke bottle were waiting, run back and forth between the bucket of water and the bottle with your Sham Wow and try to squeeze water in to the Coke bottle. The first to fill the bottle wins. You can imagine everyone's surprise when I, Miss I could care less about your silly competition let's just have fun, won the first round of the Sham Wow Competition. In the second round, which was to find me an opponent for the finals, Niamh and grandma were in cahoots to keep Mike or Michelle out of the finals. Here is what happened.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHFJdsEROBI

Grandma told Niamh to spit in her bottle while she was reloading her Sham Wow. Then, she told Niamh to take Mike and Michelle's bottles when they weren't looking and pour their water in to her bottle. When Mike and Michelle figured it out, they weren't happy. They reviewed the tapes in detail and found the conclusive evidence against Niamh and Grandma.

I might say that sometimes it is better not to record some events lest the video become evidence. However, to capture the crime unfolding and have the reaction on video, that makes it all worth the risk.

My Westyfest photos are here.

Happy Birthday, Daddy-O!

(Oops, Steve's birthday was July 2. This is a little late.)

Niamh made this great card for Steve for his birthday.

Better Than Picking Your Nose

PICKING BERRIES!

Our friend, Shannon, sent us a desperate message on facebook saying that her parents were out of town and needed their raspberries picked or they would go to waste, or worse, to the crows. GASP! I, Heather, Erin, Wendy, Niamh, and TWO Finns were eager to help out.

Heather, Erin, and Finn #1 hard at work.

Finn #2, Niamh, and Wendy went to work on the blueberry bushes that were more like trees. We figured that if we were already there, they would probably appreciate us helping out with all those ripe beautiful blueberries.

Wendy, Wow!, this is true sacrifice. Good Ole' Wendy dumped out her water from her Nalgene in order to use the bottle as a berry reservoir. Thank you, Wendy, Thank you!

This was my bounty.

Hard to resist eating as you pick.

Did I mention that there were cherries so bright red and shiny?

Not bad for 90 minutes of work, Ladies. I'm sure that Shannon's family will thank us when they get home.

This is what I turned a few of my berries in to. I think the rest will top some of Molly Moon's Vanilla Ice Cream.