Good Morning 3!

This is our annual birthday photo of Sonja @ 3:25 am.
She's not going to think this is too funny in a few years :)

Patilda

Meet the newest member of our household: Patilda the Caterpillar! Patilda was found in a bunch of celery we bought last week. Rather than throw her outside where she could eat our plants, we decided to keep her. I'm hoping that she will form some kind of cocoon before turning into a butterfly or moth.

Regarding the name, Sonja picked it. I was pushing for Atilla the Catapilla since it invade our home, but Sonja suggested Patilda. The day before we had been at a birthday party for our friend Matilda.

Painted Toenails

Sonja was very pleased to get her toenails painted with Aunt Lori and Emma.

Packpacking

This Weekend we took Sonja on her first overnight backpacking (she calls it packpacking) trip. We headed up to Barclay Lake as it is close to home and only a 2.2 mile hike in.

We all had packs, though Sonja's was a little light. She loved jumping from rock to rock and walking on the roots. She made it the whole 2.2 miles on her own, though she need lots of encouragement and distraction. She loved looking at the few flowers we found and kicking the sword ferns. We made it in about 1.5 hours.

She had tons of fun in the woods. She helped set up the tent (she handed out the stakes).

She was excited to sleep in the tent, but that excitement faded when it was time to actually go to bed. She didn't like being in the tent alone. She also didn't like being in the tent with us. It was a long night.

The next morning she was happy. We made a little fire and hung out. Later in the day a friend and her dog came up to meet us and Sonja loved throwing sticks for the pup. We hiked out in the afternoon, but it was Sonja's naptime. She had a much tougher time hiking out and cried for the first while of the trip (but she kept hiking). She rode out on my shoulders the rest of the way which she loved.

Overall a successful trip.

C'mon...when can we go swimming?

Sonja and Emma waited patiently for the adults to stop talking and take them swimming!

During our visit to Minnesota for a family birthday/reunion, the girls took advantage of this great indoor swimming pool at the hotel. Sonja enjoys the pool, but doesn't want to get water in her eyes. Emma could live in the pool, loves to jump in, and sits on the water features.

Halfway to Great Grandma Sylvia

Growing up, we always took pictures with Grandma Sylvia standing back to back to measure our height. While the girls aren't standing the same way with her, they are at least halfway to Great Grandma Sylvia! We enjoyed a great trip to North Dakota in early July. In this photo, Sonja and Emma are wearing their latest dresses made by Grandma Mary.

We love summer!

This morning was one of the best mornings Sonja and I have ever had together!
We ate breakfast with Auntie Jenn at her house, picked strawberries with her and played at the park across the street. Then, we went to the bank to make a deposit, colored on the pig at Serious Pie in South Lake Union, went to Tugboat Story Time on Lake Union on the Arthur Foss tugboat, went to the Floating Farmers Market on a steamboat (enjoyed a cookie together), and played on the South Lake Union beach (the ducks thought our rocks were bread crumbs). Finally, a great summer day to enjoy.