Skamokawa

 Art Walk started with the 2nd graders dancing the macarena. E and Ms D, the principal, are friends. He enjoys eating lunch with her sometimes.

 Memorial Day weekend: we faced some holiday freeway traffic.  but it didn't matter if we arrived late because we had a yurt.  The office staff had turned on our porch light and left the key inside for us. 

 we checked out a nature trail, but mostly loved the amazing huge beach.  So few people on the beach that we could let the dog off to run.  We learned that the beautiful perfect sand is placed here when they dredge the river every few years.

 you could hear the low hum of the ship engines and then watch them come by on their way to Portland.

 E didn't exercise much caution sliding down the huge sand pile.

 R always loves a campfire.

 team lunch for work.

Snoqualmie Mt

a couple of sonic boom photos from one of the team moms.

 veggies from Ms. C!  i love her plant gifts.  inspired us to get a little veg garden going for this year.

 exploding mentos at the scouts activity.
 pretty lavender in bloom.

 L got spayed.  she was doped up for a few days.  this day she wouldn't come back inside, but just plopped down in the sun and stayed. (until i got treats. then of course she came)
this photo was from the dog walker on her first time around the block in a week.  she's chewed up a lot of toys, but this little fish (in her mouth) has lasted a long time. it's the first toy that R bought her a year ago.  it's hard for her to pick up toys and bones with the cone, so it made me laugh to see that once she got the fish she didn't put it down even to go on a walk.

  

the Sonic boom coach hosted a water gun party BBQ at his house.

 and grand finale of this post:
Snoqualmie Mountain. 6278 ft at the summit. elevation gain 3,200 ft.  maybe only 5 miles round trip, but a steep scramble up creek beds and deep snow. "It is not a well-maintained trail, but a climbers path only."  I'm so sore!  I got stressed once when we reached open snow.  it was steep. It wasn't that it was hard to climb (it was) but my bigger concern was that i knew i had to come down.  thank goodness for the self arrest training last month.  i totally used my ice ax. so my arms are sore from tight grips while climbing with the ski pole and then descending with the ice ax. my legs are sore from the steepness. felt like a stair climb. coming down if we weren't glissading, we were walking heels first in the snow, so i'm sure that new walking method contributed to my sore muscles.

apparently salty greasy chips are a good thing to eat pre-hike at 7am.  I trust C. on all things climbing. but i didn't eat any.
from the parking lot: "That's where we're headed."  Yay, let's go!
everyone shared their photos, so only a couple of these are mine.

 oh the steepness and glissading.  my panic about losing the group was stronger than my panic about getting down, so i did what i had to do.
i do feel strong for completing the climb, and i'll keep going out with our "WS Alpine club", but i'm the slowest one in the group... and i recognize I feel more safe and comfortable on well marked trails. 

 we got back home in time to meet cousin B, in town for work convention, for yummy pizza dinner and catching up.  that was so nice of him to let us know he had some free time.  17 years ago we were neighbors.
 

we're getting serious

 Bike rodeo. these are all the 2nd graders.  May is bike month!
but mainly, we've been focusing on practicing hiking. climbing mountains. training. summitting. checking them off the bucket list!
Rob and the dog crossed off Mailbox Peak

 while E had a playdate with Y and C.  he's rocking the rollerskates.  my fitbit didn't register the rollerskating, but i enjoyed it.  we got Menchies frozen yogurt afterwards. and then met R at the church for Cinco de Mayo taco dinner. yum.

 E's played violin for just over 1 yr now.  he played in the Spring Concert that we only observed last year.  I'm so proud of him.  He played Oh Come Little Children and all the Twinkle Variations.  The spring concert consists of all the students of 5 or 6 Seattle area Suzuki teachers.
The concert is different than a recital because at a recital one student stands in front of a group and plays alone.  But, at the concert, a small group of advanced students begin on stage playing the hardest pieces, then as they play less difficult pieces, more and more students join until they end with Twinkle and all the students are on stage.  it's pretty neat.  He wasn't even nervous.  We were very proud of him.
The next recital is in 1 month.

 We have beautiful flowers in our yard.  I came around the corner to this side of the house that i don't normally see and found the rhodies in full bloom!

 This is my view during games. (that's E catching!)
I enjoy that i don't have to socialize with other parents and that i don't have to cheer (not allowed from the scorekeeper)
I always have a great seat and really enjoy scorekeeping.  I'm getting better at documenting  basic runs and outs, but still actively check in with the other teams' scorekeeper and the scoreboard operator about proper notations, especially for any play that's slightly different.

this was an especially good game. they won and the weather was lovely.  it was a friday night.  we walk there and back.  didn't get home until after 8 (bedtime).  R was returning after being away for work. we were amped up.  it's hard to sleep when you're chanting "We are fired up. We are fired up."

he's almost 8.  

he always sleeps with heated up rice pads.  he asks Can you check on me one more time, and then again in your dreams?

he's getting taller.

he's eating more.  ate a tray of California rolls.
 family trip to Mt. Washington.  Rob summitted.  E and I hiked his longest one yet of 5.6 miles.  It was steep and he was a real trooper.  my calves are sore.  he ate skittles on the way up and tore the bark off a walking stick on the way down.  he and i talked about everything then had some quiet time too.

 we came out of the forest cover into this meadow and had mountain views, he said "the world is so big!"

 this is Rob's pic of Luna at the summit.