George's Rules

George posted a list of rules on his door today.
Here they are, in case you come over.

1. Take your shoes off before you go on the bed.
2. Take your shoes off when you go into my room.
3. Only boys can go into my room to sleep.
4. Boys, if you want to take a rest in my room, tell us.
5. If you want to take a rest you can do it in my bed or in my closet.
6. No guns.

George Speaks Again

"If I never ate I would never have to go Ka-Ka or Pee Pee."

"He was happy until you came along."
Says George to Clay after Clay picked up Milo and Milo started to cry.

"I got my coat on so we can go."
Says George while wearing underpants and a coat on the hottest day of the summer.

All three quotes in less than an hour. Not bad.

Above is George in his philosopher's pose at age two and again at 4.

Happy Fourth of July!

Love,

Little Miss Firecracker

I need a mirror!

I returned home from book club Thursday night and Clay took a picture of me so that I can see what others see when I go out in public. If you look closely, you can spot traces of George's lunch, Milo's drool and Goldie's fingerprints all on one canvas.



I don't want to mention names but someone else in my family may need a mirror as well. Hint: It's not Roomba.



And while I'm on the subject of family, I just learned tonight that Clay knows how to Moonwalk! I laughed, I cried, I ate the whole thing. (Not sure what I ate but that sounds funny.) You think you know someone, and then...

I'm still shocked that Michael Jackson is no longer with us. When I was a kid I was a dedicated fan. I remember the day his hair caught fire while filming a Pepsi commercial in the way people of another generation remember where they were when Kennedy was shot. It was a dark and overcast January 27th, 1984. I was in the shag carpeted basement of Sharon Kiss watching Cannonball Run when the unfortunate news came over the wires.

I was also lucky enough to travel to Vancouver and see one of his shows, during which, I remarked to my friend that I couldn't believe we were breathing the same air as him. At the tender age of 11, I was already deeply profound.

Momma say momma saw ma ma cu saw, indeed...

Valomilk

This is a Valomilk. Today we discovered it's a bad idea to give them to your children to eat in the back of the car. They are very, very messy and far too yummy for children. Consider yourself warned!



Tonight we went swimming and George wore an old wet suit we found in my mom and dad's garage. It's padded so he keeps afloat and he looked like Violet from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory after she's blown up like a blueberry. He also wore one flipper and goggles. He was the "eccentric" kid.

Milo still keeps his fists closed tightly most of the day and when unfurled there is always a great collection of lint waiting to be removed. I should show George, since he loves to clean the lint out of the dryer.

Goldie melts my heart by drinking her milk so vigorously that she gets out of breath. Not sure why I love this, it just makes me smile.

George is attending Pirate Camp and thinks it is fabulous. Tomorrow is day four! Yar!

Goldie and I are writing a book on Seattle's Best Playgrounds. Today we reviewed Cowen Park and fell in love with their swings and old fashioned merry-go-round. Nothing delights her more than swings and slides. George has mastered the fire poll.

Milo smiles!

Last night I cooked my second worst meal, ever! Unfortunately it was for friends who had dined at a famous Seattle chefs house the previous night. I made overcooked, stringy halibut, which I can't even talk about. Gulp. I beg for a redo!

(Since you must know, my first worst meal was lemon pasta and I can't talk about that one either. The memory is too painful... It was also for company.)

Milo slept through the night once this week. He's a dream.

Goldie still says "o-tay" instead of "okay."

Clay has ruined four pair of pants, 8 t-shirts, one wallet, one belt from Barney's and a baseball cap by getting paint all over them. If you know of anyone who wants to rent an apartment in Madrona and finish the painting themselves, let us know. We don't have it in our budget for Clay to ruin any more clothing.

They can have $100 off the first month's rent.

Camano

We like to spend a lot of time on Camano Island in the summer. We also like to bring along our own professional photographer. Check out the images Peyman took on our last visit there. (Clay took the last photo, the one with Everest and Peyman in it.)







Peyman's wife tells her side of the story on her blog. Read it here.

http://www.deliciousbaby.com/journal/2009/jun/18/photo-friday-babys-first-road-trip/

Constructive Vandalism

Tonight we had dinner with our friends Jack, Sharon, Todd and Chris. Todd and Chris went to high school together and told us the funniest stories about their form of adolescent rebellion called "constructive vandalism".

The concept is that you do a random secret and illegal good deed for someone. Todd and Chris would break into someone's garage, mow their yard and then put the lawn mower back. Or perhaps they'd take someone's car and return it all tuned up. Other examples are breaking into someone's house and doing the their dishes and tidying up. The examples were endless. They told us of one instance of getting caught while mowing a lawn at 2 a.m. (after drinking a few) and trying to run from the lawn owner while pushing a mower down the street. When the owner, who knew Chris, caught up with him, he was simply confused and suggested they discuss it in the morning.

Well, we've had a little constructive vandalism here this week.

Someone stole one of our plates and returned it with a lovely batch of oatmeal cookies. I thought it was Nancy or Allie, but both said no. And I can't seem to remember anyone else who makes such yummy cookies in our area.

Fess up you constructive vandal!