Every year in late July, the City of Olympia has a big party downtown called LakeFair. It’s a carnival, festival and fair wrapped up in one.

We were hoping Liam would be able to ride some of the rides, but of course he was an inch too short (even with his hair!) It was such a hot day that we decided to instead spend our time in the downtown fountain – we had a TON of fun!

Liam and Jeremy slowly approach the falling water. . .Liam wasn’t sure what to think at first. He was a little scared, but intrigued.

It wasn’t long until they were wet!

Wow. . .what just happened!?

Liam watching the musician playing drums (buckets and cow bells) near the fountain. He LOVES music and especially drums – so he was mesmerized!

A wet Liam considering another run through the fountain. Hmmmm. . .

I think I’m going to do it. . . .

Running back. . . after going in.

Liam prepares for another soaking. . .

Hmmm, if I suck the water off my hands perhaps I’ll dry off faster?

Liam started getting much braver, going in by himself. We were a little nervous because there were a lot of big kids out there, but he held his own!

He’s running through again. He loves the fountain and had so much fun that day. It was the perfect thing to cool us all off and have some fun on a 90 degree day.

Afterward we had some lemon sorbet – another great idea for an excessively hot day.

Liam was so happy. . .who wouldn’t be after so much fun?

Then we went home and played in the pool.

Splish, splash!

Apparently he was thirsty from all this running around!

It was the perfect summer day!

Last month we went to the Woodland Park Zoo, up in Seattle. This is the best zoo in the area and we hadn’t been yet. It’s a huge zoo and Liam literally RAN through the entire thing!  He kept saying, “more eminos” which of course means “more animals” . . .lucky for him there were lots.

Mr. Giraffe

Jeremy and Liam, and Mr. Giraffe

Liam proudly stands in front of one of the exhibits.

Elephant

Liam hanging with monkeys. He felt most at home in this exhibit.

Orangutan sleeping

Liam watching the orangutans flying from branch to branch. You can tell he wanted in on the fun.

Liam points to the huge snake.

Liam checks out the Northern exhibit – the big brown lump in the background is a brown bear! He was sleeping in the shade.

Peaking through a hole near a little fox statue.

Playing a drum. I think Liam loved this more than the animals. He is so into music right now. I got him a drum at a garage sale and I kind of wish I hadn’t – he plays with it constantly!

Liam checks out the zoo map to make sure he’s seen all the exhibits. Of course we had and we were exhausted!

The weekend of Liam’s 2nd birthday we were invited to go to Harrison Hot Springs (in British Columbia, Canada) with Jeremy’s grandparents. We couldn’t, and wouldn’t, want to pass up the opportunity to spend some quality time with them, in a really wonderful place.The drive is only a few hours, but once you get there you feel worlds away from the worries and stresses of home. Within minutes of checking into our hotel room we were ready to go for a swim!

Liam in the floaty swimsuit outfit that Great Grandma Fusa got for him. He was so excited to go into the pool!

Goofball.

Testing the waters. . .

Sitting on the ledge in the pool. Getting ready to. . .

to jump into Daddy’s arms!

We went out to dinner at the resort the first night. We had a delicious dinner and then, because it Liam’s 2nd birthday, the waitstaff sang Happy Birthday to him, and brought him ice cream with a candle.

Look at his smile! He is thrilled that the wait staff is singing him Happy Birthday.

Digging in. . .

Shoveling it in. First big bite of birthday ice cream. . .it was gone in minutes!

Tada! Birthday boy.

Liam with his best hiking buddy Great Grandpa Clay under a HUGE tree!

On a hike. . so much fun!

Daddy and Liam near the lake, when we went for a walk.

Liam playing in the mud and water.

Down by the lake with Great Grandma Fusa and Daddy.

It’s a gorgeous place. We can’t wait to go back. We had such a special, fun time with Great Grandma Fusa and Great Grandpa Clay.

I can’t believe it’s been more than 1.5 months since my last post. I suppose time flies when you are having fun – which is exactly what we’ve been doing this summer. Hopefully I’ll get back into the swing of things and update regularly from here on out.

You see I was considering switching to a different blog provider, one that would be easier to upload photos to. So I hemmed and hawed, played around with it, and I’m still not sure what I want to do, but I realized I’ve been leaving you hanging. I will try not to do that again. . .

Liam became famous in the Washington farm world today, as he’s the cover model for their latest quarterly magazine, Neighbors. I have written for the last few issues of the magazine on a freelance basis, but this is the first time they’ve used my photos AND my photos just happen to be of Liam.

The photos are from Lattin’s Cider Mill and Farm, which is in the Olympia area. While writing the article I decided we should go visit because it sounded like so much fun. We went with Grandma Melinda and Grandpa Rick and I posted on the blog about our adventure.

Unfortunately this magazine won’t go to the printer. Although it’s been a glossy, printed magazine for issues past, the Washington Farm Bureau budget is such that they can’t print and mail it this time around. But you can download a PDF of the magazine online! (Check out page 22 for additional pictures, Jeremy’s famous now too!)

We arrived in Alaska in the middle of the night on July 1. It was strange to leave a pitch black Seattle and see the light increase as we flew north. Although I grew up with the midnight sun, it’s always surreal being outside at 2 a.m. with the sun out.

The plane ride was uneventful and Liam slept the whole way in his carseat (thank goodness!). We were only in town one day before we packed up the truck and headed to my parent’s cabin for a long weekend of fun. We had big plans to go salmon fishing on Montana Creek, but that salmon fishing was called off by Fish and Game because the salmon run is all wacky.

My parent’s bought the cabins this past winter and they have done so much work on them! When we first visited in December, they were filled with junk, uninsulated and unloved. We hardly recognized the place this time. There are three cabins on 20 acres, and it used to be a kid’s camp, so it has all kinds of quirky character.

There is no running water, so you have to use an outhouse and can’t shower, but that’s the worst of it. Although there is no electricity, they have a generator that powers the cabin just as if you were in town.

This is the “medium” cabin, which is the cabin my parent’s have done most of the work on. In the past few months they’ve insulated it, installed a wood stove (and hearth), put in laminate flooring, new screens, added electricity outlets (which hook up to the generator), installed cabinets, rebuilt the deck and a whole myriad of other projects.

The small cabin just down the hill. This one is also set up for staying, although it doesn’t have all the accomodations that the medium cabin does.

The big cabin and the “bath house.” These are projects for later years. . .so much to do!

The cabins aren’t too far from the pipeline and Shaw Creek. We took the four-wheelers down to Shaw Creek for some fishing!

Here I pretend to catch a big fish, but it was really just a snag. Bummer.

Jeremy knows what he’s doing – he caught a Grayling.

An owl overlooks us as we fish.

My sister Stacy and dad “Papa Scott” sitting on the four-wheeler near Shaw Creek. The pipeline is in the background.

This is the road along the pipeline that we take for a while on our way back to the cabin.

Check out this HUGE bird’s nest. It’s up on a power line and it was enormous! We think it is a peregrine falcon nest.

Liam LOVED the four-wheelers. We would go around in circles at 3 miles per hour. He was so happy!

We couldn’t play all day. . .lots of work to do. Here Sharif (my sister’s boyfriend), Jeremy and Liam clear brush. Liam loved putting leaves on the tarp to help out.

My dad clears trees that were too close to the cabin.

Stacy, Liam and Sharif taking a quick break from hauling logs.

My mom and Jeremy haul tarps full of brush down to the burn pile in the field.

Liam wears “Papa Scott’s” work hat and gloves – he wants to help “work.”

Liam at his finest. He is mad because the ice is too cold to hold, but he doesn’t want to put it in a cup. It’s a predicament that really ticked him off.

We worked up an appetite. Liam enjoys his corn on the cob in the cabin.

On the four-wheeler with mom. Bailey follows closely by our side. Liam and Bailey are best buds.

After a couple days of playing and working outside, we needed baths! Here Liam takes a bath in a basin in the cabin. He did pretty well considering he’s never taken a bath like this.

Liam washes under his chin!

He’ll probably be too big for this “tub” the next time we visit. . .

On the way back to town we stopped by the Knotty Shop (built from knotty pine) for an ice cream cone! Time for another bath. . .

We loved it out at the cabins – it was quiet, beautiful, relaxing and fun. We had lots of quality family time together and we look forward to many more trips out there. We’ll spend the rest of the week in town . . more later. . .

On Saturday June 27 we got an early morning call from my Aunt Lorna (dad’s sister) who has a litter of Golden Doodles . . .and she was offering one to us (they are hypoallergenic puppies!). So before we knew it, we decided to drive over to Post Falls, Idaho to visit them and meet these great puppies. . .

We  never take spontaneous trips anymore, it’s too tricky with an almost two-year-old, but we figured what the heck – no school, no work, perfect day for a drive – let’s go! So thanks to Aunt Lorna and Uncle Ted for their flexibility and hospitality, we headed over for a weekend of fun.

We got there by dinner time Saturday evening after an uneventful 5.5 hour drive over the mountains. Liam was pretty good for most of the drive, but was getting a bit crazy by the time we pulled into their driveway.

Of course we had to surprise Great Grandma Rosalee! She came over to Lorna and Ted’s house for a barbecue and was thrilled to see us all there too!

Liam’s excited to see her too! He was also lucky to see her this May when we were up in Alaska.

Liam’s has a little cousin Emma who has lots of toys at Lorna and Ted’s place, so Liam felt right at home with her toys. He loved playing with the cash register and kitchen set on their back deck.

He was pleased with himself. . .

Lorna and Ted live on the Spokane River, so we walked down to the “beach” and Liam played in the water. He loved it.

Early in the morning Liam stands in the sprinkler in the yard. His clothes were soaking wet, but he was happy!

Liam pets the puppies! He loves dogs so much!

The puppies are beautiful. . .I wish we could have one, but I ended up being allergic to them. Bummer!

Adorable!

For an afternoon adventure we went to a place called Cat Tails, north of Spokane. It’s a zoological training center and they have cats of all kinds. . .Liam thought it was pretty cool.

Great Grandma Rosalee, Liam and Jeremy walk through the park.

After checking out the cats we stopped by Cabela’s, where Aunt Lorna works. Liam, Jeremy and Great Grandma Rosalee check out the moose display.

Liam checks out the fish tank!

Great Grandma and Liam hang out on the bench. We’ll have to head back sometime this summer to hang out some more. Thanks for everything Lorna, Ted and Grandma!

Ever since we went to our first Mariner’s game a few weeks ago, Liam talks non-stop about the “moose”. He was so excited to go to another game and to meet the moose. We went to another game this past week and Liam finally met the moose in person. . .

Liam loves going to games. It’s the only time he really sits on our laps and doesn’t move. He smiles, cheers, claps and did I mention he smiles? He loves it.

During the 5th inning you can go to the “Moose’s Den” and get your photo taken with the moose himself. Of course, we had to do this. Liam sits in his stroller as we wait in line.

We come around the corner and Liam starts waving and pointing to the moose. He is soooo excited to see him.

But as soon as J carried him up to the moose the excitement faded and the fear set in.

Liam had a death grip on Jeremy’s throat and was NOT interested in seeing the moose or even standing close to it. The moose was sad.

We ended up leaving a little early to beat the rush of people and 5 p.m. traffic. Liam loved getting his photo next to the mural of the Mariner’s Moose.

We had to park far, far away from the stadium. We walked through the International District to get back to our car and decided to stop off at Uwajimaya, an authentic Asian specialty store. Liam loved the candy aisle where he saw all kinds of delicious candies that his Great Grandma Fusa always has around her house! (Jeremy has loved the candy aisle of Uwajimaya ever since he was a little boy too!)

We hope to go to some more games this summer and we’ll try to visit the moose’s den another time. . .

Yesterday was Jeremy’s first full day home from school and the summer can now officially begin. We have lots planned for the summer so we spent yesterday just hanging out around the house. We have done a few things this past week, so I’ve got some new photos to share. . .

Liam fell asleep during an early morning walk in the sunshine.

Liam gives me a goofy grin while enjoying his lunch of mac’n'cheese and apples.

We went to a Lacey car show this past Saturday to see Grandpa Rick’s Camero on display (see it in background). Liam got his face painted with a football and he got his first ever sucker (that I know of!).

Liam loving his sucker!

Liam is playing ball with Jeremy. Whenever he plays “ball” he needs a hat. Here he is checking himself out in the reflection of the TV and putting his hat on “just right.”

Liam mid-throw. He takes this stuff seriously.

We had a playdate a couple weeks ago down at the beach. Liam wades into the Puget Sound. Lots of seaweed and gooey, gooey mud. We didn’t have water shoes, so we went in barefoot. Being a mom to a boy is hard work – I was so grossed out and he didn’t want to get out of the water. We saw little crabs and all kinds of things swimming around in there.

The tide was really, really low. Liam walks toward the water.

Liam watches for creatures in the mud.

Liam reads in his bedroom. He loves reading. You can see here he took almost all his books off his bookshelf. So many choices, too little time.

His goofy little grin.

I’m sure we’ll have a bunch of adventures this summer – which means lots of photos and stories on the blog. So keep visiting, I’ll keep posting!

My postings usually revolve around an event or outing of some kind, so you never really get the real news of what’s happening with us. Hopefully this post will bring you up to speed. . .

House
The house is still for sale. We’ve had five viewings in the last nine weeks and I’m tired of worrying about keeping the house clean for a possible phone call that never happens. It’s almost like you are expecting company to come visit, but you never know when they’ll show up. Stressful! We just dropped the price $5,000 this week and we are hoping this change puts the listing on the “what’s new” listings and that maybe we can get some more viewings and more importantly – a sale! Our realtor is also having an open house in July.

When we sell we aren’t sure where we’ll move. We are looking for a house with a backyard and at least three bedrooms. We haven’t been looking at houses on the market because we don’t want to fall in love with something we can’t buy until our house sells. So once we close on our house we will most likely move to an apartment or rent a house until we find something we like. This way we avoid the stress and uncertainty of contingent offers.

Jeremy
Only three more working days for Jeremy and he’ll be home with Liam and I for the summer! He just wrapped up spring football practice and we went and watched a scrimmage this past Saturday – so that was fun.

He is coaching at Northwest Christian, a small local Christian private school. Although this coaching gig is not paid, he is excited about the Northwest Christian program, it’s values, and it’s up and coming potential!

Heather
Freelance work has slowed down considerably this year and I’m having trouble bringing in the income that I was last year. I wish I could not work, but that’s not an option, so I’ve been trying different things to bring in income. I started teaching coupon classes this spring and those have been a huge success. After the News Tribune article that appeared in April, I’ve had lots of requests for the classes, but most of those will be in the fall. I’m offering a free class tonight at my church for members. I’m also updating a local coupon blog, which has been fun – I’m meeting people in the local grocery stores who read it and it makes me happy to be helping people save money.

We are still working on the bookstore and I’ve opened up an Etsy store to sell my handmade treasures. I’m also still doing Pampered Chef, which I really enjoy but I’m finding I’m not a very good direct sales person.

I’m still volunteering at church doing the monthly newsletter and on the preschool board. I’m running the biggest preschool fundraiser of the year – a garage sale this August. If you have items you’d like to donate, please let me know!

Summer plans
I’m excited to report that we’ll be going back to Alaska for 11 days in July (I know, we were just there in May). Even though we always say that we are going to take vacations somewhere “new”, it always comes down to me missing my family, loving Alaska and the fact that it’s a very affordable vacation with us (thanks to mom’s hospitality!) We will start our vacation off with King Salmon fishing – which we are all really thrilled about. We will get back before Liam turns 2 (July 27) and before the airline starts charging us to bring him on the plane (another reason to take the trip now).

We hope to get a trip to the Oregon coast in this summer and we are excited to go to a hot springs/resort in British Columbia with Great Grandma Fusa and Great Grandpa Clay in July. Jeremy also has football camp in Oregon this summer.

Liam
I know this is really the only update you care to read. Liam is an awesome kid, but quite the handful. We are definitely entering the trying two-year-old stage. The world revolves around him and he can have quite the attitude. We don’t know where this came from and we’re assuming it’s age appropriate. He’s been spending a fair amount of time in “time out” and we are all learning together.

Currently Liam loves counting to seven, eating peanut butter (no signs of allergies, yet), playing ball (which he calls “pitching”) and playing outside. Mostly he just loves his balls. He wants to kick, hit, throw, pitch any ball that he can. As soon as he starts playing ball he needs his “hat”‘ (which can be any kind – baseball, sun hat, etc.) and he is good. He’s a lefty and we hope this means we’ll have a major league lefty pitcher on our hands. This morning he told me that dad was at work, I asked him where he was going to go to work when he got big. I said, “are you going to be a doctor?”, he says, “nope.” I said, “are you going to be a teacher?”, he says, “nope.” I said, “well what are you going to do?” He said, “ball.”

Liam has been staying the night at Grandma Melinda and Grandpa Rick’s house about once a week – which he loves and it gives us a break – mostly to clean the house and work, but it’s still nice. If plans don’t change, Liam will start preschool in September at our church. They have a two-year-old program that is twice a week for a couple hours. It will good for him to get the structure and be in a social setting with other kids his age.

I think that is all the updates for now. I’ll be posting more pictures and stories throughout the summer.  . .