Goodbye Hogwarts...

Oh, how I will miss you! Sadly finished the last Harry Potter Book "Deathly Hallows" I have loved this series as an adult reader and can't wait until my boys are old enough to read it with them. I read them so voraciously (like most everyone else) that Josh used to say "Are you going to bed with Harry again?". Now I am scouring the Internet for any kind of Harry Potter fix. I wasn't the kind of crazed fan at the midnight launch parties. I listened to the occasional podcast, glanced at the websites, but now that I know it's over, I can't get enough.

Ringold and more...

This weekend was crazy. Josh and I had a date on Friday night. Took the boat out and met up with a few of his friends from work. I haven't been out on the river at night in so long. There was a price to pay however. I got eaten alive by mosquitoes!! Probably 12-15 bite overall. This...on the eve of my lecture on West Nile Virus, me on the boat at night with no bug spray!


On Saturday morning , we took the boat up the Columbia to Ringold. There are a lot of sandy beaches there. We took Uncle Booba and the Stevenson's with us and met up with the Jenne's and Ellis's from Apollo. Boone and Claire had a blast in the sand but he didn't want to try to keep up with her on the inner tube. Here they are climbing the dunes. They would run down holding hands and they both ended up with a mouthful of sand several times. Here is Brody chillin' with his sunglasses. He kept them on most of the day.

Saturday evening I went scrapbooking and Josh took the boys to a casual reception for Stephen's sister Kimberlee. She married a great guy named Chip on the 7th of July. Sunday we a had a great visit with Miller's. The kids played really well together . Here are Anna and Boone very intent on Beauty and the Beast (for about 2 minutes).

We finished the weekend at Hubby's for Boone's buddy Ian's birthday party. Poor Ian hurt his elbow on the slide and didn't really get to enjoy his party.

Josh couldn't figure out why he was so tired even though nothing got done this weekend. Time to check to google family calendar to find out!!

Finished...

I finally finished "The Kite Runner" today. Wow, what a book! Definitely one that I'll be thinking about for awhile. Although it is a novel, it really gives perspective to what life must be like for those in a fundamentalist Muslim country and for any refugees to America. How tragic to be forced from your homeland or run away by choice due to fear of such atrocities. The midwife who delivered my boys just recommended some other novels of a similar vein that I need to put on my to read list. I think I'll take a break from serious for some comedy and then read "A Thousand Splendid Suns" also by Khaled Hosseini. I can't wait!

Now, the reason I needed to get the book finished today...I couldn't check it out again without going into the library. I was at my limit for Internet extensions. I am rediscovering the library as I introduce it to the boys. It is pretty tough with Brody so I often just go online and reserve books so our "trip" to the library consists of running in to the checkout desk, swiping my card and leaving with a stack of books. That kind of misses the point of the exploration of a place with so many marvelous things in print but...that might have to wait a few years. The boys really enjoy the summer programs that our local library system has but after they are over, Brody has very little patience waiting for Boone and I to dig through all the great books. So for now we do it the modern, no contact way and Boone still enjoys the variety and specialness of the library books that visit our house for a short time. Have a wonderful Thursday, we'll be off again to the library as I just got an email that some of our requested items were ready. Yeah! By the way, Boone and I are loving "Bats at the Beach" by Brian Lies. Great pictures!

Boat Day

Today I went on the boat (aka money pit) for the first time this year. I also got my first sunburn of the year too. My face is fine but my back is fried. Ouch! Oh well, I made it half way through July before it happened! The boat is running great now but I wish is wasn't looking so haggard in the interior. Got the boys some new board shorts on clearance at Freddy's. Gotta love that!

Swimming Lessons

Going off the Diving Board !!

Brody and his new favorite position..

Isn't their little buddy C.J. adorable!

Boone started swimming lessons this week. WOW! What a difference a year can make. He is trying really hard, not scared to jump in the water, and just a little hesitant to get his face wet. Michelle, his teacher, kind of dunks him under or pours water on his head right after she works with him each time to get him a little more used to it. The other kids from his childcare are in his class too so it makes it really fun for all of them. Thanks goodness Sami is there too so she can take Brody in the pool over to the side during lessons or we might loose him. He really thinks he can walk on water and is very jealous if brother is in the pool and he isn't. We'll see after next week if Boone wants to do a second session.