i'm back

Sheesh! Didn't mean to be gone for so long. It's been a busy few weeks with the Rents here, Wesley's birthday, Mom's birthday, 4th of July, and all the usual junk. So, here's a quick update and some pics from our past few weeks.

The Rents arrived June 21st and stayed until the 4th. Much to my surprise, it was the best visit we've had in many years. Not a single argument, no walking on eggshells. Just lots of fun, and laughs.

Wesley turned 6 on the 26th. This year's theme was.... (can you guess?).... sports! His favorite gift was a Seattle Sonics jersey I just happened upon at the last minute. In the past week, he's worn it at least 4 days. He spent a whole week celebrating his birthday starting with the weekend prior going camping (in a cabin) at a lake with his Dad, opening his presents from Grandma/Grandpa and me the day before (followed by dinner at his favorite restaurant - the Mayan), then going to see Cars on his actual birthday. Throughout the week, Wesley and the Rents played at the park, went on outings, and had a great time together. The following Saturday was a joint birthday party at the YMCA with his friend Cody (who turned 6 on the 30th). Again, a sports theme complete with basketball, hockey, rock climbing, and adventure zone play.

The holiday weekend was packed with a trip to Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Mom's birthday, the Rents heading back to California, and the 4th. Got some great pics at the zoo. These are two of my favorite of the animals.
This crazy walrus came and sat right in front of us, posing for pics. He is 24 years old and weighs 3200 lbs. The look on his face is priceless, like there's 24 years of wisdom bottled up in his little head. My other favorite for the day is this pic of one of the polar bears. It was a hot, sunny day and after spending some time "sun bathing" he jumped in the water and started showing off. At one point, he came down right in front of Wesley and just looked at him (but there were too many people in front of me to get a good pic of it). Don't know how old or big this guy is, but I did learn that male polar bears can get as tall as 10 ft.

Wesley also got to go on stage at the animal show, having an Asian owl swoop down over him.

The 3rd was Mom's birthday... shhh... don't tell anyone. She doesn't like anyone to know. We had a pretty low key day, just hanging out, a little shopping, and the Rents packing to go home.

On the 4th, Wesley and I drove the Rents to the airport, then went to Fred Meyer and picked up some flowers, transplanted them, and kicked back until it got dark. Our neighbors who we normally celebrate the 4th with were gone this year, so we just lit a few fireworks off out front and then watched all the other crazies shoot hundreds of dollars worth of "bang" into the sky. Don't get me wrong, I love to watch, but for all the money spent on fireworks I might as well just roll up a wad a cash and set it on fire.

So, now we're back to the weekly routine of work (ugh!) and summer camp. And I'm missing my friends who are off on vacations themselves. Plans for this weekend: R-E-L-A-X