Safari Park

 Lorakeet.

I love these birds!

After a rousing game of find the keys

Brooke, Piper and Tatum joined us.

We saw a baby gorilla, so tiny.

Great day ladies.

Ballerinas

 The ballerinas needed a break to play with the dog.

Sweet girl.

Needs so much love.

Don't we all.

How can I say "later" to a face like this.

Her sweetness is a mix of "full of the dickens".

Like when she waits until I'm watching 

and runs towards the street!

Oh, then there are the times she waits until I'm not watching

and runs toward the street!

She is lucky I'm fast.

I wonder what I look like to the neighbors?!

Oh well.

The Fishing Derby

 Overcast.

A touch of drizzle.

Warm enough to skip jackets.

Perfect fishing conditions.

Nana joined us this year for the local fishing derby.

 I have been planning on this day since last years fishing derby.

 I was planning on having someone around to bait the hook.

I don't DO things like that.

Touch a worm...um, no thanks.

Put a hook through a worm as it writhes around...no way!

 Nana wasn't much interested in doing the dirty work so 

we came up with a great idea.

She held the worm in place

and I hooked it.

See the proof.

Juicy suckers.

Three times we did this.

Fishing on the bank.

See how much fun fishing is.

 Look at her face!

Ha.

That is the face of a new fisherman.

"What do you mean this takes a little while?"

That's why they call it fishing and not catching.

 Sister was given a "boon."

 Sister let go of the "boon."

 Sister wanted to fish too.

We came prepared with a bob and a paint stirrer.

 

What is happening!!!!

Reel, E, reel!

No don't stop.

Yes, keep going.

Yea!

The first bass of the derby!!!

It was so much fun we entered him into the derby.

  Threw him back into the lake

and went jumping!

Can't wait until next year!

You may have heard about the recent black out.

It wasn't a big deal.

We like a black out now and then.

A few days later there was a second black out.

But the kids were in need of a good bath.

So, I filled the tub as quickly as possible

and threw in a glow stick.

It was awesome!

 Dad got a promotion!

To explain what a big deal it is to become a Chief is hard.

Seven years ago he started as a E1 and now is an E7 out of E9.

He literally promoted every time he was eligible. 

You know I'm proud.

 The last seven weeks have been hard.

He sleeps 2-3 hours a night and barely finishes his taskers.

The previous eleven days he was at the Academy.

No contact.

Boo.

 Then Emily saw him for the first time!

This is how I felt inside.

 Marching to cadence is so cool.

There is something about voices in unison.

The percussion of the footsteps.

It's cool.

 The parading of the colors is my favorite part when we attend the Ball.

Love the national anthem and the precision of the color guard.

Each new chief chose who would pin the anchors and place his cover (hat) on his head.  The escort, his long time Senior Chief, joked we were going to pin the anchors on wrong just to mess with him. 

 Announcing the arrival of the latest Chief Petty Officer of the Navy with a salute, the ringing of a bell, the piping aboard (sounds like a whistle) and a red carpet lined with ginormous bullets.  They know how to do things in style.

 That's my girl.

 After the ceremony is a line of people including all types of high ranking Navy and Marines.  Even Admirals.  It took over an hour for all the people to shake hands, make jokes, give advice and generally start the party.  Emily jumped into Daddy's arms and greeted the men with Daddy.

 Katie missed Daddy too.  Nose kisses to tell Daddy how much he was missed.

Brothers.

Not by blood

but brothers the same.

It's awesome they promoted together.

Summer treats.

Sitting in the shade.

No where to go.

Exploring a new medium for sugar.

So colorful.

Too big to finish.

But they tried to finish them.

Not even close.

Katie is watching big sister.
Mimicking her every move.
So cute.

Tired much?

A lot of play in the new play house.

Poppa raised the slide so it's super fast.

Like almost too fast.

We keep the extra dog bed at the bottom to cushion their landing.

E really wants to read 

so I have worked double time on her letters and sounds.

She picks up numbers easily 

and has a good attitude about letters being a little difficult.

Emily realized that she is a little "dult" (adult).

Everything I do, she does...almost.

Locking and unlocking the front door.

Loading and unloading the dish washer.

Mopping the floor.

But she surprised me when she wanted to pump gas.

So I talked her through it and she did it!

Even swiping the credit card.

Her recent independence and confidence is impressive

but my favorite realization about her this summer 

is her kindness towards others.

Fresh squeezed ornage juice every morning this week.

The girls can now squeeze it themselves

so it's extra awesome for a tired momma in need to coffee.

The watermelons are in and the cantaloupe are coming. Yum.

We give tomatoes away and we still have some rotting.

Now our neghbors are dropping off their extra fruit with us.

It's like a free farmer's market around here.

The red grapes are tangy and the green grapes are sweet.

Between the tomatoes, grapes, and berries, 

Katie constanly walks around picking things and eating them.

Safe enough because we don't use chemicals 

but I still prefer to inspect her food first.

She is so quick and snacks as we water.

Having a garden is a lot more fun than I expected.

Arts and Crafts

We love a good craft.

Around here it is about the process

not to product.

But sometimes it has to be about both

so this was a mama only craft.

Don't ask why I needed to paint an ammo can.

Inspiration, daddy's current unit.

Eggs too.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had help along the way.

 

I am particularly proud of the "aquaflauge" and tattooed inmate.

 

 Yes, enlisted and officers.

Working uniforms and dress.

Into the wee hours of the morning Colin and I painted and glued.

We added ranks and covers.

It was a lot more fun than I expected.

Oh, the island.

My happy place.

Life is so sweet and calm. 

Just time with Colin. 

Lots of exploring. 

Lots of talking and wasting time. 

If we felt rowdy, we could hit up the bar, the Salty Crab. 

Other than that, it was four days with nothing planned.

Abalone seems to be prettier here.

 

The view from the front porch of the sweetest little cottage.

  

My beach cottage. 

After a few visits here, the vintage cottage has me hooked.

The patriotic living room.

Kitchen utensils that look too pretty to use.

The Cove.  Where everything happens. Fishing from the pier if no boats are available. The barge drops off everything the island needs.  Ships take cover during bad storms.  This is the most active part of the island.  Only rivaled by the air fields constant landing and take off.  Of course there may be secret squirrel training but I wouldn't know anything about that. 

The views are breath taking. 

Seriously, a little scary next to the edge.

Like, hmmm, how much life insurance does he have on me?! 

The water is so clear. Even when the wind ripples the top.  It is easy to see down 20 feet.

An ocean swim was on my list to do.  It was pushed off the list by a long nap.  Next time.

I was secretly scared because sea lions, barracuda and sharks are seen there frequently. 

I sat enjoying the view.  Colin looked for more fossils.

We climbed a gully in search of fossils.  A trek down to a secret fishing hole.

The dolphins were active.  We watched many pods swim by.  Sometimes followed by a flock of birds.