June Update

It has been another great month. Some highlights from the last few weeks:

1. Lachlyn often will get a little fussy on long car rides. About a week ago Natalie apparently had enough. Laura overheard Natalie tell Lachlyn, who is 4 months old: "Lachlyn, stop making unreasonable demands!"

Does this look like a child that makes unreasonable demands?






2. Natalie likes exclamations and she recently coined her own: "Holy Smokeamoly!" A combination of "Holy Smokes" and "Holy Guacamole!" It's hilarious hearing these words in her squeaky voice.

3. Laura stopped by Walgreens the other day with Carina in tow to pick up a prescription. Carina, being a curious 6 year old had to delve into this, and the following conversation ensued:

Carina: "What's the medicine for?"
Laura: "For my brain."
Carina: "What's wrong with your brain?"
Laura: "It's not working right."
Carina: " What is 4+4?
Laura: "8."
Carina: "What is 4+6?"
Laura: "10."
Carina: "Sounds to me like your brain is working just fine."

[If you are wondering, Laura's brain really is just fine. She is finishing up her course of treatment for the post-partum depression and anxiety that she experiences after the birth of each baby.]

4. Natalie has two of the most skinned up knees I've seen. I realized why when I looked at the pictures of her I've taken in the past month. She's never standing still or on two feet!

Natalie playing with paper dolls:


Natalie "juggling" an orange:


Natalie rocking out naked with her guitar (one picture slightly edited for modesty; this is on the internet after all...):

5. Here is Carina giving Lachlyn a bottle. Carina is enjoying playing the role of big sister. Notice that she is now missing four teeth. Pretty soon she'll be eating all her meals through a straw.


Lachlyn taking the initiative and trying to hold it herself:


Lachlyn saying "Look ma, no hands!":


And, finally, Lachlyn living every baby's dream:

Cycling

I have been training the last few months for a long bike ride called the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic, which is an organized bike ride (about 10,000 people participate each year) from Seattle to Portland the second weekend of July. The ride is 206 miles. Most people do it in 2 days, but about 25% of riders each year do it in one day. I'm going to do it in two days this year. I've ramped up my mileage each week in preparation for the ride, and yesterday completed my first 100+ mile ride in one day (with 5,200 feet of elevation gain too). It took 5 hours 45 minutes.

Here are some interesting sights I've seen around the Seattle area on my bike over the last few months:

1. Snoqualmie Falls. The ride up to the top is only a couple miles long and the grade is a steady and reasonable 5%. The view at the top is amazing.


2. On my most recent ride up to Snoqualmie Falls I heard a police motorcycle siren behind me, followed shortly by the throaty, growling sound of cars with big engines. I then got passed by one Lamborghini, two Lamborghinis, three Lamborghins, four, wow!, five, six, seven, how many are there?, eight, nine, and then a procession of about 20 Ferraris, Porches and some classic sports cars. They were headed up to the Salish Lodge (a nice hotel at the top of the falls) for some sort of Lamborghini club event. Here are some shots of the procession of cars and some of the Lamborghinis. I got to see them again as I passed them going up the hill because the valet parking attendants at the Salish Lodge couldn't park the cars as fast as they were arriving. So, I guess I can also say I've ridden my bike up a hill faster than a Lamborghini.

3. Here is a shot of Lake Sammamish from on top of Cougar Mountain (about 1,450 feet). Not sure whose house this is, but they've got quite the view.


4. This is Mount Si in North Bend, Washington. I've hiked to the top before with Laura (and Carina, who we carried up in a baby backpack).

5. You know you are in a rural area when you see this kind of sign by the side of the road:

6. And, lastly for now, I happened to stop for a drink in front of this house and noticed the fenced in pen in front of the house was full of kangaroos (or maybe wallabies). I wasn't expecting to see that in the Snoqualmie valley east of Seattle. My phone couldn't zoom in on them well, but they are visible in the full size picture (which you can see by double clicking on the picture).