Saturday, July 16, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Lilly's Toys
Lilly has been oh-so-kind in sharing her toys with us this week. She has been with us every morning this week (except for Monday, considering I completely forgot about Art Camp starting) - she has come complete with play dough and books, Lincoln Logs and other wonderful toys. Soon we will unpack all our toys and will be able to have children over without all their loot attached.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
jetty island
the windshield wipers were set to 'intermittent' on the low setting. the mist outside was thick but wasn't necessarily getting in the way of my view. we were making our way to the Jetty Island ferry terminal in Everett where we would meet Jen and Isolde and the kids to frolic in the sands of the great Northwest - mind you, the last couple of days have been absolutely beautiful so our hopes were not irrational.
eli, ben, will and katie sat behind me with their eyes glued to the drops racing down their windows...
'mom... is it going to be sunny where we're going?' inquires Katie as though we're heading to the tropics.
'mom... how far away is it?!' doubts William as though we couldn't get far enough from the dreariness.
'its in Everett...' and in unison, Katie and William gasped, 'Everett?!' ... and slumped back in their seats. Not far enough.
the ferry over was short and sweet. the captain was enjoying himself and we enjoyed his humor. the bigger kids headed to the top where they were subject to the weather and enjoyed, i imagine, being without supervision for the most part.
we docked and headed across the island -- all 100 yards across and then headed north to where Isolde and Melissa were... the kids stripped to their swimsuits in the cool summer weather and waded into the water. even Ben headed straight out and got no higher than his waist before i requested he stay put or come back. the water was wonderfully shallow. the sand perfectly wet for building. the company relaxingly down to earth. and the kids deceivingly warm.
when 11am hit, the children began walking in one. at. a. time. to summon the warmth of coats and towels and request food for their bellies... an hour later, we were all looking around at our blue children who were shivering and less than excited about the surf, wondering how quickly we could hop the ferry back to the mainland.
to our surprise (tells you how cold we were) the ferry was OPEN and ready for passengers as early as 'now'... so we packed up the soaked food, sticky plastic wrappers, heavy towels, sandy shoes, snacking children and dragged ourselves back across the middle of the island. as i walked, with a 400 lb. pack on my back, wet towels under my arms, lawn chair straps over the opposite shoulder and rain coat zipped to my chin, i lifted my eyes to see William with his backpack on... Eli jumping and running in the sticking sand and benjamin barefoot and dead weight leaving a track of his dragging feet behind him... he was behind me, surprisingly.
i cannot say that i wouldn't do it again. i would. there's something about not planning it out... not having a rational reason for the things we do... and allowing life to happen while we invested in what it had to offer in the moment. it was wonderful and exhausting -- probably the best thing for four kids.
eli, ben, will and katie sat behind me with their eyes glued to the drops racing down their windows...
'mom... is it going to be sunny where we're going?' inquires Katie as though we're heading to the tropics.
'mom... how far away is it?!' doubts William as though we couldn't get far enough from the dreariness.
'its in Everett...' and in unison, Katie and William gasped, 'Everett?!' ... and slumped back in their seats. Not far enough.
the ferry over was short and sweet. the captain was enjoying himself and we enjoyed his humor. the bigger kids headed to the top where they were subject to the weather and enjoyed, i imagine, being without supervision for the most part.
we docked and headed across the island -- all 100 yards across and then headed north to where Isolde and Melissa were... the kids stripped to their swimsuits in the cool summer weather and waded into the water. even Ben headed straight out and got no higher than his waist before i requested he stay put or come back. the water was wonderfully shallow. the sand perfectly wet for building. the company relaxingly down to earth. and the kids deceivingly warm.
when 11am hit, the children began walking in one. at. a. time. to summon the warmth of coats and towels and request food for their bellies... an hour later, we were all looking around at our blue children who were shivering and less than excited about the surf, wondering how quickly we could hop the ferry back to the mainland.
to our surprise (tells you how cold we were) the ferry was OPEN and ready for passengers as early as 'now'... so we packed up the soaked food, sticky plastic wrappers, heavy towels, sandy shoes, snacking children and dragged ourselves back across the middle of the island. as i walked, with a 400 lb. pack on my back, wet towels under my arms, lawn chair straps over the opposite shoulder and rain coat zipped to my chin, i lifted my eyes to see William with his backpack on... Eli jumping and running in the sticking sand and benjamin barefoot and dead weight leaving a track of his dragging feet behind him... he was behind me, surprisingly.
i cannot say that i wouldn't do it again. i would. there's something about not planning it out... not having a rational reason for the things we do... and allowing life to happen while we invested in what it had to offer in the moment. it was wonderful and exhausting -- probably the best thing for four kids.
 |
| the afterbath |
Saturday, July 2, 2011
the black family
i was honored to be asked to photograph the blacks today -- what a wonderful family... all of them! thank you again, Ali, for asking me - here's a few of the ones i've really enjoyed! and give my regards to all your loved ones.
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