So It's Come To This?

Well, it hasn't yet, but
it's about to...

Birthday Boy

Hale's birthday isn't for a few months. He keeps asking, "Is my birthday coming up? When's your birthday? Will there be cake?"

Hale's natural curiosity about birthdays was recently pitched sharply as he was invited to his cousin Erika's 11th birthday party. Quite an honor, as he was to be the only boy. He and Er have a super sweet relationship, and by the time we arrived at the party (a bit late, thanks to my sloppy calendaring skills), his reputation had preceded him.

The second we exited our car, a swarm of excitable girls enveloped Hale with their tweeny energy (a completely charming combination of alarming sophistication and disarming naivete), and BOOM: a mascot was born.

Hale ate it up.

Thanksgiving. For fishing.

The other night Hale asked me to tell him the story of Goldilocks and the trout fishing.

So I told him. I'd never heard it before myself, but it turns out that in this story, Goldilocks is ambling along the banks of a trout stream, wishing she had a fishing pole to catch some fish with. She finds one that's too big and stout and she can barely lift it, and one that's too small to even cast into the middle of the stream, and then she finds one that's juuuuust right--she flicks the little fluffy mosquito pattern fly and the bobber right out to where the fish are rising.

And she catches a fish.

Then the bears come back, who own the fishing rods, and they get super excited that they have someone to eat lunch with, so it's a good thing Goldilocks has some fish to share, cause they're hungry.

So they all eat trout for lunch and make a date to go fishing together again sometime.

When I was finished, Hale said, "Thank you, Daddy. Thank you to take me fishing and catch a trout with me. I like it."

A few weeks ago Hale and I went camping with his (and my) cousins, Dan and Ethan and Erika, over east of the mountains, north of Roslyn, WA. It was the second of two trips there, with them, this summer. Great time both times. Hale enjoyed the whole thing, but her really liked the fishing part.

Here's some pictures of the first trip.

And here's a batch from the second trip.

Thanks for taking us fishing, Cousin Dan! Whenever I tell the story of Goldilocks and the Trout Fishing, I suspect that Hale and I both will picture the banks of the stream that drains Tucquala Lake as the setting.

Big Day!

First we went to the first day of Preschool! It rocked. Basically, it is going to be a party all year long with free flowing stickers, puppets, play dough, water play and paint. Hale made a new friend named, Ansley.

I felt super blessed today to have a wacky job that allows both me and Scott to do things like go to the first day of preschool together.

Oh, and we got Hale a scooter to ride at the new Skate Park across the street. It is a big hit. I think we are going to be at the Sake Park A LOT!!!