Becca's Words

Becca has hit a language explosion. Her word usage this week has gone from basic baby words--like "ball", "bottle", and "baby"--to short phrases like "hot dog", "Sponge Bob", "Hi, Grandpa", and "chocolate cake"!

Yep, She's at That Stage...

Those are MY shoes in the toilet. Thanks so much, Becca.

Tacoma, Washington

Brian and I spent a few days up in Tacoma, Washington at the beginning of July. It felt like home to me--the dense forests everywhere (I was born and raised in Seattle.) I could have stayed forever. We didn't have anything except my cellphone camera to document the trip, so the photos are pretty sketchy but better than nothing.

We stayed in the Murano right in the middle of an entirely refurbished and renewed downtown Tacoma. The hotel was fantastic: modern and chic and displaying its own private glass scultpure collection.

The lobby. That dress in the foreground was made of cut glass.

Our room. The lamps had a lightbulb inside that glowed through the red glass.

Our bathroom. The counter was a sheet of blue glass. The offset faucet looked cool, but it was really awkward to use.


The view of Mt. Ranier from our bedroom window. The room was all windows on two sides.




On Friday, we drove up to Bremerton to see the aircraft carriers in the harbor, then took a ferry ride across the Puget Sound to Seattle.


Since I'd just broken by toe a couple of days earlier and couldn't do much of the touristy walking things, we ended up driving down to Mt. Ranier National Park and checking out the visitor's center and the gorgeous scenery.

On Saturday, we finally had a chance to visit the glass museum that I'd been wanting to visit since we reached Tacoma. I only had an hour to check it out before we had to leave for the airport but I wasn't disapointed.

You walk across a bridge with three installations by Dale Chihuly (the most famous glass artist ever and a Tacoma native) to reach the museum. These giant sugar-crystal-lolipop-looking pieces were made by Chihuly.

Inside the museum, they had a working glass-blowing studio where you could sit and watch the artists at work and learn abuot the process. I was amazed at how many people--and steps--it took to make one piece. They were making beach balls out of blown glass. It was absolutely fascinating; I could have stayed all day.

Overall, it was a wonderful trip and one that I will always cherish the memory of.

Becca's Bedsheet

Becca has three flannel blankets that she loves. She'll grab her blanket and give it a big hug and then carry it around bunched up in front of her. But the day before yesterday, she found a new blanket for herself in her closet: Maggie's extra fitted sheet! Becca's been carrying it around ever since, in fact, she prefers it to her other blankets. You know how they say that every child chooses her own comfort item? But a fitted sheet?!

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

Maggie and her little neighbor friend, Macey, played out in the pouring rain yesterday. It was raining so hard our front sidewalk was a creek and the alley was a river. After almost an hour, they finally came inside shivering and soaked to the bone but very pleased with their puddle-jumping skills.

Where's the Teeth?

Matthew lost his last front tooth last week. Now he's a holey--and rich--man! (Don't worry, not all of that money came from the tooth fairy.)

Ordering Weather A La Cart

Maggie: "Can it be windy-er today? I'm hot."