Summer 2007

Dress-Up at the Zoo, June

While Papa was racing his car in Portland, Mommy took me to the zoo. (We went a lot this summer to take advantage of our annual pass before it expired at the end of July.) 

To mark the occasion, I decided to put on some special clothes. Over my Capri pants outfit I wore my green hula skirt, a matching headband, and pink fairy wings. I was a hula fairy [right]!  I received lots of comments and compliments as we walked around the zoo.

I like to pretend. Other favorite costumes are my kitty-cat costume (from Halloween last year), a fairy princess dress, and my Little Mermaid jewelry (from Jolien at Christmas). 

Father's Day this year was very rainy. I didn't mind, though. When Papa and I went for a walk, I put on my "cherry boots," tucked in my dress under my jacket, and then found lots of puddles to dance and splash in [left]. 

Stomping in puddles is one of my very favorite things!

Fourth of July

On a clear, 80-degree day, Mommy, Papa, Cameron, Brennan, and I went to the Bothell Fourth of July parade.  We found a spot on the sidewalk to put down our blanket and watched for two hours. I liked watching the people waving in the cars and fire engines, but even better was getting all the candy pieces they threw at us. I wasn't scared when the pirate ship rolled by, not even by the growling pirates threatening us at sword-point and the exploding canon. But when the Mustang club drove by revving their engines, I clambered into Papa's lap and closed my eyes and ears till they were gone.

After the parade, we drove Cameron and Brennan to Scott Richards’ house, and we all stayed for their holiday party. While Cameron and others lit small fireworks and played bocce ball and croquet, I put on my bathing suit and splashed in the wading pool most of the afternoon. 

Late in the afternoon, I went home for a short “quiet time,” and then we went to Jojo's house for a barbecue. Before dinner, everyone played badminton in the back. JoJo was really good at hitting the birdies, whereas I preferred to use the racquet like a croquet mallet. 

At 7:00, Mommy, Papa, and I headed back to the Richards’ house to watch some early neighborhood fireworks. However, we didn’t stay long. Unlike last year, as soon as the small fireworks started whistling and popping, I backed away and covered my ears [right].  after that long day, I fell asleep quickly and slept soundly through the annual neighborhood commotion.

California, July

In July, Mommy, Papa, and I took a fun vacation to California. We stayed at the Ramada Inn Silicon Valley in Sunnyvale, and I was in the swimming pool by 4:00 after our plane flight the first day. Even though we did some very fun things over the next four days, the hotel pool was probably my favorite activity. I didn't have my swimming jacket, but I put on floaties and a life ring, and those were enough to keep me up 

The hotel was great: the pool was perfect, the buffet breakfast was tasty, and the staff treated me really nicely, but the ordinary room with two double beds posed one challenge: I can't go to sleep with others in the room. So Mommy and Papa had to shut themselves away with the tub and toilet, put the portable DVD player on the toilet seat, and sit on the tile floor watching movies until I fell asleep.  I don't think they enjoyed that very much!

The next day we went to the Santa Cruz beach and boardwalk. I was so excited to be there that I danced on the beach [left]. I dug a big sand hole, raced the waves, chased the seagulls, and studied the 1/2-inch sand bugs and the small crab that Papa and I found. 

On our third day we drove to San Jose to visit Elisabeth and Evan. They took us to a nearby park for a picnic lunch. There were some big inflatable bounce houses because three different kids were having birthday parties in the park; the face painter for one of them, dressed as Snow White for a princess party, painted a rose on my arm with green sparkles in the stem. An ice cream vendor pushed his cart through the park, and Mommy bought me a Power Puff Girls ice cream bar (with bubble gum eyes—I promptly swallowed the first one).  

Our last full day, Patty and Roger met us at the hotel, and then we all drove in their car to Big Basin Redwoods Park. We drove up into the mountains, and the road was so curvy that even Mommy felt a little carsick. We walked on a dusty .6-mile trail; I had fun kicking up the dust all along the trail, although Mommy didn't like walking behind me.  There were lots and lots of giant trees. I felt like a tiny bug beside them, and I liked exploring inside the hollow ones [right]. Later that day, the Lugtons took us to the Sonoma Chicken Coop in San Jose, and we ate in a sunny courtyard. I didn’t eat much dinner, but everyone’s desserts were really yummy!

In August our family took a vacation in the Chateau op Wielen to northern Idaho. The first night we stopped at Coulee City in eastern Washington and camped at the Coulee City Community Park on Banks Lake. It was still very hot when we got there, so I put my bathing suit right on and played in the water at the sandy lakefront.

The next day we continued east and arrived at Farragut State Park, Idaho, in the mid-afternoon. Papa and I "rested" while Mommy and Cameron biked to the park's WWII museum.

The third day we spent entirely at the park. The morning was too cold for swimming, so we took a long, easy hike, by which time the sun had emerged. After lunch we attempted a swim in the lake. It was a bit windy, which meant I chilled quickly, but I had fun digging a big hole in the lakeside mud [left]. Back at our campsite, I got exercise by running behind Cameron as he rode his bike around the camping area.

I like the cozy RV, but even though Papa made me my own special bed each night in the table space, I didn't sleep well. Every night I woke up at least once, which woke everyone else up. Maybe I just don't like to sleep away from home.

My favorite rides were the bumper boats (Papa took me in them twice) with squirt guns [right], the antique cars, and the kiddie copters. I also liked the 1915 steam train ride. The train stopped for a old-West hold-up along the way, and I gave the nice robber [an actor] a quarter for his sack. I also really liked the magic show and ice skating show, especially because we got to eat popcorn while we watched. 

The Boulder Beach water park was really fun. The first afternoon Cameron and I surfed in the wave pool. The second afternoon was cooler, but I still played in the splash park while Mommy and Cameron braved a huge water slide.

The last night I was allowed to stay at the park  until it closed at 10:00. It was so fun to play in the dark, eat late-night ice cream, and see the rides all lit up!

I found my way through the bean-pole maze, and we walked to the apple orchard to look at the bee hives up close. (I like bees and insects, too.) 

We looked in vain for ripe blackberries to pick, but with Papa's help I did pull some carrots out of the ground [left]. I was very proud of myself.